melo-duckworth originalz

A Set of Black and White Images

2009-11-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do a set of B & W images and I thought some of the images from my trip to Mexico last year would come out really nice. So I searched my files and came up with these three. Two of them are from "Jardin Borda" and the other is just a tree in Santa Maria, Guerrero.

Fall Exhibition and Sale

2009-11-08T22:53:00.000-08:00

After a month and a half of no activity melo-duckworth originalz will once again have an exhibition and sale on November 14. This time we will have about 21 frames available.

All of you my local family and friends are welcome to show up, this time it will be in the Melo household once again. With Christmas around the corner, these frames can make excellent gifts for either yourself or a loved one.

I hope to see you here.

La Virgen de Guadalupe

2009-11-05T21:13:00.000-08:00

La Virgen de Guadalupe
Old Avondale, Arizona
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Brown Frame
Orange Mat
$45.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

This is one that I really, really like. "La Morenita" as we call her is invoked thousands of times per day by thousands of believers. when it comes to praying for a miracle, the Virgin of Guadalupe is the first one we always ask.

I captured this image in Old Avondale on Western Street. Part of a pretty good size mural.

Homestead Museum Scene

2009-10-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

Homestead Museum Scene
City of Industry, California
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Brown Frame
LIghtg Yellow Mat
$45.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

I captured this image at the Homestead Museum in The City of Industry, California. There's a lot of gorgeous areas withing this museum and the photo ops are many. This image was captured outside the new house, to add a little drama to it I turned it into a black and white with a selective section in full color.

Wanda's Art Framed

2009-10-17T23:34:00.000-07:00

Three beautiful greeting cards designed by my dear friend Wanda.

Back in November of 2007 my dear friend Wanda sent me five greeting cards displaying her paintings. She she was supposed to send me only one of the Old Truck as a "Thank You" for featuring her photos on my photo blog for a week. So when I received the envelope and found out it had five cards I was pretty happy.

I put them away in a safe place and didn't think of them much until last September when for my birthday Wanda sent me an 8 X 10 print of the "Old Truck". Since I had that print framed I thought it was time to take the small greeting cards and do the same to them.

Again I went to Hobby Lobby my framing place of choice and between their talented framers and I came out with the proper frames for these type of cards. The single flower deserved its own frame, while the wolf and the lion are sharing the other frame. The other two I will keep as cards and will display them as such but these two frames will soon be displayed in one of my walls.

And while this blog is displays all of the melo-duckworth originalz photographic captures, I am proud to share it with some of Wanda's original water paint artwork.

Thank you Wanda.

Alto Revisited

2009-10-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

I had done this one before but as a special request this one was done in a frame with no border and I believe it does look really nice too.

Alto
Rocky Poing, Mexico
Image captured by: Michelle Duckworth
Frame Size: 11 X 14
Image Size: 11 X 14
Black Frame
$30.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

The Old Truck

2009-10-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

This one is mine, all mine. My dear friend Wanda sent me the watercolor print and the jpeg to this awesome image. It was originally posted on her blog back in May of 2007, and she had even sent me a small greeting card featuring her painting of the old truck but last week for my 50th birthday she sent me an 8 X 10 print and I enlarged the jpeg and what you see here is the end result.

I am very pleased with the way it came out. Highlighting both the original as well as the water painted version in the same frame was the best way to display this priceless work of art.

Thank you Wanda, this one will hang proudly on one of my walls.

Our California Exhibition

2009-09-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

The site for the exhibit.
It was a birthday party but it featured our Photo Exhibition. We took 20 framed photographs and they were well received. We have tried not to repeat any of the images we have framed therefore really making them originalz. We do carry the small prints just in case someone wants to order one of the ones we have done but for the most part they look at what we have in inventory at the time and buy from there.

This one was an outside show and I must admit the frames looked really nice under the daylight. Only four frames sold but two of them were big frames so it was worth our while.

Setting up the display area.
Now that I've done five shows I think I know what works and what doesn't and it's time to start applying all that learning experience into future shows. So far I am having fun doing this, it is rewarding to see our frames hanging on our friends and relatives homes but it's time to take this to the next level and maybe start attending church fairs and arts and crafts shows. That is going to be my next goal. I'll keep you posted.

And in the images above you can see how the whole thing looked once it was set up. I was very pleased with the way it came out and we did get very good reviews again.

Chely's Capture

2009-09-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

Chely's Special Capture
La Puente, California
Image captured by: Aracely Ramirez aka Chely Melo
Frame Size: 11 X 14
Image Size: 16 X 20
Black Frame
Dark Blue Mat

Click on image to enlarge

My sister captured this cloudy sky as the sun was setting down. When viewed in a lap top computer screen, if you push the screen away from you there's a piece of the sky that lights up and it looks like an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. You have to be open minded as some say they see it and some say they don't. Regardless of, she wanted this in a frame and I was just too happy to comply.

Upcoming Exhibition in California

2009-09-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

Finally, after a long month of inactivity and funds shortage we finally were able to raise the frame count to 21 pieces and we are now ready to travel this coming weekend to the beautiful City of La Puente, California where we will join my younger sister in her birthday celebration which as per her request will feature a melo-duckworth originalz exhibition and sale.

I really do have high hopes for this one but then again I always do for all exhibitions. It will be interesting and fun to mix it up a bit, being featured in a birthday celebrations has it's pros and cons. The worst thing that can happen is that I don't sell anything which to this day has not happened yet but on the other side of the coin we don't lose anything since we'll be having fun at the party anyway.

