Great Camera Review Website

Greetings.

For those of you looking for a shiny new digital camera for the Holidays, check out
this website: Digital Photography Review .com



This site features in depth reviews of all the latest cameras, and will even allow you to download sample images from most of the cameras. There is a really cool feature that allows you to select several cameras and see each one's specs side by side (navigate to -Buying Guide-Side by Side).

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. Remember the campus is closed Thursday and Friday and the LAC lab will be closed Wednesday as well.

ONLY TWO WEEKS OF CLASS LEFT BEFORE FINALS!

js

Historic magazine's photos now online

There's a new resource online for historic images, Google and Life magazine have joined up to create a searchable data base of Life's photos. Some of these you'll recognize right away (see Dorothea Migrant Mother 1930's) but many of them are from their unpublished archives. The archive starts in the 1750's and continues to today.

AM

Watch your Stuff!!

A word of warning to all who use the photo lab and studios at the PCC campus. There is a thief among you! There were two thefts yesterday of unattended bags sitting in the lab. One of them was only 3 or 4 feet from the owner. Please, keep an eye on your belongings and keep an eye out for anyone who is suspicious.

On another note:

There is a camera expo this Sunday (the 23rd) in Carson. What is it? A large room set up with tables and tables of used equipment. It is a lot of fun to go and look, and you just might find a good deal. There is also a photoshop workshop that is free with admission (only $5).
For more info, go to:
http://www.cameraexpo.com/

Also, if you haven't already turned in your four 8x10s for Photo 281 or 291 DO IT NOW!!! We are still accepting them.


js

Exhibition for LBCC Photo Coordinator

This past weekend, I visited Seattle to attend the opening reception of the exhibition that I'm in at the Photographic Center Northwest. I was showing my Val Verde project which features an estate and gardens in Montecito, CA (where the fires are). The event went well and I'm pleased to say work sold before we opened (always a good feeling).

I also got a chance to tour the facilities, which were really wonderful. The Center specializes in "photography for social justice" and they have terrific b&w and color darkrooms. What I really loved was the passion and enthusiasm for photography that everyone seemed to have. The Center was started as a grass roots project in the 1980's and has evolved into a well respected and active organization.

A. M.

Photo Club Camping Trip a Success!

The Photo Club camping trip to Joshua Tree National Park was a smashing success. Most campers arrived Friday night to a lively campfire. Saturday a group went on a 3 mile hike to 49 Palms Oasis. Sunday morning we awoke to some wind which caused a few snapped tent poles. A good time was had by all.

Reminder - Turn in your prints for Photo 281

If you enrolled in the lab class Photo 281 or 291, you need to turn in your prints to get credit for the class.
You need to turn in 4-8x10s in a manila envelope to the instructor of the lab class you signed up for. There is a poster in each lab with a list of instructor names and on which campus they are located. If your instructor is at PCC, then leave the prints in the checkout room. If the instructor is at LAC, leave them in that instructor's mailbox in the Art office K102.

js

Photo Club - Pre-trip meeting for the Camping Trip

The Photo Club will be having a pre-trip meeting for the Joshua Tree camping trip. Come and join us Wed. Oct 29 at 4pm in room EE250.

This camping trip is open to all. We'll be leaving Friday Nov. 7 and will be in Jumbo Rocks campground until Sunday Nov. 9. Make sure you contact Brian or Jeff or one of the photo club officers if you'd like to go. The campground is very busy and will fill up fast. We'll be going early and will reserve campsites for as many people we know will be going. There is no fee, but it does cost $10 per campsite and there is a $15 entrance fee to the park.

Joshua Tree National Park is about 2 and a half hours from Long Beach. It is beautiful high-desert country filled with, what else, Joshua Trees and strange rock formations. It is a nature and landscape photographers dream. Not into nature and landscape, then explore the small desert communities around the area, photograph the dinosaurs along the way, or just show up in the evening for the campfire.

We hope to see you there!

