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Creating vs Taking Photographs

December 21st, 2023

Creating vs Taking Photographs

When begining photographers start out, they head out to "take" photographs. The camera enthusiast points their new camera at things and snaps a photograph of a thing. They create an endless catalog of things.

"I saw a bird. Here it is."
"I saw a flower. Here it is."
"I went on vacation - see here is the proof."

Their work never gets beyond this simple documentary process of pointing a camera and pushing the shutter button. Some never make it to the next level.

What's the next level in photography? Creating art. Crafting a photograph as a work of art. Capturing a feeling, a mood, a story. Going beyond a physical object and exploring themes, emotion, envoking memories.

Creating a photograph mean thinking it through before the photograph is take. Thinking about the composition, the lighting and what you are trying to say with the photograph. A created photograph might take days, weeks, months or years before it's created. A taken photograph is simply seen and taken. Stolen if you will rather than made.

What makes a great jigsaw puzzle?

December 21st, 2023

What makes a great jigsaw puzzle?

Jigsaw fanatics know which type of images make for great puzzles. Photographs with lots of color, an interesting subject, a variety of textures and surfaces, is sharp from front to back, photographs with little blank space and images with lots of detail. Signs and text in the image often makes it easier to find pieces.

Pieces with a unique color in a certain area of an image are also fun to find. Little details that can show up on a single jigsaw puzzle piece are fun to find as you instantly recognize where it goes. Lasty the completed puzzle of a framable photograph that they puzzle fan enjoys is the ultimate satisfaction in doing a jigsaw puzzle.

Images that are no fun as a puzzle includes monochromatic pictures, photographs with a lot of blank spaces alike sky, fuzzy photos and images without unique areas.

Minature Golf Takes Me Back

March 22nd, 2023

Minature Golf Takes Me Back

Summer days down at Old Saybrook were spent swimming, building sand castles, fishing off the rocky jetties and crabbing in the tidal marshes. Maybe going for a ride on a neighbor’s sail fish boat if the window was blowing.

Crabbing was always a fun. Just tie a smashed muscle shell or chicken bone to a string and dangle it over the edge of the bank. Little blue crabs would scurry out but you would have to be careful to scoop them up with a net. Often they would ride the bait up to the water’s surface as you carefully pulled up the rope but they would always jump off when they reached the air. I only remember one time getting enough of them to make it worthwhile bringing them home for dinner.

At night there were movies on the beach or bingo in the club house. For a while there was a roller skating rink within walking distance when roller skating was popular. Now its West Marine and Benny’s discount store. But the Dairy Queen is still going and the Italian Ice man still drives his van down to the beach in the summer. I remember a watermelon Italian ice used to be 50 cents and my Dad would always let us get one even if it was close to dinner time.

The other nighttime activity was playing miniature golf. The mini golf place on Saybrook Point was a classic flat course with windmills and other obstacles. None of this hill climbing stuff as you find in Florida where they dig out a pond and create a hill with the fill.

Irene was considered a tropical storm but it whacked the heck out of the Connecticut shoreline. It wiped the classic “Dock and Dine” restaurant off the map and with it the mini golf course. The restaurant still hasn’t been rebuilt but the mini golf course has and it's really spectacular with all the houses representing some classic historic landmarks from the area. Plus it's only $5 which allows locals to revisit the course time and again.

Photographer Visits a Remote Ghost Town in the Mountains of Montana

February 24th, 2023

Photographer Visits a Remote Ghost Town in the Mountains of Montana

Follow along as fine art photographer Edward M. Fielding treks to a remote ghost town high in the mountains of Montana. Elkhorn, Montana was once a boom mining town with 2,500 inhabitants, several saloons and train service. A few decades later it was abandoned. Learn more here: https://www.dogfordstudios.com/ghost-town-elkhorn-montana/

Excerpt: " Silver mining is only a worthwhile pursuit if one receives a paycheck. When the paymaster’s window shuts down for good, the town is worthless. There is no farming, no other industry, only the promise of a cold, hard winter ahead. Best to gather up what you can and catch the last train or last wagon out of the mountains and try your luck elsewhere.

Today, Elkhorn is the smallest state park in the Big Sky state of Montana. In fact, the state only owns a couple of acres around some of the buildings. The test of the place is made up of original buildings taken over as private summer cabins.

Elkhorn is located in Jefferson County, about 50 miles south of Helena. Backcountry roads settle you into a 19th-century mining landscape before you reach historic Fraternity Hall and Gillian Hall nestled within the privately owned town of Elkhorn.

There are no real facilities except for an outhouse at the picnic spot at the edge of town. A few signs were probably first erected when the area first became a state park. Now they sit and rot, waiting for the state legislators to give a damn and drop a few taxpayer dollars on this state’s historic treasure."

New book cover license The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett

October 7th, 2022

New book cover license The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett

My fine art photography has been recently licensed for use on a major publishing release. A novel "The Resemblance"
by Lauren Nossett.

Detective Marlitt Kaplan is first on the scene. An Athens native and the daughter of a UGA professor, she knows all its shameful histories, from the skull discovered under the foundations of Baldwin Hall to the hushed-up murder-suicide in Waddel. But in the course of investigating this hit-and-run, she will uncover more chilling secrets as she explores the sprawling, interconnected Greek system that entertains and delights the university’s most elite and connected students.

The lines between Marlitt’s policework and her own past increasingly blur as Marlitt seeks to bring to justice an institution that took something precious from her many years ago. When threats against her escalate, and some long-buried secrets threaten to come to the surface, she can’t help but question whether the corruption in Athens has run off campus and into the force and how far these brotherhoods will go to protect their own.

Restoring a 1959 Pinball Machine

May 7th, 2022

Restoring a 1959 Pinball Machine

When the pandemic hit my travel plans for Switzerland were dashed and the lockdowns really took the air out of roaming around for photography subjects. I took a break from photography and started to work closer to home on projects involving vintage pinball machines.

My first project was a 1975 Bally Hang Glider pinball machine that I picked up cheap. It was stored under a barn for a while and had been hacked at - but I got it working. Next up was a 1972 Gottlieb World Series machine that had been in the same family for 40 years. Dirty and in need of a tune up but basically fine. Even the backglass was in perfect condition. Next I found a 1961 Gottlieb Egg Head pinball machine. Kind of a quirky machine with a tic tac toe objective. Needed a new backglass and a few fixes but it wasn't too hard of a restoration.

Then I found 1979 Stern Meteor. I updated it to some new code and sound effects, buffed up the playfield, added LED lights, a new rectifier board, fixed a display and it plays great now.

My latest product is a rather beat up 1959 Gottlieb Universe woodrail pinball machine. Follow the progress here - https://www.dogfordstudios.com/bally-hang-glider-pinball-restoration-update/

The Beauty Within Technology

April 18th, 2022

The Beauty Within Technology

Fine art prints, museum-quality framed and matted, canvas prints, acrylic prints, metal prints and more are available from this collection of beautifully photographed technology. Perfect for the office or technology lover.

Art and technology have a complex but meaningful history of working together and influencing one another. In many ways, they have evolved alongside each other to arrive at their place in the world today; a digital age where they constantly overlap and portray new ideas.

More: https://www.dogfordstudios.com/the-beauty-within-technology/

Made in the USA

February 28th, 2022

Made in the USA

"Made in the USA" by fine art photographer Edward M. Fielding (edwardfielding.com) is a new piece featuring a classic vintage American automobile and the USA flag in all of it's red, white and blue glory.

More patriotic images can be found here: https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/flag+usa

Tips for buying artwork for your short term rental

February 28th, 2022

Tips for buying artwork for your short term rental

So you are interested in sprucing up your short-term rental space for AirBnB or VRBO. Art can help your rental offering stand out from the crowded field.

Vacationers decide on which short-term rental to book based on photographs. The pictures need to grab the viewer’s attention in mere seconds. The best way to grab attention is through vibrant, compelling, exciting artwork.

But not just any artwork will do. You have to make sure it isn’t too personal and fits the location. Remember, people are traveling to an area with the idea that they enjoy the area. You don’t want to have photographs of Hawaii in your Vermont romantic getaway rental.

The artwork should also be unique. Nothing screams “low budget” more than artwork the view has seen at Walmart.

Short-term rental artwork also has to be affordable. Don’t overspend on artwork and then have to skim on sheets or something. Buying open prints rather than original works can save money.

Also, certain types of prints will be easier to keep clean. Framed artwork under acrylic is safe and easy to clean. So are canvas prints and metal prints. Canvas prints are nice and light also if you need to switch up the artwork.

The following fine prints are great examples of affordable, unique and destination-specific fine art prints that would make for eye-catching and stunning short-term rental photographs.

Keep in mind that a single, very large, bold print will have more impact than a grouping of small prints.

Tips for Better Still Life Photographs

February 17th, 2022

Tips for Better Still Life Photographs

Tips for Better Still Life Photographs


Still life fine art photographs can be some of the most challenging photographs to make. Sure, simply taking a photograph of a group of objects is simple, but making a still life interesting and compelling to look at takes effort.

