Sharpen-The ASMPNY Blog

Making People Love You Madly

2012-01-28T17:25:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
7-9pm

How do you stand out in a crowded market? Not by spending the most and yelling the loudest — that’s a sucker’s game (and boy, do those suckers get annoying, fast.) The secret to gaining attention in a noisy world lies in making yourself irresistible at all turns: in person, on your website, over the phone, and of course, on all those crazy social media outlets that keep popping up all over the internet. Learn how to let your glorious creative light shine through in every aspect of your marketing, promotion and services, and have the time of your life doing it.

Seminar Topics

A simple, logical framework you can use to market yourself more effectively with less stress across all platforms, online and off
Strategies for improving your social media engagement that you can put to use immediately
Tips and tools on making your website and copy more compelling to prospects
Real-life examples of all of the above, including profiles of photographers who are successfully using social media to gain work and attention

FULL DETAILS

When:
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Doors open half an hour earlier.

Where:
Capsule Photo Studio, 873 Broadway, between 18th and 20th Street
New York, NY

REGISTER NOW

Cost:
25.00 — ASMP Member
50.00 — Non-member
40.00 — Professional Association member
10.00 — Student

The Speaker

Colleen Wainwright is a writer-speaker-consultant who started calling herself “the communicatrix” when she hit three hyphens. She spent 10 years as an award-winning TV copywriter crafting ads for brands like Wheaties®, Gatorade® and Jell-O®, and another 10 acting in them for cash money. Since deciding she’d blow her brains out if she had to sit through one more meeting about which way the bears danced around the cereal box, Colleen spends most of her time teaching other creative souls how to talk about what they do in a way that wins them attention, work and satisfaction.

ASMPNY's Fine Art Porfolio Reviews coming up quick

2012-01-28T14:25:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, Feb 7th is the annual Fine Art Portfolio Reviews, are you ready to show your stuff?
6:45-9pm

***Only prints will be reviewed (no iPads or laptops) unless the work is meant to be exhibited in a museum or gallery hooked up to a computer.

Get your book reviewed by some of the most prestigious names in the business.
A.D. Coleman
Steven Kasher
David Schonauer
Elizabeth Avedon
and Ruben Natal-San Miguel
PLUS many MORE

Please click here for more information

The favorites of ASMP NY's Commercial Portfolio Reviews!

2011-12-23T14:28:00.000-05:00

Have a very Friedlander Christmas!

2011-12-14T18:46:00.003-05:00

In the spirit of the holidays, Janet Borden Gallery is exhibiting never-seen-before images by Lee Friendlander- who captures Christmas in his own unique way. Exhibition closes Dec. 31st.

Parsons alumni and photographer, Anna Skladmann

2011-12-09T15:00:00.000-05:00

Here is a wonderful interview with Anna Skladmann who has been photographing the children of Russia's nouveau riche. Her shots of these kids haunt me. They are really intense to say the least!

Art Basel Miami Beach, Scope, Fountain and Seven

2011-12-09T14:46:00.002-05:00

Last week was the 10th anniversary of the biggest art fair in the country. I had been to Miami before but not for ABMB. I was an Art Basel virgin...

You could tell who was from New York because every other person was wearing black even in the 77 degrees weather. Yeah, I saw art. Lots of it, but not super impressed with the 1% of artists lucky enough to show at Basel. The best work was in a satellite fair in the Wynwood district called Seven with galleries such as Williamsburg's Pierogi, Edward Winkleman, P.P.O.W and Bravin Lee. The work of these galleries were not set up in booths but in an open industrial space with room to let the work breathe on the walls, floors, ceiling, etc. It was also so tightly curated that every piece worked swimmingly alongside each other. Their belief is, "the emphasis on cooperation rather than competition." And for me, that's all I need to hear to be convinced that these gallerists are the honest ones. The ones who place art before money. Thank you Seven, for making my time in Miami worthwhile.

Here are some images from my art journey. Enjoy!

Get Out of Your Cave #2

2011-11-22T01:54:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, November 30th at 11th Street Bar
510 East 11th Street (Between A&B) beginning at 6:30

IMAGE 11 WINNERS

2011-11-22T01:51:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to all the winners of Image 11!
Professional: 1st Place: Peter Dazeley
Student: 1st Place: Brad Curran

2011-11-22T01:47:00.001-05:00

The continuing success of ASMPNY's commercial portfolio reviews!