Photo Club Meeting

The Photo Club will meet this Wednesday (Oct. 15) at 4pm in room EE250 at the PCC campus. New and exciting events will be planned. See you there!

Darkroom clean-up day Tomorrow!

Do you use the darkroom and lab at the PCC campus? Then you should join the Photo Club in its first "Clean-Up Day". Tomorrow, Friday the 10th, We will gather at 12:30pm and dust, sweep, clean and scrub up the lab. The more people who show up the easier it will be.

Camping trip - Joshua Tree National Park
The Photo club is planning a group camping trip to Joshua Tree National Park on November 7, 8 and 9 (Fri-Sun). If you'd like to help plan the trip, show up at the next meeting, Wed. the 15th of October or email Jeff at jsmeding@lbcc.edu. We will discuss the trip in full at the meeting on October 29. If you've never been camping before, now's the time. Joshua Tree Nat'l Park is about a 3 hour trip from Long Beach and is a beautiful high desert with incredible rock formations and, of course, tons of Joshua Trees.

Photo Club - Next meeting is Wednesday October 15 at 4pm in room EE250. We hope to see you there.

Join the Photo Club !

Now is the time to join. The Photo Club held its first meeting this past Wednesday and elected club officers. Congratulations to:

President: Marin Wendoll
Vice Presidents: Zulema Breedlove and Matt Pham
Secretary: Nancy Rodriguez
Treasurer: Linette Sharrow

We are really trying to get the club going with outings, activities and fund raisers. It is all up to YOU to get it going. We are talking about a camping trip to Joshua Tree, a photo outing to LA or downtown Long Beach, and maybe even a trip to the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson for a look behind the scenes.

The next meeting is Wednesday, October 15th at 4pm in Room EE250 at the PCC campus.

For more information or to get on the email list, email club sponsors Brian Doan (mail@briandoan.com) or Jeff Smeding (jsmeding@lbcc.edu).

Juried Photo Show

Here is a great opportunity to get your work shown in a gallery. Start building up your resume.

Entries are now being accepted for this year's Michael Kellicutt International Juried Photo Show Through A Lens: Contrasting Elements. Entries will be received now through January 31st 2009. This year we are honored to introduce a panel of 3 jurors.

About the Theme
Capturing an image that shows an unusual combination or contrast is rewarding but can be challenging. Cause the viewer to pause and explore the relationships of the objects in the frame. Why are they together? How are they similar? How are they different?

About the Jurors
To provide the best evaluation of images we have a panel of three luminary jurors.

Charles Cramer
Charles Cramer has been photographing the landscape for 30 years. He is recognized as a master printmaker for his rare expertise in dye transfer printing-a nearly lost photographic art form-and his more recent mastery of digital printmaking processes. Photographs by Charles Cramer are available through fine photographic galleries, including the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite. He has taught digital imaging for the Ansel Adams Gallery Workshops, Palm Beach Workshops, West Coast Imaging, Anderson Ranch, The Lepp Institute, and in seminars co-sponsored by HP. Charles Cramer's landscape work has been published by National Geographic Books, Sierra Club, and the Yosemite Association. He has been profiled in PhotoTechniques, PhotoVision, and View Camera Magazines. He is also included in the book "Landscape: The World's Top Photographers," published by Rotovision.

Janet Jones
Janet Jones is a San Francisco artist working in a variety of media, incorporating printmaking, painting, collage, assemblage, photography and digital techniques. She is a graduate of the California College of Arts and Crafts, now known as the California College of the Arts, and has exhibited extensively and won numerous awards. Her work is in corporate and private collections in the United States and Europe. She has been invited to jury exhibits for San Francisco Women Artists, the Oakland Art Association, the Central California Art League and the California State Fair. She is represented in the Achenbach Collection of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. She is a past editor of The California Printmaker. Currently her three-dimensional photo-assemblage "Identity Papers" is in a traveling exhibit that includes venues in Japan, Slovakia and New York.

