joe menth
Updates
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Enjoying Stephan's workshop "Opening to the Infinite" graciously hosted by none other than Dr. Craig. A fascinating and awakening journey founded in empirical scientific evidence...and direct shamanic experience. Which, of course, science is just beginning to understand is just as valid - without the dogmas of science or religion to interfere...3 weeks ago
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wake up. occupy awareness.8 weeks ago
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Gratitude. That's all. :)2 months ago
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"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and cause me to tremble for safety of my country; corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in High Places will follow, and the Money Power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the People, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic destroyed." ABRAHAM LINCOLN, letter to Col. William F. Elkins, Nov. 21, 18642 months ago
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Being humbled by an illness I've never experienced before: ear infection causing severe vertigo. You don't realize your own fragility until the subtle movements of rolling over, sitting up, standing or walking all require concentration, assistance, and a barf bag. :/ Hope to be back on my feet - literally - in a couple days.3 months ago
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Deeply grateful for the visionary genius and wisdom given by the speakers at the Bioneers and staff at the Whidbey Institute for bringing the spirit of thriving resilient sustainable life to us, and giving opportunity to all to create and be the change we all know is needed and desired by all life.3 months ago
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fyi for everyone upset about "changes to my precious FB".....it's going to continue to change, it's changed many times, and you will get used to it and forget anything changed in the first place. all websites - especially those that evolve as quickly as social media - will adapt with the times. complaining about it does not an ounce of good, and really only shows you have nothing better to do than complain and/or be negative, which, really, just makes your "friends" hide you from their feeds until you cease to exist in their limited attention spans. there are much larger issues in the world to be upset about than the layout of a time-sink social media site.4 months ago
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SO Thankful and Grateful to the Universe, appreciative to the awesome people I get to work with...and proud, truly, for once, of myself: sold more art in the last month than I have in a year! All for a new building from a large corp on the island - not only art pieces, but also specialized photography...and for our studio, 4 massive mural installations!!! Woohoo!4 months ago
Photos
Updates
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I just liked "TO UNDERSTAND IS TO PERCEIVE PATTERNS" on Vimeo: http://t.co/gnFMMrMQ
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I just liked "colors" on Vimeo: http://t.co/sxg2pJSO
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...to infinity, and beyond. @ Mutiny Bay http://t.co/24NaokSW
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Home http://t.co/6f1ODio6
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I just liked "Fotoshop by Adobé" on Vimeo: http://t.co/R1jhZNeR
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Strange Worlds by Matthew Albanese http://t.co/HpCd2vMi via @petapixel
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Photographs That Resemble Traditional Chinese Paintings http://t.co/t7wpcoTB via @petapixel
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New Year’s Photo Resolution Joke http://t.co/LpfQDU1c via @petapixel
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The immortal jellyfish...mortal afterall http://t.co/ExsavdzG
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Tracks to nowhere, part deux http://t.co/LIQFUA9H
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Stillness on the eve of transistion http://t.co/4GNeuFma
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Diptychs of Clouds and Cloud Watchers http://t.co/8GrFGDmD via @petapixel
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I just liked "Comet Lovejoy above the Andes" on Vimeo: http://t.co/qFZPIoMZ
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XX dirty chai with pg-13 hot chocolate haunting the background @ Useless Bay Coffee Co. http://t.co/DxMSNZl1
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NASA - Titan and Dione: http://t.co/LNqM9hT0 via @NASA
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Slow Motion Comparison: 500, 1000, 2500, 5000 and 10000 FPS http://t.co/Pb5XIVjy via @petapixel
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I just liked "Gospel Truth Trailer" on Vimeo: http://t.co/q4D9FpWk
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I just liked "keep drawing" on Vimeo: http://t.co/NtTtegMI
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I just liked "The Maccabees - Pelican - Making Of" on Vimeo: http://t.co/tsURq9Zx
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I just liked "The Maccabees - Pelican" on Vimeo: http://t.co/Ig91BLIU
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Posts
We know. It's frustrating. You get a fancy new toy (read: camera!) and take it out of the box. It's shiny. All kinds of chrome-y plastic-y goodness.