2011-10-14T17:16:00.000-04:00

It was packed! And rightfully so, with an incredible line-up of reviewers from The New York Times, DDB, PDN, Magnum and tons more. The energy in the room was filled with excitement and maybe even a little nervousness. It can be nerve-racking showing your portfolio to someone who has the power to give you work- yet, in all honesty, these reviews are even better because the advice from the reviewers will undoubtedly improve your work (if you choose to listen.) Here are some shots I took from that evening. Enjoy!

Board members and organizers: Robert Hooman & Amelia Coffaro.

2011-10-03T22:43:00.000-04:00

One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind.
-Dorothea Lange

Funeral Cortege, End of an Era in a Small Valley Town, California, 1938

IN THE WATER I AM BEAUTIFUL curated by Savannah Spirit (ONLINE EXHIBIT)

2011-10-03T14:16:00.000-04:00

Please join me for this online only exhibition of Kim Keever and Bruce Checefsky's work. From October 4-November 1

While peering into an alternate universe, such as Kim Keever has created using a 200 gallon glass tank filled with water, it's easy to get lost in the hidden chasms of his landscapes. Bruce Checefsky's flower scans embed themselves so naturally inside Kim's photographs you would think their works are a collaborative effort. Traversing from the macro to the micro and then back again, these artists work in non-traditional photography. Keever's process begins with the tank while bursts of paint languorously form into clouds filling crevasses of miniature flora and fauna. If you zoom in even closer you can imagine Checefsky's garden full of luscious color and sublime movement created by a scanner mounted to a tripod, sometimes catching a petal moving it at will. When your eyes wander through the landscape, simultaneously stopping where the flowers are nestled, it's as if this world does exist somewhere and how special that place would be.

It's baaaaack.... Time for Our Members-Only Annual Portfolio Review!

2011-09-27T15:50:00.000-04:00

ASMP NY: CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS
NEW YORK, NY - September 2011 - Now in its 6th consecutive year, ASMP NY will host its annual Commercial Portfolio Review for all ASMP NY members on October 11, 2011.

Over 30 reviewers from the photography industry will provide insightful, valuable feedback on photographers' work. The New York chapter, ASMP's largest, produces this event to allow emerging and professional photographers to have their work reviewed by experts in photography, advertising and media, and to receive direct feedback. It also serves as a launch pad for future collaborations and career development.

ASMPNY will host approximately 100 photographers at the review. Each photographer will have an allotted time to show one body of work to each reviewer and receive feedback about the work, the presentation, style, what's working and what to improve. Photographers can see multiple reviewers in one evening, while also making contacts for potential work. Photographers can show their portfolios in print or video format.

This year's reviewers include: Magnum Photos, The New York Times, Wonderful Machine, Mercury Lab, Billboard Magazine, Esquire, RETV and many more...

Past reviewers have included: The New York Times, BBDO, The Wall Street Journal, Hearst Publications, Levine and Leavitt, Forbes, Getty Images, PDN and many more!

Event Details

Date: October 11, 2011s
Time: 6:30 - doors open
7pm - review promptly begins
9:30pm -review promptly ends
Location: Calumet Photographic event space
22 West 22nd St., 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10010
Cost: FREE to ASMP members
*Non-members who wish to attend can join ASMP NY as a member and get this benefit right away

Registration: Registration is now open, click HERE to register

See you there at Calumet Event space 22 West 22nd Street NYC NY 10010

Sandler Sales Training starts TONIGHT!

2011-09-27T15:43:00.000-04:00

Why should you take this course?

· Do you want to learn how to uncover a prospect's budget?

· Do you ever hear, "I'm interested, call me after the holidays?" or "This is great, I just need to run it by my boss/editor/wife/business partner?" but you never hear back from the prospect?

· Do you feel like you're at a disadvantage when negotiating?

Sandler Sales Training with ASMPNY gives real world solutions for all of these sales issues and more. Let's face it, photographers need a roadmap to navigate the highways and byways of the current market. Sandler gives photographers a complete system for handling the sales process and uncovering a prospect's real motives for buying. The 6-session Level One course will start Tuesday, September 27 and meet every other Tuesday.