Michael Collopy
Photographer Michael Collopy is one of the preeminent portrait photographers of our time and has gained worldwide recognition for his commissioned portraits of hundreds of public figures. His portfolio includes portraits of world leaders such as Pope John Paul II, Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher and entertainers like Ella Fitzgerald, Mick Jagger, B. B. King and Luciano Pavarotti. Collopy's photos have been published worldwide in numerous books, magazines and newspapers. A San Francisco native, Collopy is a self-taught photographer whose enthusiasm for the arts led him to meet and spend time with such luminaries as Ansel Adams and Richard Avedon.


Hosted by the Coastal Arts League.
Juror: Michael Collopy
First Prize: $2,000 (Over $3,500 in total prizes)
Entry deadline: January 31st, 2009 (received by)
Exhibition: April / May 2009
Media: Open to all forms of photography

Entries need to be received by January 31st 2009, for more entry details please review the entry form and prospectus, available at
http://www.coastalartsleague.com/photoshow/Prospectus/2009KellicuttProspectus.pdf

Feel free to forward information about this show to your friends. You can simply direct them to the informational link on our site at:
http://www.coastalartsleague.com/photoshow/

We also have a flyer for the show available at:
http://www.coastalartsleague.com/photoshow/flyers/TAL-CE.pdf


If you are interested in seeing shows from previous years you can see selected works at:

2008 Through A Lens: Patterns of People or Patterns in Nature
http://www.coastalartsleague.com/kellicutt/2008/index.html

2007 Through A Lens: Life in Motion
http://www.coastalartsleague.com/4thAnnualJuriedShow/4thAnnual_Juried_Show.htm

2006 Through A Lens: Textures of Our Lives
http://www.coastalartsleague.com/2006JuriedCompetition/2006NationalJuriedCompetitionCA.htm

2005 Through A Lens: The Human Element
http://www.coastalartsleague.com/2005Photoshow/2005PhotoShow.htm

2004 Through A Lens: Urban Landscapes
http://www.coastalartsleague.com/urbanlandscapes.htm

Photo Club is coming!!!

Want to get involved with the program - meet new people - get rich quick (just kidding)?

Brian Doan (our newest faculty member) and Jeff Smeding will be starting the LBCC Photography Club again this semester. Posters will be up at both labs - membership will have its benefits, so plan to attend and participate. In the past Photo Club members have funded field trips and many other interesting projects.

AM

LA Flash @ LACMA

Last Saturday evening the LA County Museum of Art hosted a celebration of Los Angeles street style with an event called LA Flash. Billed as "one of the social and photographic highlights of the season" it featured book signings by Larry Sultan, Henry Wessel, Lauren Greenfield, Ed Panar, and Mike Slack.

Just off the entrance to the museum was an exhibition of Philip-Lorca diCorcia. The exhibition is a mix of prints from the various series he's done over the past 20 years. Unfortunately for me, this approach didn't work, but what I would really recommend was the showing of 1,000 of his Polaroids. It really gave me a chance to get a better sense of how he thinks and there was an intimacy that his large photographs lack.

It got me thinking about Polaroid and how working with it was such an important part of so many photographers' creative experience. There's something about being able to lay a set of Polaroid prints down on the table and try and figure out what was or wasn't working with a shooting session. Prints could be cropped, combined with other images, placed into layouts...you name it, and at the end of the shoot you'd be able to bring them home. I still have Polaroids that I look at every day - trying to figure out why I'm drawn to an image - what' s important about it.

I wonder if the demise of Polaroid is also about the demise of the print. So many of our images are never printed now, they just exist on hard drives or cell phones. Is it still important to print? What's important about the printed image?