Symbolism of the Empty Chair in Art

February 17th, 2022

Symbolism of the Empty Chair in Art

A chair is a familiar object. One we all use every day, an object distinctly created for the human body. The chair is a physical reminder of human occupation of space, a proxy for humans not currently in the space.

A chair can have character. Character-based on its design, based on its location, based on its condition, and even based on its placement in regard to other objects around it.

A chair implies an extended commitment to a place. On a long hike you might choose a rock as a perch for a short rest but investing the time and effort in making a chair, with all of its pieces and complex joinery, is a commitment to spending time in a place, to have a meal, to talk with friends, to read the newspaper, to create a home.

Texas Pop Art

February 17th, 2022

Texas Pop Art

Fine artist and photographer Edward Fielding has just release a new series of pop art pieces celebrating the great start of Texas. Bold, graphic and colorful artwork mixing the Texas State Flag and various elements captured around the state of Texas.

Vintage Pinball Restoration Project 1961 Gottlieb Egg Head

June 28th, 2021

Vintage Pinball Restoration Project 1961 Gottlieb Egg Head

I did it again. I bought another vintage pinball machine to restore. Last summer's pandemic project was restoring a 1972 Gottlieb "World Series" pinball machine - https://www.dogfordstudios.com/pinball-restore-project-1972-gottlieb-world-series/

Recently I picked up 1961 Gottlieb "Egg Head". I was drawn to the artwork by Roy Parker who was responsible for all of Gottlieb's artwork from the 1930s to the early 1960s. I'm also interested in learning about the mechanics of these earlier machines.

For example, the ball has to be manually brought into play via a lever and five balls are used rather than a single ball multiple times. Gameplay on this machine will probably be lacking compared to more modern machines but I see it as a work of low art - that is art that isn't created for decor or museums but rather for commercial purposes. The art is used to attract commerce rather than simply exist as home decor.

Working on these 50 to 60-year-old machines takes one back to an era before computer chips and circuit boards. Everything about them is mechanical. They use electric magnets, solenoids and relays to keep score and keep track of bonus points. Keep in mind this is a time when we were sending the first men into space using similar technology.

I should start working on Egg Head later this summer, follow along with the progress!

Love sick robot

May 17th, 2021

Love sick robot

Feeling pinned against Life's wall,
She chanced upon a robot tall
And said, "Please come and share with me
Whatever Fate has deemed to be.
I'm through with love, done with chances
Spirit crushed by past romances,
Just be a friend in word and deed.
That's all that I shall ever need."

"There's not too much from me to learn,"
Remarked the robot, in return.
"Emotions do not form a part
of my cold, solid-steel heart.
Whatever maker fashioned me
Did not permit my circuitry
Responsiveness to love or pain -
Your thoughts for me would be in vain."

Read more at: http://www.netpoets.com/poems/love/1504003.htm © netpoets.com

The Little Dog that became a STAR

April 25th, 2021

The Little Dog that became a STAR

In Dr. Suess’s book, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, there is a pivotal scene where The Grinch, dressed up like Santa Claus with a sleigh full of empty sacks ready to be filled by looting Whoville, wonders about who will pull his sleigh.

Then he spies the little dog and hatches a plan to make the little play the part of a reindeer.

My Westie is like that Kid went off to school. Wife went off to work. I didn’t have any models left in the house, so Tiki the Westie had to fit in.

Retro Polka Dot Wonderful

April 1st, 2021

Retro Polka Dot Wonderful

The retro vintage pop art collection features icons from the past presented in bold new ways. Perfect for game rooms, gamer's caves and kid's rooms. Exciting graphics, retro feel. https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/polka

Hot Wieners in Providence Rhode Island

March 31st, 2021

Hot Wieners in Providence Rhode Island

Hot wieners are firmly planted in Rhode Island’s culinary psyche. They’re to the Ocean State what cheesesteak is to Philly, what barbecue is to Kansas City and what street tacos are to Los Angeles. Everyone has the wienie joint (their words, not ours) they grew up with, their gold standard against which all others are judged. There’s The Original New York System on Smith Street in Providence, Olneyville NY System, Sparky’s Coney Island System in East Providence (now closed), Wein-O-Rama in Cranston, Rod’s Grille in Warren, New York Lunch in Woonsocket, Sam’s New York System in North Providence, Snoopy’s Diner in North Kingstown and plenty more scattered throughout.

http://edward-fielding.pixels.com/featured/new-york-system-hot-weiners-neon-edward-fielding.html

Another quality printing and framing job via Fine Art America

March 17th, 2021

Another quality printing and framing job via Fine Art America

Fine Art America and Pixels use a print and frame shop in North Carolina that has been serving the artist community for over 50 years and ever time I place an order for my work for a show or home display, the results are outstanding.

The museum-quality frame and matted pieces are well packaged. It actually takes a lot of effort to open the boxes! They even include hanging wire and hardware for mounting on the wall.

This piece, Daddy Pops Tumble Inn Diner Watercolor will be available for purchase here as well as the local AVA Gallery in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

During the pandemic I decided to restore a 50 year old pinball machine

March 4th, 2021

During the pandemic I decided to restore a 50 year old pinball machine

When the pandemic hit and canceled a trip to Switzerland, fine art photographer Edward Fielding decided to stay close to home in Grantham, NH and tackle a project – restoring a 1970s era electromechanical pinball machine.

He started by moving out the cars and converting his garage into a suitable work area and then located a suitable vintage pinball machine to restore.

Previously Fielding had brought a 1976 Bally Hang Glider pinball machine back from the dead. That machine was found stored under a barn in the Keene area.

Following a lead to the Ossipee, NH area, his new find had more potential to be restored into a showpiece. A 1972 Gottlieb World Series pinball machine that was mostly working but filthy, had mismatched rubbers, weak flippers, dead pop bumpers and burnt out bulbs...

Mix me a Mojito

March 2nd, 2021

Mix me a Mojito

Mojito
(At a crowded table. Mojitos.
Indoor springs of electric lights.)
I think if how people are
like mountain pools.
Illuminated is the not-so-pure
ascorbic silt of our years,
the mint, a weed that, turning,
uncovers our secrets
at midday lunch.
(Talk)... All babble
lapping against bare, grinning rock.
(More rum) White water churning
above spiralling currents.
"So, how did you two meet?"
(a too-knowing smile).
I feel a trickle right between the eyes.
"At work."
Okay, so I fell in love with his lips.
Even before he kissed me.
Perfectly.
We're having a fling.
How about you?

(Watermelon martini and laughter)





By Marissa A Scott

Landscapes vs. Places

February 19th, 2021

Landscapes vs. Places

Landscapes appeal to the masses. Places make a personal connection to the art buyer by invoking past memories. Landscapes can appeal to anyone in a general sense of appreciation for nature’s marvels. Places hold a deeper connection for those who have experienced them up close and personal.

One can travel the world in search of the most stunning landscapes yet find that the bestselling photograph might be in their own neighborhood.

Affordable Fine Art for Your Home

February 17th, 2021

Affordable Fine Art for Your Home

Pssst. I'll let you in on a little secret. You know what the difference is between a million-dollar fine art print and a print on demand fine art print from the portfolio of Edward Fielding (https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/)?

The signature.

Fine art photographs and artwork custom printed here use the same printers with 40 years of experience who print editions for top galleries in New York City's art districts. The same exact printers, the same attention to detail and the same museum quality framing. All at affordable prices.

Decorating the Game Room

February 10th, 2021

Decorating the Game Room

Finding appropriate artwork for the game room can be challenging. Images billiards, pool, ping-pong, pinball, cards, and games. Fine art photography of vintage pinball machines by fine art photographer Edward M. Fielding are available for purchase as canvas prints, metal, wood, acrylic prints and more. www.edwardfielding.com

Gold Rush in Montana

February 4th, 2021

Gold Rush in Montana

Before the untamed American West became civilized it has to go through periods of unrest, toil, boom and bust. Much of this was driven by the lust for gold, silver and other precious metals.

Bannack, Montana, now a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek, approximately 11 miles (18 km) upstream from where Grasshopper Creek joins with the Beaverhead River south of Dillon. Founded in 1862, the town contemporarily operates as a National Historic Landmark and is managed by the state of Montana as Bannack State Park.

New book cover licensing

February 3rd, 2021

New book cover licensing

Many of my photographs have graced the cover of novels in the United States as well as around the world. My portfolio for book cover images for the publishing industry can be found at Arcangel Images - https://www.arcangel.com/CS.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&VBID=2U1HZOY5RNIE7&SMLS=1&RW=1366&RH=649

Book cover licensing is rights-managed or RM licensing.

Rights-Managed, or RM, in photography and the stock photo industry, refers to a copyright license which, if purchased by a user, allows the one-time use of the photo as specified by the license. If the user wants to use the photo for other uses an additional license needs to be purchased.

Laundry Day Passes As Excitement These Days

February 3rd, 2021

Laundry Day Passes As Excitement These Days

We're almost a year into this global pandemic now. After a year of slowing down, staying home and learning to move at a slower pace, just about any break in the daily routine becomes something exciting.

