Website relaunch

Months in the making, my new and improved website has been relaunched. Take a look and let me know what you think. I opted to give myself a little more time to work on other projects so the original plan of designing my site from scratch has been delayed for the moment. The kind folks at PhotoBiz provide great templates at very reasonable prices, and their customer support rocks. New and expanded content are shortly to follow. 

www.byrononeal.com

Juried Photography book contest

That's right, it's a juried photography book show. Designed to promote photography books that are self-published, this is a unique opportunity to get your long term project recognized. Concepts are considered so don't feel like it has to be an already finished work. Categories include general and thematic. Thirty-five dollars to enter each book. Grand prize is twenty-five thousand dollars cash money to finish or start your project. Check them out at www.photographybooknow.com.

Potato Blight

Our photo assignment work very slow here - leaves us time to photograph those metaphorical vegetables that one discovers in the root cellar. Is this a good image to depict the state of our financial services economy in the US. Rotten at the core.

There's an insightful analysis of the bail out of Bear Sterns over at the NY Times by Gretchen Morgensen:

"WHAT are the consequences of a world in which regulators rescue even the financial institutions whose recklessness and greed helped create the titanic credit mess we are in?"

and more:

"And as one of the biggest players in the mortgage securities business on Wall Street, Bear provided munificent lines of credit to public-spirited subprime lenders like New Century (now bankrupt). It is also the owner of EMC Mortgage Servicing, one of the most aggressive subprime mortgage servicers out there."

read the entire story here

No Year-Round Rentals

©Russell Kaye

I've been doing a ton of driving lately - two jobs have required driving across New England and back. One hand on the steering wheel, one hand on the camera, I've passed the time in the car looking at the world and have become fascinated with the way images are caught with the shot-from-the-hip, drive-by, especially at twilight. I've also become wearily fascinated with real estate and living in a small seaside village here in "VacationLand" that for the most part has no year-round rentals because everyone can get about ten times the year-round rent for those 4-5 weeks we call summer. We sold our house nearly two years ago in advance of the Real Estate meltdown and in preparation for moving back to NYC or Athens/Atlanta. And here we are still - having not decided on a destination. In the end, these twilight images are really just an exercise in the frustration with myself over all the aspects of mid-career and decision-making and making my family wander between summer and winter rentals. If you really want to feel the seasons, move to Camden, Maine and plan on renting for a bit. (Our winter house rents for $4000/week ($16,000/month) in the Summer - so this June will be the 4th time in two years we've moved our family of four...yick)

Great publishing opportunity

Life Images magazine publishes quarterly and you can submit without paying a dime. Check it out here. Sure, it's another photo magazine built out of reader submissions but free advertising is a rare thing.

Results from "A Photo Editor" Blog

I recently got mentioned on Rob Haggart's "A Photo Editor" Blog

Here's Rob's post:

Book Viewers For Photographers

Russell Kaye discovered a sweet little book viewer for photographers (here). Here’s his book. Get yours at Issuu (here).

And here's the results:

that's almost 600 visitors immediately after Rob's notice - and since then I'm averaging well over 50 visitors a day... It's great to know people are stopping by - thank you Rob!

Submit, even if it's last minute!

In typical John fashion, I was sent the Is It Possible to Make a Photograph of New Jersey Regardless of Where You Are in the World contest link on the afternoon of the deadline day. After wracking my brain for an hour or so, I went out to have some lunch and remembered a photo I took of a bench in Pueblo, Colorado that I thought might fit the bill for the show. Rushing home, I submitted the image and later reflected that at least I'd taken advantage of the opportunity and let it go at that.

I got my acceptance last night for the show. Sweet! I was blown away, my first group show had nothing to do with the project I was putting all my effort into. As they say, leave no stone unturned and submit up until the deadline.

Issuu - Just what we were looking for!

Check this out:

New software to make electronic books. This is Hot! It's called Issuu and does this:

Lunar Eclipse + Spheres for Byron

Harold Davis, author of the upcoming Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers, caught this lovely image of last night's lunar eclipse.