I think my sister's idea of featuring us at her birthday party was a good one and I guess we'll soon find out if the idea is going to pan out or not.

Wish us luck.

The Waterfall

2009-09-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

Waterfall
Buena Park, California
Image captured by: James Duckworth
Frame Size: 11 X 14
Image Size: 8 X 10
Brown Frame
Light Tan Mat
$30.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Junior has captured some of the best images we have framed so far. A good eye and a good camera is a winning combination. This image is from Knotts Berry Farm, a happy place we love to visit almost yearly.

Bike NIght

2009-09-10T22:16:00.001-07:00

Bike Night
Glendale, Arizona
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Black Frame
Black Mat
$50.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

I captured this image during one in a series of Bike Nights over at Westgate City Center. Being a bike rider myself I truly love the way this image came out. It shows the essence of what bikers are all about.

First Friday

2009-09-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

People waiting for the shuttle at the Phoenix Art Museum parking lot.
Finally we did our first "First Friday" over at Downtown Phoenix. My sister in law and my niece were my partners in crime for this outing. We left the house at around 6:30 pm got on the freeway and in about 20 minutes we got to the Phoenix Art Museum to pick up the free route maps.

We waited for about 15 minutes for the shuttle but then decided to get the van and drive down to Roosevelt and 3rd, it was already crowded and we noticed that people had to park far to get to the event. I turned on a street here, and the on a street there and voila a parking spot was right there just waiting for us to park. Only two short blocks away and we were eaten by the crowds.

The temperature was hot and a bit humid, they had predicted rains all afternoon for Phoenix but does anybody really trust the Weather Forecasters, I think not. We started by going into the first gallery, an artist working on a painting, a band playing live in the corner, a few vendors selling hand made jewelry and friendly people just having fun watching the different products on display.

Then on to our second gallery, this one had some pictures just hanging from a string, you could tell the images were captured with a good camera, my little point and shoot will never accomplish the clarity of those images, I didn't see any prices though.

You find out that there is no particular kind of people there, it's a great mix of people of all kinds, trust me when I say all kinds. lol

Our third gallery tour showed a big collection of framed black and white images. I started to peruse the images and was already in my mind saying, "I have better images than this in my repertoire" my sister in law said the very same thing I was thinking and then under each picture in a little, tiny, weeny, card we saw the prices. $900.00 or $700.00 unframed. A regular size picture in a 5 X 7 frame $500.00 or $300.00 unframed.

My sister in law and her daughter admiring the photographs..
My goddaughter and I.
Humm do they think I am made of money. That's it I'm buying from my brother in law.

My sister in law said, "There is hope for you guys". I don't know what separates a pro from an amateur but if it's all the same to you all from now all call me "artist". I am artist Joe Cool and my captures will be found in a gallery on E Roosevelt St. Starting prices at the low $1000s and if my works sell maybe I won't get to be a starving artist.

Seriously, I offer my pictures starting at $25.00 and at this time my most expensive one is about $70.00. But there I think I have to start pricing them at $100.00 all the way to $800.00.

I didn't realize that the crowds were in the thousands. I thought maybe I would see a few groups here and there, well, think again Mr. Joe Cool.

The crowd.

I really enjoy this kind of outing, I hate crowds but I know how to ignore people when I want to and I don't let it get to me. Most likely we will be going again next month. The area where this galleries and studios are is so huge that there is no way everything can be seen in one day, or two, or three.

Jesus At The Mount of Olives

2009-08-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

Scene Inside The Shrine of Saint Joseph of the Mountains
Yarnell, Arizona
Image captured by: Jennifer Melo
Frame Size: 11 X 14
Image Size: 8 X 10
Brown Frame
White Mat
$30.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Here is another image captured by Jennifer Melo. This one one her way back from Prescott. This is at the Shrine of Saint Joseph of the Mountains in Yarnell, Arizona.

To learn more about this place CLICK HERE!

The Bridge

2009-08-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

The Bridge at "Jardin Borda"
Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Brown Frame
Light Tan
$45.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

The is so much to see at this beautiful place. I can't imagine living in such a huge mansion complete with an amphitheater, a lake, many different gardens, and a big fountain wherever two paths cross.

The bridge is weather you go over or under leads to more gardens and the brick walkways are breath taking. If you are into plants you can spend the whole day here and still won't see everything.

A fascinating place to visit for sure and totally worth the $5.00 admission fee.

Jardin Borda Scene Revisited

2009-08-10T23:28:00.000-07:00

Scene Inside "Jardin Borda"
Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Brown Frame
Gold Mat
$50.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Here is a different take of an image we've framed before. "Jardin Borda Scene" I had a gold color mat and I didn't know what to do with it, so I started going through our files and decided on this image. I then had the image developed in sepia and went and bought a nice big brown frame. The end result is in my opinion really nice. I have a feeling this one won't last.

(Local Name: Jardin Borda) The Jardin Borda (Borda Garden), diagonally opposite the cathedral, was laid out in the second half of the 18th c. - by Jose de la Borda, the so-called "Solver King" from the mining town of Taxco. The park, restored most recently in 1987, contains terraced gardens, ponds, and an open-air theater. During their brief reign (1864-67) it was used by the Emperor Maximillian and his wife Charlotte for garden parties. The Casa de Maximiliano (restored 1960) in the Calle Galena was the imperial couple's summer residence.