And then you turn it on, leave it on AUTO, and start shooting.
While most digital cameras these days - yes, even those fancy-pants new pocket auto-everything point-and-shoots - can, and will, take pretty good pictures straight outta-the-box, there's still something greatly lacking in the way that most folks actually take the shot.
You know what we mean. The self portraits scattered all over the interwebs on Facebook and everywhere else. The kinda-artsy but still kinda badly composed macro flower shots that would be that much better if only the background was thrown out of focus. The sweeping scenic views...that just happen to have your goofy looking family half-way out of the frame, trash on the ground in front of the epic beach, and a blown-out sky that you swore was a gorgeous life-changing sunset when you were there. Right?
Ok, well, photography takes practice. The first thing: take it off of "auto" and learn a bit about exposure. Learn a bit about composition. Get some good glass and learn why wide-open apertures make your photos look that much more like what the pros get.
Don't know what an aperture is? Never fear, we'll make it a painless process......because FBIStudios is now offering classes! Yes classes! You know, those delightful educational opportunities that we've been talking about for five years?!
Well, we finally got our proverbial, er, stuff together, and we're putting on the first Beginning Photography class in just one week!
Register Here!
Here's the scoop (lazily copy/pasted from our very first ever email invitation using one of those nifty ConstantContact systems!)
Is your new camera stuck on the "Auto" setting? Do you wish that what you see is really what your camera gets?
Come to Beginning Photography Tips and Concepts - Learn pro-level tricks without worrying about the technical stuff. And, learn the technical stuff too without getting overwhelmed.
We'll simply help you to create better pictures.
Increase your understanding of photography & decrease your frustration with simple techniques and tricks.
Get the basics for both digital and film - even a few tips that experienced photographers will appreciate:
- exposure settings
- focusing
- depth-of-field
- composition
- camera handling
- lens selection
- accessories such as tripods and filters.
For students of all levels - get more consistent results.
REGISTER TODAY TO RESERVE
YOUR SPOT IN THIS CLASS.
Space is limited to 20.
For any questions regarding this or other classes offered by Fine Balance Imaging Studios, please contact us via email or phone.
Thank you for your interest in this new series of educational offerings from FBIStudios. More classes and workshops coming soon!
Pretty exciting, eh? Yeah, we finally did it. For real.
And the list of classes coming up is pretty awesome too:
- Adobe Lightroom: Organizing, Processing, and Playing with your photos
- Adobe Photoshop: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced classes and multi-week-courses for all experience levels
- Photographic Studio Lighting, Portrait Lighting and Composition tips and techniques, and other hands-on workshops in our very own brand-spankin'-new photo studio (soon to be relocated to our new classroom space at the Bayview Cash Store!)
- Social Media and Marketing: getting a handle on all the Facebooking Tweeting Blogging stuff...mostly for business-owners and artists, so it becomes a marketing vehicle instead of a big ol' time-sink...
- And....last but not least....Printing! because that's what we do best. We'll be offering classes on Alternative Printing Techniques, Printing Transfer Techniques, and all kinds of cool and alternative ways to play with your art using some of the new technologies, papers, and the like...
Got an idea for a class or workshop you think we should teach? Shoot us an email or drop a line...maybe we'll add it later this summer or fall.
Over two dozen local Whidbey artists and photographers are exhibiting their diverse styles and mediums in a unique show at Bayview Corner, which started on February 1st.
We offer this opportunity for our clients once a year as a "Thank You" for their support. Their support, you wonder? How do they support us? It's for allowing us to come in to work every day looking forward to seeing their amazing art. We love talking with incredible artists, being inspired by the conversations and friendships that have formed, and getting the chance in life to make a living doing something we're truly passionate about.
