Stretch and Staple

Sweet Tooth Show - Select PNW Exposures on Display at the Nutty Squirrel in Magnolia /  by Ian Hameroff

Starting today, a selection of some of my most popular photographs will have an opportunity to be your proverbial cherry on top of a wonderful, sweet treat sojourn to the PNW’s very own Nutty Squirrel Gelato shop in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle.

This award-winning proprietor of “expertly crafted...local-centric Italian ice cream” also extends their hometown artisanal flavor (see what I did there?) by welcoming in featured local artists to exhibit in their locations. I was fortunate enough—thanks to my long-time friend and fellow visual artist Sydney Davis—to be invited to hang a number of my exposures in one of their four locations for the month of August.

Building off my successful show—“On Black and Blue”—last Fall at Stretch and Staple, but sticking to a more local(ish) theme, I tapped into my catalog to put on offer exposures I’ve captured in the PNW.

All wrapped and stacked for the journey to Magnolia.

As I shared in my “about the artist” placard displayed at the Nutty Squirrel:

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) offers an amazing array of subjects, from natural beauty, to signature architecture, to even the most common place objects. This exhibit features selections from across the PNW, captured during the period of 2009-2017.

PNW exposures hung up around the awesome Magnolia Nutty Squirrel Gelato shop, as known as “Nutty HQ”

I am also using a mixture of media: a number of canvas prints, a few metal prints (which really make things pop!), and a couple of prints I matted and framed.

Canvas prints. Metal prints. Framed prints. And, a bag full of tricks to get them all up on the windowed walls of the gelato shop.

Here’s a sampling of a few of the exposures you’ll see if you swing by:

  • Portico Ceiling (24” x 16” Canvas print) - I captured this exposure while visiting the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, WA in August 2014. I personally love this shot. It’s a great reminder that the best view may not be the most obvious one or right in front of you. In this case, you’d need to look straight up as you stood outside the entrance of our state’s Legislative Building. The depth and detail can really draw you into the photograph.

  • Pike (18” x 12” Metal print) – Capture in 2009 at the Pike Place Market, and is part of a larger series of nighttime neon signs I photographed. On the advice of the guys at Stretch and Staple, I printed this one on metal, and boy does it make it pop! The blues and reds stand out, and the subtle reflection gives it a three-dimensional feel.

  • Greenwood Sunset (10” x 8” Framed print) – A more recent print of an exposure captured whilst looking off the back side of our house in 2013. I printed these on luster photo paper that added a bit of relief to the image. The texture combined with the colors makes it almost appear to be an oil painting. I paired this one with a similar shot from a different time of day to show off the natural beauty of the PNW.

These three along with the rest of my displayed works are available for purchase.

If you find yourself in “the Village”—as Magnolia’s business district is know to the locals—please do swing by and let me know what you think. You can find the Nutty Squirrel at: 2425 33rd Ave W Unit: B, Seattle, WA 98199

 

"On Black and Blue" - A Photography Exhibition /  by Ian Hameroff

For weeks, I’ve been preparing for my first significant photography exhibition hosted by Greenwood’s triple threat—print shop, art gallery, and now micro-brewery—Stretch and Staple. This prep included settling on a theme, selecting the right exposures, getting feedback on the set, deciding the materials and dimensions to print said selected photos, and then ultimately pricing the individual pieces.

In parallel, I spun up a variety of marketing and awareness generating efforts with the goal of getting a good-sized crowd to the big event.

Then finally—after initially getting the invite by the Stretch and Staple crew on July 23rd—the big day arrived yesterday (Friday, September 14th). My first major shindig would be featured among other shows and showings of the September edition of Art Up PhinneyWood’s art walk.

I arrived at the shop about 30 minutes before the metaphorical kickoff of the event at 6p. I found Taylor McAtee and Vishal Goklani putting the finishing touches on the seventeen photographs that would comprise my “On Black and Blue” show.