Text borrowed from the Internet. Planet Ware

Family Portraits

2009-08-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Since I started acting on this hobby of mine the word continues to be spread and friends and family are starting to call on special projects. A dear friend of mine had three portrait pictures that she had had for a while and just didn't know how to display them.

I asked her to bring them to me so I could look at them and to give her some ideas, she just said I'll bring them and you frame them. I truly believe that beautiful portraits like these need to be framed and displayed.

Here is the end result. Nothing really fancy, just three simple but pretty frames and a couple of custom mats. I really liked the way they came out.

The love of a family is life's greatest blessing.

Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children. ~Rosaleen Dickson

Other things may change us, but we start and end with family. ~Anthony Brandt

Send Me a Letter

2009-08-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

Send Me a Letter
Prescott, Arizona
Image captured by: Jeniffer Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Black Frame
Turquoise Mat
$50.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

My daughter in law needed a day alone and she went on a serenity quest. A full tank of gas, camera in hand and no rush of any sort she took off and drove towards Prescott. The following day she surprised us with some captures she had made during this trip. They were all great but the budget only allowed for one of them to be framed. Michelle and I chose this one based on the simplicity but also the mystique of finding a row of mail boxes in the middle of nowhere.

However, I am sure you will soon see more of her images framed and in upcoming exhibitions.

Our Exhibit at Vane's

2009-08-02T00:52:00.000-07:00

So our fourth exhibition is in the books, no records were broken but when it was all said and done we had a good day. As always family members made an appearance. As I don't' expect them to buy something every time they come I love to have them there for the moral support and because these exhibitions just make for some good ole family gatherings.

My sister and niece brought my mom, one of my toughest critics but also a good paying customer, another surprise was seeing a niece of mine and her husband whom I had not seen in a while. She walked out with the Wild "Flowers" frame that got such good reviews in the past two shows.

And then there was my younger niece that had already bought a custom frame from us which I called "An Aunts Love", since she is a repeat customer and she will be going back to school she talk me into giving her a student discount as she will be going back to college soon and liked the frame for her dorm.

There were a few other guests that came to see what the fuzz was all about. This lady really liked my newest frame which I named "Send Me a Letter". It's a capture by my daughter in law on her way to Prescott. The shot contained a row of mail boxes that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. I really think it was a very beautiful frame and at the very end of the exhibition as we were saying "Good night" she went for it and claimed it as hers.

So far I have always found support, and good reviews about the work we are doing and promoting. The consensus is that people like to hang something on their walls from someone that they know and from a scene that they can get the story as to how it came to be, rather than buying frames from a store that are mass produced.

On his occasion my niece (the host) and her husband really outdid themselves with the wonderful buffet. A salsa bar, chips, some sort of quesadillas, watermelon, punch, and wine kept us coming back to the kitchen for more. Not only did it taste great but the arrangement was also very pretty. I couldn't have asked for more.

Here are some more pics from the event. Until the next one.

Presenting our host with her complimentary frame.
(Thank you Vane for letting me look taller that you in this picture.)

I even had my own custom cup for my tasty punch, courtesy of my daughter and partner Nikki.

My niece and customer and my daughter and partner Michelle posing on a "My Space" type shot.

Photo Exhibition at Vane's

2009-07-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

We will be holding our fourth Photography Exhibition and Sale hosted by my lovely niece Vanesa Romero. There's always high hopes and good expectations when we do this exhibitions that some frames will find a home in some body's wall, but even if they don't we still get the chance to get together as a family and have a great time.

Do wish us luck as we know money is tight and everyone is holding on to it like dear life, but still so far we have made a few sales and so far they have all been profitable. I continue to learn and to explore different ways to market our frames. Sooner or later we'll come out of this bad economy and customers will come knocking for some cool original photographic art... OK, that is just some wishful thinking, but hey there's nothing wrong with that.

The Stream

2009-07-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

The Stream
Buena Park, California
Image captured by: James Duckworth
Frame Size: 27 X 21
Image Size: 17 X 12
Brown Frame
Light Blue Mat
$70.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

This is one of our larger frames. I wanted to experiment with the biggest picture you can print and pick up on location. Anything bigger than this would have to be ordered through the Internet and lots of shipping and handling charges would apply. Therefore we want to stay away from that kind of expense at lest for now.

In any case when we picked up this from our framer we couldn't be happier. The size was perfect, the mat we chose complemented the image very nicely and so far everyone that has seen it really likes it. I am sure it won't last too long in my stock.

Puppy

2009-07-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

I took some of my frames to work so that some of my friends could see them. Their feedback was 100% positive, and their suggestions were noted. The next day one of them sent me three jpegs of her little dog playing by the food bowl. Actually in one of the images the dog was totally inside the bowl, it was so curled that you really couldn't make it up, a second jpeg was nice but blurry, the last of the three was really cute except I didn't like the colors. It was mostly brown and kindda blah.

So I sent the jpegs to my daughter Nikki and asked her to play with them. She gave me a sepia image, and a black and white image, immediately I noticed that the black and white looked a lot better and cleaner however the background was still bugging me. So I asked Nikki to blur out the background a little bit.

She sent me the jpeg with the changes I requested and I was pretty happy with it. I had a 5 X & print developed, went and bought a nice but simple black frame and a white border and as a surprised I presented it to her.