Saw this Image of the recent Lunar Eclipse and couldn't help thinking of Byron....

On his blog Harold explains:

A full lunar eclipse was scheduled just after moon rise in the early evening in the Bay area. My hope, foiled by roiling cloud cover blowing in through the Golden Gate, was to photograph from Marin Headlands with San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge as background.

Instead I headed east to Inspiration Point in Tilden Park in the coastal range. Parking the car, I hiked in a mile or so to a ridge with a great view of the show. As the evening got dark it grew cold, and the clouds covered the moon. Even so, I got in a shot or two and enjoyed the spectacle and solitude.

Read his blog here.

Still cranking out some new work for my Spheres Portfolio and I have a couple of contest links to add if anyone else is interested.

Los Angeles Center For Digital Art
107 West Fifth Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
http://www.lacda.com

Call for Entries: LACDA 'TOP 40' JURIED SHOW

Forty Winners! Enter our "TOP 40" juried competion for digital art and photography. Entrants submit three JPEG files of original work. All styles of artwork and photography where digital processes of any kind were integral to the creation of the images are acceptable. Open to all geographical locations.

Forty selected winners recieve one print up to 24x36 on museum quality paper to be shown in an international group exhibition in our gallery from April 10-May 3, 2008. The show will be widely promoted and will include a reception for the artists.

Many artists from this exhibit continue their relationship with LACDA for exhibit in solo shows, exhibits curated outside of LACDA and exhibit in art and photo fairs where LACDA participates. All entries are given special consideration for exhibiting at LACDA and outside exhibitions where we are featured.

Artists participating in our competitions form the pool of artists from which we select the vast majority of those featured at LACDA and are often considered by our associated network of galleries and curators. Proceeds from the competition support these gallery programs. JurorRex Bruce has curated and participated in over 50 exhibits since the founding of LACDA in 2004 and is internationally recognized as a leader and expert in the field.

Registration fee is $30US.

Online registration only.

Multiple entries are permitted, seperate entry fee required for each set of three images submitted.

Deadline for Entries: March 20, 2008
Winners Announced: March 27, 2008
Exhibit Dates: April 10-May 3, 2008

Opening Reception: April 10, 2008 7-9pm
(in conjunction with Downtown Art Walk)

For questions email us at lacda@lacda.com.
No phone calls please.

and

www.artofphotographyshow.com

deadline is March 1st

i still miss our class! Wahhh! & The Great Outdoors Photo Contest

Hey Everyone!! Here's a contest that i thought might be of interest to everyone, but especially John. you may already know about it but in case you don't...
I hope you all are doin' good.
National Geographic Traveler and Photo District News Present:

The Great Outdoors Photo Contest
»Celebrate the World Outside… »

Deadline: 3.15.08**
**Late? Pay $10 to extend your deadline to 3.31.08

Enter Online:

http://www.thegreatoutdoorscontest.com

Amateur and Pro Channels to enter

Categories:
SCENICS OF THE NATURAL WORLD
OUTDOOR SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES
PARKS (ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD)
ISLANDS AND UNDERWATER
GARDENS
Pro Prizes

First place winner in each category will win a professional camera and equipment package and a Photoserve portfolio. Winners will also be published in the July PDN issue in print and online.

Amateur Prizes

GRAND PRIZE
A 7-Day trip for two to The Big Island, Hawaii, including:
Six (6) nights at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on the Kohala Coast www.waikoloamarriott.com
Two (2) round-trip tickets from Honolulu to Kona on Hawaiian Airlines www.hawaiianairlines.com
a Budget rental car www.budget.com
One (1) dive with Jack's Diving Locker
www.jacksdivinglocker.com

CATEGORY WINNERS:
One Earth Explorer Shoulder Bag designed by Bogen for National Geographic will be awarded to the winner in each category. www.bogenimaging.com

For more info and to enter online

http://www.thegreatoutdoorscontest.com

Haven't had much time to shoot lately battling being sick myself and now with a sick baby, but I found this and thought I'd share. It made me smile anyway. 

