Friday, September 12, 2008

yeah! atlanta photography




Artadia Website






Fun and exciting times here in Atlanta!!

We are on the brink of ACP [Atlanta Celebrates Photography]. This means lots of shows, artist talks, and parties. It also means a ton of calls for entries around the area. Check out their website for a recent list of calls, as well as a downloadable pdf of all the events.

Also, you'll notice about a link to Artadia, a grant for artists in the Atlanta area. The grant amount ranges from $1500 to $15,000. I've never applied for a grant before because the applications are always daunting and our tiny college doesn't currently have a grant writer (someone who is supposed to help professors write their grant applications), but this application looks simple, to-the-point, and is all online! I love that people are getting out of requiring slides. They never made sense to me. Who wants to have their work judged on a miniature representation of it [because we all know, no one actually took the time to use a projector].

Speaking of projectors... yesterday was the first day I had to use a projector in class. And I'm talking about the old-school slide projector. I use a digital variety every day, but for yesterday's class, I needed to display 2 images side by side. [not possible with digi] It took me 8 minutes to locate the slides I wanted to use in our slide cabinet and place in a wheel, 10 minutes to figure out how to get the thing not to automatically change the slide every 2 seconds, 4 minutes to get the lens adjusted, what seemed like 20 hours (but was probably only 7 minutes) to get the cords untangled because no one ever uses them... and then, when I put up the slide projection next to the digital projection, it was so dark you could barely see the image. To those "purists" who say slide are so much better... you're straight silly.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

SPE - National - Scholarships


Image by Tyler Robbins

Don't forget... next year's SPE conference is in Dallas, TX. March 26-29.

There are scholarships available for students who want to go, as well as conference fee reimbursement for volunteering at the conference.

Here's the info from their website. Click on the link to view the information about scholarships.


"Sprawl"
46th SPE National Conference
Dallas, Texas
March 26 - 29, 2009
Fairmont Dallas Hotel


The city of Dallas provides an informative and imaginative backdrop for the conference theme. Like other metropolitan areas since the 1960s, Dallas has seen suburban sprawl reshape its civic geography and identity. Sprawl then is a physical manifestation of civic growth and population migration, housing developments and ‘big-box’ retail parks. But the concept of sprawl also prompts discussions of environmental conservation, the appropriate use of land and resources, the loss and/or renewal of city centers and close-knit neighborhood communities. Cultural depictions of sprawl have long been a mainstay in popular culture, including the 1970s photo movement New Topographics, William Gibson’s cyberpunk fiction, the music of Sonic Youth, and in TV shows, such as “Weeds,” with its ‘burb’-inspired theme song “Little Boxes.” Sprawl—suburban landscape and life—serves as both cultural inspiration and critique. The organizers of the 2009 SPE National Conference invite imagemakers, historians, critics, and curators to submit proposals illuminating the visual and cultural complexities of Sprawl as a defining concept and reality of our twenty-first century public experience.

Our Host City of Dallas
Dallas is situated on rolling plains near the Trinity River, midway between the Piney Woods of east Texas and the vast landscape of the Great Plains. It is a sprawling metropolis shaped by the confluence of diverse cultures and communities. Today, civic ambitions have created a dynamic cityscape in which urban flight has been reversed and a municipal footprint of inner city idealism is being reestablished. Thus Dallas blossoms with cultural and social renewal from its urban center to its far flung suburban neighborhoods, as seen in new building construction designed by noteworthy architects such as I.M. Pei, Rem Koolhaas, Renzo Piano and Phillippe Stark. Public art works revitalize planned residential and commercial districts, like Victory Park with its multiple, moving video screens streaming programming into the wee hours of the morning. Beyond these exciting civic features, SPE conference goers will find ready access via the Dallas Metroplex to a plethora of museums and cultural institutions: Amon Carter Museum; Nasher Sculpture Garden; the Fort Worth Modern; Dallas Museum of Art; Dallas Contemporary; the DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University; and the McKinney Avenue Contemporary. So mark your calendars for March 26 – 29, 2009 and join colleagues and friends at the SPE National Conference in Dallas!

Call for images




AXE Proximity presents
UnScene Atlanta


HOW IT WORKS: We are looking for your "unscene" images taken in Atlanta or the surrounding areas. We are looking for a story, a collection - a strong body of work - not just one great shot. You can upload up to 20 photos for $25.00 for a chance to be selected as one of the five local finalists from a professional judging panel. If selected as a winner, you will work with Mason Murer Gallery on your own exhibit to launch sometime in the Fall of 2009.

THE THEME: Your untold stories - people, places or things taken in and around Atlanta.

THE LOCAL EVENT: The date of the event is September 17th and the location will be W Atlanta Midtown. The five local finalists selected will be invited to show off their 10 best photographs for this special one-night gallery event. Their prints will go on sale for a one night only event with 40% of the proceeds benefiting a local charity and the remaining 60% directly into your pocket. At the conclusion of the evening, the local winner will be announced.

WHERE: W Atlanta Midtown
September 17, 2008
7-9pm


THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE:September 10th 2008, 7:00pm PST.

SUBMISSION FEE: $25.00 for up to 20 photo uploads

THE BASIC RULES: You have to be an Atlanta resident or surrounding suburbs (or sometime within the last 5 years) and must be at 21 years of age or older. Please read the terms of the contest before uploading your photos. If chosen, you will be responsible to print and mount your own work.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

new photographers and galleries

Just so you know, I just added a heck load of new photographers that I am interested in as well as some new photo galleries. Let me know what you think. Who do you like?

Monday, September 1, 2008

michaela and collin [or, why i question having another kid]



Rita Bernstein, Michaela and Collin, 1998

I absolutely love this image. This is a great example of using humor in your images to captivate your audience. Bernstein has composed a beautiful image, that captures that defiant wonder of childhood and brotherly love (which I have only recently been able to understand through my brother-in-laws, being an only child, myself). That sibling torture that only happens with love. That love that makes parents both infuriated and tickled at the same time. Thanks for making me laugh today, Rita.