Exhibiting

I've been working with several local galleries here in the Lehigh Valley, trying to find a outlet for my work. The ultimate goal, of course, would be to sell some prints. But truth be told, I really just like to show people my work and get feedback from their reactions. However, it really seems to be a difficult sell, trying to exhibit fine art nudes in public galleries. One gallery owner I talked to explained it to me in a very rational sense. In his experience, exhibiting and selling photography as art is much more difficult than just about any other medium. The reason seems to be that everyone these days has a digital camera and "taking pictures" is easy, right? So why would I want to pay someone else $500 for a photograph of a nude woman crouching in a stream. "I could get my girlfriend to do that. She's hawt!" So, selling fine art nude photography as art tends to require a much more sophisticated art crowd. And I'm not sure the Lehigh Valley has this kind of crowd.

But right now there's one gallery with a high level of interest. When I sat down to show them my work, they seemed to be impressed. When they asked me if I would consider showing in their small book store/coffee shop/gallery I asked them if they were certain that they would have no problem showing nudes. Their reaction was simply, "controversy is always good for business!"

My kind of people.