Take laundry day for example. The basket is full of pjs, sweatpants, loungewear, and other casual apparel. Oh, joy! Time to do something a bit different.

It makes me wonder what will happen after the pandemic. Granted it will not happen overnight or suddenly. It will be a gradual process before we get on an airplane again, go out to dinner or attend a charity ball. Have we permanently learned to slow down? Will life move at a slower pace? Maybe it's not all bad.

We lived near a farm

January 22nd, 2021

We lived near a farm

A few years ago we lived next to a farm, or at least a house with a big old dairy barn and hayfields.

The fields are left to grow early in the summer for the Bobolinks birds that nest in the tall grass and then an old vintage tractor comes a few times to cut and bale the hay.

Living across the street from this great old barn and beautiful rural landscape I had great access to photograph the barn during the best times of light – sunrise and sunset as well as in all kinds of weather in spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Old Friends

July 6th, 2020

Old Friends

NOTE: the watermark in the lower right does not appear in the final print.
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Two rusty old abandoned trucks in the Arizona desert. Fine art photography by Edward M. Fielding.
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Old Friends - two old rusty vintage cars in the high desert of Arizona. “Wickedest Town in the West”. Jerome Arizona. Located near the top of Cleopatra Hill between Prescott and Flagstaff is the historic copper mining town of Jerome.

Jerome was nearly a ghost town until the state offered free houses to anyone willing to occupy them and fix them up. Artists moved in and inhabited the structures which appear to be hanging on to the cliffside for dear life.

Underneath the town is vast mining tunnels that often blew up and burned with mine fires that lasted for months.

Cracks in foundations and building that slide from one side of the street to the other is all just part of the charm as is the ghosts of prostitutes and miners that are said to walk the streets at night.

Just past the galleries, restaurants, and gift shops in Jerome is the Gold King Mine with its eccentric collection of old mining equipment and vehicles from the past.

How To Get Lucky

June 17th, 2020

How To Get Lucky

This photograph of a classic 1957 Chevy Bel Air two-tone vintage car was totally lucky. We had gone over to the beach to take some family photographs at sunset. The no-see-ums and mosquitos started to eat us alive so we headed back to the car only to discover this beautiful vintage car that pulled right up to the beach. I quickly composed a few shots before the owner turned the bend. I had only about 30 seconds to get everyone out of the shot, compose and shoot. I offer several versions of these photographs as prints.

Winter Arrives

June 11th, 2020

Winter Arrives

Above: “Winter Arrives” Fine art photograph of a classic New England red barn in winter with a beautiful rosy sunset. Who says winter can’t have color? Customer purchase print with beautiful frame choice. 14″ x 8″ print of Winter Arrives to a buyer from Verona, NJ.

Photographing New England in winter is tricky. Consider one must first bundle up to face to cold, then brave the road conditions, snowblow a path through the driveway and then while seeking subjects to photograph – watch out for snowplows.

The best strategy is to plan ahead. Figure out a subject and then wait for the perfect conditions. Perhaps a light snowstorm with just enough snow to cover the landscape but not so much that you are are snowed in.

“Winter Arrives” had the perfect conditions. An overnight snowfall followed by some morning sun breaking through the clouds to clean up the roads a bit. The timing was perfect as most winter days in New England are covered with a solid grey sky. Seeing a bit of sunset through the clouds was perfect for the final effect.

You can purchase your own print of “Winter Arrives” in sizes from greeting cards to sofa sized fine art prints. Canvas, paper, wood, metal prints are available.

Cheers

June 1st, 2020

Cheers

Cocktail photographs and cocktail artwork make a fine, elegant statement in your home, bar or nightclub. Elegant fine art photography by Edward M. Fielding of luscious crafted cocktails like martinis and old fashioned. Browse the entire collection of fine art for your home or business decor.

Don't Worry Be Happy

May 27th, 2020

Don

A simple reminder. For all the negative aspects of the global pandemic, there isn't much the average individual can do other then avoiding others, wearing a mask and reducing contact with potential virus carriers. Meanwhile, when you aren't out and about worrying about catching the virus, take a moment to relax. At home you don't need to worry, be happy!

The Sounds of Summer

May 26th, 2020

The Sounds of Summer

What does summer sound like? For me the ingrained sound of summer is "Turkey in the Straw" blaring from the loudspeakers of the Good Humor Ice Cream truck. As soon as we heard that old tune we'd be racing to break open the piggy banks or beg Mom for a quarter to buy a Strawberry Shortcake, Fudgicle or one of those cones with the gumball at the bottom.

Summer sounds like kids screaming as they dive into still freezing ocean water. The sound of lawnmowers in the late afternoon. Jet skis, motorboats, the sound of traffic backed up along the bridge to Cape Cod.

That Perfect Summer

May 26th, 2020

That Perfect Summer

What does the perfect summer mean to you?

Hanging out by the pool, skinny dipping in the lake on a hot summer night, listening to the cricket and frogs through an open window, casting a lure to catch a catfish, cruising out on the lake in a Sunfish sailboat?

This black and white photograph of an old cheap lawn chair out by a body of water captures the essence of summer and would look great on the wall of a summer vacation home.

Available framed and matted, on canvas or as a metal print. Sizes from 8x10 to sofa sizes.

Pinterest Done Right - How Artist's Can Use Pinterest to Promote Their Work

May 25th, 2020

Pinterest Done Right - How Artist

Pinterest is a visual scrapbook used by consumers to organize wishes, dreams and future purchases. Wedding planners, home redecorators, designers, planners, and of course shoppers use Pinterest to get ideas and organize future projects.

Pinterest is tailor-made for visual artists to showcase their portfolios of artwork. Photographers and artists can maintain and organize boards around themes that they offer such as National Park Photographs or even how-to articles to help inspiring photographers and artists gain knowledge.

To see how a visual artist can use Pinterest see my profile on Pinterest:

Social Media - Fill a need and people will show up

May 25th, 2020

Social Media - Fill a need and people will show up

Many fellow artists fail to understand how to use social media to promote their artwork. Marketing is simple really. It is about filling your target audience's needs.

Think about how you yourself use social media. Is your goal to look at ads screaming "buy me, buy me!"? Not likely.

More likely you use social media for news, entertainment, information, humor, how to do things, recipes etc.

So why do artists expect to gain a following on social media buy simple posting "buy me!" type ads?

Bring your audience in with looks behind the scenes, information about you the artist and about the artwork. Buyer's who understand the intent behind the work are more likely to engage and purchase.

Hot Products For May

May 15th, 2020

Hot Products For May

May has been a hot month with Mother's Day and Father's Day right around the corner. Plus weddings, graduations and birthdays. Even with people shut indoors they are still buying fleece blankets, throw pillows, coffee mugs, t-shirts, and of course large canvas prints and framed artwork.

Online ordering is safe and convenient and there are over six thousand designs in the Edward Fielding collection to choose from including the popular still life and dog photographs as well as landscapes from scenic spots around the world. Your vacation might have been cancelled but you can still look at beautiful places!

From the New York City Collection

May 9th, 2020

From the New York City Collection

The state of New York and New York City especially has been hit hard by the Corvid-19 pandemic. One of the world's greatest cities, NYC is often the target of crisis manmade and those from nature.

But New Yorkers are resilient and know how to fight back and recover from some of the worst attacks the world has known.

I dedicate this post to those strong New Yorkers fighting coronavirus either in the hospitals or simply by hunkering down and stopping the spread.

Photograph: Chairs in Bryant Park, New York City, black and white fine art photograph by Edward Fielding.

Route 66 Vintage Postcard Shower Curtains

May 6th, 2020

Route 66 Vintage Postcard Shower Curtains

"Route 66 Vintage Postcard" by Edward Fielding is popular as prints as well as shower curtains.

Note: the watermark in the lower right does not appear in the final print.

U.S. Route 66 (US 66 or Route 66), also known as the Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways within the U.S. Highway System. US 66 was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before ending at Santa Monica, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km). It was recognized in popular culture by both the hit song "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" and the Route 66 television show in the 1960s.

Printing on wood

May 6th, 2020

Printing on wood

All 6K+ photographs and artworks in the Edward Fielding collection of high-quality art is available as prints including prints on wood for a rustic look. Also available as prints, frame and matted art, canvas prints, acrylic prints and more.

Steam Train Dream

May 2nd, 2020

Steam Train Dream

Steam Train Dream by fine art photographer Edward Fielding features a vintage steam locomotive emerging from the mist of steam and fog.

This photograph composite has proven to be a big hit among steam train fans and railroad buffs, selling many times as prints as well as on fleece blankets. Perfect for a child's room with a train theme decor or any adult rail fan.

Steam Train Dream looks especially impressive as a large canvas or metal print and can be ordered in large sizes already framed or rolled in a tube for local framing.

Neon Signs of the American West

May 2nd, 2020

Neon Signs of the American West

I love exploring the small towns of the American West. Places with a single bar full of video poker machines, bison burgers and a couple of cowboy sipping their beers and talking about the crop predictions. Classic old neon signs lend authenticity to the town as if they need any more. Dusty cowboy boots and old cars lining the single main street.