On average, photographers who have taken this class have closed $11,000 worth of business using the Sandler Method. Yes, that is ELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! Who couldn't use $11,000 extra dollars? We guarantee you will get so much value out of the course, that if after the first class you don't want to continue we will refund your money. No questions asked. In essence, the first class is free to try out.

Led by Bob Heiss of Sandler Training, a world leader in innovative sales training, the course will combine classroom learning, role-playing and negotiation, and individual troubleshooting using YOUR real world examples. "The course was one of the smartest %&$#@ things I've seen a trade organization cover in recent times. It really breaks from the norm of presentations. Most appreciated is that this course was not taught by someone in the photo industry. The outside perspective was excellent and very applicable." - Shannon Fagan, Photographer

"I have attended seminars like this for over three decades and none compare to the excellence of this course. Bob Heiss offers a path to expand our business contacts and remain true to our creative work. It is a clear, structured, exciting and meaningful approach to sales. It gives a tangible method to integrate one's personal experience, fundamental interaction with people, and conduct our business in a positive flow. There is so much more ground to cover and I am eager for Level 2. I recommend the Sandler Training for every artist and photographer who is serious about their profession." - Joe Goldman, Member ASMP, Member International Cinematographers Guild

"I found this class to be one of the most helpful, hands-on, real-world workshops I've ever done. If you're like most photographers, it might have taken you a while to realize you were actually running a business. This class fills in the blanks in a big way. It is the best investment in my career I've made since I bought my first professional camera. Sign me up for the next level!" - Sari Goodfriend, Photographer

Dates: every other Tuesday starting tonight, September 27 until December 13 (6 sessions)

Time: 6:30pm arrive

7:00pm training begins

9:00pm training ends

Location: TRS Suites, 44 East 32nd Street, 11th floor, New York, NY 10016

The course is limited to a maximum of 30 participants. Register now to assure your place.

Cost:

ASMP Member $249

Professional Association Member $375

Non-member $399

Do the opposite and you may just be ok...

2011-09-24T13:44:00.001-04:00

Beware of juried show scams!!

2011-09-18T13:13:00.001-04:00

This particular gentleman was not happy when his AMEX was charged and judges who were so-called involved had never heard of this juried show and didn't know they were part of this. Please be aware of your pocketbooks and images so they are safe. (Didn't post the man's name for protection.)

READ ON....

To ASMP National:
In August I submitted 6 images to what I thought was a respected photo competition: "Photography Master Cup", also known as "The Color Awards", and perhaps, if not more than likely, some other names!. They have an impressive web site, and the list of jurors is International and very impressive, which is the only reason I ever enter these - I'm most interested in as many people as possible seeing my work - winning an award or prize is always nice, but not my major purpose.

Today I was paying my AMX bill and saw a charge for $105 which I recognized as the fee for this competition. However, the payee is "WORLD PHOTOGRAPHIC ABEVERLY HILLS CA, and the product is called: "Specialty retail"

Some internet research showed that their address is that of other company's like a dump yard a couple photographers (unknown ones), and the phone number is a non working one. I found a few scam complaints on the web, and then went to the Masters Cup website where all the judges are listed. At this point, the three calls I made was enough to convince me of their disingenuous motives at the very least, and perhaps criminal. First on their list is a NYC Gallery - Hasted Kraeutler. Mr. Kraeutler, a partner has never heard of them and is not involved in any way with Masters Cup. Same is true for Getty - both the New York and Los Angeles directors of Photography - neither now nor in the past have they had any connection to this competition. They were all surprised and upset to hear they were included as judges, and have nothing to do with this outfit.

I went no further than those three calls - that's enough for me. You may want to check some of the other "participant jurors" before warning the membership. Both Getty offices and Hasted Hunt thanked me all over the place for informing them, and of course AMX is refusing payment to them on my behalf.

What a world - I guess one can never take their guard down in our business!

Tomorrow night Sept 12th... 2001-2011 A Decade of Photography in the Aftermath of 9/11 8-10pm

2011-09-11T11:58:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow night September 12th is the very special curated photography show by Ruben Natal-San Miguel about the 10 years since 9/11. This exhibition is supported by Finch & Ada.