She wasn't expecting it so I think she was really surprised and amazed at how nice it looked. I thought so too and I was glad she liked it.

Ex Convento Dominico de la Natividad

2009-07-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

Ex-Dominique Convent of the Nativity
Tepoztlan Morelos, Mexico
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 14 X 18
Image Size: 11 X 14
Black Frame
White Mat
$40.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Rising above most of Tepoztlán's buildings is the buttressed Ex-Convento Dominico de la Natividad. The former convent, dating from the mid-16th century, has a facade adorned with icons dating from before the introduction of Christianity. Many of the walls, especially on the ground floor, have fragments of old paintings in earthen tones on the walls and decorating the arches. It is worth a visit just to see the building, which also houses temporary exhibitions and a complete bookstore with a good selection of books, CDs, and videos.

Text borroed from the Internet. Fodor's

We had done a different take of this beautiful ex-convent, now a church and dubbed it "The Castle". I decided to do this one because I thought that showing the facade only complete with it's colors would be an attractive piece. I was not wrong, the very next day I put this together it sold. Another favorite of many for sure.

Exhibition at Elena's

2009-07-12T00:49:00.000-07:00

And so we continue to learn while we also collect feedback. We got to my sister's at around 4:30 pm and started to set up the frames. Michelle and I arranged the as best as possible and we even got three existing nails on the wall that we could use for the bigger frames.

At the same time, mu chica and my sister did all the finger foods, mi chica had taken a salsa from home and my sister did a second salsa. How two green salsas can taste so different is beyond me, but they did. Mi chica decided to use orange in her salsa (Did any of you that tried it know that?). My sister Elena is known for her great salsas among other things then she went one step further and made "rajas con cebolla y crema" and used the blender to puree them creating a great tasting chilli dip. Mmmm it was awesome, or should I say, "Que rico"!

Finger foods and chips and salsa, delicious!

Two of my sisters friends showed up and it was fun explaining to them about the images in those frames. One of the two told me where each picture was taken before I even told her. She is just that knowledgeable about places in Arizona. They also told me we should be displaying these works at the fairs and street bazaars, something I am interested in doing except my average of 17 to 20 frames is not enough for that, we really need to have at least 50 pieces in order to offer variety.

We will also be offering prints only. Prints by themselves can make a good profit but would have to sell a lot of them to see the difference, I believe that for many the hard part is getting a frame that compliments the image and put it together. I have already heard the "I have some very nice pictures at home and want to see them framed but don't know how to go about it" line. Some people rather pay to have their keepsakes framed.

Luckily my sister has a huge table and with the two extra additions it was more than enough.

So far we have made it a habit to come up with a frame to offer our host or hostess. From day one, my sister fell in love with this piece and really wanted it, except she had bought other pieces already so it was our pleasure to present her with it. I know she was really happy to receive it and it will be a great addition to her growing collection.

Thank you Elena, not only have you supported us from the beginning but your comments and your input is greatly appreciated. I am lucky to have you as a sister and you must know I love you a lot.

Maybe the 115 degree heat we are having here these days made some people stay home. I for one don't blame them but after all was said and done I did sell three frames for a total of $105.00 and some bowed to buy one later. The overall consensus is that they all love the frames, they like the images in them, and we continue to receive motivation to keep going.

The next show God providing will be late August or early September in California. My sister Chely tells me she is already working on advertising it as she will be my next host. Obviously traveling to California will have to double as vacation time so I am really looking forward to that one.

Then They Find a Home

2009-07-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

Here's another of our frames that has found a home. In a little office setting, between a bookshelf and a computer hutch rests one of the first frames we did which we named "The Castle".

It's actually an ex-convent in the small town of Tepoztlan or Tepoz as the locals call it in the state of Morelos, Mexico.

It's very rewarding to put these frames together but even more rewarding to see them finding a wall in a home to be displayed and enjoyed.

CLICK HERE! for the story on that frame.

Our Third Photo Exhibit

2009-07-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that this coming Saturday will be our third Photo Exhibition and sale. This time my sister Elena has graciously accepted to be the host.

So far it's been a good experience to put our work out there on display for our friends to see. I always enjoy taking pictures but really didn't know what to do with them. For three years I've been displaying them in my "Arizona... But it's a dry heat" blog and have received hundreds of good comments.

Now by selecting some of those images and putting them on frames, it's a good way to share them with all of you. What a rewarding feeling to see some of our frames finding their place on your walls.

For Saturday's exhibit we chose a Mexican motif. Why my daughter chose "mortys" for the invitation is beyond me but I liked it. Wish us luck, I'll let you all know how things went on a future post.

Flying with the Pope.

2009-07-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

This is a friend of ours that spent many years flying for a well known Mexican airline as a flying attendant. It was in one of his many flights that the Pope and his court happened to be the passengers. Obviously he was not going to pass up the opportunity to take a picture with the Pope. This image, definitely one worth displaying. I really enjoyed putting this one together.

My sister took a picture of believe it or not another picture that was already in a frame, she had the jpeg for a while and really didn't know what to do with it. She wanted to get it cleaned a little to maybe have a print done so she could keep it. When she mentioned this to me I asked her to email me the image and that I would have my associates take a look at it and to perhaps have something done to it.

I sent the jpeg to Nikki and asked her if she could clean it up. She looked at it and told me that since the resolution wasn't the best there was only so much she could do with it but since she was about to graduate I would have to wait.

