Friday, October 30, 2009

3byOne

click on image for larger view

5B4

Here is a blog entry about a blog, the photo book blog 5B4. They have a feature on the Best photo books of 2008 that makes for a good contemporary reading list...there are some rehashed classics there as well. Like the Solitude of Ravens by Masahisa Fukase

IT'S BACK




THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT INSPIRES POLAROID® TO
RELAUNCH INSTANT CAMERAS

Dear Polapremium Customer,
we can not wait another day to proudly bring you some very important news which was presented by Polaroid itself at a press conference on October 13th in Hongkong.THE IMPOSSIBLE POLAROIDAfter all the difficulties and changes of ownership during the last years, the new management of Polaroid now understands the source of the brand's attraction - which is surprisingly not based in digital cameras but in Dr. Edwin Land's groundbreaking 1948 invention of Instant Photography, which he ingeniously devised and passionately developed with a lot of care and devotion.

We have understood this since 2005, when it was our honour and pleasure to celebrate and evoke the sensational and almost mysterious power of Instant Photography in memoriam of Dr. Land. Doing everything in our power to keep this beloved and unique photographic medium alive, we grabbed the chance to take over the last factory producing Instant films from the old Polaroid management and to start The Impossible Project in 2008. Re-inventing a new analog integral film, we are now preparing, supporting and managing the comeback of Instant Photography.

Accomplishing this mission and proudly owning the former Polaroid plant in Enschede (NL), as well as already holding the first working hand-coated samples in our trembling hands, we are pleased to herewith announce a history-making cooperation between The Impossible Project and Polaroid:Polaroid will re-launch the legendary Polaroid One Step Camera and is therefore commissioning The Impossible Project to develop and produce a limited edition of Polaroid® branded Instant Films in the middle of 2010.[Photo]We feel proud and excited that our ambitions and all the relentless work we have already invested are now becoming the foundation for Polaroid's comeback as a producer of Instant Cameras.

Large-scale production and worldwide sale of The Impossible Project's new integral film materials under its own brand will already start in the beginning of 2010 - with a brand new and astonishing black and white Instant Film and the first colour films to follow in the course of the year.

Reps talk about Self Promotion....Posted on Stockland Martel Blog

Out of the mouths of reps



On Tuesday, I went to a panel discussion led by creative consultant Louisa Curtis that centered on the photo industry from the reps’ perspective. The event was geared toward photographers, so the questions were mostly about how the reps market their agencies and their photographers; what they expect from someone they rep; and the importance of relationships and networking.

The panelists were Neil Binkley of Wonderful Machine, David Laidler of Aurora Select, Frank Meo of Meo Represents, Laura Reid of Redux, Tricia Scott of MergeLeft, Robert Bacall of Robert Bacall Representatives, and Gary Hurewitz of Greenhouse Reps.

For me, these were some of the most interesting points made at the event, which was held at Adorama:





Product photography is going the way of CGI. Robert Bacall noted that still life used to be his bread and butter. Then he gestured to a water bottle at his side and remarked that you might see that bottle in an ad, but it never actually existed—it was all created on the computer.



It’s not enough to shoot great photos. Many of the reps are encouraging their photographers to expand into video. At Stockland Martel, we’ve been referring to our talent as image makers, an intentionally broad term. Bacall uses the term “media solution providers.”



E-blasts are out, and direct mail is back in. Well, that’s how the panelists first explained their take on the efficacy of email marketing. They eventually acknowledged that they all still send out e-blasts, but they weren’t very enthusiastic about them as a marketing tool. Everyone talked about how art buyers and creatives spend half their day just deleting emails from their inbox without reading them because they are overwhelmed. A print piece that shows up in their stack of snail mail, on the other hand, at least guarantees that the recipient will see the image and the name. Gary Hurewitz said he’d all but abandoned e-blasts a couple of years ago, when he noticed that everyone else was doing it. He figured if there were fewer direct-mail pieces going out, then his had a better chance of being seen. Makes sense.