While New York Cities Time Square and the strip in Las Vegas have become a giant billboard of video screens, in the small Western towns one can still find great old neon signs.

Part-time capsule, part nostalgic trip in the Way Back Machine, I wonder if the locals even recognize how important these signs of the past are to visitors?

On The Road Again

May 2nd, 2020

On The Road Again

Camping in remote areas, exploring the backroads and hidden corners of America pulling the old Airstream. A dream of many especially in retirement when you have all the time in the world to hit the open road.

Route 66 might have been largely forgotten and absorbed into sprawling metropolis's suburbs but stretches of lonely highway still remain and deserve to be explored.

For many the world over, Western America still represents a place to stretch out and be free. Free from the suffocating population density of the modern city. Free to let one's mind wander among the vast, rugged landscapes forged by eons of water etching into solid rock.

We could all use some serenity right about now

April 30th, 2020

We could all use some serenity right about now

Couldn't we all use a bit more calm, peace and serenity these days? Some beautiful, relaxing artwork for our living room as an escape from what has been unleashed on the world?


Note: the watermark in the lower right does not appear in the final print.
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Sunset at Scripps Pier, La Jolla Shores, San Diego. Fine art photography by Edward M. Fielding. Three shot high dynamic range or HDR photo with long exposure which smooths out the water.
....
Scripps Beach is adjacent to the UCSD Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus in northern La Jolla. The long concrete Scripps Pier is not open to the public, unfortunately, but the beach on both sides of it is. Scripps Beach is much quieter than La Jolla Shores just to the south.

All kinds of art on throw pillows

April 30th, 2020

All kinds of art on throw pillows

All kinds of photographs and artwork from the portfolio of Edward Fielding can look fantastic as throw pillows. Throw pillows are a quick way to wake up a stale interior. Cheaper than a new couch and fun that can change with the season or with the mood.

Thanks to my buyer of a Throw Pillow - 14" x 14" of "Rustic Dining Room Classic Neon Sign" from Boulder, CO. Enjoy!

The House With Nobody In It

April 30th, 2020

The House With Nobody In It

The House with Nobody In It
by Joyce Kilmer
Whenever I walk to Suffern along the Erie track
I go by a poor old farmhouse with its shingles broken and black.
I suppose I’ve passed it a hundred times, but I always stop for a minute
And look at the house, the tragic house, the house with nobody in it.

I never have seen a haunted house, but I hear there are such things;
That they hold the talk of spirits, their mirth and sorrowings.
I know this house isn’t haunted, and I wish it were, I do;
For it wouldn’t be so lonely if it had a ghost or two.

This house on the road to Suffern needs a dozen panes of glass,
And somebody ought to weed the walk and take a scythe to the grass.
It needs new paint and shingles, and the vines should be trimmed and tied; But what it needs the most of all is some people living inside.

If I had a lot of money and all my debts were paid
I’d put a gang of men to work with brush and saw and spade.
I’d buy that place and fix it up the way it used to be
And I’d find some people who wanted a home and give it to them free.

Now, a new house standing empty, with staring window and door,
Looks idle, perhaps, and foolish, like a hat on its block in the store.
But there’s nothing mournful about it; it cannot be sad and lone
For the lack of something within it that it has never known.

But a house that has done what a house should do,
a house that has sheltered life,
That has put its loving wooden arms around a man and his wife,
A house that has echoed a baby’s laugh and held up his stumbling feet,
Is the saddest sight, when it’s left alone, that ever your eyes could meet.

So whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track
I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back,
Yet it hurts me to look at the crumbling roof and the shutters fallen apart,
For I can’t help thinking the poor old house is a house with a broken heart.

What sells? It's not always what you think

April 29th, 2020

What sells? It

There are the photographs I think will be great sellers and then there are the photographs that sell.

No matter what my tastes are, the buyer's tastes are what matters. All I can do is offer my particular slant on the world and give potential buyers the opportunity to purchase a bit of the way I see the world.

Take this recent sale from a series of fine art photographs I've done of old Western ghost towns. Purchased by an interior designer this photograph of the old weathered, sunbaked wood on an old church in a ghost town outside of Phoenix, Arizona will look great in a restaurant or hotel with a Western theme but it wouldn't have been my first choice among the photographs I took that day.

You can see my ghost town photographs at: https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/ghost+town

The Challenges of Photographing in 115 Degree Desert Heat

April 2nd, 2019

The Challenges of Photographing in 115 Degree Desert Heat

We sit down to talk with fine art photographer Edward M. Fielding, back from the desert with a new set of fine art photographs from the American Southwest.

“Do these photographs make you feel warm?” jokes photographer.

“Do they make you feel a bit hot under the collar?” he laughs. “Do they make you feel thirsty?”

Fielding hands me an ice-cold craft beer out of the mini fridge outside his office as we look over his new portfolio of fine art photographs from American Southwest.


“I think every bar owner should consider installing a few of these photographs in their bar – beer sales will skyrocket!” he chuckles flipping through the prints of sun-baked, oxidized vintage cars in the desert.


“It was 115 degrees the morning I took these photos. Just think how hard it was for the owners of these cars and trucks to live under these conditions and put in a full day digging to rock in search of gold. The cars and buildings are still there but the people have mostly gone, and those who remain can only survive with modern air conditioning.”


Fielding shows a photo from his phone that shows a sign for a HEAT WARNING. The sign says “Hiking in hot weather is dangerous and not recommended. Please be smart and safe”.


We flip through the large scale photographs with sharp detail that brings out every inch of the weathered, rusty old vehicles. The paint isn’t worn off as much as it is oxidized by the sun. The unrelenting sun basically cooks the paint into vapor that blows away in the sand fill winds.
Rubber is particularly susceptible to decay in these conditions as evident by the tires that literally melt away, exposing the steel belts within.
Fielding takes a thoughtful sip of the vanilla porter and recounts the dangers of shooting in the remote desert under these conditions.


“There were factors to keep in mind during this shoot. Things you wouldn’t normally encounter on a photo shoot. You had to watch your step because this is rattlesnake area. At any point, you could put your foot down on a rattlesnake using a rock for shade. The local guide had four of them in the freezer back at the old miner house.”


“Then there was the “Teddy Bear”, doesn’t that sound harmless? — cholla cactus that was all over the place. Back your butt into one of these suckers and it means a long wait for the ambulance to take you at least an hour to the hospital. These nasty things have barbed hooks that don’t let go, and they are designed to break off on anything that touches them.”


“Of course there was the danger of heat stroke or heat exhaustion. I had to pace myself. Wearing a broad hat, sunscreen, full length clothing. Under 115 degree heat one can only work out in the sun for about 20 minutes before being totally exhausted and having to seek shelter with plenty of cold beverages.”


“In this heat you don’t even sweat. It just sort of evaporates immediately” he says about photographing in 115 degree desert heat.
I ask Fielding how his equipment held up under these conditions.


“Well, I was using a Canon EOS 6D that I’ve used for a long time. It had been in freezing cold weather in New Hampshire, Vermont and even Iceland. It worked for me in the pouring rain. It has worked after being in hot car in the summertime. It’s a solid, weather-sealed Canon camera made for abuse, so it worked. At least the battery life wasn’t affected like it is in the cold. But it did get too hot to touch after a while!”

“The problem is camera equipment is all black.” explained Fielding, “I had the Canon EOS 24mm Tilt-shift, my trusty Canon EOS 35 mm f/2 and a Canon EOS 24-70 f/4 as I wanted to try various angles – I wasn’t planning to come back any time soon so I wanted to capture all I could. But the black plastic on this stuff got so hot it was likely to burn your fingers!”

“I wasn’t fiddling around pointing and shooting. I was looking to capture well thought out compositions so I first went around the location with the 35mm handheld to get an idea of some compositions and then went back with the 24mm Tilt-shift and a sturdy tripod.”

“The Canon 24 millimeter Tilt-shift the tripod gave me the ability to shoot seven exposure HDR images and combine them later like with this shot of the old gas station.”

“I also was able to use the shift function to create highly detailed panoramic like this one of the old International Harvester Metro Van.
It took three overlapping shots at close range to get this final image which shows every inch of the weathered old car especially when printed to it’s max at 48 x 48 inches.”

Fielding’s photographs from the American Southwest can be found at https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/southwest

Trouble in San Diego

April 2nd, 2019

Trouble in San Diego


Above: Stairs leading to the Beach Trail at Torrey Pines State Park - the next day. Prints available - https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/featured/beach-trail-torrey-pines-state-park-edward-fielding.html





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A couple months ago I was in the San Diego, California area. My wife had a conference to attend in La Jolla so I tagged alone and traveled around the area creating photographs.





One day I decided to explore Torrey Pines State Park. It was a warm February day, a quite balmy 60 degrees which felt amazing having just left the fridge Northeast that covered in snow and ice.





