Pushing Boundaries. Photographic story-telling, Silver & Light by Ian Ruhter

SILVER & LIGHT from Ian Ruhter on Vimeo.

I wanted to share this inspirational and very popular link to Vimeo video: “Silver & Light” by Ian Ruhter. It’s about one mans desire to build, create and share something amazing. It’s an investment in time, talent and money, that’s sure to be worth the effort. Living life beyond our personal comfort-zone is always difficult, but it is “in the doing” of extraordinary projects, such as this, that truly special things happen.

Ian’s work and his video don’t discuss fine art printmaking in the way we usually approach things on the Fidelis Art blog. However, in a special way Ian’s story IS about printmaking, and importantly about telling stories through photography—that’s what I like about it. Photographs whether they are digital or wet-based are often for the benefit of telling a story. Ian demonstrates that a great story can be formed from passion and a desire to push our boundaries. Watch this video to learn about Ian’s journey and the people and places where he is creating his large-format artwork. In his own words,

“This project was created with the same spirit that america was founded on. Our intentions are to connect everyone in america through the lens of this camera and social networking sites. We can’t do this without you. We want to tell your story and show your city or town through photographs of you, and people you know. As we travel around america looking for people and places to shoot you will be able to keep track of where we are going and help us decide where we go next.”

Many of you will relate to the passion that is demonstrated by Ian and his team. I hope this ambitious Silver & Light project will inspire you in your pursuit push some boundaries, take-on new opportunities, and in the words of Seth Godin, “Go make something happen!”.

Join Ian on his journey by Liking his Facebook page. Maybe if we get enough Canadian’s offering support, he’ll come to see us?

Other Fidelis Posts about Creativity and Inspiration

Photographer, Chris Jordan on Creative Mojo and Making a Difference with Your Art

Spotlight on Artist Fred Herzog, “Pioneer of Color Photography”

Creating Art that is Inspirational. How this photograph of Terry Fox changed a nation.

10 Small Things That Will Make Something Big Happen

Facebook Timeline for Visual Artists: 7 Essential Features for Marketing Your Art

The Facebook Fan page continues to be a viable tool for building an audience and engaging with fans of your art. If you haven’t build a Fan Page, now is the time to invest a morning (1-2hrs max.) to get one set-up. If you already have Fan Page you will be excited to learn that FB has added some new features in their re-design and format-change called “Timeline”.

Timeline will be applied to both personal Profiles and Fan pages, and it’s expected to offer increased viewer participation, entertainment value and overall user enjoyment.

This post is a reminder that as of March 30, 2012 FB will automatically change over all sites to fit the new format. Facebook is allowing you to preview what your new Timeline will look like, if you’re happy with the results, you can publish your new Timeline in advance of March 30th.

To help you get started, here’s a list of seven features that are essential for marketing your art. …Read more

Fred Herzog: A Retrospective – Launches Equinox’s new Project Space in Vancouver

On until March 17, 2012

Equinox Project Space – 525 Great Northern Way, Vancouver

Our friend, and one of Vancouver’s most celebrated photographers, Fred Herzog is on exhibit at the new Equinox Project Space in East Vancouver. Since attending Fred’s show at the Vancouver Art Gallery, I have not had the pleasure of seeing so many of his photographs in one place—WOW! This exhibition is a must-see for all Vancouverities, photographers and artists.

Seen here: Alan (left) with Fred (right)—an exciting event for everyone. …Read more

Picks of the Week #2: Must-have tools for building your audience

Links to industry experts talking about the Creative Commons, Pinterest, Tumblr and Google+. Cultivating your community has never been so easy.

Featured in this post is a fantastic video with HDR photographer/artist, Trey Ratcliff (stuckincustoms.com). Trey shares how he successfully uses the Creative Commons to promote and market his work. He also shares his feelings on why “escaping the peer bubble” is necessary for artistic growth.

We’ll also link you to a tutorial for setting-up a Google+ Profile and Page. Plus two very cool applications for the exhibiting and sharing your art: Facebook Timeline and Pinterest.

Social media marketing isn’t for everyone, however, with so many options out there you’re sure to find one that suits your personal style, time demands and art business. Get started, follow these links to various experts and put their tips to work growing your community of admirers! …Read more

Get rewarded for working less. Productivity boosters and advice from The 40-Hour Workweek

Since watching that fantastic interview with Tim Ferriss on ChaseJarvisLive.com, one of my New Year resolutions was to read Ferriss‘s best-selling book ” The 4-Hour Workweek. I’m not planning to become an internet sales mogul. But, I am attracted to the idea of being more efficient with the time I spend on work related projects.

In this post I’m going to talk about productivity.
We’ll share new ways for setting priorities and designing a lifestyle (a new work-style), so that you can spend more time doing what you love to do. …Read more