2022 – An Interesting Year

The Flow of Light Brushes the Shadow – copyright Douglas Stockdale

At the end of the year, I think it is both a healthy and great way to end one year and indirectly prepare for the next with a recap of the year’s accomplishments. So a really quick overview of what has happened in 2022, both the good and the one item that was not so good, which nevertheless had a great outcome. So here’s my rundown;

At the top of my list for 2022 is the publication of my artist book The Flow of Light Brushes the Shadow by far and away the major accomplishment for the year.

The Limited Edition book + print went into three public collections, San Telmo Museo (Spain), San Diego State University’s Library Special Collections, and University of Pittsburgh‘s Frick Fine Arts Library as well as numerous private collections (Limited Edition is now Sold Out), while the regular trade edition of this artist book is still for sale (see below) and almost half of the print run has is gone. Cool!

And I have enjoyed some great press for me and this artist book; Lenscratch (interview by Kassandra Elder), VoyageLA, PhotoBook Journal (review by Rudy Vega), Thinking About Photography (Ann Mitchell, Editor), Conscientious Photography Magazine (Jörg Colberg, Editor), One Twelve (interview by Diane Nicholette Jeon) and Josef Chladek’s Photo book shelf. Nice!

This new artist book was in conjunction with my new imprint, Singular Images Press. What will be interesting for 2023 is to see what else I decide to develop with this imprint. Perhaps publish another of my projects?

I had a wonderful opportunity to curate a photographic exhibition for SouthEast Center of Photography (SEC4P), The Green Environment, encompassing landscapes that deal with the environment; “visually expressing the concept of Green ecology or polices or addressing environment stewardship, such as visualizing the issues related to climate change and environmental concerns to keep the environment green.”

Also in conjunction with SouthEast Center of Photography (SEC4P), I led two sold-out book development workshops and I will lead another in early 2023, which is also already sold-out (see below). If you are interested, they have started another waiting list. Just saying… And I also led a similar virtual book development workshop with Medium Photo and we are looking at possible dates later in 2023.

Last January I was a portfolio reviewer again for Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP) Exposure Weekend, this being the fifth year of reviewing portfolios for this wonderful organization. Similar to curating the SEC4P exhibition and the book workshops, it is always intriguing to spend time with creative artists and photographers.

It was from one of my workshops that I was inspired to rethink some of my landscape photographs as to what might the future look like if we don’t stop the steady advance of global warming, which resulted in my project Anthropogenic Crisis. That in turn resulted in a cover image drawn from this project being featured in What Will You Remember. It was while working on the Anthropogenic Crisis project and discussing it with the Mike Painter at SEC4P that led to being asked to curate an exhibition based on this environment issue (discussed above).

To end on a positive note, the image featured above is a potential cyanotype version (digital faux cyanotype) of one of my photographs from my artist book, The Flow of Light Brushes the Shadow, with the actual book image, a staged self-portrait I made in England, artist book version below. At the end of this year, I started to investigate the cyanotype printing process and I sort of wonder, how this artist book might have turned out if I had experimenting with cyanotypes while this artist book was in development…which is potentially something I will be reconsidering in 2023 as well as other cyanotype subjects as I continue to learn and fine tune this printing process.

Two big personal events this year; my son’s wonderful destination wedding on the coast of Oregon and a health scare that resulted in some much required surgery, which I think I am still in part recovering from. I still have an afterglow from this wedding event and I am really happy to have this surgery behind me.

So not too bad of a year and I am looking forward to what 2023 will bring!

Cheers & make every day an Earth Day

Doug

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 The Flow of Light Brushes the Shadow, an artist book from Singular Images Press, Fall 2022 release, $60.00 (CA sales tax for those residing in the USA) plus shipping expenses. Message me douglas.stockdale.artist@gmail.com or singularimagespress@gmail for shipping details and PayPal invoice.

Note: The Artist Special Edition (book + extra print) is Sold Out. 

Book workshop:

Southeast Center for Photography (SEC4P): Creative PhotoBook workshop, (Sold Out) a virtual event on Zoom; February 25, 26 & March 4 & 5th 2023; from 10am – 1 pm, EST (3 hour session each day, with a week between the weekend sessions to work your book-dummy).