"Body Language" - Oak Park Art League

After watching Lou Shields at Reggies Music Joint, I headed over to Oak Park to see John Brudek's three photos on display at the Oak Park Art League's opening of "Body Language".  As I arrived, I was fortunate that John arrived at the same time and that we met, because I had no clue where I was going.  This first photo is of the building as we walked up.

I arrived about 8:00 PM. The show began around 7:00. So there were a few people inside that I had to maneuver around to see all of the art. As it turned out, the first direction I chose to go was exactly where John's photos were. I did not take specific photos of his work, which were in collaboration with his daughters from what John told me. I did like that John's photography was there. It stood out as being unique and telling a story, that the other pieces art on display did not do to the extent of John's. (My opinion.)

Here are a few photos of the event. If you are ever in the Oak Park area, I do recommend you stop in and enjoy.

This next photo of the two chair just caught my attention. They were interesting and went well with the design / decor of the building.

I left about 9:00 PM.  As I walked out the door, I saw shadows, lighting, remembrance of my workshop in Atlanta with Parish Kohanim just a month ago.  If I had someone to put in the lighting I would have, or probably should have.  At least I have a picture to remember.  Hindsight, I think a certain young lady in a red dress that evening would have looked good sitting in a chair in the upper left of the photo.

As I walked out the door, I saw Lou Shields and Mike Callahan, who had made it over from Reggies as well. The darkness intrigued me, so I began shooting more photos before I left, and without a flash. I would say that of all of the photos I took of the group, everyone was focused without blur, and then there was Lou. So it became a challenge to time my shot when Lou was in the midst of switching motion, and this is the only photo that came close to non-blurred.

Now realize, with all of the standing around talking to everyone outside, it is about 9:15 PM. You can see the white light coming from the back door, which was really incandescent reddish yellow light. And the sky was basically dark. I really had to work at the camera setting to get enough light to color balance and yet have enough shutter speed to reduce blur. The effect was unique to what our eyes were actually seeing with respect to light and dark. The above photo, as all the other photos, are "as shot" with setup at the camera.  (No Photoshop.)

In all it was a long day with work first, play after. I really enjoyed the evening staring with Lou playing at Reggies, and later John Brudek's photos at the Oak Park Art League. You begin to realize all the splender in the world, how much there is to see with such little time we have, and finding that in my case I have squandered my rights to see all this art in my earlier years. I have a lot of catching up to do.

I was proud to see John's work at the "Body Language" opening. I do not foresee this for me. My focus is to get better at what I do, to understand it, enjoy it, to tell the story from behind the camera that is unfolding in front of the camera, so that others who have missed it can enjoy later. To be inspired by artists like John, becomes my motivational tool to motivate others. This perpetual "play of life" needs to be written and told, handed down, remembered. So onto my saying, "Carpe Diem, contribute to the play of life" - Wes Bushby.

Oak Park Art League

720 Chicago Ave.

Oak Park, IL  60302

(708) 386-9853

To read more on John Brudek, you can check out my other blog entry by clicking here.

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