Joshua Mahar Photography » Fine Art

Inspiration: Fine Art

Joshua Mahar — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:24:21 +0000

I got my (re)start doing photography by walking around the beautiful campus where I was working on my Masters and taking pictures of nature. It was a huge source of relaxation in a very stressful world. I would walk up the hill to class and take my wimpy powershot around and take pictures of trees, leaves, flowers, whatever. It was really fun, and from those first images, I made some terrible prints, and actually sold a number to friends who thought they were great. It was at that point when I realized that there might be something to this photography thing after all. More, anyway than just something I liked doing. That passion that started me back shooting really hasn’t left.

There are times when I hesitate to put my fine art shots up here because so much of what I am about as a photographer is wedding and portraiture, and I don’t want to send folks mixed signals. But it occurres to me that a lot of how I see as a photographer has been shaped by my experiences with fine art. And, I am still really inspired by nature, and capturing the beauty around me. This leaning in me is also what drives me when I make wedding images. So the connection between the two mediums is really pretty strong. Another added bonus is that my love for fine art nature images helps when I set about to capture details at a wedding shoot. Its a plus, I think.

Additionally, in the spirit of fine art, if anyone would like a print of one of these shots, do get in touch with me via the contact feature at the top of the site! As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Cheers

At “the farm”: personal

Joshua Mahar — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 06:26:49 +0000

This last weekend I got to unplug a bit and go visit family that I wasn’t able to see over Christmas. The first outing involved a 40min drive up to my wife’s Aunt and Uncle’s place in Redmond. We had a very nice time playing Pinochle, and exploring the grounds of their very nice farm. They have four horses, and enough property for you to forget how close to the city you really are. I had a lot of fun there, and I have a number of fine art images to post, along with some portraits. One of the nice things about this time of year is that I get to flex my nature and landscape fine-art muscles a bit, which is fun! For those of you looking for more wedding and portrait images, I do have a number of posts planned for the rest of this month, so know that I’ve got your back! Cheers

Happy Thanksgiving!

Joshua Mahar — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:29:56 +0000

Hey everyone -

I hope today is full of rest, relaxation, and great food with family and friends!

Cheers

Terry’s Berries: Personal

Joshua Mahar — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:38:20 +0000

Back when this crazy month of October got started Sarah and Ains and I went down to a local farm to sign up for a CSA and we got to tool around the farm. Honestly, my mind was blown. I haven’t gotten much of a chance to make it out and shoot nature or landscape much this summer, so to find myself on a farm, with amazing light, ducks, chicks, cider pressing, and gorgeous flowers, was almost too much for me to contain. I took a lot of pictures that day. Also, we bought a $10 jug of fresh cider. Now, normally this would be way cheaper, but since we were not summer share members we paid full price. Lets be honest here: if we are willing to pay $10 on a decent bottle of wine, there’s no reason not to spend the same on a gallon of cider. Here’s the kicker…it was better than wine!!! I haven’t had anything like it. I have been seriously interested in cider since we lived out in Massachusetts, but I have never had it “just pressed.” Its like fresh corn in that it is so much better right away than if you wait. In fact it was better the first few hours than it was the next day. If you have never had freshly pressed cider you don’t know what you are missing. If presented with the opportunity to pay $10 for a gallon of fresh press cider, then jump on it: your life will never be the same. Oh…and I suppose I should post some pictures to this huh? Cheers.

Personal Update

Joshua Mahar — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:39:52 +0000

Hey all. First, I want to thank everyone who has come by my blog recently. Thanks for viewing my work! If you are so inclined, I’d love to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

The update: HOLY COW. I have been crazy slammed with work, which is both such a blessing, but it also means that a lot of my online activities such as blogging and social networking have gone by the wayside. To give you an idea of life this month, Gabe Van Wyhe and myself will be shooting 4 weddings this month, starting tomorrow at noon. Throw into this mix several client meetings, engagement photos, my birthday (Tuesday), and lots of family time, and you have a busy month. I have several weddings that I am eager to post about, along with some fantastic family shots (hope no one is bored of the family stuff: I certainly am not), but simply have had a massive pending workload. Below is a sample of a series of images that I took on a recent family trip down to a local farm to sign up for a CSA (community supported agriculture). They were having a harvest day, and I have shots from all over the farm that I am really stoked about. Expect more from me soon. Thanks again everyone!

Cheers

Studies in Bokeh: Personal

Joshua Mahar — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 06:56:01 +0000

I have deliberately taken (a little) personal time lately to work on some of my fine art material. This is what got me shooting photography, and its great to be able to edit some nature stuff. Don’t get me wrong, my passion is to make beautiful portraits and wedding images, but a change of pace, however short, can certainly be refreshing. I call this studies in “bokeh” because each of these images employs that creamy out-of-focus-ness that is “bokeh.” This quality is one of the reasons why I particularly love one of my lenses (50mm f/1.4): it creates some fantastic out of focus luscious background goodness. Hope you enjoy seeing this side of my work. More wedding and engagement pictures to come too, so stay tuned.

This of course has already been seen here, but it really goes with the set, and does exemplify what I mean by “Bokeh.”

Flowers

Joshua Mahar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:34:41 +0000

This was taken at a recent wedding, which I will post more of when I have the lot done! Hope you enjoy it.

Cheers