Well, she now has graduated and as promised as soon as she had a chance she got to work on it. She cropped it to completely eliminate the pieces of frame showing, then she brighten it a little but the real magic was in the way she almost made the flash glare disappear. If you look where the hands are touching that's the only reflection left of the flash. The final result is the illusion of electricity being passed from one hand to the other. After all he was the Pope and him possibly a pauper.

I called her and told her the picture was ready so I took it down for her to see, then I asked her if she wanted to keep it she could, she said to please finish it up by putting it in a frame. I was up to the challenge so off I went to our local arts and crafts store after a few minutes I found the perfect frame for it and after trying every mat color in the racks I decided for the one you see here. I think the final result is outstanding, possibly one of the best frames I've done to date.

I have a friend at work that after seeing the frames has asked me if I can frame a picture for her too. And so the services we provide expand. I am just thrilled to see that what we are doing is so well received.

Colorful Sunset

2009-06-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

This is a small image that we had printed, the colors on this sunset were astonishing and Michelle had fun finding a frame and mat to match the picture. I actually like it so much that would like to see it in a bigger format. I may still do it but in the meantime we offer this one.

Colorful Sunset
Image captured by: Michelle Duckworth
Frame Size: 10 X 12
Image Size: 5 X 7
Brown/Burgandy Frame
Purple Mat
$25.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Flowers

2009-06-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Special featured image captured by Jennifer Melo.

When in California my daughter in law saw this bed of flowers and captured the image. Now, I am far from being a flower expert but the little purple flowers look like Israel flowers, and the yellow like daisies. I'll appreciate for those of you flower experts out there to comment and steer me in the right direction.

Bottom line is that flowers are just too beautiful and too powerful when given to a woman, oh yes they are. Life savers in many cases I would say. So here is my interpretation of a bouquet that won't require water and that won't die any time soon.

Flowers
Southern California
Image captured by: Jennifer Melo
Frame Size: 14 X 18
Image Size: 11 X 14
Silver Frame
Off White Mat
$45.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Alto

2009-06-23T00:14:00.000-07:00

This is just one cool image. "Alto" or stop not only applies for cars making stops at intersections but it can also be applied to a very diverse amount of situations. Stop drinking when you think you had enough. Stop texting while driving, as my daughter says, texting while driving is the equivalent to drinking and driving for teens. Stop when you hear the word "No", no means no. Stop, think and then act.

Why in Spanish? Because Michelle captured this image in Mexico.

Alto
Puerto Penasco, Mexico
Image captured by: Michelle Duckworth
Frame Size: 14 X 18
Image Size: 11 X 14
Brown Frame
Light Yellow Mat
$45.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Father and Son

2009-06-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

My son and grandson.
Image captured by Jennifer.

We did this portrait for my daughter in law as a "Thank You" for hosting an exhibition at her house. This image was actually captured by her and she sent it to us so we could have a copy of it. When Michelle and I started discussing which picture to do for her as a gift we knew this one was the best choice.

We had it enlarged to an 11 X 14 size and put it in a very simple yet pretty frame that didn't require a border as the frame had it's own. As you look at this image the first thing that will grab you is the father and son image but upon looking deeper and beyond the obvious you'll see that the only background is the sea. That massive monster that if you look close enough seems to be coming at them as if it was a tidal weave.

As I mentioned in the previous post when we presented her with it, she couldn't help but cry as she said it is her favorite picture. You know what, this is a favorite of ours as well.

Exhibition at Jen and Juan's

2009-06-14T22:55:00.000-07:00

The photo exhibition pretty much didn't happen as planned or expected but it happened and that's what counts. We got to Jen and Juan's house and immediately started setting up the the frames for exhibition. Our folding table has proven to be very handy, we also used her dinning room table and hutch.

As in our previous show, we served mini sandwiches, rits with cheese, lemonade, and this time I made a killer green salsa which was eaten with chips until there was no salsa left. The salsa was a hit. As a matter of fact if the frames don't sell I may just start a salsa business and see how that goes. But so far we are just beginning and the frames seem to be moving slowly but surely.

Jennifer, our host sent us some jpegs and offered them to us. She said "Use them or not, it's up to you". Well see the frame with the flowers, that was one of them and as you can see it looks pretty awesome. I think we need some more floral images. Thanks Jennifer for sending them to us.

The gathering turned out to be all family and so it turned into a pool party. We just kept watching all the guys out in the pool giving us a diving show and waiting to be judged. We are in the middle of June and the water was cold, very unusual for this time of year in Phoenix. No, I'm not complaining, Mother Nature is actually giving us a break this year and we are loving it.

The Rocky Point Sunset was our most expensive frame at $50.00 and we wanted to keep things at that price range or under but we couldn't resist and we did the one right on top of it. We still don't know what the price will be but that frame came out so nice we fell it will sell at around the $70.00 mark. The image of "Morty" on the right bottom corner was sold.

"The Cuernavaca Cathedral" image (left bottom corner, "Chuck and DC" (right bottom corner), and the set of "Jardin Borda" images displayed in the center all were sold too.

Here is another big frame, this one was the favorite of more than one during the exhibit. Too bad the economy is affecting everybody otherwise I guarantee you this one would have been gone.