Thanks Russell for the lengthy update about locations for showing work. May these beer pirates visit you with a cold one.

Portfolio Review

I'LL SEE IF I CAN DIG UP MORE

Review Santa Fe is a two-day conference for photographers who have created a significant project or series and are seeking wider recognition. Up to 100 photographers meet with esteemed curators, editors, art directors, publishers, gallery and agency reps, and alternative market professionals. This juried portfolio review event consists of two days of portfolio reviews with renowned photography professionals, a night of portfolio sharing open to the public and more. Link. Also see what Alec Soth says about his experience at Santa Fe link

Magnum & VII occasionally have workshops with portfolio reviews - check their sites:

Contests

Byron just asked about getting his work seen.

There's not a better way to get your work seen and promote yourself than getting in contests:

Communication Arts Photography Annual - the grandaddy of the fee-based contests. CA is a magazine for Art Directors, Graphic Designers, Photographers, etc. Published 8 times a year - five of the issues are annual roundups of the best in the categories of Design, Advertising, Illustration, Photography and Interactive - the photo annual deadline is March 11th, it's certainly more about commercial photography but at the level in CA it's not uncommon to see good art. It is very competitive - they have categories that would be appropriate for those just starting out such as unpublished and self-promo. Link

Luerzer's ARCHIVE - A German periodical that offers a roundup of published work - great place to look at the industry of advertising photography. Link


Hey Hot Shot - Jen Bekman Gallery's emerging talent contest - very popular right now. Link

Pause To Begin - a new contestwith a twist - it's judged by two photographers and has a $25 entry fee (if you get in they follow up with a visit and make a video about you....interesting) Link

Remain in Light - another new print publication seeking submissions - Link

Open Society - CALL FOR PROPOSALS - George Soros' Open Society Institute’s Documentary Photography Project Link

Moving Walls 15
Deadline: Friday, March 28, 2008, 5pm (Eastern Standard Time)
OSI’s Documentary Photography Project invites photographers to submit a proposal and completed body of work for consideration in the Moving Walls 15 group exhibition. Moving Walls is an annual documentary photography exhibition that represents the obstacles—such as political oppression, economic instability, and racism—that society often erects and the struggles to tear those barriers down.

2008 Distribution Grant
Deadline: Friday, June 20, 2008 at 5pm (Eastern Standard Time)
OSI’s Documentary Photography Project is offering a grant to documentary photographers who have already completed a significant body of work on issues of social justice to collaborate with a partner organization and propose new ways of using photography as a tool for positive social change. All photographers must have another entity (such as a nonprofit, NGO, or community-based organization) that will work with the photographer to design an innovative distribution strategy that engages a specific audience, community, and/or site and presents documentary photographs in a way that has a meaningful and lasting impact on the communities or issues addressed in the images. Grants of $5,000 to $30,000 will be awarded.

World Press Photo

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the World Press Photo competition is one of the most prestigious international contests honoring photojournalism Winning is tough, but there are plenty of categories to try your hand at: spot news, people in the news, portraits, sports, arts & entertainment, nature, etc. Winners of each single picture and picture story category receive a cash prize of EUR 1,500 and airfare and hotel accommodations to the award ceremony in Amsterdam, where the contest is based. One photo is selected as the World Press Photo of the Year, and the winner receives EUR 10,000. All the winners are treated like royalty, and the prime minister of the Netherlands personally hands out the awards. The competition received more than 63,000 submissions in 2004 from 124 countries.

A first round of judges-an international body of photographers, editors and agents-narrows the field, then a second round makes the final choices. Entries are judged for their news value and for the photographer’s creative skills. World Press Photos is known to be the most “avant garde” of the photo-j contests, often choosing unconventional, artistic compositions. For stories and portfolios, the editing of the material submitted is also taken into account.

Deadline: January 13 Web site: www.worldpressphoto.nl

Pictures of the Year International (POYi) and Best Of Photography (BOP)

Three years ago, a disagreement over money ended a prosperous 50-year marriage between the University of Missouri School of Journalism, which hosts the POYi competition, and the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), which started a competing contest called Best of Photography (BoP). The majority of photographers and editors would prefer the two organizations stop their bickering and reunite the parallel competitions, but until that happens, photographers will continue entering-and often winning-both.