September Salon, featuring selected works by, Raymond Adams, Robert Otto Epstein, Dolly Faibyshev, Robert Forman, Rachelle Mozman, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Diane Russo, Brian Shumway & Robin Schwartz

Greenwich House Music
46 Barrow Street, West Village, NYC 10014

Due to space limits, please RSVP at contact@finchandada.com
Monday, September 12, 2011, 8-10pm
Projection Presentation 8-830pm | Public Reception 830-10pm
Exhibition on View | Indoor & Garden Reception

Please join us on Monday, September 12, 2011, from 8-10pm as we kick-off September's art season with a special curated projection by Ruben Natal-San Miguel, "A Decade of Photography in the Aftermath of 9/11." Natal-San Miguel has prepared the following artist statement:

"As a survivor of attacks on Sept 11, 2001 and now a photographer, curator and an influential figure among fine art photography community, I want to celebrate life, commemorate the 10-year anniversary and showcase how photography, as an art media and derivative works, have changed the face of America and the World."

"It is a demonstration of how our life, a worldly vision manifested through the use of the photographer’s lens and accompanied by all the technological advances, has evolved since right after 9/11 until today. It will reflect the new sensibilities in this art medium, created by the war, the economy and the advances in the technological landscapes. The exhibition will also highlight some of the most iconic images over the past decade. These photography images over the last 10-years will be on exhibition display via the World Wide Web as a unique virtual gallery and as a special slide/musical presentation to be held at the historical Greenwich House Music School. Let the healing begin!"

As part of the evening, Finch & Ada will be exhibiting a September Salon, a group show of selected photography and photo based work by featured artists, who have also been influenced by a decade of change among the visual arts landscape. The September Salon will be on view for three weeks and available by appointment. For private scheduling please contact elizabeth@finchandada.com. For more information, please visit www.finchandada.com.

NY Photographer, Michael Dweck, wins lawsuit for iconic image

2011-08-31T17:57:00.002-04:00

Ahhh, the very important issue of stealing imagery from photographers to make a buck. In this case, Michael Dweck is $100,000 richer via Malibu Denim Co. thanks to the courts and rightfully so. Justice prevails! Click here for more on this story.
Sonya, Poles, Montauk, NY 2002, by Michael Dweck

NEW!! Bronx Center for Documentary Photography

2011-08-31T17:24:00.000-04:00

Longtime photojournalist Michael Kamber is the force behind the Bronx Documentary Center, a venue for photography, film, and new media that opens in September with an exhibition on the work of the late photojournalist Tim Hetherington, who was killed in Libya in April.

The Center, at 614 Courtland Avenue, aims to create an engaging venue for photojournalists, artists, filmmakers, critics and educators interested in documentary and innovative methods of storytelling. It is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, the national arts nonprofit. Kamber, who currently works for the New York Times, photographed the war in Iraq for the Times between 2003 and 2010. He has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Somalia, Liberia, Darfur, and the Congo. A former Revson Fellow at Columbia University, he is currently working on a photojournalists’ oral history of the Iraq War, to be published in 2012.
Michael Kamber, photo by Ricky Flores

Focus on Sales: Sandler Sales Training Level One - Fall 2011

2011-08-31T02:15:00.000-04:00

Focus on Sales: Sandler Sales Training Level One

Tuesdays, this fall! Sandler Sales Training is back ! Why should you take this course?

Do you want to learn how to uncover a prospect's budget? Did you ever hear, "I'm interested, but call me back after the holidays"? Then you never heard back from the prospect? Or, "This is great, I just need to run it by my boss / editor / wife/ business partner"? Do you feel like you're always at a disadvantage when negotiating?

Sandler Sales Training with ASMPNY gives real world solutions for all of these sales issues and more. Let's face it - photographers need a roadmap to navigate the tricky highways and byways of the current market. Sandler gives photographers a complete system on how to handle the sales process and uncover a prospect's real motives for buying. The 6-session Level One course will start September 27th and meet every other Tuesday.

On average, photographers who have taken this class have closed $11,000 of business using the Sandler Method ! Yes, that is ELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ! (and who couldn't use $11,000 extra dollars ?) We guarantee you will get so much value out of the course that if after the first class you don't want to continue, you can get your money back- no questions asked. In essence, the first class is free to try out.

