05/8/19
photographing roses

PowerPoint Series: Photographing Roses

You may find my PowerPoint Series, Photographing Roses, under “Resources” on the updated website of the American Rose Society.

The series will also remain on this blog. You may reach the various PowerPoints here by scrolling down, or by going to this page.

This link contains the pdf of my two articles on Rose Photography that appeared in the American Rose Society’s 2018 American Rose.

Although I may occasionally post new images here, I am now posting most of my work at Susan Brandt Graham Photography. I appreciate your visits and comments at either website.

09/12/17
rose photography 2017

ARS Rose Photography 2017

rose photography 2017

Mark Twain: “The reports of my death were greatly exaggerated…”

ARS Rose Photography 2017, September 12, 2017

Board Approval of the First Edition

ARS Rose Photography 2017: this has been a long, rocky, and sometimes painful journey, beginning in 2008. But, on September 7, 2017 the Board of Directors of the American Rose Society (ARS) approved the First Edition of the ARS Rules and Guidelines for Judging Rose Photography. The ARS will be posting this edition shortly on its website, under Member Resources. Especially relevant, this officially recognizes Photography of Roses as a valid and valued component of rose shows sanctioned by the ARS. Because this was a goal toward which I began working in 2008, its achievement is gratifying.

These ARS Rose Photography 2017 PowerPoint Presentations, of which there will be more over time, demonstrate use of the Guidelines. Anyone working to implement and explain the now-official guidelines for rose photography in our ARS shows may use them. The guidelines apply to all levels – local, district, and national – of shows planning to give ARS awards to winners.

History

In 2004 I purchased my first compact digital to take along to rose shows I judged (as ARS Accredited Horticulture and Arrangement Judge). It died in 2008 after an active, useful life. I purchased a second compact digital. When I realized how serious I was about this, I enrolled in and completed an entire two-year Digital Photography program at UNM CE. Most of all, because I wanted to bring credibility to photography in the ARS, I did not want to be “shooting from the hip.” As a result, in 2009 I became the first Pacific Southwest District (PSWD) Photography Chairman, actually the first anywhere in the ARS. Those “early days,” along with my hopes for photography within the ARS, are discussed in the 2010 ARS Rose Annual.

In 2012 the American Rose Society appointed its first Photography Committee, with Curtis Aumiller as Chair. He, along with members Tom Mayhew, Bill Kozemchak, and Bruce Monroe are from the Penn-Jersey District. I am the sole committee member from the Pacific Southwest District. And, that committee has continued work since 2012, with ARS President Pat Shanley keeping the committee intact in 2015. She has strongly encouraged guidelines that will help members with all levels of experience in both photography and roses participate in rose photography in our ARS shows, as well as the Digital Photography and ARS Calendar contests. Photography guidelines, like all guidelines, will continue to evolve over time. But I am confident that Bob Martin’s administration, beginning in 2018, will also support rose photography in ARS shows.

For me, personally, the Board approval of these Guidelines is the culmination of nine years of working toward this goal, which, like anything worth doing, was not always easy. I learned a lot about people. I had a lot of fun learning more about photographing roses. I’m pretty sure not too many people are going to read the Guidelines for fun. It is a useful and necessary reference guide. But I want to share some of the fun I have had visually with photography and roses in the past nine years. These six PowerPoint Presentations are the start of a library of such presentations by me and others, and more will be posted over time.

This post, which will eventually scroll off the front page, has also been posted as its own page Under “Rose Photography.”

ARS Rose Photography 2017 PowerPoint Presentations

You may view the PowerPoints here on this site as small videos. For a larger view, click on the Screen button on the lower right hand corner of each video. For educational purposes and with a credit line, “Susan Brandt Graham,” you may download the PowerPoints and share and/or post them elsewhere.

CREATIVE INTERPRETATION

FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS

SHRUBS, OLD GARDEN ROSES, ETC.