I was enjoying myself hiking the sandy trails and taking in the beautiful scenery. Looking down from the cliff at the dolphins and seals playing in the water and enjoying some sunshine.





I wasn't taking many photos as the sun was high in the sky and the cloudless sky was producing a lot of harsh shadows. Instead I shot some time-lapse video on my GoPro Hero 7 and simply enjoyed the fact that I was outside in the middle of winter with only a t-shirt.





I made my way down the cliff to the beach trail. The beach trail is a direct return trip back to the parking lot along the water and underneath the tall cliffs. I only went about a few yards before having second thoughts.





It was high tide and the waves were coming up close to the edge of the cliffs leaving only a few feet of dry yet slipping rocks. I saw a guy coming around the bend.





"Is it passable ahead?" I asked.





The guy said "How new are those shoes?" looking down at my new sneakers I bought for the trip.





He said his wife volunteers at the local hospital and after he drops her off he comes over to Torry Pines State Park to walk and to pick up trash. He had a bag of water bottles, hats and wrappers tied to his belt.





Looking at his wet feet and wet trousers, I decided not to risk going further with my camera bag.





Heading back to the stairs near the cliff I came upon a kind of comical scene. A young guy was struggling with a spindly travel tripod trying to get it to stay still in the wet sand.





The big waves were rolling up the beach and undermining one of the tripod legs. As soon as he adjusted the tripod, the wave would roll back to the ocean, the sand would dry and the tripod would settle into another cockeye position.





At this point it was high noon. The sun was beating down creating the worst light of the day.





"Oh shoot" he muttered.





His wife looked on helplessly from up on a large rock above the water, clutching his camera bag.





"I forgot the filter" he cursed to himself as he struggled to attach his large Canon camera and red L lined lens to the tripod plate. At this point the tripod looked like it would topple into the surf at any moment.





I got the impression that there was some shot he saw on Instagram that he had traveled all this way to capture. Seems "the shot" must have included a long exposure which would require a heavy duty ND or Neutral Density filter of at least six stops in this full sun.





Since the tide kept coming in, I decided to high tail it up the stair case before the entire beach disappeared. Watching from my vantage point I watched the scene unfold below.





Sure enough, the camera was set on the small skinny tripod, the shutter was pushed and then a giant wave rolled in an knocked the whole thing into sand.


Art for Art vs. Art for Decor

April 9th, 2018

Art for Art vs. Art for Decor

This past weekend my wife and I attended the silent auction at a local arts center. I teach kids robotics there and my wife is on the board. Our jobs for the night were to mingle around with the patrons and engage in conversations about the work for sale.

It struck me that there were several great pieces that were great art but not getting any bids. They have meaningful things to say but perhaps were not considered something someone would want to look at everyday in their living room.

For example I was talking with another board member about one of the photographs. I was this perfectly composed image of a double wide trailer split in half due to flooding. I saw all kinds of storytelling and ideas in work - defeat, forces of nature, folly of man etc. I comment that is was something I'd stop and photograph if I saw it. It got no bids and was kind of chuckled at as people said they couldn't image hanging it on their wall, too depressing. All they saw was a run down trailer, the kind they whiz by all the time in this neck of the woods.

The board member even told me I should check out a certain road near his lake house if I'm interested in seeing such run down trailers to photograph. In other words, he just didn't see what this photographer and I saw. You can't just find subjects like this that easy. I guess it takes another photographer to see the value as it got no bids during the evening.

Meanwhile something like an abstract would, gather a ton of bids. We even bid on a won a few small abstract prints.

I guess it just goes to show that not all art is bound for the living room. Some of it is created for a higher calling and is probably more appropriate for a book or museum. It's also hard to judge a single image on its own. If this image was part of a larger theme, like you see in a book or a one person art show, perhaps it would get more respect.

Signs of Our Past exhibit celebrates vintage neon signs

February 27th, 2018

Signs of Our Past exhibit celebrates vintage neon signs

SIGNS OF OUR PAST – In a new fine art photography show, visual artist Edward M. Fielding explores to old neon signs from the old American west.

SIGNS OF OUR PAST

Get the Farmhouse Look with Retro Farm Country Decor

February 26th, 2018

Get the Farmhouse Look with Retro Farm Country Decor

Farmhouse Decor


Get the farmhouse look with this artwork from fine art photographer and designer Edward M. Fielding.



Farmhouse pieces have a casual and unfussy style that makes a home feel inviting and comfortable, while modern design features simple curves and straight lines that delight the eye.  The wall art can have modern references to farm life as well as a retro vintage vibe.  Old tractors, farm signs hawking eggs, milk, cheese, bacon, vegetables and other down on the farm products.



Shabby chic (/ˈʃæb.iˈʃiːk/) is a form of interior design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their appearance of age and signs of wear and tear or where new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique. At the same time, a soft, opulent, yet cottage-style decor, often with an affected feel is emphasized to differentiate it from genuine period decor. Old signs and retro artifacts look great with this style.



Any of the art and photographs in the FARM LIFE collection can be purchased as prints to frame on your own or as ready to hang wall art in the matting and frames you choose from simple modern looks to rustic barn wood frames. Or go frame-less with canvas prints, metal prints, or acrylic prints.

How I achieved 900 Followers on Fine Art America

February 26th, 2018

How I achieved 900 Followers on Fine Art America

Hundreds of Followers See My Artwork


My portfolio on Fine Art America and Pixels recently reached a milestone of 900 followers.  To earn hundreds of followers attention among the hundreds of thousands of artists on Fine Art America and its flagship site Pixels and to be found among the millions of images in the sites database required years of consistent work and work that catches people's attention.




My Current Online Portfolio Stats

  • Joined:  2011

  • Followers: 904

  • Visitors: 2,325,927

  • Artwork sales: 1702


How To Get Hundreds of Followers to Your Artwork


Since joining Fine Art America and Pixels back in 2011 with 0 photographs for sale and 0 followers, I steadily build up my portfolio over these past seven years as well as gained followers.  Since the beginning my portfolio greatly expanded, my work got better, my equipment got better, my skills got got better and my offerings expanded to include new locations such as Hawaii, Iceland as well as more photographs from around New England especially the back roads of Vermont and New Hampshire.



I've also expanded my marketing and networking to reach more people and potential buyers with my artwork and fine art photography as well as giving back to the community by producing how to and tip videos and blog articles.

During these past few years, I started and built bodies of work around specific subjects such as my vintage tractor series and my famous series of dog photography.

My collection of vintage cars caught in their native environment continues to grow as I seek out classic old cars to photograph around New England.



As you can see, it is all about creating great photographs and artwork and then building a community around your work.  Segmenting your portfolio into interest groups and then finding those communities to support your efforts.

If you have dog photographs, find dog lovers.  If you have old car photographs, find car enthusiasts.

Free Photography Resources

February 26th, 2018

Free Photography Resources

Free photography resources including free photography guides, free photography courses, free photography classes, free photography tips and more to help you improve your photography skills, get better pictures and have more fun with your photography.

Photography 101 Series of Free information About Your Camera and Photography


Photography 101: ISO - Understanding how your camera's sensor reacts to light.  https://spark.adobe.com/page/L4Gko3TgTnAP7/


Photography 101: ISO

Photography 101: Understanding Aperture - https://spark.adobe.com/page/IxjossQAFF5TB/

Photography 101: Understanding Aperture

Photography 101: Understanding Shutter Speed https://spark.adobe.com/page/6nYe2mxkU0wDY/
Photography 101: Shutter Speed

Advanced Photography Subjects


Still Life Fine Art Photography - https://spark.adobe.com/page/iD0TO9dAuNEdJ/

Still Life Fine Art Photography

Thoughts on the Challenges of Black and White Photography - https://spark.adobe.com/page/YLAhqcBv0VSsC/

The Black and White Challenge

11 Examples of Surreal Photography

February 4th, 2018

11 Examples of Surreal Photography

Taking a look at some recent surreal imagery from the portfolio of Edward Fielding, some of the most biazarre and unreal photographic works. Surreal means have the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream. It is a very creative style of photography as you have to have a good sense of vision and creativity to create things others wouldn’t normally see.

Enjoy these 11 examples of surreal photography and see more in the collection at: https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/surreal

Photographing Fog

January 26th, 2018

Photographing Fog

Deep, thick fog is an exciting weather event to photograph. Fog reduces contrast, mutes colors, eliminates backgrounds and puts everything in a mysterious, atmospheric, even lighting.

When we lived on Mount Desert Island Maine next to Acadia National Park, fog was an almost daily fact of life. You’d get reports from friends about one side of the island being fogged in while the other side was sunny. Often people on summer vacation would travel along a road that is right next to Somes Sound or the ocean daily not even realizing that it had an incredible ocean view on sunny days.

Read the rest of the article here - http://www.dogfordstudios.com/photographing-in-the-fog/

Better Photography with a Tripod

January 23rd, 2018

Better Photography with a Tripod

Tripods slow you down, help you compose, allow you to use lower ISO, smaller aperture, slower shutter speeds and shoot in less light than you can hand held. Tripods also allow for magic tricks such as blurring motion. Follow the link to learn more - http://www.dogfordstudios.com/blurry-photos-get-tripod/

Bob Ross Painting for sals

January 22nd, 2018

Bob Ross Painting for sals

bob ross painting for sale?