Vishal hangs the last of the photographs

Taylor and Vishal survey the spread

I was awash with a mix of feelings: Amazement and awe upon seeing these pieces printed on the mix of metal and canvas, as well as anxiousness about whether or not these exposures would have the impact I hoped for during the show. It didn’t take long to see my gallery wall complete.

My exhibit ready to rock!

Will all of the pieces hung just right, the crew at Stretch and Staple shifted gears to readying their bar. My show would also serve as a soft-launch of the gallery’s recently launched micro-brew venture: Snapshot Brewing. Having these tasty and super fresh libations made the evening even more fantastic. I’d recommend the Golden Hour Pale Ale and the Low Key Stout.

Now, it’s official!

And, before I knew it, the crowds started to come through. I was both humbled and stoked to see so many of my friends and colleauges make the journey from near and far (in some cases nearly 40 miles!) to see my art.

I was also touched and humbled by the kind words and reviews of the various pieces. It was such a blast and really hope the positive vibes continue as my exhibit remains on display at Stretch and Staple for the next 30 days. Which means if you missed last night’s show, you can still swing by and see the set at time that works best for you.

A great crowd throughout the entire evening. (Photo Credit: Vladimir Petrosyan)

A huge thank you to everyone—those I know and those just passing through as part of the art walk—for taking a few minutes to check out my stuff.

And, I’d be remiss if I didn’t again thank Taylor and Vishal of Stretch and Staple for the opportunity. Thank you!

I’ll do a separate post soon with a little more detail on each of the exposures that were shown, including some background based on the questions I received by folks during the event. Stay tuned!

SAVE THE DATE: Upcoming Photography Exhibition on September 14th! /  by Ian Hameroff

I'm pumped to announce and share details about an upcoming exhibition of my photography on Friday, September 14, 2018.

This exhibition will feature a selection of 15 or so exposures I captured during shoots in Seattle, Vancouver, Hawai'i, San Francisco, Montreal, Florida, Austraila, and Brazil. I've grouped these photographs under the theme "On Black and Blue". More on that in a moment.

This exhibit will take place at Stretch and Staple--an awesome Greenwood neighborhood professional photography gallery and canvas printing company--as part of the September "Art Up PhinneyWood" art walk.

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This event marks the first show of my work in more than 2 years. The last one was the 2016 Microsoft Art Collection Employee Art Exhibition where my photograph "Broken" was one of 29 artwork pieces shown out of nearly a 100 submissions from Microsoft employees around the Puget Sound.

With this being my first exhibition of more than just one photograph, I spent a bunch of time trying to think through a theme to help make my "curation" a little easier (or, at least make the exhibit a bit more organized vs. random). Working off a portfolio of more than 2,000 photographs (some okay and some great) it's super important to have some kind of game plan. 

I chose "On Black and Blue" based on two factors.

First, there's been a recent set of black and white (and, sepia) exposures I've assembled that I've really, really love. Not to be narcissistic or anything, it is just that I truly enjoyed looking at these photographs...and I was also fortunate to receive lots of positive feedback from others.

For example, this shot below (titled "A Tavern View") was captured while my oldest friend was visiting us here in Seattle last summer. We happened to stop at a downtown Seattle pub for some lunch while I was taking him around for some sightseeing. I captured this shot with my trusty FUJIFILM X-T2 (did a little work in Adobe Lightroom) from the table while we waited for our burgers and brews:

A Tavern View

Second, I've always had this fascination with taking singular objects or subjects, and capturing them on the deep (and sometimes not so) blue sky. While oft a rare sight here in the PNW, you do get some neat views like this one from 2009 outside of our city's famous Pike Market Place:

Pike

So, for this show, I married the two "concepts" and it's hopefully something you'd find engaging, as well.

Here are the specific details of the event:

Add To Your Calendar

And, to stay up-to-date on this event, as well as all things related to my photography, just follow my new @HameroffPhoto Twitter. I'll keep posting updates over the coming weeks as we get closer.

See you on September 14th!