Local photographer Bill Schintz is the 2012 Yorkfest Fine Arts Festival featured artist. During a Tuesday morning news conference, Mayor Kim Bracey honored Schintz and unveiled his art piece, "Plough Tavern," which will be featured on Yorkfest signage.

This year's fine arts festival will run Aug. 25 and 26 in downtown York. Winners of the juried competition will be announced in a reception Aug. 24 at YorkArts. Yorkfest will feature mural walking tours, four event stages, a Codorus boat parade, a chalk walk and a free community jazz concert. More than 100 artists - a 20 percent increase from last year - from across the region and country will display their work.

Schintz, 68, said he's been taking photos for 52 years. As a boy, he and his mother would pore over Life and National Geographic magazines. As a teen, he was hired by the York Dispatch and worked for the newspaper for years. He's lived in York and ran a studio and garden on East Market Street for 37 years. Portraits, he said, are the mainstay of his business.

His goal, he said, has been to capture little fractions of life and turn them into something special.

"The people of York have really supported us," he said. "The real satisfaction is in people who have a real interest in your work."

He said he's attended Yorkfest since its inception in the 1970s.

Schintz's "Plough Tavern" is an old photo of a boy working in the garden of York's Colonial Complex superimposed over a photo of the Golden Plough Tavern. Schintz then rephotographed it on high-contrast paper and added details with felt-tipped markers. The boy, he said, is his son, who worked in the garden as part of a Boy Scouts project.

In recent years, Schintz said he's experimented with technology to enhance his photography.

Links

For details about Yorkfest, visit yorkcity.org/yorkfest.

For details about Bill Schintz, visit www.schintz.com.

New event

Yorkfest is one of York's annual events. Mayor Kim Bracey announced a new city event, Boutique Week, during a Tuesday news conference. The event is planned to highlight downtown apparel and home decor retailers Sept. 4 to 7. For details, visit downtownyorkpa.com/yorkcityboutiqueweek.