HOW DID I GET HERE?
After spending nearly 25 years in commercial construction supervision and project management, on December 23rd, 2016, I heeded God’s invitation to leave that field, trust Him, and step off the cliff into pursuing the passion that He had placed in me.
Not knowing what the Next Thing was, I obeyed and, recognizing that the opportunity was also a stewardship, I began refining and organizing my already-extensive collection of digital photos. In February of 2017, I launched my website, HighRezPhotography.Net. The hours spent inviting the Holy Spirit into the creative process at all its levels, along with making applications, visits, and phone calls have borne fruit:
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In 2017, I was accepted as an exhibitor at Oklahoma Art Guild’s Re-Emerge gallery exhibition at 50 Penn in May, then spent six months as a Guest Artist at Contemporary Art Gallery on The Paseo. I was also selected as an exhibitor at OSU-OKC’s inaugural Art Show in June. Late September brought an extraordinary journey to Bosnia-Herzegovina, and I returned with a rich selection of photographs. Many can be seen in my gallery “International Travels.” In November, I exhibited at Serve coffee house in Bethany, was accepted for my first showing at Deluxe OKC Winter Market at Leadership Plaza in downtown OKC, and one week later, I exhibited at Indie Trunk Show at the State Fairgrounds.
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2018 brought more opportunities for me to seize, first as the sole Guest Artist at Paseo Art Space in April, then as Artist of The Month at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in May. During the summer, I sold a package of multiple large images to a new medical clinic in OKC, and in November, I returned to Deluxe OKC Winter Market.
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In 2019, I was accepted into multiple juried exhibitions. The first was Paseo Arts Association’s Annual Members Show in March, and in May, was accepted into Oklahoma Art Guild’s Member’s Show at North Park Mall. There, I received OAG’s First Prize in Digital Media award. In October, I had two pieces hanging in Paseo Gallery One for OAG’s Small Works show. In fact, OAG’s show was juried by none other than the legendary Greg Burns, who I got to meet for the first time at the Opening Reception! The following month I had a piece on the wall at Paseo Arts Association’s own juried Small Works Show. And against all odds, I secured prime territory in Paseo Gallery One’s Great Room for the month of December.
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As 2019 drew to a close, I began collaborating with my good friend, mentor, and digital guru, Doren Tripp to upgrade my online presence. That effort included generating a completely new website and a wholesale re-branding. Learn more about that journey below in “Why The Name Change?”
WHAT INSPIRES ME
Why The Name Change?
When I launched this venture in early 2017, I did so with the moniker, “High Rez Photography.” I thought it was catchy, and it incorporated the family nickname with which I grew up. On top of the that, I had been using the Rez ‘swoosh’ as a short signature on my artwork since the early ‘80s.
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But as I worked with my digital guru, Doren Tripp, to overhaul my digital presence, he helped me see two things: First, if one were to Google my business name, they would find it buried within hundreds of other “High Rez” or “High Res” results. Secondly, when Doren remarked that he thought my last name actually was distinctive and that I should think about using it in full, I began to realize this would also be a meaningful way for me to honor my late father, James Frank Reznicek.
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What resulted was a virtual re-branding. Though it took a bit for me to release “High Rez,” I saw that this re-branding would reflect the maturing process that my enterprise and I were experiencing. Through multiple incarnations, of varying layouts, fonts, and colors, I arrived at the branding you see today on this site and in my other presentations… J.Reznicek Photography.
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You will continue to see the swoosh as a signature, and even as a ghost logo on my business cards. As well, I still hold to my original tagline, Go, See, Do, for by God’s empowerment in me, I get to experience the sights and occasions that are frozen in time on these pages.
This is a great place to tell your story and give people more insight into who you are, what you do, and why it’s all about you.
Hiking As A Prayer Walk
For some time now, I’ve considered my excursions into the wilds to be prayer walks. As I plan my trips, as I hit the trailhead, as I hike, I’m continually asking the Holy Spirit if there’s something out here this day that He’s especially proud of, and that He’d like me to capture.
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I pray that my controls are set right and that my eye is sharp and my hands are steady as I shoot. I also invite Him into the post-production phase of editing, cropping, and even titling my works. If you like what you see, I gladly and with humility point to Him and give Him the glory, and I’m overflowing with gratitude that He’s allowing me to Go to these places; to See His wonders; and to Do what He originally created me to do!
This is a great place to tell your story and give people more insight into who you are, what you do, and why it’s all about you.
What's Ahead?
This is a great place to tell your story and give people more insight into who you are, what you do, and why it’s all about you.
The year 2020 is already shaping up to be a year of adventure.
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Upcoming opportunities for me include Oklahoma Art Guild's Spring Art Show at OKC's Penn Square Mall in April, and two more exhibitions at Paseo Gallery One in OKC. The first is in May during the Paseo Arts Festival, and the second will be my return to PGO's Grand Room in September.
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But the most exciting developments is an invitation I've received to join the artist's cooperative at In Your Eye Gallery, also on the Paseo. I've longed dreamed of having a more permanent presence somewhere and now that dream is opening up.
I had already found the repeated setting up and tearing down of a grid display for art shows to be exhausting, with little return for all the effort. Plus, the packing and unpacking of my goods was causing unexpected and unwelcome wear and tear on my inventory,
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I've always been energized by meeting the public, and by the engaging conversations and banter that spring from those encounters. Now, and for the foreseeable future, I'll be able to do that nearly at will at In Your Eye Gallery. Yes, gratitude is a continuing value I hold in this enterprise, and no less so in this new opportunity.
The Next Chapter
This still hasn’t sunk in yet, but today I can announce that I now have a home on The Paseo! Not just a show or a piece in a show, but a HOME! Last night, I received an email from In Your Eye Gallery, at 3005 Paseo, that I’ve been invited to join the coop there as a Resident Artist! Starting on the First Friday Gallery Walk on April 3rd, I will begin what I hope is a long-term relationship with the coop, and will have a continual presence in the Gallery. What’s more, I’ve been offered to be the Featured Artist for the month of June, an assignment a departing artist and fellow photographer had held. And in between, I will have a presence there for the immensely popular Paseo Art Festival during the Memorial Weekend.
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There is so much favor over this, it still hasn’t sunk in. There is so much opportunity here; this truly feels like a new chapter. Of course, I will continue to enter the many competitions and art shows available to me, and it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that, in the future, I could even have works up in two locations at one time on The Paseo! In the meantime, I’ll keep pinching myself while I start planning for this next great opportunity in my life.
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To my many friends who have supported me by coming out to my shows, by encouraging and mentoring me, by purchasing my wares, and especially by praying for me, THANK YOU for how you’ve demonstrated your love for me. No one is an island, and I don’t know if I could have made it through periods of doubt and darkness without friends surrounding me, speaking life into me, and holding up their own torches of hope and passion to spur me on. My gracious Heavenly Father knows who you are, and I pray a thousand blessings on you for the encouragement you’ve been to me! This is becoming one great adventure!
This is a great place to tell your story and give people more insight into who you are, what you do, and why it’s all about you.