POYi is one of the oldest and most prestigious photojournalism competitions in the U.S. Judging is open to the public, and photography students are especially encouraged to sit in on the process. BoP, billed as “The Contest Designed By Photojournalists for Photojournalists,” convenes for a week at the Poynter Institute in Saint Petersburg, FL. The rules for BoP 2005 are still being finalized at press time, so check the Web site for the latest information.

POYi Deadline: January 18 POYi Web site: www.poyi.org BoP Web site: http://www.nppa.org/competitions/ best_of_still_photojournalism/2005/

The Pulitzer Prizes

Considered the Oscars of the news business, the Pulitzer Prizes are coveted more for the respect they command than the money awarded ($7,500). Winning a Pulitzer practically guarantees you an obituary in The New York Times, or so said the late winner Eddie Adams. An initial round of judges nominates work to put before the entire Pulitzer board, which is made up mainly of newspaper (not photo) editors. The one winner is chosen for Breaking News Photography and another for Feature Photography (in addition to several other awards for everything from investigative reporting to criticism to editorial cartooning). Winning portfolios or single images usually pertain to what the editors hash out as the most “important” news event of the year, although there are occasional surprises. The only stipulation for the contest is that the work had to appear in an American newspaper the previous year. For this year’s awards, the prize money has increased to $10,000, so get going.

Deadline: February 1, 2005 Entry Fee: $50 Web site: www.pulitzer.org

W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund

The W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography is presented annually to a photographer whose past work and proposed project follows in the tradition of the W. Eugene Smith’s compassionate dedication exhibited during his 45-year career as a photographic essayist. Winners receive $30,000, with an additional $5,000 in fellowship money to be awarded at the discretion of the jury. In addition to a photographic essay, judges take into consideration the photographer’s written proposal. The grant program is independently administered by the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund and funded by Nikon. Past winners include Stanley Greene, Trent Parke, Kai Wiedenhofer, Maya Goded and Brenda Ann Kenneally.

Deadline: July 15 Web site: http://www.smithfund.org

The Eyes Of History

The yearly Eyes of History competition is open to members of the White House News Photographers’ Association (WHNPA). The contest awards photojournalism with several categories geared towards political coverage. The organization also gives out a $5,000 project grant each year. Membership has its privileges.

Deadline: January 26 Web site: www.whnpa.org

Overseas Press Club Awards

Much like the Pulitzers but not quite as esteemed, the Overseas Press Club awards several categories for journalism. Tops among the photo prizes is the Robert Capa Gold Medal Award for best published photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise. Carolyn Cole has won the award the last two years. The Olivier Rebbot Award recognizes photographic reporting from abroad in magazines or books. The John Faber Award honors photographic reporting from abroad in newspapers or wire services. A Feature Photography Award looks at feature photography published in any medium on an international theme. Fewer people enter these awards, so one would expect an easier time getting in. But those awarded are often among the best in the business. In addition to Cole, 2003 winners were Chris Hondros (John Farber), Alex Majoli (Feature Photography) and Yuri Kozyrev and Li Zhensheng/Robert Pledge of Contact Press Images/Phaidon for Red-Color News Soldier: A Chinese Photographer’s Odyssey Through the Cultural Revolution (Olivier Rebbot). All award winners receive a certificate and a $1,000 cash prize.

Deadline: January: $125 Web site: http://www.opcofamerica.org/ opc_awards/awards.php

Scripps Howard National Journalism Awards

The Scripps Howard Foundation Photojournalism Award honors outstanding photojournalism portfolios, not individual pictures. Entries will be judged on general excellence, quality of image, composition, display and impact. Newspaper or wire service photographers whose work was published in the U.S. in 2004 are eligible for the $10,000 (up from $5,000) and trophy prize. Past winners include Don Bartletti of The Los Angeles Times, Aristide Economopolous of the Newark Star-Ledger and Marc Andrew Piscotty of the Denver Rocky Mountain News.