ROSE SPRAYS

FULLY OPEN, STAMENS SHOWING

HOW TO MOUNT AND MAT AN 8X10 PHOTO

07/17/17
photographing roses

ARS Photo Competitions, Creative Interpretation

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Rose Photography

ARS Photo Competitions, Creative Interpretation

ARS photo competitions, creative interpretation: the American Rose Society Board gave temporary approval for Guidelines for Judging Rose Photography in 2015. The Board approved a revision in 2016. This PowerPoint is one of several I will be posting here over the next few months to give our members examples of images I have created of the various Classes following the Guidelines. I would like to encourage interested rosarians to photograph roses, including creating some “rose art” images, and enter them in ARS shows, including local, district, and national shows; the ARS Digital Photography competition; and the ARS Calendar competitions.

Views presented here are my own, but I believe the images conform to the current Guidelines. Photography in the ARS is a work in progress, so do not be surprised if over time the Guidelines change. The current Guidelines should be applicable at least through the 2018 ARS National Convention and Rose Show.

ARS photo competitions, creative interpretation

Rose ‘Gold Medal’ with Hair Streak Butterfly. Winner of the Judges Class, 2015 ARS American Rose Photography Competition.

Logged in users at this site may download and share (including posting on websites) the PowerPoint for use for educational purposes, as long as a credit line is given. I have also posted this PowerPoint in the dedicated page for such presentations. This PowerPoint is sized for web and digital device presentation. Please note that this may be viewed in Full Screen mode by clicking on the icon at the lower right corner of the presentation. If anyone needs a higher resolution file, please contact me through the Contact page.

Finally, the American Rose Society has more information about many aspects of roses at their website.

07/16/17
floral arrangement photography

ARS Photo Competitions, Floral Arrangements

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series Rose Photography

ARS Photo Competitions, Floral Arrangements

ARS photo competitions, floral arrangements: the American Rose Society Board gave temporary approval for Guidelines for Judging Rose Photography in 2015. The Board approved a revision in 2016. This PowerPoint is one of several I will be posting here over the next few months to give our members examples of images I have created of the various Classes following the Guidelines. I would like to encourage interested rosarians to photograph roses, including floral arrangements, and enter them in ARS shows, including local, district, and national shows; the ARS Digital Photography competition; and the ARS Calendar competitions.

Views presented here are my own, but I believe the images conform to the current Guidelines. Photography in the ARS is a work in progress, so do not be surprised if over time the Guidelines change. The current Guidelines should be applicable at least through the 2018 ARS National Convention and Rose Show.

ARS photo competitions, floral arrangements

Traditional Mass Design by Debi Harrington

Logged in users at this site may download and share (including posting on websites) the PowerPoint for use for educational purposes, as long as a credit line is given. I have also posted this PowerPoint in the dedicated page for such presentations. This PowerPoint is sized for web and digital device presentation. If anyone needs a higher resolution file, please contact me through the Contact page.

Finally, the American Rose Society has more information about many aspects of roses at their website.

07/7/17
ARS photo competitions

New PowerPoint Presentation

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series Rose Photography

New PowerPoint Presentation: How to Mount and Mat an 8×10 Photo for an ARS Rose Show

This new PowerPoint presentation is actually an updated version of one I did last year. At the time, I posted it as a pdf file and also as a Kindle at Amazon. However, I have reworked it into a smaller file that can be posted as a PowerPoint presentation on this blog. You may download and repost this PowerPoint, as long as you give a credit line.

This guide for mounting and matting an image applies only to photographs for exhibition in rose shows. These typically last only one or two days, and exhibitors then take the photographs home. They generally are not for sale. The photographs at a rose show are for short-term display, and the suggestions here reflect that. The suggestions here are not suggestions for how to mount and mat photographs in general, or for any purpose other than display in rose shows, and then only those whose schedules call for the photograph to be mounted and matted with outside dimensions of 11×14 inches.

I hope my rose friends find it useful.

I have added a new page to this blog, Rose Photography Presentations, with two sub-pages. One will contain more PowerPoint presentations as I complete them. The other contains images, handouts, and two of the PowerPoints from the summing up Photography Judging Seminar held in 2012. I keep it here as an archive of the birth of photography in the PSWD.