Jennifer was our host and we presented her with a frame of an image she had privided to us. We decided to frame it and give it to her as a toke of our appreciation for holding the exhibition at her house. She couldn't help or stop the tears rolled out of her eyes. In the end we did have a nice Sunday with all the family having good fun.

Thanks Jennifer.

Jose's Business Cards

2009-06-13T00:37:00.001-07:00

Again, thanks to the talent of our new partner Nikki my business cards were ready today, just in time for Sundays exhibition. I think they came out really nice. Thank you Nikki you rock!

Coming Expo on Sunday

2009-06-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

Image from our first exhibit.

Well in two more days our second Photo Exhibition will take place at my daughter in law's house. I few people have confirmed that they'll be there so I'm excited. Now it's time to get the inventory together, make sure it's priced just right, and hope that at least a few frames sell.

We have about 20 pieces we will be displaying such as "Jardin Borda", "The Old Lady", "Rocky Point Sunset", And "Rocks in the Ocean" another great Rocky Point image. Some of them I have already featured here and some will be posted shortly, they are all very nice pieces.

As an experiment Michelle got some 12 X 18 images and we framed a couple of them and they came out beautifully. The frames are quite big at 18 X 24 and highlight the images just right. We really don't want to get into the expensive side as we feel that the $50.00 maximum price was ideal for us to start but these two frames will give people more ideas of what we offer to them.

By the same token we went down in size and did three 8 X 10 images on 11 X 14 frames for a more conservative price. We hope we have something for everybody and I truly hope to sell a few of them.

I'll let you know how it went on Sunday. Wish us luck.

Welcome to the Team Nikki

2009-06-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

This is the invitation to our second Photo Exhibition designed by the newest member to our team. Nichole Duckworth.

Yes, my daughter Nikki has join the team and is jumping on the band wagon. Nikki's talents are of the graphic design kind. To date she has designed our logo, our business cards, our exhibit invitations and is the provider of the vector art images as well. She will join Michelle and I as a full partner as soon as she graduates from the Phoenix Art Institute in about two or three weeks. I am excited to have her on board and I am sure between the three of us we'll come up with many great and exciting images.

Right now we are planning our second photo exhibition, my son and his wife will gracefully be the hosts. In our first exhibit we had about 12 available frames for sale and three for display only. Our goal was to have at least 20 for our second one and we have met that goal thanks to the profits from previous sales.

This is a learning adventure in process and we are having fun doing it. As always I encourage you to leave us comments on what you see here, your suggestions and critiques are always welcomed too.

Morty

2009-06-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Morty
Las Vegas Nevada
Image captured by: Michelle Duckworth
Frame Size: 11 X 14
Image Size: 8 X 10
Black Frame
Black Mat
$30.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Why Morty? Ever since I watched the 1993 movie "Undercover Blues" with Dannis Quaid and Kathleen Turner we refer to "muerte" as "morty". I wish I could get into the details of the movie plot but suffice it to say that the hard core killer in the movie called himself "muerte" and the two government agents (Quaid and Turner) kept pronouncing it "morty". Funny movie! Matter of fact it's time to rent it again to laugh about it again.

Michelle captured this image in Las Vegas during her honey moon. I believe this is at the Treasure Island hotel. When Michelle sent the picture to be enlarged I told her, "Who is going to buy that?" Well, guess what, as soon as my other daughter saw it she said, "That is for me, please put it in a frame". Go figure!

Rocky Point Sunset

2009-06-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

Rocky Point Sunset
Puerto Penasco, Mexico
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Brown Frame
Off white Mat
$45.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

From Phoenix it's a quick 3 1/2 hour drive to Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) in Mexico. I was told that the sunsets there are magnificent so the one time I visited I just had to witness one. We actually waited about an hour before for the sun to finally set down but it was totally worth the wait. I kept clicking the trigger as the sun gradually disappeared over the ocean.

To this day this is one of my favorite sunset captures, and trust me I have many. The restaurant shows mostly as a silhouette adding to the image's drama.

Chuck And The Puppy

2009-05-31T00:26:00.000-07:00

My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet.

I found a quote from Edith Wharton for this image in "Welcome to the Quote Garden" and thought it was very appropiate for it.

The above is another image captured by Michelle. That is my daughter's leg and by it is her little dog. The dog at the time this image was captured was almost a newborn and just wanted to be carried by her. When she put him down he just curled and cuddled by her leg. Such a lovable image just had to be framed and displayed.

We are getting request like this where Michelle's photographic talents come in so handy. As I mentioned before, she has an eye for capturing the best images and that is not something you learn in any school. Talent, you either have it you you don't.

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Vector Artwork

2009-05-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

A cool framed custom portrait done in Vector Art by my daughter.
This is going to be on the next exhibition but eventually will find a place on one of my walls at home.

Without a doubt Vector Artwork is pretty cool. This is a vector portrait of my daughter,when she first showed it to me I thought it was the coolest thing and I just had to have it so she sent me the file and I had it developed. I love the cartoonish effect that the image has. The neat thing about this is that you can increase it in size and it does not get distorted, as bitmap and jpeg images which are based in pixels do. As you can see, the end result is pretty awesome. See the following illustration for more on vector artwork.

Example showing effect of vector graphics versus raster graphics. The original vector-based illustration is at the left. The upper-right image illustrates magnification of 7x as a vector image. The lower-right image illustrates the same magnification as a bitmap image. Raster images are based on pixels and thus scale with loss of clarity, while vector-based images can be scaled indefinitely without degrading.

