Pictures at an Exhibition

“Whatever you do, don’t cut yourself,” exhorted Leo sternly.

All of the photographs were originals, not reproductions. They were mounted in floating glass frames, the kind with only glass, no wood or metal around the borders. The glass edges were not beveled.

Great blue heron in the cove, foraging.

My first paying photography gig was hanging a Diane Arbus exhibit, for minimum wage. I was at university taking a course in graphic design then, and I was thrilled by the exposure to her work first-hand. The job was a nail-biter though – the edges of the glass were extremely sharp and there was a high risk of getting cut and bleeding on the art that could have ruined her work. It was intense but so rewarding, and no blood was shed that show.

Fast forward to a few years ago. The photo in this post was one of the cornerstone pieces in a one-woman show I had. As you can see, there’s no evidence of Arbus’ influence in that photo.

Although…

The day of my artist reception, I spent some time sitting outside on a bench before going inside to meet & greet gallery visitors. I sat there under the trees, composing myself and enjoying the dappled sunlight when i felt it.

Plop!

A present from an overhead bird landed on my shoulder, anointing me with sacred bird poo, an ironic baptism for a bird photographer.

I think Arbus would have appreciated the irony.

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Thanks to Paula and WordPress for the Thursday’s Special Non-Challenge Challenge nudge.

And thanks also to Michelle for the Weekly Pet Challenge Roundup nudge.

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(This photo was taken July 14, 2007)

© 2013 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)