Led by Bob Heiss of Sandler Training, a world leader in innovative sales training, the course will combine classroom learning, role-playing and negotiation, and individual troubleshooting using YOUR real world examples. "The course was one of the smartest %&$#@ things I've seen a trade organization cover in recent times. It really breaks from the norm of presentations. Most appreciated is that this course was not taught by someone in the photo industry. The outside perspective was excellent and very applicable." - Shannon Fagan, Photographer

"I have attended seminars like this for over 3 decades and none compare to the excellence of this course. Bob Heiss offers a path to expand our business contacts and remain true to our creative work. It is a clear, structured, exciting and meaningful approach to sales. It gives a tangible method to integrate one's personal experience, fundamental interaction with people, and conduct our business in a positive flow. There is so much more ground to cover and I am eager for Level 2. I recommend the Sandler Training for every artist and photographer who is serious about their profession." - Joe Goldman, Member ASMP, Member International Cinematographers Guild

"I found this class to be one of the most helpful, hands-on, real-world workshops I've ever done. If you're like most photographers, it might have taken you a while to realize you were actually running a business. This class fills in the blanks in a big way. It is the best investment in my career I've made since I bought my first professional camera. Sign me up for the next level!" - Sari Goodfriend, Photographer

When 6 sessions, every other Tuesday starting September 27th until December 13th 6:30pm Arrive 7:00pm Training begins 9:00pm End Where Location TRS Suites 44 East 32nd Street, 11th floor New York The course is limited to a max of 30 participants. Register early to assure your place.
Costs

$249.00—ASMP Member
$399.00—Non-member
$375.00—Professional Association member

When And Where Date Location
9/27/2011 — 12/13/2011
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
(Social time starts at 6:30 PM)
Address is TBD

Register here

Besides registering via our website, you can register by calling ASMP at 215.451.2767. Business hours are 9-5 Eastern time. Attendance may be limited, so please register early.

Thank you Stella Kramer!

2011-08-31T02:11:00.000-04:00

Must give a major shout out to Stella Kramer who edited and published this blog for the past few years- keeping it chocked full of information and writings based on the contemporary photography world, commercially and in fine art. It must be noted that she posted everything before August 2011. In a blogger glitch it changed everything to my name. But this note is to recognize all of her hard work. I'm looking forward to taking the baton and making it just as informational for you. Thank you for listening and please send in anything that may be of interest for the New York Photography world at asmpsharpen@gmail.com
All the best for Fall 2011!
-Savannah

ASMPNY'ers! Stay safe and dry during Hurricane Irene.

2011-08-27T01:01:00.000-04:00

This hurricane will surely be a phot-op so if you are brave and want to take the risk, please take necessary precautions. And if you want to send them to the blog to post, please do at asmpsharpen@gmail.com.
For the rest of us, we'll opt to stay dry.
Take good care!

Willis E. Hartshorn director of ICP steps down due to Parkinson's

2011-08-27T00:17:00.000-04:00

Film is not dead... yet, especially in NYC

2011-08-19T11:58:00.000-04:00

Most of us miss the smell of a darkroom and the potent chemicals that seep through our hands and clothes back in the day when the darkroom was king. Sadly, they are rare to find due to the digital age however, these students are still taught analog while realizing it's still an important step to the medium.
Check out this video from CNN reporting from ICP.

One of our favorite curators, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, accepting photo submissions

2011-08-14T16:15:00.004-04:00

Attention All Photographers!- 2001-2011- A Decade of Insanity : Still Searching for Healing- Exhibition

Attention all Photographers!- I am back to curating, As a survivor of Sept 11 attacks, will like to celebrate life, commemorate the 10 year anniversary and how photography has changed the face of America and the world. This time will start by doing an online exhibition right here at my ARTmostfierce blog.

I'm currently taking submissions from photographers for this online group show titled, "2001-2011-A Decade of Insanity: Still Searching for Healing"

Up to 3 images can be submitted (480 pixels wide, 72 dpi, under 85kb) 3 samples of photographs that evoque your thoughts about the theme. I will select only one. Let the healing begin! Please start emailing submissions now at ARTmostfierce@aol.com and the deadline is August 31, 2011. The online show will debut Sept 11, 2011. If chosen, YOU will be in the compamy of big names in the photography business!

image courtesy of Ruben Natal-San Miguel

TONIGHT! Resource Television Presents: Brooklyn Rooftop Summer

2011-08-11T13:10:00.001-04:00

Resource is putting together a Summer inspired film series (with the curation help of our friends at Vimeo) and we want you to be there. The event is at Factory Studios. factorybrooklyn.com

We're taking over 2 floors of Factory!
Today at 7:00pm
@Factory Studios
79 Lorimer St. between Walton & Middleton St.