This is weird or a bad reflection of how well search engine ranking company like Alexa computes the stats on various web site’s traffic. According to Alexa the top search engine search term used to send people to Fineartamerica.com is “fine art america” at 4.84%. That’s fine but the second term is…wait for it…bob ross painting for sale with 2.61%.

The third most popular search term that sends people to Fine Art America is abstract painting at 1.65% and then in fourth more Bob Ross!

A full 1.06 head to Fine Art America after searching for “bob ross original painting”!

Really, Bob Ross is that popular? Hasn’t that guy been off PBS for years? Didn’t he die ten years ago? The guy was kind of known for…well, let’s say… amateurish, hobbyist kind of paintings. Right?

More to the story here: http://www.dogfordstudios.com/bob-ross-painting-for-sale/

How to choose between Canvas and Framed Prints

December 6th, 2017

How to choose between Canvas and Framed Prints

We offer a wide variety to ways you can display artwork purchased from www.edwardfielding.com. Framed and matted prints in hundreds of different frame choices, canvas prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, wood prints and prints rolled in a tube for framing locally. Which format is right for your decor?

Read more at: http://www.dogfordstudios.com/choose-canvas-framed-prints/

New series - Composition in Photography

September 27th, 2017

New series - Composition in Photography

Learn Composition in Photography – More than any new camera purchase, learning to compose interesting and compelling photographs is a far better way to improve your photography.

Composition isn’t a set of rules, requirements or standards, composition is the arrangement of the elements in the picture to a pleasing result, and although any “rules” are made to be broken, you need to know what makes a picture visually pleasing before you can experiment with new ideas....

more at: http://www.dogfordstudios.com/composition-in-photography-introduction/

Christmas card ideas

September 27th, 2017

Christmas card ideas

Hundreds of Christmas card idea and images for your custom and unique Christmas cards this year. Don't send mass produced cards, send something new and different - https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/christmas+cards

Christmas Down on the Farm

September 27th, 2017

Christmas Down on the Farm

Great Christmas card featuring a vintage tractor and Christmas gift in the snow. Fine art photography by Edward M. Fielding.

Time to order the Christmas Cards

September 26th, 2017

Time to order the Christmas Cards

Here in New Hampshire we are still experiencing record heat and humidity for what should be that crisp and brisk start of Autumn. But even though it feels like July outside, time is still marching toward Christmas at a steady pace.

Christmas Cards are one of those things you don't want to put off as it's one of the easiest seasonal tasks to get ahead - order Christmas cards early and start getting them addressed and written now and it is on more thing you don't have to do during the busy Christmas season with all of those Ugly Sweater parties to attend.

Seems this year people are tending to procrastinate more than last year. Last year I started selling boxes of Christmas cards in July. This year I haven't seen any Christmas card sales yet. Me thinks there will be a last minute rush if people don't get a handle on their card orders early.

Christmas cards can be ordered by the box at a great savings. Try the link below for some suggestions of wintery scenes from Vermont, New Hampshire and fun Santa Dog images - https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/christmas+cards

The Tree of Zen

September 26th, 2017

The Tree of Zen

The Tree of Zen came about during a hunt for great positions to capture the Valley Railroad train runs down in Essex, CT. That summer I was helping my parents clean out their house for a final move down to Florida. They had been snowbirding between Fort Myers, Florida and Westbrook, CT for a number of years but now medical conditions made it too difficult to make the move anymore.

It was kind of a sad experience and I needed to get out for a break. I also knew it would be one of the last chances I'd have for an extended period of time in the beautiful Connecticut River Valley area.

Tracing the route of the railroad on satellite images, I discovered Pratt Cove which is maintained by the Nature Conservancy. The tourist steam train runs right by Pratt Cove three times a day and there is a parking spot and this old boat launch dock that is beautifully twisted from the ravages of winter. Waiting for the train to pass, I noticed this great composition of the twisted dock point out towards the trees on the far shore.

Processing in black and white allow me to highlight the one lighter tree on the far shore as a destination perhaps for anyone leaving the dock. I have a large metal print of this image in my living room and it looks amazing.

Cowboy Under the Moonlight

September 26th, 2017

Cowboy Under the Moonlight

Wild west and cowboy inspired photography and artwork including cowboys riding the range, old ghost towns, western landscapes and more.

Limited time promotion Classic Corvette Canvas Print

November 9th, 2014

Classic Corvette Canvas Print by Edward Fielding - Purchase a 10.00" x 8.00" stretched canvas print of Edward Fielding's Classic Corvette for the promotional price of $50.

Limited to the first 10 buyers, expires in five days.

corvette Photography Prints

Free Photography Magazine

November 9th, 2014

Free to read online or download! The latest issue of Arcangel Magazine featuring the artwork of fine art photographer Edward M. Fielding.

http://www.joomag.com/en/newsstand/arcangel-photographer-presentations-edward-fielding/0047799001410258471

All images the magazine are available for purchase as art prints from Fine Art America and can be licensed for use in publications, music CDs or book covers via Arcangel.

Photography Tips Shooting Vintage Cars

April 24th, 2014

Photography Tips Shooting Vintage Cars

I love old cars. Beautifully restored or rusting junkers, I never miss the opportunity to capture a beautiful old vintage car. Either as a nostalgic throwback to a yesterday that I was too young to remember (except in the movies or TV show) or simply as documenting beautiful textures of pitted metal, cracked rubber and rust my camera and I are there!

1. Watch out for reflections -The shiny waxed finishes on a restored vintage car can be a nightmare to photograph because of all the reflections. Often the photographer ends up in the shot! Time to be creative with angles as well as being on the look out for distracting elements such as reflections.

2. Get in close for details Fins, wheels, emblems, interiors, engines there are all kinds of details that can be captured on a beautiful old car. Besides typically at at car show its hard to get with all of the people milling around.

3. Ask for permission At car shows you might notice that the car owners get a bit nervous when you approach their car. Basically this is their baby and they spend a lot of time polishing and buffing these beauties. What they really dont want to see is someone marring the finish with fingerprints or horror of all horrors, scratching the finish with a belt buckle. Be friendly to the owners and chat them up a bit. Gain their trust and them perhaps theyll be more inclined move the for sale sign or take out their lunch from the back seat so you can get a great photograph.

More of this article at: http://edwardfielding.me/2014/04/23/photography-tips-shooting-vintage-cars/

The Last Resort Fine Art Photographs of Maui Hawaii has been released

January 30th, 2014

I just release my small book of black and white fine art photographs of Maui Hawaii as a book and as an ebook for the iPad. All images from this book are available to purchase as prints via Fine Art America -http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/edward-fielding.html?tab=artworkgalleries&artworkgalleryid=382174

I was born in Hawaii but didn't get a chance to return for 45 years. I wondered if this island of paradise would live up to the hype from images of Hawaii 5-0 and the Brady Bunch Go To Hawaii.

The Last Resort - photographs of Maui

January 28th, 2014

The Last Resort - photographs of Maui

I'm currently working on my second book of photographs to be released soon. "The Last Resort" will contain black and white photographs of Maui, Hawaii by Hawaiian born photographer Edward M. Fielding and is inspired by the Eagle's song "The Last Resort".

Maple Sugaring Season

January 10th, 2014

Maple Sugaring Season

NEW - Four images from this series will be shown at the Whitney Center for the Arts in the March 2013 Photography Show.

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I've just uploaded a small series of images taken around New Hampshire and Vermont during maple sugaring season. The images depict the traditional methods of gathering raw maple tree sap and boiling it down into sweet liquid gold. The maple sugaring season runs at the end of winter, beginning of spring when the nights are still cold but the days begin to warm and the trees start to wake from their hibernation.

Maple syrup is an all natural product and buying the real stuff contributes to a traditional way of life that has supported generations of farmers in rural areas. Don't by the mass produced sugar water produced by the national chains! Buy the real stuff! Each image in the series has information about the process, please stop by and enjoy the series! Thanks, Ed

http://edward-fielding.artistwebsites.com/art/all/maple+sugaring+in+new+england/all

Cover Bridges of New Hampshire and Vermont

November 2nd, 2013

Anyone remember a little book called "The Bridges of Madison County"? Never read the book but I saw the romance movie by the same name with Clint Eastwood as the Life Magazine photographer sent out to Madison.

As photographer Robert Kincaid, Clint wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson, for four days in the 1960s and while hubby and the kids are off at the Illinois state fair, Meryl Streep and Clint make the most of the old claw foot tub if I remember the movie correctly.

Well I've been acting a bit like a modern day Kincaid lately. Minus the asking lonely, horny farm wives for directions of course. I mean I've been driving all over the New Hampshire and Vermont area, crawling down steep banks and setting up tripods on slippery rocks in order to capture the romantic covered bridges that we have in abundance in these here parts.