Text borrowed from Wikipedia

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"The Castle"

2009-05-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

"The Castle"
Ex Convento Dominico de la Natividad
Tepoztlan Morelos, Mexico
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Black Frame
Light Gray Mat
$45.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Rising above most of Tepoztlán's buildings is the buttressed Ex-Convento Dominico de la Natividad. The former convent, dating from the mid-16th century, has a facade adorned with icons dating from before the introduction of Christianity. Many of the walls, especially on the ground floor, have fragments of old paintings in earthen tones on the walls and decorating the arches. It is worth a visit just to see the building, which also houses temporary exhibitions and a complete bookstore with a good selection of books, CDs, and videos.

Text borroed from the Internet. Fodor's

Michelle dubbed this "The Castle". Truth is that when viewed in person from different angles this architectural beauty does resemble a castle. I captured this image on a cloudy day which added a certain gloom to the image. So far it's our best seller.

Jardin Borda Scene

2009-05-20T23:08:00.001-07:00

Scene Inside "Jardin Borda"
Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Brown Frame
Light Yellow Mat
$40.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

(Local Name: Jardin Borda) The Jardin Borda (Borda Garden), diagonally opposite the cathedral, was laid out in the second half of the 18th c. - by Jose de la Borda, the so-called "Solver King" from the mining town of Taxco. The park, restored most recently in 1987, contains terraced gardens, ponds, and an open-air theater. During their brief reign (1864-67) it was used by the Emperor Maximillian and his wife Charlotte for garden parties. The Casa de Maximiliano (restored 1960) in the Calle Galena was the imperial couple's summer residence.

Text borrowed from the Internet. Planet Ware

An Aunts Love

2009-05-19T00:20:00.000-07:00

During my niece's first birthday party Michelle was commissioned to take pictures of the event. If you know Michelle then you know that there will be plenty of great pictures.

One of the many images captured that day was this one of Maryita lifting and kissing Fernanda. I can't think of anything other than the great love that aunt and niece have for each other. I think the name "An Aunts Love" is very appropriate.

We did this frame at the request of Maryita as she wants to remember this particular moment for Many years to come.

An aunt is someone special to remember with warmth, think of with pride, and cherish with love.

Image captured by Michelle ~~at Fernanda's first birthday~~ party.

*CORRECTION -- Image captured during Juan and Jen's housewarming party.

The Old Lady

2009-05-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

The Old Lady
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Brown Frame
Light Yellow Mat
$40.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

In May of 2008 I went on a trip to Mexico, my first time back there since I left at the age of 13 years old back in 1973. It was to be a trip of rediscovery and going full circle. We visited the small town where both my parents were born and visited family that I had not seen in over 30 years. It was a wonderful time and of course during this trip I had to take as many pictures as I could.

We left the small towns and spent the last four days in Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico. Cuernavaca is a small city rich in history. It was during one of those touring days that while taking a walk in the downtown area I saw this old lady just sitting there. Normally you find women like this selling little packets of gum or pan handling but this lady just sat there looking at piece with herself just taking in on what was happening around her. I captured this image from across the the street and to this day is one of my favorite images from that trip.

This lady captivated me and I thought it would be a great example of what our common people of Mexico look like, poor but honest. I am really happy with the way this frame came out. It was very well received during our first exhibition.

Pretend Winter

2009-05-13T23:30:00.001-07:00

Pretend Winter
Image captured by: Michelle Duckworth
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 8 X 10
Silver Frame
Dark Blue Mat
$45.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Michelle's style without a doubt is pretty unique. In this capture, she placed the camera on the floor and took an otherwise plain and boring street scene and through the magic of Photo Shop just by altering the image's colors she created an awesome looking photo. The colors she used give the picture the effect of a cold winter day although in Phoenix where this image was captured cold winter days are few and far. It was well received during our photo exhibition and I am sure some one will bring it home very soon.

For additional information do not hesitate to contact us at:
melo.duckworthoriginalz@yahoo.com

Learning The Hard Way

2009-05-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

Original frame and artwork not pictured, this is just a sample of what happened to mine.

Today we took two more images to be framed, we are experimenting with a 12 X 18 the biggest image in our inventory, also I'm framing another of Nikki's works. Those two I won't see until after the 21st of the month. It takes them a while to custom cut the mats but I don't mind waiting it adds to the excitement.

However, I did buy a separate smaller frame and mat to do one myself, so far I have done about four and they have all come out pretty good, well this one would have not been an exception but when I finished and turned it around I noticed that there was some adhesive streaks on the glass and they were in the inside. So, I took it apart again and very carefully I washed the glass and dried it with a towel. I was being careful not to cut myself and also I didn't want to leave finger prints all over the glass. I put the glass in the frame and it felt as it went into place right away... Not! I looked like it was inside but there was an edge that was still half way and when I put the mat and picture and pressed I heard a pop and I knew then that my glass had broken.

I will have to go and buy another glass and I know that they will tell me, "That's why we do them for you here". lol Well, I have to try and learn to do at least some of them myself, it will save on time and on money too. Where I take them the assembly is free and it makes total sense to leave them if the mat is being custom cut, but in those cases where I find pre-cut mats I will have to just keep trying until I learn to handle the glass.

It's all in a days work.

Our New Logo

2009-05-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

Our resident designer had the task of coming up with a logo and she was up for the task. It didn't take her too long to take the name we chose and shaped it into the logo that now is on top of this blog. Both Michelle and I liked it immediately and we will use it from now on.

