Last month I received a curious question from Cindy Dyer, my good friend and photography mentor—she asked me if I had any good winter images. In addition to being an amazing photographer, Cindy works as a graphic designer. The editor with whom she works on Hearing Life Magazine, the official magazine of the Hearing Loss Association of America, wanted a winter-related full-page original image for the January/February 2020 issue.
She knew that she did not have many snow images, but figured that I would. I gave her some options, and she chose this shot of a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) that I photographed in my neighborhood after a snowstorm last January. The editor loved this image as cardinals hold special significance to her—her late sister loved them—and added the quotation from Vincent Van Gogh, one of my favorite artists.
I was curious about the context of the quotation and learned from vangoghletters.org that it was from a letter that Vincent Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo from London in January 1874. Here is the paragraph of that letter than contains the quotation, “Things are going well for me here, I have a wonderful home and it’s a great pleasure for me to observe London and the English way of life and the English themselves, and I also have nature and art and poetry, and if that isn’t enough, what is?” As I read the letter in its entirety, I was equally struck by Van Gogh’s commentary about nature and art, “Always continue walking a lot and loving nature, for that’s the real way to learn to understand art better and better. Painters understand nature and love it, and teach us to see.”
I am always thrilled to see one of my images in print and I was excited yesterday when I finally received a printed copy of the magazine. One of my goals this year is to have more of my photos printed—I have a few of my favorites hanging on the wall already, but still have room for more of them. If you are interested in seeing the original posting in which this image appeared, click on this link to Cardinal in the snow.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
That works beautifully for a full-page image and plenty of plain space for the quote. It’s great to see your lovely cardinal photo in print!
Thanks, Liz. Most of the open space was already there in the original image and did not have to be created. Since my friend Cindy lays out a number of magazines, I think she is much more attuned than I am to the need for space for words, particularly when she does the covers of the magazines.
That’d be true. In my last job I often had to search for images for clients that had plain space in a particular area – usually at the top or bottom so that they could add words to an image.
Just checked the original and I see they’ve edited it to create more space for the quote but it lends itself to easily do that. Congrats Mike!
Congratulations! Great post.
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Congrats. It’s lovely.
That’s wonderful! Congratulations!!
Beautiful image Mike! Congratulations! One of the most colorful snow images I have seen!
Congratulations. Beautiful photograph and a perfect quote.
What a combination! Van Gogh’s quote, and your excellent photo cardinal. I, too, have nature, art, and poetry here in southern Arizona.
Reblogged this on Becoming is Superior to Being and commented:
Congratulations to Mike on the publication of one of his excellent photos. The Van Gogh quote is the “icing on the cake.” — kenne
A little unnecessary reinforcement doesn’t hurt now and then 🙂 congrats.
Very nice, Mike! Congratulations!
What a splendid winter photograph of a beautiful bird.
Congrats Mike! An awesome photo! 👍 I can see why it was published. And I love the quote, a perfect match. 😊
That’s great, Mike. A nice cardinal feather in your cap. 🙂 Congratulations and she picked a super image.
Is it ok for me to share your image of the full page on my blog Mike?
Absolutely, Liz.
Congrats, Mike. Very exciting to see your work in print. It’s a fine winter image.
Congratulations Mike!
[…] LINK: Winter photograph published […]
They chose a great photo, Mike. That’s beautiful and so good to see it reaching out to a great group.
Thanks, Dan. Cindy and I did the actual selection of the photo with little real guidance from the editor beyond the fact she wanted a winter scene in which she could put an inspirational quote. Cindy is very involved with the Hearing Loss Association and I occasionally help her with photo shoots, like this one that she did with a cheerleader. https://cindydyer.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/melissa-puleo-adams-sixth-times-a-charm/
That’s pretty cool!
Inspiring story of the young lady who didn’t give up on her cheerleader ambition. I’m glad her determination paid off in the end.
Over the years I have had the chance to look through lots of issues of Hearing Life magazine and it is amazing to see how people have been able to all kinds of things despite having some hearing loss. I remember especially a guy who was a dancer who on American’s Got Talent.
Beautiful image, and I love the quotation. Thanks for taking the time to put it into context! Congratulations.
Congrats, Mike! I enjoyed the additional reading of the letter, and VG’s take on nature.
I encourage you to get more of your work printed for your home. I really enjoy the ones we have around our house. We’ve just ordered a few on metal and I’m looking forward to seeing how they turn out.
Thanks for the encouragement, Ellen. I have not yet tried prints on metal, though I have several hanging that I had printed pretty large on canvas. I like to think beyond the traditional matted prints that are expensive and heavy.
Most of ours are matted, and yes the money adds up with a good frame. I have one small canvas and should probably try that again, too. The texture can be a real plus. We’ve been happy the few metal ones we’ve done so far, especially when hanging on a wall with less natural light.
beautiful 🌸
Wonderful shot, and a great quote from Vincent that I’ve never come across before.
Thanks. FYI, we are almost contemporaries–I turned 65 last summer. 🙂