In 2007, I took my parents sailing in Annapolis for their anniversary. I took a lot of pictures on that trip and was just fascinated by the wind, the sails, and how the sun looked on the water in black and white. The boat we were on, Schooner Woodwind, has a photo contest every year, so I decided to submit one of the pictures I took to try and win a Boat and Breakfast. Veryyyy surprisingly to me, I ended up winning (see photo below). That gave me a slight ego boost and I thought "maybe I actually do get some good shots?". After that I didn't leave my house without a camera. I couldn't take enough pictures of sailing, water, boats and sun.
Last year at W-B's Fine Arts Fiesta, I was walking around the square with my parents looking at different artists photographs. Every time we walked by a stand, my mom or dad would be like "Lisa that looks like one of your pictures" or "Leese, your pictures are way better, I can't believe they're selling it for $200". After we left, they kept telling me that they thought I could make some money off of my photos and encouraged me to try to sell them somewhere. Being that have zero professional photography experience or training whatsoever, I pretty much waived the idea off. I still can't really tell you anything about aperture value, rather than that you can focus on one thing and have the rest of the picture blury. I'm an extremely novice photographer and have a plethora to learn. That being said, a lot has changed since that day at the Fine Arts Fiesta...On one of my days off in October 2008, I decided to walk around to all of the galleries up and down Charles and Light Street to see what they had on display. I wanted to ask some questions abput the artists, if they were local, where they get their supplies (mattes, sleeves, etc.), just to see how they got their start. The galleria folks were definitely NOT my style. Here is an accurate description of one of the gallery folks I talked to: think of the scene from Ferris Bueller's Day off where the gang goes to have lunch at a really fance restaurant -- almost everyone that I spoke to that day was a mirror character image of the host from that scene...very snooty, annoying, made faces, and clearly had no time for my young, penniless self. Needless to say, I decided after I walked out of that gallery that I would never want any of my pictures hanging around some nerd like that anyway...ever. As I left that place somewhat disgruntled, I wandered across the street to this bright blue, funky little storefront. That is when I fell upon the Funky Beehive and Kara Hanson.
Kara is the owner of a shop called the "Funky Beehive" and it basically expresses every part of my personality wrapped up into one perfect little store. She and her golden retriever happily greeted me as I came in to look around. Aside from the unique, creative a
nd entertaining trinkets she sells, what interested me the most was her focus on the Federal Hill and theme of locality. She features paintings, handmade jewelery, Natty Boh/Federal Hill signs, and photographs...all of which are typically made/taken by local artists. Kara offers these artists the opportunity to display their work in a fun and homey atmosphere which attracts just the kind of clientelle I was hoping to get some exposure to (unlike Snooty Galleria man). I spoke with her that day and told her I had some pictures I was thinking about selling. She gladly looked at some of my work, picked out a couple that she thought grooved with the store, and now my photos are competing for sale with the famous Aubrey Bodine. Stop by the store and check out all of Kara's funky gifts and pieces of art (including my photos!!)! I couldn't thank her enough for giving me the opportunity to share a hobby that brings me happiness with other people :)Some more kudos are in order to Kara and the Funky Beehive because due to one of her personal/professional contacts, some of my work will be displayed in the new bar/restaurant on s. Charles Street called, "The Hill". More to come on that later. Also, my website, www.lisadierolfphotography.com, is still under construction, but will be completed very soon!!
