Purpose
Whether correctly or not, I fancy myself a photographer of some skill. I also believe I am quite good at using software to produce high quality digital images. I may be wrong on both counts, but I prefer to accept as accurate my own self-assessment, especially since I am also my own harshest critic in everything I do. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that people are often complimentary when they see my images, but their opinions only fan my ego, they don’t fuel it. As for what I do, I am reluctant to call it art because I cannot decide if I am creating things (the act of which defines ‘art’ in my mind), changing things (which is just cleverness), or simply recording things (which is important in its way, but requires neither artistic talent nor mechanical flair). I am probably doing a bit of all three, but in fact I don’t really even care about that. I like the images I produce and I like making them, both from behind the camera lens and from in front of a computer. The finished products are pleasing to me, or are at least satisfying, and I created the Canted Arabesque Gallery as much so I can look at them whenever I want to as to showcase my meager skill. Certainly, I hope every visitor to the gallery finds images that are pleasing, interesting, or inspiring, or at the very least, skillfully wrought, but even if they do not, I am content knowing that one viewer, at least, likes all of the images here, and will return repeatedly—me. It may be vanity, but really, I do this for myself, and if other people happen to like my work, that’s just icing.
Organization
The gallery is organized into a number of loosely defined collections. There is no overarching gallery theme, and there is no subtle message hidden in the categorization or naming of the collections—at least none that I intended or can discern. Each collection is just a container for images that seem to belong together. Currently there is no way for me to label images with multiple keywords based on content, so there is no way to search for a specific image except by its name. Hopefully, future versions of Expression Engine will include keyword searching and variable display options for images as well for text. Until then, to easily find an image in the gallery a second time, it will be necessary to know the image name. If you’re seeking an image and cannot remember its name or the collection it’s in, you can contact me by using the ‘E-Mail Me’ link at the top of this page. If you can describe it to some extent, I should be able to find it.
Sales & Rentals
I have never been blind to or uninterested in the possibility of earning money by doing something I like, so several years ago I started a small business aimed at providing digital imagery services for personal and small business applications. I had hoped that the business (photo, negative, & slide scanning; photo retouching & repair; logo & website graphics design; digital photography, etc.) would also help me promote and sell my work. That’s still a project I’d like to see bear fruit, but other life-events and interests continue to sidetrack, which is why I created the Canted Arabesque Gallery as an interim showplace. Even so, almost every photo displayed in the gallery can be purchased for personal display or commercial use, with a variety of ‘rights’ and in different media formats (e.g., in digital form, on photo paper, or professionally printed and mounted); however, it is very unlikely I will sell all rights to an image for anything like what most people might be willing to pay for it. That said, to buy an image or obtain limited usage rights to an image, please contact me using the ‘E-Mail Me’ link at the top of this page. Also, I can make almost any kind of custom change to any image, including color scheme changes, cropping, or even additions, and I don’t have a problem doing that in most cases, as long as it’s for legal and ethical reasons. Essentially, if you see something that appeals or if you’d like me to do something new, or even to work with an image of yours, just ask. The worst that can happen is I’ll say no, though that’s unlikely.
Copyright & Usage Info
Unless specifically noted, every image in the TCA Gallery belongs to me and is copyright sometime between 1973 and today. No image is in the public domain, and while you are welcome to look at them in your web-browser, no image may otherwise be in any way duplicated, in whole or in part, in any format, without my express written permission. I understand and approve of derivative works, at least to the extent that the derivative is sufficiently different from my original to be considered an original in its own right; however, that statement should not be construed to mean I have approved making a copy of any image for any reason other than viewing in a web browser. To put it in plain terms, without my written permission, it is illegal to use any of my images in any way that does not constitute ‘fair use’ as described in applicable U.S. Regulations and Laws (which, by the way, is very different from what most so-called educators think fair use allows). To be sure, I will most likely grant permission to use an image, but if I am not asked, I will seek compensation and damages if I discover its unauthorized, illegal use, especially for commercial or public display. For additional information about TCA usage and copyright rules, please see the TCA Terms Of Use on the Administrative and Legal page. To contact me, please use the ‘E-Mail Me’ link at the top of this page.
Last Updated: 12 Oct 08