Deadline: January 31 Entry fee: $50 Contact: Patty Cottingham at (800) 888-3000 Web site: www.scripps.com/foundation

CARE International Award For Humanitarian Reportage

The contest is open to professional photographers whose work reports on tragic situations or abuses against human rights or human dignity requiring a humanitarian action. Olivier Jobard of Sipa Press won the award in 2004 for his work documenting the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. The 8,000 EUR prize is presented at the Visa pour l’Image photojournalism festival in Perpignan, France each summer, where the winner’s work is exhibited alongside work from four finalists. CARE is a humanitarian aid organization fighting global poverty.

Web site: www.care.org

Oscar Barnack Prize

Sponsored by Leica Camera AG since 1979, the Oscar Barnack Prize looks for photos that “express man’s relationship to his environment in a story of no more than 12 images.” The 5,000 EUR prize is announced each summer at the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie festival in Arles, France. Projects must have been completed the year before the year of the contest, or long-term projects where at least a few photographs were taken in 2004. Peter Granser won the award in 2003 for his project “Coney Island,” which looks at the current demise of the once-great amusement park in New York City.

Deadline: January 31 Web site: http://www.leicacamera.com/ kultur/events/wettbewerbe/index_e.html

Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award

This award focuses on the life of disadvantaged people in the US, their way of life, their plight and their potential. Entries must be published in the U.S. for first time.

Entry Fee: $20 Tel: 202.463.7575×225 Address: RFK Journalism Award Committee, 1367 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036.

PDN Photo Annual

PDN - Photo District News - they have a contest for evreything - the emerging talent PDN 30 does quite well for new photographers - it's not a contest, however, it's a feature in the magazine. link to contests at PDN

PDN’s contests have celebrated the best work in the professional community. Our contests allow photographers to be recognized for excellence, applaud our colleagues for their achievements, and offer inspiration all year. The PDN Photo Annual features a portfolio of award-winning pieces in the categories of Advertising, Editorial, News & Sports, Corporate/Design, Student Work, Photo Books, Photo Web Sites, and Personal Work; in 2005 a Stock category is being added. The judges include photo editors, art buyers from ad agencies, graphic designers, teachers—in other words, people from every field being represented in the Annual.

The Art Directors Club
This annual juried contest features dozens of categories, including several for photography. Deadline for submissions is January 31. Call (212) 643-1440, e-mail awards@adcglobal.org or visit www.adcglobal.org for more info. Gold and Silver Cube winners will be honored at a ceremony in New York in June. Link

The ADDY Awards
The ADDYs are sponsored by the American Advertising Federation to recognize creative excellence in advertising. Awards are given in several media categories as well as photography. Contact Gail Bozeman at gbozeman@aaf.org or visit the

Web site at www.aaf.org

The International Photography Awards conducts two parallel competitions each year—one for professional photographers and one for amateurs. Judges determine winners in a plethora of specific categories, including car photography, nudes and children. Certificates of excellence are awarded in all sub-categories to both groups, which compete separately. The top prize is the title of International Photographer of the Year, which comes with a $10,000 prize. The best amateur photographer receives the New Discovery Award, which comes with a $2,000 cash prize. The work of all the winners are published in the annual International Photography Awards Book and displayed in a Los Angeles gallery. In addition, the 15 finalists (eight professionals and seven nonprofessionals) will also receive two tickets each to the Lucie Awards ceremony.