5th Floor- Networking fun
Rooftop- Film Screening

BYO- Food, Drinks, Blankets

It's summer in the city!
You know how it's done...easy, laid back, flip flops and a rooftop movie.

You MUST RSVP at summer@resourcemagonline.com

ASMPNY's Summer Party on the Hudson

2011-08-11T11:41:00.000-04:00

Saturday, August 13, 2011, 12pm
ASMPNY's Summer Party on the Hudson

ASMPNY's Summer Party is THIS SATURDAY! Photogs will appreciate the beautiful view (and breeze) along the Hudson River at the PIER i CAFÉ. You might want to bring your camera, or ride your bike to get there. Whatever you decide, please join us for fun in the great outdoors and enjoy a cool beverage, or two, with fellow ASMP members. We hear the CAFÉ has "famous" burgers too! For more info click here

Date: Saturday, August 13, 2011
Time: 12pm until ?
Where: Pier i Café
Riverside Park South (Manhattan)
New York, NY 10023, (212) 362-4450
Map - click here

Directions: Walk to Riverside Blvd. (not Riverside Drive) and 68th Street where you will see a playground. Walk down the pathway that is to the right or North of the playground. This pathway will bring you into Riverside Park South and to PIER i CAFÉ.

Cost: Free for everyone
Note: ASMPNY will buy each ASMP Member your first drink - Cheers!
After that, beverages, and food, are at your own cost.

ASMP Members: You're going to get carded at this event - please bring your current ASMP Member ID card. Thanks!

SAVE THE DATE ! ASMPNY Commercial Portfolio Reviews

2011-08-11T11:32:00.001-04:00

Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 6:30pm at Calumet

It's time to get your printed and/or iPad portfolios, business cards, printed promos, and your networking chops ready! The Annual ASMPNY Commercial Portfolio Review will take place October 11, 2011. Doors open at 6:30pm and the review begins promptly at 7pm sharp.

50+ reviewers will be on hand to meet you, look through your work and give you invaluable feedback. We have invited industry professionals from Advertising Agencies, Publishing Companies, Photographer Agencies, Bloggers, as well as other Photography professionals.

And the best part: IT'S FREE TO ASMP MEMBERS! Who loves you? ASMPNY that's who!

Non-members who wish to attend the review can join ASMPNY to start taking advantage of this amazing member benefit.

We will be announcing confirmed reviewers shortly and opening our registration page in the next few days. STAY TUNED and save the date of October 11th!

See you there at Calumet Event space 22 West 22nd Street NYC NY 10010

Vivian Maier's wonderful world of street photography

2011-08-09T11:15:00.003-04:00

Late last year I discovered a video somewhere in internetland about the story of Vivian Maier. In Chicago a gentleman paid a small sum for the undiscovered treasure. The story of this nanny who has now wowed the world with her photography, and who incidentally recorded some of the most interesting marvels and peculiarities of Urban America in the second half of the twentieth century is seemingly beyond belief. Taking snapshots into the late 1990′s, Maier would leave behind a body of work comprising over 100,000 negatives. Finally her work will be shown posthumously at the Howard Greenberg gallery from December 15, 2011 - January 28, 2012. Be there and get ready to be blown away!

Stephen Mallon's "A Bridge Delivered" in Bklyn this Friday

2011-08-08T16:47:00.000-04:00

This Friday August 12th Stephen Mallon (friend and former ASMPNY prez) is a part of the official selection for Bklyn's Rooftop Films. "A Bridge Delivered" is a multi-timelapse video of Willis Ave bridge transport and install.
More information here:

Go check out Laura Levine's NY Rocker shots before it closes.

2011-08-08T16:27:00.001-04:00

Levine’s show “Musicians,” currently on view at the Steven Kasher Gallery until August 19th which includes many vintage gelatin silver prints which have never been shown before.

Madonna, New York City, 1982

Manjari Sharma wants your support!

2011-08-08T15:10:00.002-04:00

NY Photographer Manjari Sharma's current series titled "Darshan" explores the journey into spirituality and her connectedness to it. It's big and ambitious and her test image is stunning! She has the vision, she just needs a big push! Let's help her any way we can... everything counts.

