Ticka Arts

I'm excited for next month... I was recently invited by an organization called Ticka Arts to be one of 3 featured artists in their online gallery for the months of May and June! This was a great surprise. Ticka Arts is a non-profit organization in Texas whose mission is to support and promote photographically-based artists. They saw my work at the 2014 National SPE Conference in Baltimore and contacted me recently. I am grateful for this opportunity and I'm looking forward to it! I will post a link here when the images go up May 1st. More to come, soon!

In the meantime, check out Ticka Arts!

Penland School of Crafts

Great news! I was selected to receive a Studio Assistantship at Penland School of Crafts! I am so excited about this opportunity.... Penland is a wonderful place that I have been interested in attending for years. I am grateful I will have the chance to work and study there this summer.

The class I will be assisting in is a unique alternative process photography course titled: The Alchemy of Photographic Constructions. Artist Deborah Ford is the instructor. She is an incredible artist and I am really looking forward to working with her.  Take a look at her website:  deborahspringsteadford.com

This will be a great learning experience.  I will have an opportunity to try a wide range of photographic processes that I have never explored before. July can't come fast enough!

OM © Deborah Ford

Photography business page now on Facebook

The other day I started a Facebook business page to promote my portrait and commercial photography projects. Within 24 hours there were over 150 'Likes'! This was a wonderful surprise. I am grateful for the support!

 Check it out and please 'Like' it if you do... Thanks!

Rachel McClain Photography (Facebook)

"Collective Perspective" Photography Exhibition

Three of my pieces were selected to be a part of a juried photography exhibition called Collective Perspective. I'm very excited to be a part of this. The show will be highly diverse in terms of photographic process, style, and subject matter. If you are in the Omaha, NE area, check it out!

Collective Perspective 

Photography Exhibition

 Juror: Sarah Berkeley (artist's website)

Opening March 1st, 6pm
Closing Reception & Awards Ceremony, Friday March 28th, 6-10pm

Hot Shops Art Center

1301 Nicolas Street, Omaha NE (map)

Event Info

One of my prints that will be exhibited:

At Rest, 2013, Salted Paper Print

The Big Eastern - Coffee Championships

Tamara Vigil, of Irving Farm Coffee Roasters, is pictured below as she prepares to compete in the 2014 Big Eastern Regional Barista Competition. She did excellent! Next she will compete for the national US Barista Championship!

It was great fun to attend The Big Eastern, meet some of the good folks from Irving Farm, and to photograph Tamara!

Family Portrait Session - Willa, Dominique, & Amelia

I was asked to do a portrait session with a wonderful family whom I've known for years.  It was a great experience to work with them. Amelia is a such a energetic, expressive kid; we had fun making playful images outside at a nearby park. Here are a few of my favorites from the day:

Published in L Magazine!

Great news! A photo from my documentary project with my grandmother was published in the January, 2014 issue of L Magazine! I am grateful that my image was included with the brief article about an event that I just happened to be attending. They saw me there, camera in hand, and asked if I had any images that would work for the article. This is the one that they chose:

Here is the link to the article:

http://journalstar.com/niche/l-magazine/around-town/live-love-and-laugh/article_2eb8db89-7b5b-5461-b4b7-0cf6b0eac5c6.html

Cyanotype Portraits

Cyanotypes were the first alternative process technique that I learned. They were fun and easy to work with and I would love to do more in the future. Here are a couple of my first cyanotype portraits:

Chelsea, 2013. Cyanotype. 5X6

Self-portrait with Mask, 2013. Cyanotype. 6X5

Salt Prints

In a excellent Experimental Photography course, taught by Adam Dienst-Scott, (check out some of his work here) I had the opportunity to make salt prints from digital negatives. I loved the meticulous, delicate process of hand-coating the paper and the visual feeling of the subtle tones and textures that could be achieved... but only with a great deal of detailed note-taking, practice & patience. I became obsessive until I was able to make successful prints. I loved the intensity of this process and I look forward to working with it again. Here are scans of a few of my salt prints:

At Rest, 2013. Salted paper print. 20x16 (framed)

Portrait of my Mother, 2013. Salted paper print. 10x8

Untitled, 2013. Salted paper print. 10x8

Mirror, 2013. Salted paper print. 8x10

Untitled, 2013. Salted paper print. 10x8

Untitled, 2013. Salted paper print. 10x8

Tintype Portraits

Here are some of my first few tintype portraits. Some were shot digitally and printed from digital negatives, others were made by scanning 35mm film and creating a digital negative, and some were shot in camera. This was an exciting process to learn. I can't wait to make more! In the future, I'd like to experiment with making my own emulsion. These were made with commercial emulsion, AG+.

Ady, 2013. Tintype. 10x8

Kolen, 2013. Tintype. 10x8

Girl at the Park, 2013. Tintype. 10X8

Laurie, 2013. Tintype. 10x8

Dan Smith #3, 2013. Tintype. 5x4

Quiet, 2013. Tintype. 10x8

Objectification Study #3, 2013. Tintype. 4x5