So this is how we say Thank You. Once a year, we host a gallery show, handle the marketing, coach artists through finishing and framing their work (and pricing! hoo
boy...that's a big one - believe it or not, most artists have no idea how to price their work...so we try to help with that too), and throw a big reception party for them...
What's different about this show? Well...here's the kicker: the artists get to be in a gallery show...without the usual gallery fees – 100% of the sales go directly to the artists. If they sell their work, they keep the money. None of this 30, 40, 50...even 60% commission that galleries usually take. Nope. Won't have it. Artists get all of the money from their sales. Because we love them, and they deserve it. We wouldn't be here without them...it's the least we can do.
Another thing that makes this art show different from most others is the obvious one, since, you know, we're a printing studio: all pieces shown are giclée fine art reproductions. Giclées are considered by many high end galleries and museums to be of the same visual quality as the original art. Works shown at the Seattle Art Museum for many exhibits, including reproductions of some paintings in the recent Michaelangelo exhibit, were created using the very same process FBIStudios uses for local Whidbey artists. Many galleries offer these prints as viable alternative to highly-priced original works of art, but at a much higher level of quality and accuracy than traditional limited edition prints of the past.
A little aside, for those that may not yet know: What is a giclée fine art reproduction? Well, we wrote up a little history and terminology bit for you, titled (what else?), "What is a Giclée?"...it's a PDF and you can get it on the Fine Balance Imaging Studios website any time if you don't want to click through now.
But if you don't feel
like reading that, here's the basics: a giclée is a fine art print produced on real watercolor paper, canvas, or other substrate, using pigmented inks. Yeah, it's pretty much a fancy marketing term. Believe it or not, they were going to be called "digigraphs" by their originators, but that idea quickly tanked because pro photographers at the time (15-20 years ago) knew nothing of "digital" - the only thing digital in their world was their wristwatches...so, the creators of the first "digigraphs" quickly scrambled to rename them "giclée", because, well, it sounds foreign and fancy, and sells better than "digigraphs". And it (giclée) means "to squirt or spray", you know, in French, so that kinda makes sense with all the ink squirting or spraying onto the paper to make the print (and you thought it was called an inkjet because it used jets? Ha! Nope, it should've been called an inksquirt printer...but I bet those wouldn't have sold as well). But I digress. A lot. Get used to it.
So now you know. And knowing is half the battle.
In any case, these archival prints will resist fading for over 200 years, decades longer than the offset lithograph process. In fact, most giclée prints will outlast original watercolor paintings as well as traditionally printed photographs!
Ok, so back to the show...or should I be saying, "On with the show..."?
The featured artists represent all skill levels, and many different kinds of original mediums, including acrylics, watercolors, photographs, oil paintings, and mixed media collages. Some of these artists are internationally famous, while others are just beginning their careers in art. The artists range from 10 to 80 years of age! And they're not all islanders either - while the majority of the 500+ artists we've worked with are Whidbey Islanders, most from around the Langley area, we've actually spread out quite a bit, and now have clients in all four corners of the country - Alaska, New York, Florida, and California. Ok...so we don't have anyone from Florida in this year's show, but we do have a number of artists from around the Puget Sound area. And there's some pretty cool stuff this year - some artists are really pushing the limits of what can be done with the giclée process, printing on metal and fabric and doing collages and stitching and assemblages and...well, you get the idea. When the gallery show launches on the 19th, we'll post some of the new images here.
The Fourth Annual Gratitude Giclée Print Art Show, sponsored by Fine Balance Imaging Studios will run from February 1 – 28 in the Hub, as well as February 19 – 28 in the Open Door Community Gallery, located at the Bayview Cash Store, 5603 Bayview Road, Langley. On February 20th, an Artists' Reception will be in the Gallery from 5:00 to 8:00pm. Call 221-2707 for information or email info@fbistudios.com."
FBIStudios is proud to announce the launch of our blog!