Deadline for the 2008 competition is April 30th. Web site: www.photoawards.com

Other Foundation Grants And Awards

The Alicia Patterson Foundation’s Fellowship Program for Journalists awards one-year grants to working journalists to pursue independent projects of significant interest. Works completed for the project are then published in APF Reporter, a quarterly magazine published by the Foundation. There are not set categories for photographers, but one or two are usually selected each year. Fellows receive a $35,000 stipend, one of the largest amounts for any grant. Freelance photographer Builder Levy and Washington Poststaff photographer Lois Raimondo are among the recipients of the 2004 fellowships. Web site: www.aliciapatterson.org

The Alexia Foundation awards grants to professionals and scholarships to students photographers to help them complete documentary work that promotes world peace and cultural understanding. Any photographer can apply but proposals that have received awards exceeding $1,000 in previous calendar year are not eligible. This is not a portfolio competition but emphasizes a concise, focused and meaningful story proposal. In 2004, judges awarded Roger Lemoyne a $15,000 grant and Francesco Zizola $7,500 award. Marie Arago was the first place student scholarship winner. Web site: www.alexiafoundation.org

The NPPA/Nikon Sabbatical Grant enables a working photojournalist to take a three-month leave of absence to pursue a documentary project illuminating “The Changing Face of America.” The award includes a $15,000 stipend. One winner is selected each year. Past winners include Felicia Webb, Jon Lowenstein, Eugene Richards and John Ficara. Deadline is December 27, 2004. Web site: http://www.nppa.org/ competitions/nikon_documentary_sabbatical/info.html

The Dorothea Lange/Paul Taylor Prize, administered by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, awards $10,000 annually to encourage collaborative documentary work in the tradition of American photographer Dorothea Lange and writer and social scientist Paul Taylor. Portland, Oregon-based freelance photographer Jim Lommasson and boxing writer Katherine Dun took the 14th annual award in 2004. Other past winners have included Keith Carter, Donna DeCesare, Ernesto Bazan, Deborah Luster, Rob Amberg, Jason Eskenazi, Dona Ann McAdams and Misty Keasler. The Center for Documentary Studies also hands out awards for student documentary work and the Honickman First Book Prize in Photography, a biennial prize offering publication of a book of photography, a $3,000 award and inclusion in a traveling exhibition of prizewinners. Web site: http://cds.aas.duke.edu/grants/

The Santa Fe Prize For Photography, now in its second year, the Santa Fe Prize for Photography aims to recognize and reward photographers who have completed or are near completing a meaningful body of work. Winners are chosen from a list of photographers nominated by curators, editors, publishers, photographers and educators. This year’s single juror was Roy Flukinger, research curator of photography at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Byron Wolfe, a photography educator at California State University, Chico, has won the 2004 Santa Fe Prize for Photography for his essay “Everyday: A Poetic Diary with Pictures.” The award includes $5,000 and participation in Review Santa Fe. Honorable mentions were awarded to Kelli Connell of Youngstown, Ohio and Paul D’Amato of Riverside, Ill. The inaugural award went to Alec Soth, now of Magnum, for his project “Sleeping By the Mississippi.” Web site: www.santafecenterforphotography.org

Deutsche Borse Photography Prize-formerly the Citigroup Photography Prize-is organized by the Photographers’ Gallery in London. Essentially a fine art prize, the award recognizes living photographers who have made the most significant contribution to photography during the past year. Photographers are nominated for a significant exhibition or publication that took place in Europe between Nov. 1, 2003 and Oct. 2004. Nominees are selected from a jury, so no applications are accepted (if you have to lobby for inclusion, you’re probably not going to win anyway). One winner is selected from a shortlist to receive $55,600 (�30,000); three runners up each receive $5,560 (�3,000). The jury is chaired by Paul Wombell, director of the Photographers’ Gallery and 2005 jury members include Kate Bush, editorial director contemporary art and photography, Phaidon Press; Rosa Olivares, director EXIT magazine, Madrid; Christoph Ruys, director, PhotoMuseum, Antwerp. Shortlist winners will be announced Dec. 16; the award ceremony will take place on May 5, 2005. Previous winners of the Citigroup Photography Prize include Juergen Teller, Joel Sternfeld, Shirana Shahbazi, Boris Mikhailov, Anna Gaskell, Rineke Dijkstra, Andreas Gursky and Richard Billingham. Web site: http://www.photonet.org.uk/ programme/citibank.html

