First, the May isssue of FOCUS Magazine will be out today (almost certainly). Second, dancing and live music will start at 6 pm SLT with our favorite Canadian, Maxmillion Kleene, to be follow at 7 pm SLT by Collin Martin, new at FOCUS. Third, tonight marks the opening of new art at our FOCUS galleries. … Continue reading FOCUS Friday Night: Funtastic!

"April showers bring May flowers" is an old English rhyme, so the theme chosen for the monthly FOCUS photo contest was 'flowers'. Results of the judges' decision after more than 20 entries were received follow. Jacinda Moon's entry (above) was the judges' top pick. Full results of the judges' were First Prize: Jacinda Moon Second … Continue reading Photo Contest Winners: “Flowers”

Some of over 20 images that FOCUS members have submitted this month!! Starting at 6 pm SLT Grace Loudon will perform to be followed at 7 pm SLT by Wes West -- and live music means lots of dancing and socializing! Why not invite that 'special friend' who never comes out on Friday nights? As … Continue reading Friday: Monthly Photo Contest!

Before you crop out parts of a photo, or choose not to do so, why not think it out? When taking a photo (or drawing or painting): First, decide on an emotion or an idea you're trying to show: fear, anger, loneliness, balance, variations on a theme, darkness, mystery. Second, identify what part of your … Continue reading Cropping and related things…

We think of RL as something 'real' and virtual reality as 'not real but virtual', but perhaps RL is less real than we imagine. Consider what we see. What an amazingly narrow range of the electromagnetic spectrum! Humans are ingenious creatures, so we create 'translations'. We can't see radar reflections, so we turn them into … Continue reading Invisible worlds; unheard sounds!

If you know a pathologist like one that I know, he’s constantly taking microphotographs of weird things he sees under his microscope.   “Here’s a particularly photogenic arterial thrombus small enough to fit in a single field!” And doesn’t everyone know someone sharing photos of the moons of Jupiter or solar eclipses?  Most of us tend … Continue reading How enormous! How tiny!

We take color for granted.  Though we can distinguish an estimated 1,000,000 colors, most human societies recognize less than 11 of them in everyday usage.  Those intimately involved in jobs that require attention to color – artists, designers, photographers, and so on – have names for more than the basics.  Carnelian, bisque, smalt, amaranth, celadon, … Continue reading Ruminations regards color…

For details, contact Wren Carling Parker, FOCUS Director. No registration required. Just show up. However.... per below... be sure to download and print out the following information if you are planning to take this class. It's really detailed and very helpful and it would be best to fully read it *before* the class! https://docs.google.com/document/d/10imFvoRUhTTQWR4O0WG2gUWAqk-9oRxgMzWacU5R6GA/edit

Do you find this photograph captivating?  Unforgettable?  Would you see either of the men a week (or a day) after seeing this photo and say, “Oh, you’re the guy in that amazing photograph!” Nope. So what does this have to do with selfies?  Photography and art need to be intense to get attention in a … Continue reading Let’s look at intensity!

Focus is now hosting the April round of the Unity Art Project, founded by Viktor Saviour. It's well worth your visit! The exhibition area stands beside the new 'A Thousand Words' Cafe. The April theme for the Unity Art Project is 'Open the Borders' This traveling expedition of 29 artists promotes Art in Second Life … Continue reading A massive and stunning art show!