Support her Kickstarter campaign

Darshan from Manjari Sharma on Vimeo.

Sandler Sales Training Goes to The Next Level--by Stella Kramer

2011-06-09T09:56:00.002-04:00

The interesting thing I find about taking the Sandler sales training class is that it is forcing me to think about my relationship with money. I don’t think I’m unusual in the sense that I have trouble talking about it with people. I think most of us do. But I realize that until I learn to separate my personal fears from my business needs I can never get to the point where I can do business with potential clients without being uncomfortable.

At this level with the classes we are basically doing role playing, and writing scripts to deal with all the elements that make doing business easier. After identifying three thinking we planned on mastering over the course of the class, we work on putting what we’ve learned into action.

Bob Heiss is so fluid with the language of talking business that we are all reduced to scribbling as fast as we can to write down what he says exactly as he says it. I have found his suggestions on how to handle situations so spot on, that I wonder if it will ever become second nature for me, as it is for him.

I am trying to practice what to say to a client, hoping that through repetition it will become easier and more natural for me. As of now, there is still so much I have to learn. Our homework for next week is to practice scripts with each other, particular to where we are with any of our clients. But I confess, I have not really spent time looking over my notes before talking with a client. That is something that needs to change.

It seems to me that by the time I am finished with the Sandler training classes I will be so much more fluent in the language of business, and what will work for me. I know that this formal training is becoming invaluable, and I already can see the upside to changes I have made in my business. I think I just need the courage and conviction to make changes, and leave behind my fears and years of conditioning.

It’s ironic that we have so much trouble talking about and dealing with money, and yet it permeates our lives on every level. I guess like other things taking the personal out of the equation allows for greater flexibility, and ultimately greater satisfaction. If I can reach that place in my life, I think I can make things even better for myself. And that might be the best lesson of all.
BY STELLA KRAMER

Image 11 Deadline Extended--by Stella Kramer

2011-05-03T16:48:00.001-04:00

You have until May 8 to enter your work in ASMP's Image 11 competition. For details, check here

Show Us Your Stuff--by Stella Kramer

2011-05-02T12:47:00.001-04:00

Hey ASMP-ers!How about getting together with your fellow members on Wednesday, May 4 at 6:30pm to show your work, eat pizza, drink and just be with other photographers. The get together is at Rod Goodman's Studio at 379 Park Ave. South, 3rd floor.

Here's your chance to smooze, so take advantage!

It's Time for Image 11--by Stella Kramer

2011-04-25T17:38:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again, the time to enter Image11, the nationwide photo contest run by ASMP New York. It's open to all professional, serious amateur and student photographers residing in the United States.

Contestants are asked to submit one or more images that were created after January 1, 2010. The deadline for entry submissions is May 1, 2011. For technical information on submissions see here

If you need more information about the contest in general, please contact ASMP NY directly at info@asmpny.org.

Sandler Sales Training 4--by Stella Kramer

2011-03-31T10:47:00.001-04:00

I’m trying to practice what I’ve been learning from the Sandler Sales classes, but I find it’s hard to break your pattern of speaking with people in order to learn a new way of communicating. I think I need to practice and role play until it comes naturally. Until then I will recount what I learned from last week’s class.

When you meet someone you have a 1% chance to getting an appointment with them. If someone you know say, “use my name,” your chances rise to 40-45%. But if you can have someone make the call for you, meaning the person who knows the one you want to mee, your chances of getting an appointment goes to abot 80%. Food for thought when you ask around for contacts.

In negotiations, when you know someone, you have to get them to trust you, you do this through asking questions, and by mirroring the way they talk to you. When you are ready to talk about budget you need to find out what they’ve been spending. In the world of negotiating the rule is the first person who says a fee loses. Giving the number anchors that number and becomes the centerpoint of all further negotiations. Therefore, don’t go first. Think of it this way: “Tell me what you think you want to spend to take care of (the pain) what you just told me.”

If you don’t do all of your prep work before you get to talking about the budget—meaning asking questions of your potential client to understand where they are at, and to establish trust, and you give them a number, you are being very self-centered and not customizing—you are talking at them, not with them. Don’t give a price until you can customize to them.