Just wondering,
AM

Photo Contest Winners

Congratulations to Justin Renshaw for winning "Best in Show" in this year's Spring Photo Contest. The Gallery opening was held Saturday, April 19 at a funky upstairs gallery in the Arts district in downtown Long Beach. A great time was had by all. Congratulations to the winners:
Best in Show Justin Renshaw
Color
First Place Jacob Greenlund
Second Place Rozlynn Fattaleu
Third Place Natashi Rossi
Black and White
First Place Andrea P. Saenz
Second Place Norma Padilla
Third Place Joshua Rayburn
Alternative Processes
First Place John N. Fouts
Second Place TeNesha Mosley
Third Place Jonathan Ramirez

Freestyle Scholars Award for Black and White Silver Photography.
First Place Nick Motzkus
Second Place Andrea P. Saenz
Third Place Oscar Alcaraz

You should also check out the ART STUDENT ART exhibit in the art gallery at the LAC campus. This is a student show featuring all of the art departments with the photography program well represented. Check out the pics below (Justin's Grand Prize photo contest winner is the large night-shot in the center of the first photo).

Naked Clowns on Unicycles! PhotoFest a Smash!

The first annual PhotoFest@LBCC turned out to be a smashing success. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen, and thanks to everyone who attended. Three days of workshops, portfolio reviews and hands-on workshops ended Thursday evening with an eclectic panel of noted photographers talking about their projects and a round table discussion afterwards. The main theme that all four photographers could agree on was to GET OUT AND SHOOT! Unleash your passion for photography and the ideas will come (even ideas about naked clowns on unicycles!). It was a very inspiring evening.

Join us this Saturday for the Gallery opening and the Student Photo Show awards. It will take place from 6pm to 10pm at at the Mark Anthony Gallery, 441 East First St., Long Beach CA 90802.

Keynote Event: The Photographic Project

Unless you've been asleep for the past few months, you've realized that we're having a Photography Festival here at the college. One of the events that I'd strongly like to encourage you to attend is our Keynote Event: The Photographic Project.
This semester I've been teaching Photo 38: Marketing Professional Photography Skills. The most interesting part of the class is our visits and discussions with working photographers. Our Keynote Event is basically just that. You're going to get the opportunity to listen (and speak) to a very diverse group of individuals discuss how they are making a life in photography. Each one of them has had a very different journey and I think that's what makes photography such an interesting field.
My biggest goal with the Festival was to give us all a greater sense of the love and passion that photographers have for their work. I know that experience can easily get lost as you sit in a classroom during the regular semester, so here's a chance to get inspired!

Keynote Event: The Photographic Project, Thursday April 17th, 6pm
PhotoFest@LBCC

Best to all,
Ann Mitchell

Juried Competition at the L.A. County Fair

Photography at High Speed:
A Historical and Contemporary Exhibit

Showing at the 2008 L.A. County Fair
September 5-28, 2008

This year's juried competition will result in a dynamic exhibit – potentially reaching 1.4 million viewers that attend the Fair annually – that displays both the winners and highlights key moments in photographic history, from pinholes to pixels! The distinguished jury panel comprises jurors from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art, the UCR/California Museum of Photography, and Nash Editions. Professional and amateur entries will be judged separately. Entries are accepted online, so there are NO GEOGRAPHICAL LIMITATIONS. Shipping credit is available.

PhotoFest@LBCC is coming this spring!

The first annual PhotoFest@LBCC will be held in Long Beach, California with 4 days of photography-related events and celebrations on April 15, 16, 17th and 19th. The festival will bring together a wide array of accomplished photographers from Southern California and will showcase the work of renowned photographic artists and photojournalists. Our goal is to celebrate photography and it’s impact on our world. (Photo by Mitch Maher)

Check out the PhotoFest website at:

http://lbccphotofest.blogspot.com/

Attention All! The Photo Club is starting up again!

Join a Club! After a hiatus of more than a few years, we are once again starting up the Photo Club at the PCC campus. Join us Thursday, Jan. 31st at 3pm in room EE250 - We'll even have FREE PIZZA for the first meeting.

The Photo Club is open to all LBCC students. It is a great way to socialize and network with other students. We can organize field trips, bring in working pros for lecture and demos, the sky's the limit!

GET INVOLVED! Te Nesha Mosley has agreed to be the first president, and the sponsor is Jeff Smeding, instructional associate. We are still looking for a VP, a treasurer etc etc. Let's make this a fun, rockin' and educational experience.