What do you think? I knew you'd like it. Thanks Nikki, it is pretty awesome.

Our Frames Find a Home

2009-05-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

What an amazingly cool feeling to start seeing our frames being proudly displayed in different houses. As you remember from last week Nikki was presented with a portrait of Ducky and as soon as she got home she hung it on the wall and share a couple of pictures with us. I still say it looks lonely, the frame was a 16 X 20 but alone in the wall it looks small. No worries Nikki you can now buy a couple more from us.

Ducky now hangs in the living room of Nikki and Loyiel's apartment. The image was captured by Michelle and is one of my favorites.

My mom chose this image from a big file, we had the opportunity to visit this Cathedral in Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico last June and she loved the colors and composition on this image. Now the frame hangs in her living room. I too loved this one, I believe it was one of my best captures during our trip.

Now hanging at my mom's house. The Cuernavaca Cathedral is a constant reminder of how beautiful Mexican architecture was. They don't make them like they used to anymore.

We are ready to help you, you can contact us at

melo.duckworthoriginalz@yahoo.com

A Couple More

2009-05-09T00:51:00.000-07:00

So my mom really liked the frame of the Ex-convento Dominico de la Natividad or as my daughter calls it "The Castle". My sister bought it first so they didn't want to have the same image in both houses so my mom saw this beautiful picture of the Cathedral in Cuernavaca and said she wanted that one instead. I had liked that image since I took it and I knew it would look fantastic once framed, I was right and so was my mom. All these old Mexican churches are protected by the state and it is against the law to alter them, all that can be done to them is restore them but they have to remain original. They are all beautiful if you ask me.

Cuernavaca's Cathedral.

Mike our gardener liked the "Rocky Point" sunset but wanted the darker frame. So we customized one for him to. Here is the end result.

There is the original at the left.

And this is his special order one.

All I know is that this is fun and I am enjoying it.

If You Build It...

2009-05-09T00:45:00.001-07:00

OK, that worked for Fields of Dreams but in my fields of dreams when I put it together a few came but in the end it was a fun time for those who came and a good day for Michelle and I because we did sell a few of our frames and got a few custom orders too.

It wasn't until 6:30 pm that my sister, my niece and my mom came in. Before this I was thinking no one would show up. A few minutes later my other sister and my other niece came in. Hey not a total bust, then my sister in law, her two daughters (my nieces), and a friend of theirs showed up, and lastly Michelle's best friend came in.

My gardener got a private showing as he was here doing my yards and he was quite impressed with what he saw that he wanted to buy one on the spot, then he told me he really loved a certain image we had but wanted it on a darker frame to fit the decor of his house, needless to say he placed the order and we are already working on it.

How amazing that we can make some money out of something we have always done for free. If you know my clan we are all always carrying our cameras, a hobby passed down to all of us by my dad. So, without further ado here are some of the photos I took from last night.

Elegant and inspiring, this limited edition collection is mostly filled with one of a kind original images captured by either Michelle or me. We put a lot of love in the process of framing the images. These are perfect for mother's day and also as casual gifts. For any questions plese do not hesitate to contact us.

melo.duckworthoriginalz@yahoo.com

"The Angel" my sister in law snatched this one right away as she really loved it. This is one of Michelle's images.

Our artwork on display.

The church in the photograph which my daughter nicknamed "The Castle" was bought by my sister. The Angel was bought by my sister in law.

At $50.00 the frame of the Rocky Point Sunset was the most expensive picture on display. Michelle's friend liked it so much that she bought the print only and paid a pretty good price for it, she wanted it in B&W and it came out really nice. She picked it up at the show and was very pleased with it.

"Rocky Point Sunset" won a first place out of over 800 images in a Internet photo contest on bix.com, "The Old Lady" and image I captured last year in our trip to Mexico was a favorite. Everyone that sees it seems to fall in love with it. The little frame holds a regular size photo and at $20.00 dollars is our best buy.

These two frames belong to mi chica and obviously are not for sale, however the concept was. The frame in the left showcases all of our grandkids in a fun collage. The one in the right is a picture of my daughter Nikki as she photo shopped it and made it look pretty unique.

Three images featuring water.

Definitely a pair of crowd pleasers.

This is the Dominique ex-convent of the Nativity in a little town named Tepoztlan in Morelos, Mexico. View from afar it totally resembles a castle so my daughter named this "The Castle".

One of Michelle's favorites works, she calls it "The Pretend Winter", my mom fell in love with it but wanted the image to be bigger, then she opted for two different ones.

So, there you have it. All in all we had a good show, only a few people showed up but it made it for a more intimate gathering. Once everybody got here I put my camera down so I could answer whatever questions they had and I had no chance to take pictures with people in them.

My niece Alex whom also loves photography has asked us to please include her in our next exhibition. This will bring an added variety to the two very different styles from Michelle and I. I am excited to work on another one, now I just have to find a new volunteer to host it in their house.

My daughter Nikki does a lot of our graphic designs. She created the wonderful invitation for the exhibition, and currently she is working on our logo which by the way came out really nice. She is doing the final touches to it. So, for her help Michelle and I presented her with a surprise frame of "Ducky". I believe she loved it (Click Here) and it now hangs in her leaving room. It kindda looks lonely so baby you need to buy some more frames from us. lol