China International Press Photo Contest, the first of which is going to held in March 2005, is China’s newest entry into the international competition arena. Modeled after World Press Photo, CHIPP as the first and largest of its kind event ever held in China. Professional photojournalists throughout the world are invited to create a visual record of the past year focusing on the challenges and struggles for a peaceful and prosperous world. The aim is to encourage high professional practices in photojournalism and promotes the free exchange of information. This year’s jury includes Robert Pledge, president of Contact Press Images, Jim Dooley, former director of photography at Newsday, and the founding president of the Associated Press Photo and Alain Lebouc, chairman of France’s Scoop Photo Festival. www.chipp.cn/emain.asp

The Golden Light Awards, which generally begin taking entries in the fall, are aimed at emerging photographers. Winners in seven categories receive $1,700 in tuition grants to the Maine Photographic Workshops and other awards, including equipment and material support. Categories include documentary and photojournalism, advertising and commercial, personal and fine art, environment and landscape, travel, digital and portraiture. Entry fees are $45. For more information visit www.GoldenLightAwards.org

The College Photographer of the Year contest is conducted annually to help young photographers evaluate their abilities as visual communicators and compare their work with that of their peers. Top portfolio winners receive a summer internship and a $1,000 scholarship. Runners-up receive cash prizes and film. Undergrads and grad students enrolled in the 2003-2004 school year are eligible. The call for entries is usually in the fall. Entries for the 2004 competition were judged Nov. 7, 2004 through Nov. 10, 2004 on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, Missouri. Contact Angel Anderson at (573) 882-4882 or e-mail info@cpoy.org. Web site: www.cpoy.org

The NLGJA Excellence in Photojournalism Award bestows $500 and two non-cash awards to recognize and reward excellence in photojournalism for issues related to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. Phone: (202) 588-9888. E-mail: info@nlgja.org. Web site: www.nlgja.org

Ice too.

I'm back in 80 degree Florida and I actually miss the cold.  Thanks to everyone for a wonderful week of growth. I am reworking my book concept and will try to post it here.  If anyone knows how to post an Aperture generated book to a blog let me know; I know I can make a pdf but that may not be the best method. Also developing johnballiett.com and will let you know when it's live.

Thank You Brenton Hamilton

"Red on Red" (Gum Washes Over Cyanotype)
©Brenton Hamilton, All Rights Reserved

Here's our thank you to our special guest last week, Brenton Hamilton, Cyanotypist. We're very grateful he made time for our group - one thing that sticks with me is how calculated one has to be - Brenton went as far as to wait until the not-so-busy season Summer (or was it Spring?) to drop off his work at New York galleries - shrewd.

Finally make sure you get on Brenton's mailing list so you can receive news of his shows... he can be reached at bhstudio2000 at yahoo dot com (in case you're unfamiliar with why I wrote out his email like that - it keeps the crawler robots from harvesting email addresses to sell to spammers - doesn't that sound all sinister!)

thanks again Brenton for sharing your work and working methods.

Taxidermy

©Amy Stein-click for a bigger view

Cleaning up my desktop after last week - isn't it amazing how even virtually we can get so cluttered - I had made screenshots (apple+shift+4) of these Amy Stein pictures that I really liked but never showed them - she uses taxidermy quite well.

Ice on Sunday and keeping in touch

So, someone from the class has to be the keeping in touch pioneer and it looks to be me. 

John and I took off to Bar Harbor on Friday afternoon through the increasingly bad weather. Trying to get in before dark, We were sad to have missed Sally's gallery opening. I hope it works out well and prints are sold by the dozens. 

On Saturday, we ran around the island and came across some particularly interesting ice formations. So, now I'm back in Tulsa trying to catch myself and my wife up from being gone for a week. 

I wanted to say thanks to Russell and Sandra for their openness and being willing to take their time to share with us all last week. I hope everyone was able to take as much away from the experience as I did. Thanks guys!

I also wanted to thank Sally and the rest of the class for bringing their unique perspectives to it and making the week diverse and interesting. 

Now, don't be strangers and drop me a line on a regular basis folks.