Yup, in this neck of the woods - the Upper Valley - we have a bunch of classic wooden bridges. Some original and some restored after nearly being lost in Tropical Storm Irene.

At one time there were over 10,000 covered bridges in the United States, and today 54 of the remaining 750 are located in New Hampshire. Located throughout the state, each bridge is unique to its town and design. Because of their beauty and the history behind them, covered bridges became the first type of historic structures specifically protected by state law in New Hampshire.

Vermont has the highest concentration of covered bridges at an astonishing 114 for such a small state. Why covered bridges?

Wooden bridges with exposed superstructures are vulnerable to rot. Covering and roofing them protects them from the weather, and so they last longer.

In one sense, that just puts off the question. Why so many wooden bridges? And why in the U. S. Northeast?

In eighteen hundred, the northeastern United States was a country in need of bridges. It is a fairly narrow coastal plain cut by many short rivers and creeks. In the "tidewater" region, these little streams and the great estuaries such as the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays had been highways and lifelines. But now the population was surging beyond the tidewater region, drawn both by the growth of agriculture and the call of water-powered industrialization. Inland farmers needed overland transport, and that meant fords or bridges. But the water-powered mills sought out the very places where the streams could not be forded -- the falls and rapids -- and they too needed transportation.

So bridges were needed. The American northeast was a forest country: wood was a plentiful building material, especially in the remote areas where the smaller bridges were needed. And the climate favored wooden construction. The climate of the region is harsh, by European standards -- hot in the summer and icey in the winter, with a freeze-thaw cycle that would overturn stone pavings. But this sort of climate is less destructive of wood than the mild, moist climate of Britain (or Oregon). So wooden bridges there would be.

The young United States had one other necessary ingredient in plenty: ingenuity. Lewis Wernwag, Theodore Burr, Menander Wood and the rest were just as essential as the material and the need. Without them, there would be no historic covered bridges.

As we enjoy our heritage, we honor the memory of those agile minds who created it.

Vintage Television Studio Camera

November 27th, 2012

I love old things. Like this old television studio camera for example. Look at the size of this beast! They just don't make them like they used to. This example of 1950s technology came out of the John F. Kennedy library in Boston, MA. The original shot was taken in terrible museum lighting. In order to get a workable image I painstakenly cut out the television camera with Abobe Photoshop and then massaged the image in Topaz Labs using some High Dynamic Range (HDR) effects. The result is kind of hyper real, almost illustration-like but I like how it brought out all the details in this old workhorse of a 1950s television studio.

Fur - an imagined life of Diane Arbus

November 27th, 2012

If you're looking for a good movie with a photography theme check out Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (also known simply as Fur). I've had this film on my Netflix movie "q" for years but never got around to seeing it until now.

Fur is a 2006 film starring Nicole Kidman as iconic American photographer Diane Arbus, who was known for her strange, disturbing images and the always wonderful Robert Downey, Jr. as a neighbor who leads Arbus out of her straight laced world into the world of strange, bizarre, forbidden people.

I've always been a big fan of Arbus's square format, black and white images of midgest, circus perormers, nudiest and mental patients in Halloween masks and have read Patricia Bosworth's biography on Diane Arbus so I have a good idea of the real life work and storyline of Diane Arbus. The fictional movie uses the real story but embellishes the events and characters that formed Arbus's journy towards the strange.

The movie is gripping and full of mystery, from its startling opening showing a nervous Arbus visiting a nudist colony to the scenes of her discovering a full completment of freak show characters living in the neighborhood.

For someone growing up in a wealthy, protected, perfect world the desire for the damaged, torn, imperfect lead her on a journey with her photography of the under belly of society and in the end it claimed her life as she could not merge the world she was groomed to live and the life she desired to live.


This movie was interesting with all of its vintage photography equipment and strange characters but it left me yearning for a true documentary about Diane Arbus.

Behind the scenes look at how Fine Art America works

November 15th, 2012

Behind the scenes look at how Fine Art America works

Sean Broihier: I'm the only programmer, and built the entire business. The only people full time on Fine Art America are myself and two women who do customer service and tech support for me via phone and email. That's three of us full time on the payroll. In addition, we outsource the actual production of prints to companies around the U.S. For example, we have a company in North Carolina that does framed prints and stretch canvasas for us, and in Atlanta we have greeting cards, and a company in Hawthorne which is doing our acrylic prints. I worked for ten years as an engineer, and my job was factory automation, which is designing automated machinery to assembly cars, food, beverages, packaging, pharmaceutical packaging, and so on. I am obsessed with automation. I built this business to be fully automated. I built the website, so that it's all do-it-yourself. Artists can control all the content, set the prices, and it's all fully automated with no need for a staff to interact with. The whole order process is fully automated. We process credit cards or PayPal, and instantly transmit orders to fulfillment centers around the U.S. Their staff takes care of the order, and it ships in two or three days, and it's all fully integrated back into our system which ships, tracks the information, and sends out an email confirmation to the buyer that their order has shipped, and so on and so on.

Everything in a transaction, from start to finish, is fully automated. Thirty days later, the payment is all fully automated to the artists. Half of our artists receive their payments via PayPal, and at a click of the button on my end, thousands and thousands of PayPal payments are sent out. The other half is paid via business check, and we mail them out using a checkwriting service, where with a click of a button we send out thousands of checks. The whole thing, start to finish, is fully automated. The beautiful part of that it allows us to do X dollars of sales currently, and we could ramp to 20X tomorrow and we wouldn't have to bring anyone else onto staff. Our fulfillment can handle any volume sent through them.

Finding Success on Fine Art America

November 15th, 2012

Finding Success on Fine Art America

Success on Fine Art America is up to you! FAA just provides the fulfillment.

Sramana: What accounts for the success of some artists and the lack of success of others on FineArtAmerica?

Sean Broihier: There is a disproportionate distribution of wealth because we do not have a huge bulk of buyers relative to artists. There are some artists who are making an enormous amount of money and some who are making relatively little money. It all comes down to how the artists take advantage of the tools we give them and how they market themselves. The artists who are making $5,000 to $10,000 a month are putting in the required time and energy to generate their own sales. They are doing email campaigns, they are going to art fairs, making TV appearances, and attending trade shows. We are just doing fulfillment orders for those types of artists.

We are a marketplace that gives you tools to be successful. With so many artists on the site, we cannot provide them all with individualized sales and marketing attention. All we can do is give them tools to help them be successful. People who sit around and take the wait-and-see approach will have one or two sales a year. As for anything in life, you will not be successful unless you put effort into it.

Smile

November 1st, 2012

Smile

There is something about a smile that is contagious, isn't there? Humans must be programmed to read a friendly smile and react positively. People don't seem to smile enough these days. Too much anger around. But you'd be surprised how many tough masks can be melted away with a little smile.

There are plenty of great sayings revolving around the smiles:

- "Smile and the whole world

You haven't lost your smile at all, it's right under your nose. You just forgot it was there.

If you see a friend without a smile; give him one of yours.

Smile - It's the second best thing you can do with your lips.

Smile, even if it's a sad smile, because sadder than a sad smile is the sadness of not knowing how to smile.

"It is almost impossible to smile on the outside without feeling better on the inside.

I couldn't help being attracted to the nice smiling man on this vintage tobacco box package. He must be a tobacco farmer beaming with pride as he puffs away on his pipe full of tobacco that he grew on his own farm. The complete satisfaction of a hard job well done and the satisfaction of sitting back and enjoying the fruits of your labors.

I find myself drawn in to some dark themes so it was refreshing to work on this piece that will hopefully bring a smile to everyone who sees it. I think it would be perfect to place by a door way so that each morning you could leave the house with a big smile on your face and hopefully come back at the end of the day with the same smile, while along the journey spreading the cheer.

Smile - it makes people wonder what you are up to!

Artwork - Smile by Edward M. Fielding




Art Prints

Anyone remember the Pentax K1000?

November 1st, 2012

Back in the mid-80s when I took a high school photography course, the school's camera stable was filled with Pentax K1000s. These were very basic cameras with no bells and whistles. They were toughly constructed out of heavy metal, leather and glass. They were ugly and not all that exciting but for learning the basics of black and white photography they were great for teaching photography. For schools they were perfect because they were inexpensive, tough and easy to operate.

Everything on this basic 35mm film camera was manual - manual film advance, manual shutter speed, manual focus - nothing automatic here.

The only thing electronic in these cameras was the light meter. The light meter was a simple needle that went up and down as you adjusted the shutter speed or aperture. But the camera itself didn't have any intelligence so it was up to the operator to change the shutter speed and/or aperture to get the needle to line up in the proper exposure setting.

In so many ways it was the perfect way to start learning photography, capturing light on film with the least amount of distractions between the photographer's vision and the subject.



Art Prints

Why Some Choose Dogs over getting married

November 1st, 2012

Why Some Choose Dogs over getting married

Someone sent me this lately...

1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.
2. Dogs don't notice if you call them by another
dog's' name.
3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the
floor.
4. A dog's parents never visit.
5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.
6. Dogs find you amusing when you're drunk.
7. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.
8. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, "If I died, would you get another dog?"
9. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.
10. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.
11. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don't get mad. They just think it's interesting.
12. If a dog leaves, it won't take half of your stuff.



