Tonight Melanie Kern-Favilla, a Railroad Engineer from Long Island, New York, will have a solo gallery showing of her photography. How cool is that!
Yesterday when Melanie toured the gallery in preparation for tonight’s opening, something very special happened. It was the first time Melanie had ever even seen one of her images printed. Even more special is the fact that the first time she saw one of her images printed, it was hanging on a gallery wall. She was overwhelmed, and it was a heart-warming moment for Kalebra, Erik and me to experience with her, as Melanie and her husband Dave stood in the gallery and just took it all in.
Melanie already has a really fascinating job
She’s a Train Engineer. She’s not the conductor. She doesn’t punch your ticket. She’s up front, operating the train. She might just have the coolest job ever (said every kid who ever dreamed of being the train engineer on a big locomotive).
So, how did this Train Engineer for the Long Island Rail Road (the busiest commuter rail system in America), wind up having a solo gallery show of her photography?
She’s a KelbyOne member.
She entered her images in a photo competition — one created to celebrate and recognize the work of KelbyOne members — people for whom photography is a passion, love, art, but whose work perhaps hasn’t yet been discovered or shared with a wide audience. This would be a chance for a talented member to have their work displayed in an ideal setting and get exposed to a worldwide audience overnight. Who knows what doors that could open, and what opportunities that could present.
We wanted to create an experience both for KelbyOne members who visit the gallery tonight to enjoy Melanie’s images (during the wine and cheese reception at the gallery), and those around the world who will experience Melanie’s outstanding work for the first time during her one-on-one interview tonight with the awesome Larry Becker — during which her words and images will reach a new audience, and new heights.
We are honored to be able to share Melanie’s story, her process, the art, and the artist tonight at her opening, and we invite you to join us online and be a part of it all.
The broadcast is free and open to everyone.
When: Tonight, Friday, July 21, 2017, at 8:00 PM EDT (New York Time)
Where: At kelbyone.com/gallery-webcast or on my Facebook page where it will be also streamed live.
You will love getting to know Melanie, her work; how she lit, post-processed, and created her stunning images, and I hope you can join us.
It won’t be long before we open the next gallery show competition…
…and if you’re a KelbyOne member, you too will have a chance for your own solo gallery show. Seeing Melanie standing in a gallery surrounded by her work was a thrill for us. I hope you’ll know that same feeling one day soon. :)
See you this evening at 8:00 pm. It will be a night to remember.
Scott is it tonight, 21 July 2017, or August 21st? The blog here says August 21 2017!!!!!!??????
Hey Gene,
Thanks for catching that… it is tonight, July 21st. I think we’ve been so busy around the office with a bunch of awesome new projects for KelbyOne that Scott skipped a month.
-Erik