Newsletter:
April, 2009
Photograph of the Month
NEWS
April has just flown by! It's been a lot of work, but a great month. I'm glad to have met so many of you at the 5280 Creative Connections Trade Show here in the Denver metro area--what a terrific event! It might be a bit unusual to find a fine artist at a trade show instead of, say, a gallery opening, but I thought it was wonderful to be able to share my prints with you in person, and to have more than 100 prints at hand, instead of the 20 or 30 photos that might have been put up on a gallery wall. I'm looking forward to the next trade show!
I'm also proud to tell you that I had the privilege of shooting for Littleton Meals on Wheels for a second time; this session concentrated on their capable staff, and how the meals themselves are so carefully made in their kitchens. The new photographs will be combined with images we'll make in the near future about how the organization improves the lives of people who otherwise couldn't feed themselves... I'm excited to help out such a worthy endeavor.
Flash Class
This May 9th, I will teach a class on the basics of portable, or "hotshoe-mount" flash at Working With Artists, "Denver's School of Fine Art Photography." WWA's May schedule is on the web here. A more advanced class follows in late June.
Image of Murphey's Drug Store
Image: "Photo of the Month"
Image of Saguaro
Image of Morning Glory
Last month, I described one aspect of an artist’s role: to interpret the truth and share it with you. This month, I’d like to suggest that art can be a call to action.  Does that mean that if you like my flower photos, you have to join the “Tulip Liberation Front”?  Er, no….  Rather, I think that in some cases, art can inspire you to do something—for yourself, and for your community. 
At the very least, that flower photo can inspire you to take a few minutes out of a hectic day to go out into a garden; one of my “City and Highway” shots might persuade you to take that road trip you’d always been thinking of.  I think this ties in with the idea of “truth” from last month—one of the most essential truths is that none of us is here for long, and that we must be sure to make the most of it! 
And then again, though I think art can serve its function just by bringing you something beautiful, now and then we ought to put it to use for something more.  That’s what this month’s photo is—I shot a powwow with the American Indian College Fund in mind, and they will be using this image and others I’ve given them to promote their important efforts to help our Native American population attend college.
Perhaps when people see these photos, they might better appreciate the culture the College Fund is working to support, and volunteer, too (or write a check).  And that will be wonderful.  But here’s another idea: As I’ve teamed up with my local chambers of commerce here in Denver, I’ve been happy to meet many businesses that themselves have given their time or their product in support of causes they believe in.  Frame shops and lawyers. Consultants and caterers. Signage companies.  How about yours? 
If you’re an accountant, for example, maybe the local animal shelter can use your services, or a struggling math student can learn something from you.  I challenge you to follow my “crazy-artist” lead—and that of many businesses, too—and see what you can do to help move your own community forward.
Next month, we’ll have a picture without an agenda—but in the meantime, I hope to hear from some of you, and read the stories of how you’ve been helping….
Zach
 
Fine-art photographer Zachary Singer has had a camera in hand since childhood—more than three decades now. He came to fine-art photography through his experiences in photojournalism: While shooting for Greenpeace and other environmental groups, as well as Native American tribes in the Southwest, Zach learned to quickly capture the essence of his subjects.
Zach has written dozens of articles on photography for magazines such as Outdoor Photographer, PCPhoto, and Digital Photo Pro, and has taught photography at California’s Santa Monica College. When time permits, he works with a select group of commercial clients.