Imagine we are almost through November and in a few short weeks Christmas will be here assuming the Mayans were wrong. Anyway our Organization held a nice event last evening at the Ohnward Fine Arts Theater in Maquoketa, Iowa.
I was asked to take images of the even so I showed up a little before guests were scheduled to arrive to shoot some test shots and get the lighting balanced. If you have never attended a performance at the Fine Art Center you really owe it to yourself to go see this amazing theater.
It was built by volunteer labor, materials and donations. It was the dream of Gary Drew and he raised a lot of money and got a lot of people engaged to build this remarkable facility. It rivals any theater in the region for sound, comfort, and aesthetics. There is also an Art Gallery that is part of the Theater and it is decorated in full Christmas attire. So last night I shot a few random images to capture the feel of the evening.
There were over 600 people in attendance last night to hear a remarkable speaker, Jim Borel with DuPont agriculture and nutrition businesses. His presentation focused on how to feed the world in the coming years. Very interesting.
The more people started coming to the theater the warmer the room got. I don’t like warm rooms so I would duck in and out of the building. It was a nice evening so I didn’t mind standing outside greeting people as they came in.
I know this sounds funny coming from an individual whose career is Human Resources but I don’t like being in a crowd of people making small talk. I’ve always been uncomfortable with that. Once I’ve said “Hi how are you, glad to see you.” I’m stuck (if it is someone I don’t know or don’t know very well.)
I know all the questions to ask and the rules of engagement, I just don’t enjoy it. 🙂
Anyway it was a nice evening. I got a lot of nice pictures of the event and left after the presentation about 7:15 pm.
I had the nicest thing happen yesterday. I went to Rotary (which I’ve been very bad about doing.) Before the speaker began a fellow Rotarian told the group about my website and my photography. He was very complementary of my work and it made me feel wonderful.
I’ve known this gentleman for years but not all that well. So his remarks came as a complete surprise to me. It was very gracious and kind of him to say the things he did. Interesting because I had read a blog yesterday from a world-famous photographer who said that the only one you have to please and impress is yourself.
Don’t try to shoot and create for other (unless of course you’re being paid) but shoot to express your vision of the world. If you please yourself, others will enjoy it as well.
That’s it for today. Enjoy your day and as a great friend of mine often says. Find something amazing today, it’s out there. Be careful because you never know when a guy with a gun is going to walk up behind you and say, “What are you doing?”
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