Celebrating Deviousness - November 2016

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In Recognition of Exemplary Membership and an Outstanding Spirit of helpfulness and mentoring within the DeviantArt community

Introducing pearwood

:iconpearwood:

Greetings! I’m Steve, or pearwood if you prefer. I joined DA in January 2005 as a young thing of 54. Now I’m 66 and, as the sign says, not leaving DAuntil hell freezes over. I followed a pack of artist friends on their migration here from Lothlorien/Elfwood. I wanted to be able to comment on their work from my own account. As a lowly non-fantasy-artist, could not get an account on Elfwood, so I came here.

Commenting is what brought me to DA. The giving and receiving of comments is what has kept me here. It happened like this. I decided to post a few of my canoeing photos to show folks what I was doing. I found, to my surprise, that I could hold my own. Katie rakastajatar and Dan themobius / ImpressionofLight and others encouraged me and helped me with critique. Katie and Dan challenged me try shooting in black and white. Several cameras and a lot of black and white photography later, I’m still here.

I have fun with my photography, especially now that I’ve gone back to film and classic, manual cameras. (I’ve been making my living with computers and networks for the past three decades plus; no-batteries-included cameras are my rebellion and sanity.) Other folks appear to enjoy my photographs, which is very cool. I’ve picked up a couple DDs and even sold a print or two.

What has brought me the greatest joy has been getting to know other artists all over the world and, especially, watching and encouraging young artists as they grew up and deepened in their personal and artistic beauty. Some of them are now professional artists and writers, others are dedicated amateurs like I. Some are still active here, others have moved elsewhere. Some have started raising families of their own and haven’t the time and energy to be active artists. That’s all just fine.

Several years ago I picked up existentialdefiance’ practice of doing "One" features, highlighting one work by one artist. As Queen-Kitty does with her "15 under 15" features, mine typically feature lesser-known deviants. I enjoy featuring other artists. The last two years or so I’ve been helping run CRPhotography’s 52 Week Photography Challenge. It has been a good way for me to grow as a thoughtful photographer and help others do likewise.

Their is a certain consistency to all this. Some Christians select a "life verse" from the Bible that sums up what they hope to accomplish during their time on God’s good earth. Others find a particular verse thrust upon them. What was thrust upon me was not a verse from the Bible but the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.Where there is hatred, let me sow love;where there is injury, pardon;where there is doubt, faith;where there is despair, hope;where there is darkness, light;where there is sadness, joy.O Divine Master, let me not so much seekto be consoled as to console;to be understood as to understand;to be loved as to love.For it is in giving that we receive;it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Soli Deo gloria


November 2016

Deviousness Award Winner

pearwood has been an outstanding member of DeviantArt since he joined back in 2005. An enthusiastic and supportive member of the photography community, pearwood has submitted over 7,000 deviations to his gallery and has consistently contributed both artwork and journals to a variety groups over the years. In addition to his artwork, pearwood helps other artists grow as well, by creating art features to bring attention to lesser-known artists and leaving constructive and supportive comments on other deviants’ artwork. His dedication to the DeviantArt community and his general positive influence make us proud to announce pearwood as the recipient of the November 2016 Deviousness Award!

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pearwood is a beacon of positivity in the photography community - always cheerful, always helping everyone out with advice and critique when they want it, and he seems to be the first person to comment on every photograph submitted to DA! On top of this, in his groups like CRPhotography he is never afraid to do the dirty work to get a project launched. Congrats Steve on your well-deserved award! Now your user symbol will match your age :D

I’m so thrilled that Steve has been picked for Deviousness this month. He is an unwavering example of support and friendliness within the photography community and beyond. He is quick to assist in community projects while giving friendly encouragement for others to do the same and has provided so much assistance to photographers in his community during his time on DA. The community is absolutely lucky to have him here and I personally hope he sticks around for many more years to come! Congrats, Steve!”

Congrats Steven!! I have been an admirer of your work and overall community presence for a long time. Steven is a master at film photography as is evident through his fantastic gallery. He has a knack for turning every day situations and scenes into dramatic visual stories. I have had the pleasure of working alongside Steven at CRPhotography and he is instrumental in making the site’s community what it is today! This award is much deserved!!!”

Steve is a great fella. He’s very active and supportive to the community, and he has a wonderful appreciation for life and nature. He does a lot of great things with old methods, using film and analog cameras in this digital age. His work gives you the understanding that art can be found in everything, as long as you open your mind to see it. A well-deserved bit of recognition for a great guy and a good shooter.”

I’ve written about other Deviousness award winners, before, but this is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to write about someone I’ve actually met. Steve, first off, is a very nice person. And I think that disposition is reflected in his photography.

I’ve also seen him in action. He’s an old-school photographer. He sees the shot before he takes it, and is skilled enough to get it right.

I like the variety of subjects that he goes after. I might have a bias, here, as I usually do people and portraits, but I think he’s a good portrait photographer. This was the reason I started watching him in the first place. This award is well-deserved.”

Steven is an avid photographer, he brilliantly captures energy and warmth in both nature and in people, he is a kind-hearted person who wholly deserves this recognition, congratulations!”

Shortly after joining DeviantArt back in 2003, I blundered across the photographs of a deviant who uses the screen name of pearwood. I found a photographer who always seems to bring out the best of his subjects, be they landscapes, wildlife, or people, to share that wonderful “bestness” with us here on dA, or in that lovely gallery in New York State. He does the same thing with words, as well. He has a great sense of humor and the loving, giving, heart of a true teacher. Somewhere along the way, Steve became more than a long distance friend, and a bit like another, favorite, kid brother. I am quite sure that through the years he has acquired more of us who feel sort of that way about him; and only a few of us are here on line.”

Steve has been a supporter of my photography and an incredible friend since the beginning of my time here on deviantart. He has the kindest heart I have ever known and has never been anything other than a positive influence in my life and someone to be trusted. He continuously puts efforts into giving back to the community here, helping fellow photographers improve themselves or get noticed, encouraging us all through his thoughtful critiques and comments on our work. He has regularly helped projecteducate when we ran photography related weeks and is continuously saving my ass at CRPhotography by lending a helping hand. I cannot think of many people more deserving than him to receive this award. I will always cherish his friendship and look up to him as a superb photographer and member of this site. If you don’t know him already, go check out his page and trust that few are those who are kinder and more generous and supportive than him. Thanks for everything Steve!”

Steve is such a remarkable member of this community. If he isn’t creating and posting beautiful photographs, he is leaving thoughtful comments on artwork, featuring artists and helping run projects such as the 52 Week Photography Challenge to inspire photographers to go out and create.

Steve is a well-known advocate for traditional photography and has written helpful articles through projecteducate to help people get a foot through the door. He is a member of several groups that serve to provide educational resources and feature talented artists.

All of his DeviantArt specific activities aside, Steve is a wonderful person who strives to help anyone who needs help and will always lend an ear. His drive to enrich the community while still reaching out to help individual members is truly admirable and we are lucky to have him here! Congrats, Steve!”

pearwood is an incredibly active member of the community, he always seems to be around leaving kind, insightful comments as well as encouraging others to leave comments on the photos he features in his journal. And yet, he somehow still finds plenty of time to go out and take his own film photographs to contribute to the darkroom gallery. His kindness and willingness to help and share knowledge is a great asset to the community, and his enthusiasm is refreshing!”


Congratulations to pearwood!

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rakastajatar's avatar
Congrat's Steve!!