Take care,

B

Andrea Gilkey

We affectionately nicknamed Andrea "William Eggleston's Niece" Here's the cover of her forthcoming monograph:

Short n' sweet

I feel like everyone had to rush off to get home after only just getting to the workshops this past week. I wanted to say thank you to everyone for making it a very enjoyable and memorable time for me. My information wasn't on the handout, but if you want to contact me or check out my work, here is my website. Good luck to all of you and I hope to keep in touch to find out where you have taken yourself and your amazing work.

Guin Freccia

from Guin, our 17-year-old wannabe travel photographer, we showed her Nan & Lauren's books - told her not to leave her room.....



Here's Guin's Artist Statement:
"Something as simple lighting can make a person look completely different. Common items around the house such as glue, sparkles, paint, false eyelashes and magazine cutouts altered the physical look of a model. Playing multiply games of dress can produce amazing photographs. Now a days so many people get plastic surgery to “look better” or try and look like some one else. Appearance can be altered in some nay different ways bedsides surgery.
"Girls should not be worried about drastically changing their appearance."

Byron does promo

Byron's first promotional piece. Sweet!

What a Fantastic Workshop!

we finished up a great week working on some promo ideas....

John Balliett

©John Balliet, 2007

I awoke this morning to this email from John Balliet who is one of our students in our "Turning Pro" workshop:

"I had just returned from a doctor visit where I was informed that I have an incurable disease which will make me blind over the course of a few years.
I reflected on the beauty in my backyard in the few remaining minutes of twilight... the sun had actually already set. God has been so good to me. Since then I "see" more clearly every day.
Getting old, going blind..... no problem. My hope and trust are secure. "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Ps 23:6

Now I just need a few more megapixels to share my vision. .....and a gallery to display them in. Thanks for the push."

see more images here

Preying on Photographers?

I can't help but apply my healthy skepticism filter to the many emails I receive offering to "revolutionize" my business. This is from a company called "LiveBooks" that has a template-based web design service for photographers - you can have a beautiful website in a few minutes - but it's notoriously expensive; I think it's about $5,000 for a site.

Anyway, LiveBooks is now offering workshops to "revolutionize" my business.

Here's a list of 16 so-called "consultants" that offer their services to photographers looking for the keys to success. To me, these services remind me more of a product that should promoted by infomercial on the QVC channel: "Miracle Cure: No Need to do all the hard work - turn yourself into Annie Leibowitz overnight...."

http://www.burnsautoparts.com
http://www.1portauthority.com/
http://www.deannedelbridge.com
http://www.monicasuder.com
http://www.mpiscopo.com
http://www.heartstorming.com
http://www.adbase.com/ContentPage.aspx?name=debraweiss
http://www.mvswanson.com/
http://www.fotoprojx.com
http://www.sosastone.com
http://www.suzannesease.com
http://www.fluidvisioninc.com
http://www.cpotts.com/
http://www.chatterboxenterprises.com/
http://www.sparkvisualresearch.com/
http://www.marketing-mentor.com/
http://www.kate-company.com/
http://www.workbook.com/resources/consultations/
http://www.brand-envy.com/

The Photograph Not Taken

Photographers writing about images they didn't take....

http://www.thephotographsnottaken.com/

Chase Jarvis

Here's a link to a video you may want to watch - it's about what it takes to compete in the advertising photography world.

http://blog.photoshelter.com/2007/09/chase_jarvis_turning_frowns_up.html

Post Your Artist Statement Here

Artist's Statement Evolve:

from Alec Soth's blog - talking about Richard Barnes:

"As regular readers know, I have a fascination with ‘the sentence’ – the shorthand summation everyone uses to describe a particular person. Some are easy (“He’s the guy that photographs Weimaraners). But Barnes is a tricky case. I doubt people would remember ‘He’s an architectural photographer who’s done fine art projects on birds, museums and the Unabomber.’ Whatever the phrase is, Barnes was able to sum up his achievements with a remarkably elegant sentence: “My work is all about containment.” He went on to say that he’d only made this connection in the last few years.

See the whole post here to understand more about Barnes' statement about his work..

So where's your artist statement?