Remember the date: Thursday the 31st of January, at the PCC campus.
3pm in room EE250.

LBCC Photo Dept. alum shows Love and Hate

Christy Meaker, an alum of the LBCC Photo Department, is showing her work in a group show entitled "Love/Hate." Congratulations Christy.

The "LOVE/HATE" Art Exhibit
Love and hate are two of the most passionate emotions a person can feel.
They can both cause strong out comes, sometimes even insanity.
Most everyone has felt either the intense hurt or
that profound happiness because of love.
Show dates:
February 1st - 29th, 2008

Artist Reception: Saturday, February 9th 6pm-9pm

Location:
PICTURE THIS
Gallery & Custom Framing
4130 Norse Way
Long Beach, CA 90808
Email: picturethisgallery@gmail.com


Here is Christy's Bio:

Bio of a Multi-task full Photographer

The first time I ever used a 35mm SLR was in the fall of 2001 while attending an Introduction to Photography class at Long Beach City College. In an effort to develop my skills and explore the art of photography for a few years I studied a variety of classes such as B&W, color, portraiture, studio lighting experimental, fine art, documentary and digital photography. In 2001 I received an Associates of Science with an emphasis in Auto Mechanics as well as beginning my journey into the fine arts. The combination of working on cars, learning to weld and taking up fine arts has fashioned who I have become as an artist today. I enjoy working with metals, working on my own vehicles along with my desire to take photographs. My photography is most likely subject to include vintage automobiles, oldie movie theatres, desertscapes, any object of interest, and the people who are a part of my life. Sometimes I will photograph the pets or kids of friends and within the past year or so I have taken a move toward self portraiture. Not to mention, I take pleasure in documenting the process of some of my unconventional creations, which, incidentally gives explanation as to my Love/Hate entry.

Christy Meaker

Contests Competitions and Group Shows

Being in group shows, (especially winning them) is a great start to your photographic career. Here are two excellent upcoming competitions:

The "California Visual Artists" jurored show at the 2nd City Council Art Gallery and Performance Space. There is $1000 of prize money for the winners. The deadline for this show is Wed. January 30, 2008. For more information go to:
http://www.2ndcitycouncil.org/

There also is a student competition for Creative Quarterly the journal of Arts and Design. The deadline has been extended to February 11, 2008. This is an excellent magazine and to be picked for this show would be a real feather in your cap. For more information go to:
http://cqjournal.com/contests_entries.html

Congratulations to Ann Mitchell!

The latest issue of LensWork Magazine features the photos of Ann Mitchell, who is the photography program coordinator here at LBCC. She also recently published a fine-art book on the same subject; Austin Val Verde: Impressions of a Montecito Masterpiece. Ann is currently working on a series of Southern California triptychs.

LBCC Photo alum published

Robert Wells, a LBCC photography alumni, has had his work chosen for the Spot Literary Magazine Blog. The image chosen was one from a series Rob did on "Bar Life". His work combined experimental approaches with photography as well as beautiful zone system print-making. Rob is now at CSULB finishing a degree in English Literature.

http://spotlitmagazine.net/9.html

Instructional Associate Hired

Welcome back, it's been ages. The LBCC Photography program has been undergoing a lot of changes. We're just finished updating all of our classes. Part of that update will be to include digital technologies.
We've also just hired a new full-time Instructional Associate. His name is Jeff Smeding, you may have met him last year as the part-time sub. Jeff's an excellent photographer, here's a link to his work:
http://jeffsmeding.com/
Jeff will be working primarily at LAC, but you can catch him on Wednesdays at PCC. His weekday schedule is 8-4, and he'll be there to help you with either traditional or digital work.

Good to be back!

Summertime...

Sorry for the gap in posts, the end of the semester gets a bit crazy. We had a very successful Photo Contest and Open House - the winners are on display over the summer at the Kbuilding on the Liberal Arts Campus.

For this next year we're making a lot of changes, bringing digital into the entire program in a much more active way, increasing the professional content of our courses and instruction and just looking at many ways to create a photo community here at the college.

