Monday's agriculture website of interest: FOOD FESTIVALS

Who can think about agriculture without thinking about what happens to the food we grow? Today's agricultural website of interest is a listing for food festivals in the U.S. Why not take the opportunity to try something new and different? This site allows users to search for events within a specific state and sometimes even by city. Some of the listings include chocolate tastings, wine and food pairings, and a "chili throw down". I would be interested to hear if any readers have tried these and what your experience was.

Monday's agriculture website of interest: COUNTY FAIR DIRECTORY

Looking for something to do this summer? Visit the nationwide County Fair directory to find one in your neighborhood. There is an interactive map where users can click on their state, then give qualifying information to find a county fair that meets your criteria. I have to warn readers, though, it's not user friendly and it looks like fairs are submitted to the directory by that fair's management. It is, though, a good place to start to get some travel ideas.

A conversation with Meg Birnbaum: Part 10

What would you like to do more of in the future?

I'd love to find a project that would allow me to spend more time around animals. I'd love to explore antique photo processes. I'd like to continue to work with people who enjoy being photographed.

Photo credit: "Say Cheese"

Click here to learn more about this goat photograph

A conversation with Meg Birnbaum: Part 9

Do you ever have goof ups or work you don’t like?

Yes! Sometimes I have to throw out a roll or two of film. When I've been playing around with a more conceptual type of photography I can often see the image in my head before I shoot it or I try to sketch it first to see if it will work, but sometimes it just doesn't. It really is hard to give up on an idea and admit that it just isn't working.

Photo credit: "Shorn"

Click here to learn more about this sheep photograph

A conversation with Meg Birnbaum: Part 8

How long does it take you to get an average creation?

There usually is one image per roll of film that is worth considering as a 'keeper' but that's a hard question to answer. Sometimes things work and sometimes not so much.

Photo credit: Meg's recent photography exhibit in China

A conversation with Meg Birnbaum: Part 7

How did you get interested in photographing cattle and other farm animals?

I love any excuse to be around any kind of animal. When I started going to summer fairs I was very attracted to the relationships that I witnessed between the cows and the 4H members. I became a confirmed vegetarian after that summer of being around the farm animals. I found cows to be so gentle, trusting and soulful.

Picture credit: "Cowgirl"

Click here to learn more about this cow photograph

A conversation with Meg Birnbaum: Part 4

Where did you learn your technique?

Mostly from looking at the work of other photographers. I learned the basics from trial and error in the darkroom when I was young. I really didn't have any formal education in photography other than a basic darkroom refresher course 9 years ago.

Photo credit: "Waiting for Judging"

Click here to learn more about this cow photograph

A conversation with Meg Birnbaum: Part 3

What is your technique?

I'm currently in love with using "toy" cameras. There is a real cult following for them now. Not a disposable camera but one that is a reusable 120 film camera. The most readily available one is called a Holga. They are very basic with little control options and tend to create a soft-focused and timeless/retro appearance. Whenever possible I like printing in the darkroom on matte fiber paper and then I tone the prints sepia.

Photo credit: "Chicklet"

Click here to learn more about this chicken photograph

A conversation with Meg Birnbaum: Part 2

Why do you do photography?

I have been in love with visual stories since my sisters and I would fight over who got to read Life and Look magazine first when they arrived in the mail on Tuesdays. I spent many years as a magazine art director and loved finding photographic solutions for editorial content so I see the potential for narrative everywhere. But the simple answer to the question is that photography has connected me to a wonderful community of people and taken me to places I would never have imagined I could go. I simply think about making images all the time.

Photo credit: "Cheek 2 Cheek"

Click here to learn more about this sheep photograph

A conversation with Meg Birnbaum: Part 1

How did you get started?

My older sister set up a darkroom in the attic of our house when we were in our early teens and I joined in and quickly became addicted.

Picture credit: "Brown Swiss"

Click here to learn more about this cattle photograph

April's featured artist: Meg Birnbaum

Cow Art and More is excited to showcase photographer Meg Birnbaum for April. Meg enjoys capturing the American pastoral as a way to catalog rural American history. Meg recently returned from Japan, where some of the images from her "Corn Dogs and Blue Ribbons" collection were featured. Enjoy the question and answer sessions all month with Meg on this blog as she details her thoughts and processes. Her photography will be featured in the Cow Art and More specials section. Purchase any of her photography this month and receive free shipping.