Photographers need to market themselves and not rely on Mommy and Daddy (I mean, their reps) to do it all for them. No further explanation needed on that one…



This is a relationship business, and you have to network. Get out there and make a physical appearance in the photo community, urged Tricia Scott. Facebooking and emailing are not enough; the old-fashioned in-person conversation is still king when it comes to making a solid connection with someone.



Because this is a relationship business, people want to work with photographers they get along with. The reps have a brand they’re trying to protect too (for the benefit of their talent as well as themselves), and it’s just not an option to send out a photographer who’s going to ego-trip his way through a project and irritates the client. That’s why, the panelists explained, when a rep looks at a potential new photographer, they assess not just the work but also the personality behind it.



You have to spend money to make money. A major cliché, I know. But it came up several times. Bacall once ponied up $22,000 to promote a photographer’s baby images. The promo, which was as clever as it was costly, consisted of Fisher Price View Masters for which he had created custom reels of the photographer’s work. A cute way to get potential clients to look at the work while providing a tangible indication of the photographer’s affinity with kids.
..…

Louisa tells me that she lists upcoming events in her monthly Chatterbulletin, which she archives at her blog.



Source | http://stocklandmartelblog.com/2009/10/01/out-of-the-mouths-of-reps/

Kristina Feliciano
Stockland Martel Blog Writer

Call for Entry | New Directions 2010



Click on the image to enlarge and/or print.



We are currently accepting submissions for our fourth annual juried show - New Directions.

New Directions seeks to discover new talent in the world of photography. Past shows have included the works of Joseph O. Holmes, Priya Kambli and Joelle Jensen. Each year emerging artists have an opportunity to have their work seen by a nationally recognized figure in the field of photography. From these entries a cohesive show emerges for display at Wall Space in January, and this year we are excited to have 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland join forces to show ND10 in Portland during the month of February.

All submissions for this exhibition are considered for gallery representation. wall space directors and associates, as well as 23 Sandy Gallery will review the work, however the galleries review will not affect the outcome of the selection process.

Juror - Carol McCusker, PhD - Curator of Photography, Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA), San Diego, CA

About Ms. McCusker

Carol McCusker is curator of photography at the Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego. She received her Ph.D. in art history with an emphasis on the history of photography and film history at the University of New Mexico (UNM), Albuquerque. She has curated numerous exhibitions at MoPA and UNM, and is contributing author to Paul Outerbridge (Taschen, 1999); First Photographs: William Henry Fox Talbot and The Birth of Photography (powerHouse, 2002); James Fee: The Peleliu Project (Seraphin, 2002); Phil Stern: A Life's Work (powerHouse, 2003); Terry Falke: Observations in an Occupied Wilderness (Chronicle, 2006); and Breaking the Frame: Pioneering Women in Photojournalism (MoPA, 2006) The Roads Most Traveled: Migration Photographs by Don Bartletti (2006), Rebels & Revelers: Experimental Decades 1970s-1980s (2007), Public Privacy: Wendy Richmond's Surreptitious Cellphone (2007), and The Photographer's Eye (2008) McCusker's freelance writing has been published in The Photo Review, Communication Arts, and she is a regular contributor to B&W and Color magazines. In recent years, McCusker has reviewed portfolios at Houston Fotofest, Review Santa Fe, Photo L.A., Atlanta Celebrates Photography, Photo Lucida, and in November, the Lishui Photo Festival, China. She was also a nominator for the 2009 ICP Infinity Awards, and a Juror for the 2008 Julia Dean Berenice Abbott Award.

The request from Ms. McCusker -

This call for entries privileges two points of view: looking down from a high vantage point, and looking out to a vanishing horizon. Art historian, Albert Boime, described the former as a "Magisterial Gaze" that gave early Americans, through painting and printmaking, a view at one with God, hence, Manifest Destiny. The latter may simply be the romance of the road, or curiosity about what lies just out of sight - an American impulse from early pioneers to Jack Kerouac.