Very soon, you'll be hearing about all of the awesome artists we work with, galleries of their work, and profiles from the artists themselves.
For now, we're preparing for Gratitude 4: Fine Art Print Show...the fourth annual Gratitude show that FBIStudios hosts every year as a great big Thankyou to our beloved artists and other clients. It runs Feb 1st through the 28th, with an extended gallery show the 19th-28th.
Artists' Reception is the 20th, and will be catered by a professional chef.
Check back soon for much much more!
Posts
It's been years since I last updated this blog, but hey, what the heck. I finally built a website for myself again...and actually updated it with relatively recent photographs.
Posts
Being So Very Social
Kaimal Mark II Lens, Blanko Film, No Flash, Taken with HipstamaticThe Day After Snowpocalypse
Helga Viking Lens, Kodot XGrizzled Film, No Flash, Taken with HipstamaticSnow Day Dock On Mutiny Bay
Lucifer VI Lens, BlacKeys B+W Film, No Flash, Taken with HipstamaticIt’s been a while since we’ve posted a scary insect macro.
What’s especially fascinating are the photos of the photographer’s set-up. We always wondered how one takes a portrait of an ant.
Photo by John Hallmén via setupmonfresh
Spectacular extreme macro. His gear list is an inspiring bunch of “found” items, $20 microscope and enlarger lens finds on eBay. I think I may have just been bitten and smitten by the extreme macro bug!
Hokusai’s Wave comin out of our printer! Oh yeah! (Taken with instagram at Fine Balance Imaging)
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Profile
Summary
Experience
- Oct 2005 - PresentVice President of the Board / Whidbey Island Arts CouncilThe Island Arts Council supports all genres of the arts throughout the whole of Whidbey Island.
Since 1987, the IAC has issued a number of scholarships to student artists in the fields of visual art, dance and music and continues to accept applications every year for scholarships in all disciplines.
The visual arts committee is now reaping the benefits of the Open Studio Tour and implementing specific scholarships for visual art students.
The music committee continues to organize concerts in a variety of
venues. Past concerts have included performances by the Northwest Chamber Orchestra
and the Seattle Symphony, which included an opportunity for some advanced music students of Whidbey Island to play with the orchestra.
The recently formed Arts in Education Committee is charged with the development of programming that furthers arts education and activities for local Washington State school K-12 programs. - Jul 2004 - PresentOwner/Printer/Designer/Photographer / Fine Balance Imaging StudiosFine art giclee print production, fine art and decor printing, photographic printing. High-resolution scanning, drum scanning. Photographic restoration, retouching, and general digital imaging. Graphic design and layout for posters, brochures, signage, business cards, postcards, and the like. Commercial printing of point-of-purchase displays, window displays, banners, trade show graphics, conference graphics.
Design consulting. Imaging consulting. Photography, digital imaging, and design consultation. Fine artist and photographer representation and retail/online sales. Marketing and promotional consulting. - May 2003 - Dec 2006Owner / Isle of Art / McFarland GalleryFine art gallery specializing in northwest, first nations/native american, asian, buddhist, and visionary works.
- 2003 - 2006Membership Coordinator / South Whidbey Chamber of Commerce
- Aug 2001 - Jul 2002Marketing Manager / Fresenius HemoCare
- Aug 1997 - Jan 2001Marketing Manager / Avocent
Education
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2003 - 2005Shoreline Community CollegePhotography, Psychology
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1997 - 2000Art Institute of Seattle
Additional Information
Photographer. Artist. Musician. Universe Geek.
A recent reading revealed a remarkable role, rivaling reason, rousing riveting ramifications of repurposed (reinvented? reclaimed?) reality:
"you, Joe, are a midwife for dreamers...an agent for the creative spirit...your path is to guide those passionate souls to their fullest expression of their artistic endeavors". Who knew? (read more...)
I print art for a living. I live on an island. What more could you ask for?