Have a great summer, consider signing up for a Phot 281 or 291 lab over the summer to keep your skills up. The lab will be open 5 days a week - mostly mornings - it should be a fun place to be.

Check out the following websites for interesting photography:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/slideshow/page/0,,2083188,00.html
Peter Walker talks to North Korea expert Nick Bonner and photographer Charlie Crane, who have produced a book of photographs from the country's capital, Pyongyang. The pair travelled to the city three times to photograph people, tourist sights and hotels.Laid out as a guidebook, the pictures in Welcome to Pyongyang are accompanied by commentaries from North Korean tourism guides.

http://pdnedu.blogs.com/
This is the Photo District News educational blog site. There are many contests listed as well as a very interesting list of blogs.

http://www.horvatland.com/pages/entrevues/07-moon-en_en.htm
When I was starting out in photography (before the dawn o'time) my favorite photographer was Sarah Moon. When everyone else was doing very straight glossy imagery, she was doing these grainy little narrative images that gave me the freedom to go my own way. Here's an early interview with her where she talks about working with models on location.

http://www.davistim.com/
Tim Davis, a graduate of Yale University, has a very interesting take on what might be quite mundane objects/locations.

Best to all...

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.

Exposure 2007

Joseph Franklin's beautiful image is one of the many photographs you'll see by LBCC students and alumni during the Exposure 2007 event in the East Village Arts District this month.

Small steps add up

I guess I'm still thinking about how we make the jump from amateurs to professionals. It can feel like an overwhelming task . . . to the point where we become immobilized. My suggestion is that you try to do one "outreach" each week - start now while you're a student. It doesn't seem like much, but at the end of a year you would have 52 points of possible success.

Here's a suggestion for your first week:

Russell Joslin is editor and publisher of SHOTS Magazine. This quarterly publication is dedicated to b&w photography and combines unusual imagery with interesting interviews. Right now they have a call for entries, and it's an open themed issue - so you might consider it. I met Russell a few years ago and was impressed by his love of photography and his interest in promoting newer artists. Here's a link to his website: http://www.shotsmag.com/ . Submissions are due May 1st.

Good luck,

Networking - aka "it's who you know"

One bit of advice most newcomers receive is on the importance of building a "network" to help promote their photography. Often they are left with the idea that it's "who you know" that will be the key to their success...and they don't know anyone. So, how does a newcomer create a set of people who know their work? One of the best ways can be portfolio reviews. These are often free and are offered by a wide range of groups and events.

At the end of this month there's a great opportunity to have your work reviewed by a professional at the SILVER CONFERENCE (see the sidebar for more info). Think of it like speed-dating for photographers. You generally get 20 minutes to present your work to a reviewer and often you can sign-up for more than one. This is a good start on the process of starting to have a "network".

Here are a few tips for success:

1. Bring approximately 15-20 pieces that are all from a related group of work. Too broad a selection makes it difficult to address your "vision".

2. Loose prints are often the best way to go because the reviewer can pull individual ones out to compare or discuss. These can be in a clamshell box or other simple container.

3. If you do oversized prints (larger than 16x20) it's a good idea to make a smaller set with maybe one full sized version you can have off to the side. I know one photographer who shows a small portfolio but has one full-sized image that has been cut into quarters and can be easily reassembled to give the impact of a larger image without the bulk.

4. If you're showing transparencies or other work that has special needs, speak with the organizer ahead of time to see if you can set-up ahead of time.

5. Practice a short introduction to yourself and your work, then shut up and let the reviewer do their thing. It's okay to mention a few items as they look through, but most reviewers need time to process their thoughts.

6. Bring a notepad and business cards. If it's more of a professional situation, bring "leave-behinds" also.

7. Be on time. Good luck.

March 18th, 2007

First day of blog. I have no idea how to create a blog...so it's going to be an experiment. I started out to revive an old newsletter when it occurred to me that it was time to think in new ways and so...we're blogging!

My goal is to create a space for student galleries, announcements of school and industry events, tips, trends and techniques...you name it.