Photographer Barbara Smith to visit

On Wednesday May 2nd is room EE250 at the Pacific Coast Campus of
Long Beach City College, photographer and author Barbara Smith will
speak to the Photo 41 class at 6:30pm. All are invited and
encouraged to attend. Barbara was recently a lecturer at the WPPI
convention in Las Vegas.

The subject at WPPI (Las Vegas) was "Beyond the Photographic Print."
Here's the course description:
"In this tantalizing workshop, photographers learn how to transform
their images, whether film- or digital-based, into personalized
products such as custom business cards, promotional materials, client
publications, stationery, and handmade books. "Beyond the
Photographic Print" utilizes the powerful features of Adobe
Photoshop as the basis for digital imaging and simple graphic
design. Layouts are then printed on suitable papers for an elegant,
professional presentation with a fine art flair."

Barbara has authored two 'how to' photography books. She has a
wonderful mind for business and promotion and is very creative and
talented as well. She was recently filmed for an upcoming piece for
HGTV's 'that's clever' to be aired in early 2008.

Please email Suzy Skaar (sskaar@earthlink.net) if you have any questions.

Photo Lucida

This week I'm up in Portland for Photo Lucida, a photography conference which features 4 days of portfolio reviews (see above). Imagine spending the day either having a crit, or waiting to have one.

Why am I doing this?

Besides the obvious reasons, it's the land of opportunities in ways you might not think of. First, I've learned a lot about the current work I'm doing. Four to five times a day I've got to sit down with a stranger and explain who I am and what they're looking at. There's something about that process that helps you understand what you've been doing and why. Second, as a teacher I spend most of my time on the other side of the table and it's important to remember what it feels like to be scared of how others will receive my work. Finally, I get to meet a group of people who "get" me.

Mitchell Maher - Film Stills

Tuesday night I ended up at the PCC lab with Tom Paiva's/Kireilyn Barber's color class and Dean Hadlock's b&w class. Ran into Mitchell Maher working on several projects at once. The above images are from his new website which features a personal "film stills" project. He's also responsible for the image on our Photo Contest (see Photo Events sidebar) poster. www.mitchellmaher.org

Next week I head out to Photo Lucida and will be uploading stills on that experience. It's speed-dating meets photo-critique in Portland.

Best to all, enjoy your break,

Ann

Get out there

Enjoy Spring Break...while you've got some time you might consider the following opportunities to get your photography out into the world.

The Center for Fine Art Photography has multiple "calls for entries" right now. An International Student show which is open to all students from high school through university levels, a Black and White show and an Alternatives show. The Center is located in Ft Collins, Colorado and is dedicated to photography as a creative form of expression.


Another great opportunity is being offered through The Photo Review, which is a highly acclaimed journal of photography. Their 2007 Photography Competition will be judged by Toby Jurovics, Curator of Photography at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Winners will be published in the Exhibition issue...which means thousands of people will see your work.

Entering competitions is a bit of a numbers game. When deciding what types of competitions to apply for: avoid high fees (over $30) and look for locations or jurors with good reputations.