Art Prints

Thoughts on Photographing Barns in Vermont

November 1st, 2012

Vanishing Vermont Historic Barns

The estimated number of historic Vermont barns is 12,000 or so but nearly 1,000 of these barns are lost each decade. Some say four historic Vermont barns collapse every week. Then there are those lost to fire, vandals, development or simple neglect.

Photographing Vermont Historic Barns - Challenges

Photographing classic barns in Vermont presents a number of challenges to the photographer:

Finding Them - There are some online guides to famous spots around the state where you can stand tripod to tripod with fellow photography buffs, otherwise you need to drive around and hope you come upon one. My favorite trick it to get lost and let my GPS lead me home, where hopefully I come across a hidden gem. More on this later.

Parking - I prefer to walk when I photograph so I can take in details but when one is barn hunting this is difficult since farmland is not necessarily compact! Vermont roads, especially those in rural areas, are often compacted gravel with ditches on either side. They typically have no shoulder at all so it can be extremely hard to find a place to park.

Things that can hurt you - You have to be careful when setting up your shot. Bulls with horns, barbed wire, electric fences, old well holes, steep ditches, poison ivy, ticks can all ruin your day.

Weather - New England weather can be tricky. Overcast days are nearly the norm in the fall seasons when one most wants to be out photographing the autumn foliage. Mornings can be foggy and in the mountains, the morning sun can be late raising and quickly setting.

Historic Vermont barns come in a variety of flavors. Whitewashed, stained, weathered gray and my favorite "bright barn red". The classic bright red barn stands out nicely against fields of green or snow covered fields.

Why are barns red? According to Grit Magazine:

Early 18th-century bridges and barns went unpainted. The right wood in the right place, it was discovered, needed no paint. Even houses in the earliest settlements were not painted. To paint the barn would have been viewed not only as extravagant, but vulgar and showy.
However, by the late 1700s, the art of wood seasoning gave way to the art of artificial preservation. Virginia farmers were the first to become paint-conscious. In Pennsylvania, the Dutch settlements latched on to the custom of red bricks, red barns, red geraniums, even reddish-brown cows. When a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer added big ornamental designs to barns, just for luck, he was accused of designing a hex sign to frighten the devil. Many old-timers sneered at their neighbors newly painted barns and accused them of copying those superstitious Germans of Pennsylvania.
But color caught on. Inasmuch as ready-made paint was not available, a farmer mixed his own. He discovered that skimmed milk, lime and red iron oxide made a plastic-like coating that hardened quickly and lasted for years. Occasionally, it hardened too well and peeled off in sheets. Linseed oil was subsequently added to the recipe to provide the necessary soaking quality. Thus American barn red was born. It came into being through function and utility, rather than decor or superstition. It was soon discovered that the red barn color was warmer in winter since it absorbed the suns rays.

Read more: http://www.grit.com/Community/Why-Are-Barns-Red.aspx?page=2#ixzz2AFnzpHJe

Back to Photographing Vermont Barns

Driving around the back road of Vermont, be sure to have a GPS unit, a good map, food, water, a spare tire, a cell phone etc. I'm not kidding! A GPS unit will take you on the most unimaginable back roads. The road system in Vermont is significantly rural with unpaved secondary roads the norm.

Once I followed the sweet voice of my GPS unit up a mountain, through a heavily wooded forest on a dirt road with ditches and either side and only enough room for a single car. For five miles I couldn't turn around and prayed that no one started coming in the other direction. Finally to my relief, I popped out in downtown Woodstock. Vermont is also the most unpopulated state in the country so you can't always count on a fellow human being to help you out if you get into trouble and there is spotty cell phone coverage so be prepared for anything!

Tips for Photographing Vermont Barns

The Magic Hour - There is a special time of day called the Magic Hour, also known as the Golden Hour, when the angle of light is low and the sun gives off a warm glow. It occurs one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset.

Bring an assortment of lens - wide angle for capturing the whole scene and a telephoto for zooming in on details.

Tripod - You may feel that fast shutter speeds take away the need for a tripods but a tripod will allow you to use smaller apertures for deep depth of field in landscapes and I find a tripod helps to slow the process down so you can concentrate composition. Plus if its freezing cold your shaking won't blur the picture!

Polarizing filter - Early on in my landscape photos I was getting dull colors. It drove me crazy when I got back to the computer and the photos were kind of washed out. A polarizing filter will help combat haze that dulls colors. Its like sunglasses for your camera.
Copyright by Edward Fielding
Cameras used Panasonic G2 & G3 Micro Four Thirds bodies and lens.



Art Prints

The Old Rusty Truck

November 1st, 2012


Art Prints


What is it with artists and old stuff? I don't know a photographer who would pass up an old rusty truck or rotting barn. Its the texture of the wood, of the rusting metal and the sense of nostigia for yesteryear I suppose.

Excerpt of a poem by Donnie / Sinbad the Sailor Man

"I came home broken and busted up
I damned that old pickup truck

To hell and back with every step I took
I lost a another battle with it
At the worst of times
It sits sunning itself down the road
And it refuses to start again on this day..."

Teaching Kids

June 16th, 2011

Teaching Kids

I'll be doing three more robotics summer camps this summer at the AVA Gallery in Lebanon, NH. These camps use the AVA's media lab and have been very popular among middle school kids (mostly boys) in the Upper Valley area of Vermont and New Hampshire. I use Lego Mindstorms NXT robots and my own special challenges. The kids learn to apply logical reasoning to solve problems as well as three dimensional hands on building that is so important in this increasingly flat world of ours.

In the fall I'm doing a special Girls Only version to help the technology minded girls learn robotics and logic without those smelly boys around.

My Relationship with Photography

June 16th, 2011

My Relationship with Photography

I've had a long personal history with photography but recently I think I've finally come to understand it. The purchase of a new quality digital camera has made me believe I could finally have some mastery over the craft of capturing light. My new digital camera has given me so many controls over how an image is captured compared to my past forays with 35 mm, 4 x 5 view cameras and alternative processes.

I see it as a long journey of discovery, trial and error, false starts and absolute stops. College interrupted any arts development by interjecting getting a "real job" as the main focus of my life. I studied business but when I had a chance I'd steal off to the library and flip through the large collection of photography books. I studied all the masters, flipping page by page and especially liked Duane Micheals and William Wegman, I guess I liked the humor. I subscribed to Aperture and went to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston to see the Mapplethorpe exhibit.

Then work, getting a pay check and paying off student loans became a priority. A time of unemployment found me developing film in our newlywed apartment in Lowell, MA. After sending off resumes I'd clean out the closet and set up my darkroom and then later put everything away before my wife came home from work. Later I bought a vintage press camera off the AOL bulletin boards, in this early version of Ebay style trading. I lugged this heavy camera and wooden tripod around developing one or two images in a photography session. My naturally disorganized nature really was not conclusive trying to be the next Ansel Adams.

First came marriage then came a cradle and my focus was on a video camera and point and shoot cameras as well as the implosion of the computer magazine market and next the Dot Com bubble - I was popped out of both of these bubbles in a short amount of time and then 911 happened. It seemed like a good time to get away from civilizations so we headed up to an island off the coast of Maine. It would seem that this beautiful landscape would have sparked my creative juices but there was so much to do, volunteering at school, running my website (www.fishboy.com) and just trying to survive in this strange new land. I suppose all of this time allowed my brain to store images, ideas and themes that now I am ready to unleash.

New Collage Series - Pop Icons

June 16th, 2011

New Collage Series - Pop Icons

I've started a new collage series exploring some topics I'm interested in like pop culture, retro futuristic optimism, religion, roadside attractions and adolescence. The themes and images come from the old noggin' topics I often consider and am attracted. The collages are done mostly in Photoshop with original photographs, scans and altered historic images - blended together to create some sort of mind map of the thoughts that have been jumbling around in my head over the past thirty years or so. Some certainly have been suppressed for sure during the more "serious" times in my life but at this moment I am feeling very free to let these images come out of my brain and into the public space.

The collages are generally black and white with a little muted colors splashed for interest. The images evoke a vintage clip art look that reminds one of lazy summer afternoons in the tree house with a stack of comic books.

If it were up to me, I think these images are best displayed in medium sizes - perhaps 8" by 10" and in groups of four or more. They collectively tell a story and are related in someway depending on the viewers memories.

Alien Encounters

June 15th, 2011

Alien Encounters

The first wave arrived without notice. Tiny alien spacecraft that emitted no more sound then the buzzing of a bee. Little naked humanoid like creatures from a distant world sent to observe, study and collect information and samples from the Goldilocks plant. Could this be the salvation for a dieing planet? Would the native species put up any resistance? They had been here before, thousands of years in the past they had built great navigational markers in the deserts, surveying marks made from local stone and positioned into the shapes of circles and pyramids. The early visitors had little time to explore the planet, only enough time to mark the territory for future exploration. But now times had become more desperate and the mission more serious...