Mary Bedy Photography

American Spirit Detail 050818 In the past approximately seven years, I have collected images of 321 freighters, tankers, tugs, coast guard cutters and three cruise ships that go through my home town of Saint Clair, Michigan. This has become a minor obsession to collect every large ship I can when they go by. Blacky 2 051520 There was a time four or five years ago when I could get up to nine new ships in a weekend. I do have a freighter tracker on my phone so I’m able to see what’s going through town at any given time. The new ships (new to me) have, of course, diminished in frequency because a lot of these freighters go through here on a regular basis.       It has become apparent that there is an interest in these massive vessels because I have sold more freighter images than any other category of image including architecture, nature, national parks images (which I love, but the image market is saturated with national park photos) and all but images specific to Michigan such as Mackin

Leaves on Ice 102521 Abstracted Purists in photography say you should use what comes out of your camera just as it is and not edit anything. That’s crap. The film guys - Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, etc. - dodged and burned their way through the darkroom to the brilliant and beautiful images they are known for. Fall Neighbors 2 102521 Abstracted Those photographers were honest about their darkroom procedures and never represented their work as being directly out of the camera without any special processing. Now days, the uninformed non-photographer will ask those of us who enjoy this medium “Did you Photoshop that?” Often, in their mind, any photograph that is not directly out of the camera, as it appeared right after you pushed the shutter button is a “cheat”. Let’s be clear here, I’m talking about what would be considered “fine art” photography, not journalistic or documentary photography, which is a different thing. If you are taking photos to document the effects

  I have been thinking a lot about how I compare myself and my work with the work of other people. In my case, I specifically compare my photography with that of others. This is an on-going process, but the parameters have changed over the years. Many younger people start out with the attitude “I’m going to be the next best (insert profession or activity here) and I will be applauded and noticed for my (art, athletic ability, scientific achievement, photography).” Usually after that train of thought, there is a period of adjustment when a person finds out how much work is actually involved in this adventure they chose, and there is some decision whether to continue and perhaps narrow down the focus of this endeavor. For example, a track and field athlete may find their strongest area and specialize in long-distance running instead of sprinting. A visual artist may love to work in watercolor and not really enjoy painting in acrylics or oil. As a photographer, perhaps someone becomes a t

When you think of abstract art, does photography enter your mind at all? Or do you only think of work on paper or canvas? After all, when people in general think of photography, they think of a realistic rendering of a scene from the real world. That’s true, but I contend that a photograph can both represent something from the real world and still be an abstract representation, or at least an “abstracted” version , or a small piece of something making the image abstract by definition. I find myself drawn to abstract photography because it makes you stop and look. When I say “abstract”, I don’t necessarily mean just random shapes. I think of abstract as something depicted in a way that you would never see it in real life, or at least you would not notice in real life. Case in point - I have always enjoyed fireworks. I think they are loads of fun. When I take my camera with me to a fireworks display, I never try to capture the traditional “pretty”, perfect firework bursts. I keep the shu

Unleashed I really dislike the expression “thinking outside the box”. Whose box? What constitutes “outside the box?” Hasn’t pretty much everything been done and thought of by now? Well, maybe not technological breakthroughs that we may have never anticipated. But in this day and age of instant information, the minute we think we’ve discovered something new, it usually turns out whatever it is has either been around a long time, or someone (maybe Leonardo da Vinci) had thought of it eons ago even if it has not existed in real time and space yet. On the Court 42   I also have grown to dislike articles about photography that urge you to “think outside the box”. Generally, the advice goes something like this: Get under your subject instead of shooting it from the top. Try to get a backlit image of your subject so it’s just a silhouette. Get low to the ground so everything looks larger. Shoot a flower with the sun shining through it from behind, not with the sun directly on it. Etc. etc. Bo

One Two Three 4 People like to talk about themselves. Sometimes to the point of nausea if you are subjected to it for hours on end. I worked briefly with a person about five years ago who shall remain nameless that would never let you FINISH A SENTENCE (something my husband accuses me of all the time, which I admit, I do because I get enthusiastic about what he’s saying - sorry, dear), and was generally talking about himself all the time. This person annoyed me to the point where I really did not like him at all. And I like pretty much everybody unless he or she is a complete and utter jerk, in which case I just walk away. Carousel at night 2017 2   This is my way of saying I try not to talk about myself all the time, but this is my blog post and I’m going to talk about myself a little bit. One thing that fascinates me is what I don’t know about a person’s interests even after knowing them for a while. I find it interesting to learn what their “avocations” or personal study interest ar

Eye Exam Orange 072420 During this Covid lockdown, and due to the fact that it has been virtually impossible or at least ill-advised to travel very far, especially in groups of people, I have resorted to creating some digital designs for fun, art-related satisfaction, and maybe eventually some kind of profit, if someone decides they want to buy one of my designs for something fun to look at or to put it together as a puzzle. Alternate View I have noticed that when I create a digital abstract design (mostly because I don’t have a tablet pen yet, and it’s hard to draw anything realistic with your finger), they tend to come out looking a bit mid-century modern. I don’t know how modern I am, but I’m definitely mid-century. I can see now how hard it is to give an abstract piece of art a name. I guess some artists resort to “Abstract Number 1” and a date. Or “Blue Abstract”. I, on the other hand, just look at the finished work and try to get a quick impression of what it reminds me of. Cha