Numerous painters and photographers have employed these vantage points, subsequently, they run the risk of cliché. When done well, however, each reveals the unexpected, as in Szarkowski's photograph above (he captures both in one image). The optimist in me delights at the disorienting perspective of looking down whereby familiar objects become abstract and dizzyingly beautiful, to looking out, with that forward motion promising adventure or escape.

The title Down & Out might conjure images of ne'er-do-wells (risky, if the public decides not to inquire further). What I hope the photographs provide, however, is pleasure in the variety of ways 'down' and 'out' can be imaged, and what emotional liberation such points-of-view can have on our often confined and overly responsible psyches.

About wall space gallery -

wall space is a gallery focused on photography, featuring new and emerging artists.

The gallery opened in 2004 in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, showcasing local and national talents. wall space promotes artists with unique and creative visions in photography, using both traditional and alternative techniques. Showcasing artists who transcend the medium, looking to expand the photographic arts, the gallery highlights creativity in storytelling.

About 23 Sandy -

23 Sandy Gallery is a fine art gallery located just east of downtown, in Portland’s central east side arts district. We present local and national artists working in contemporary book arts, painting, photography and printmaking. The gallery also serves as a community gathering space with lectures, workshops, salons, readings and more.

For more information please contact the gallery.

Registration for Hyeres 2010 is open


This sounds fun. JM Colberg says:
"At Hyeres, ten photographers - picked from the pool of applicants - get the chance to meet ten jury members over the course of several days. You can think of this as portfolio reviews, except that each portfolio review can take as much time as it needs to - and all that overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The jury picks a winner, who gets commissioned to do work for the next year's festival, but it's not really about the winning; or rather, the winning is being one of the ten photographers.

Just to give you an idea of what the festival will do if you're one of the ten: They will print your exhibition prints, at the best facilities they have in Paris - at their expense."


http://www.villanoailles-hyeres.com/hyeres2010/photo/index.html

Portrait photographer Jim Salzano has sold his studio

Portrait photographer Jim Salzano has sold his studio
By greg on October 29, 2009

Jim Salzano, www.salzanophoto.com, sold his studio in New York a few weeks ago. He hasn’t quit the business, but he has sold the real estate that he bought many years ago. It appears that he is still being represented by Marianne Campbell Associates. I don’t know how many photo jobs Salzano is doing these days, but classic portrait photography seems to be a tough way to make a living at present.

(See the full story on www.gregceoblog.com)

Remembering Roy DeCarava's 60 years of Photos [NPR]


Photographer Roy DeCarava, who died Oct. 27 at age 89, dedicated his 60-year career to capturing images of African Americans. His subjects ranged from daily life in his hometown of Harlem to the Civil Rights movement, but his most noted work featured photographs of jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong.

DeCarava studied painting and printmaking at the Cooper Union School of Art and the George Washington Carver Art School before taking up photography in the late 1940s. He returned to those schools to teach in the 1970s.

Tthe first black photographer to win a Guggenheim Fellowship, DeCarava was also awarded the National Medal of Arts. He founded A Photographer's Gallery in an attempt to gain public recognition for photography as a form of art.

In 1996, his work was the subject of a major traveling retrospective organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Source | NPR

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Visiting Artist | Sant Khalsa


Visiting Artist:
Sant Khalsa

Tuesday, Nov 3rd

Artist’s Talk / Presentation 1:00‐2:15 LSH‐174

Sant Khalsa is Chair of the Art Department and a Professor of Art (Photography and New
Genres) at California State University, San Bernardino. Khalsa (b. Sheila Roth, January 3, 1953, New York, NY) is an artist, educator and activist living in the Santa Ana Watershed. Her artworks develop from her inquiry into the nature of place and the complex environmental
and societal issues present and visible in the landscape of the American West.

Itinerary:

10:30 - 11:30 LSH-271 (conference room) - looking at student work

11:30 Lunch with students

1:00-2:15 Presentation of her work in LSH-174 lecture hall


For information, contact Anthony Thompson: thompsoa@gvsu.edu

WINTER section of Photo History [CPH 266]


The History of Photography
Is being offered in Winter 2010!


Register Now for CPH266

CRN 27315