A conversation with Carla Christina Contreras: Part 9

What would you like to do more of in the future?

I would like to see my work in LARGE format prints – nothing less than a 30”x40” metallic C print – my favorite type of print. One of my goals is to have a prestigious exhibit in NYC someday – with lots of sales (of course).

Picture credit: "Goat"

Click here to learn more about this goat photograph

A conversation with Carla Christina Contreras: Part 7

How long does it take you to get an average photograph?

Click – done. Are you talking about the total process of picking something that I will want to actually reprint? Then I would say it could take several hours. I recently was taking photographs of a piece of my photography art… it took me three hours to get four pictures I liked.

Photo credit: "Rooster"

Click here to learn more about this poultry art image

Photographer Meg Birnbaum to exhibit in China

Cow Art and More photographer Meg Birnbaum is currently traveling to China where she will be exhibiting 22 photographs, by invitation, at an international photography festival held in Lishui. Birnbaum, along with approximately 30 American curators, gallery owners and photographers, all of whom will be exhibiting photographs, will travel to China for the exhibition. The Lishui Museum of Photography has requested print donations from all of the invited photographers.

Picture credit: "Waiting for Judging"

Click here to read more about Meg's latest photographic addition to Cow Art and More

Photographer Meg Birnbaum exhibit featured in New York gallery

Selected images from Birnbaum's series of black and white photographs of county fairs throughout New England, made using a plastic toy camera, runs now through mid-October at the Davis-Orton Gallery in Hudson, New York. The exhibit, "Corn Dogs, Blue Ribbons and the American Pastoral," is a collection of evocative images. Their antique quality and timeless subjects present a wistful look back while revealing clues that remind us of their contemporary origins.

Meg Birnbaum is an award-winning fine art photographer and graphic designer based in Massachusetts. She has work in the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the corporate program of the DeCordova Museum and other private and corporate collections. 'Corn Dogs and Blue Ribbons ...' has recently been exhibited at the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Picture credit: "Circle Swing"

A conversation with Laurie Winkelman: Part 11

What else do you do besides your art?

I think the better question would be ‘when do you find time for your art’?

As I mentioned earlier, I am a full-time Ph.D. student at Cornell University, which involves working with cows, doing a lot of work in the laboratory, reading (a lot), and also writing (a lot). I help coach the Cornell Dairy Cattle Judging Team and also volunteer at various dairy youth and 4-H activities in New York State, such as 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl and NY Jr. Holstein activities. I also serve as an instructor at Badger Dairy Camp, going back to Wisconsin in June for the last 7 years to work with kids in dairy projects. I really enjoy opportunities to work with dairy youth, and it is fun to share my knowledge with them and encourage them to pursue careers in the dairy industry.

Additionally, I write articles for “Hoard’s Dairyman” (a national dairy magazine), classify (evaluate) cows part-time for the Brown Swiss Association, and am a part-time employee for a catering business in Ithaca, NY. Also, I am still somewhat ‘active’ in the family farm in Watertown, WI, Twinkle-Hill Farm (www.twinklehillfarm.com – a site which I designed and maintain). I own quite a few Brown Swiss cows at the home farm and work on the breeding and genetics-side of the business from afar.

Our family shows our cattle at state and national shows, including World Dairy Expo. I love clipping and fitting the cattle to get them ready for the show – in a way, fitting has a slightly artistic side to it too!

In between all of the school, work, and volunteer activities, I really enjoy running, working out, skiing in the winter, and reading books and magazines. I have run 2 marathons and was training for a 3rd marathon this past May – but I got injured about 3 weeks before the race. I am ecstatic to report that I started running again, pain-free, at the end of June!

Picture credits:

Top: Laurie (far left) with her Cornell dairy judging team she helped to coach

Bottom: Laurie (wearing a black jacket standing just behind the dairy heifer) showing other attendees of the Badger (University of Wisconsin) dairy camp how to prepare and groom a heifer for show