Three questions to ask your potential client:
1) What are you comfortable investing to achieve what you want (or to fix the problem)?
People will ususally say they don’t know. That leads to….
2) “In my experience, typically this would be somewhere between X and Y. Are you comfortable in that range?” If they say no, push back: “If that’s the case, I guess we won’t be doing business, because I can’t do it for less.” Then throw the curve: “Can I ask you one more question? What were you hoping I would say?” If it’s too low, it’s up to you. If it’s in your range, say, “I think we can do that.”

If your client is getting pushy, trying to get you to say the fee (“what are you charging?”), tell them the price and say, “Are we still talking?” Say it with confidence almost as a challenge. Implied in all of this is that you’re not going forward unless you know their budget.

Bob Heiss talked to us about “the flinch.” People will flinch when you name a price, so you need to flinch back—“I really can’t do that.” It’s a test of conviction. Always flinch, and get them to break first.

In the Post-Sell you need to talk to your client about buyer’s remorse. After you leave they may have a crisis of confidence in what they just agreed to—after all, it’s a lot of money. Let them know you understand this.

The concept of the Upfront Contract is this: You begin by thanking the potential client for talking with you, ask them how much time they have, and what their agenda is (“What do you want from this meeting?”), and say: “I am going to ask you some questions to know exactly what you want. When we’re done, we’ll know wether we’re ready to take the next step. Are you OK with that?” At the end of this meeting, if you’re going to meet again, set the time and place and what the agenda will be (“Anything you’d like to add?”), you have an upfront contract.

For the cold call, start it this way: “It’s (whatever yur name is)—don’t worry, we’ve never met (that confuses them—the pattern interrupt that gets them out of their regular way of thinking), perhaps if I took 30 sec. to tell you why I called you can decide if we should keep talking or not. Are you OK with that?” People will usually say, OK. Then tell them what you do, and give your 30 sec. commercial (“The people I usually work with feel________because of_________which leads to _________” (remember this is from the last class). “I don’t know if this is happening to you, maybe we should talk.” If they say “Yes,” ask the questions to find out their pain and say: “What you just told me is what I do. I don’t know if what I’ve done for others will work for you, I won’t know until we sit down and go over specifics. How does that sound.”

What you’ve done with this cold call it to allow them to make the decision to go further with you. You’ve asked the right questions to understand them. You've caught them off guard by telling them it might not be right for them. And you've ended up with exactly what you wanted, a face-to-face meeting.

Clever, yes?

Sandler Sales Training Week 3--by Stella Kramer

2011-03-15T15:19:00.001-04:00

The third class of the Sandler Sales training class focused on asking the questions needed to draw out your potential client in order to seal the deal and get the job. The idea is that if you ask the right questions you will not only find out what the problem is, you’ll also be able to establish trust with your potential client and make them feel understood—the cornerstone for getting the job.

You need to find out what brings the client to you—what isn’t working for them. If they’re coming to you, there is already a problem they’re trying to fix. So ask them why they’re not using the same person as before. You need to know what has changed for them and what pressures they’re under that makes them want to go in a different direction.

Use phrases like, “Help me understand…Tell me more…What are you trying to achieve?....Is this the first time you’ve done a project like this?...How long has this been an issue for you? These are ways to draw out the client and get them talking so that you can create an empathy connection with them. You aren’t trying to solve their problems right then and there (something I have to remember), you’re just wanting them to feel as if you care and understand them.

Bob talked to us about the “pattern interrupt,” where you want people to go from using their logical left brain to using their right brain emotionality. By doing something they don’t expect you can shift their thinking, and by doing that you have a way in to connect with them.

So you take an emotion (depression, fear, etc.), find out why they’re feeling that way (things aren’t going well, etc.), and connect it to what that means for them (I’ll have to get a real job, I’ll lose my studio.etc.). “People tell me they feel stuck because they’re afraid of change, but know they have to change which might be too expensive…”

This is where the “third-party stories” come in. Beginning with, “It’s not unusual for people who are doing this to tell me….” allows the person to feel as if you know where they are coming from. Using phrases like “typically” “almost all the time” and “usually”, or “the editors I talk to usually say….” Adds to that feeling of being understood.

Our objective as sales people (and that’s what we are) is to get people to tell us stuff. And by using key phrases to show you are on the same page with them you create trust which is the first step towards sealing the deal to work with them. Since all of this is learning how to tap into the emotional psychology of your potential client, using a “negative reverse” can really pull them in to you. By that I mean at the end of talking with them you say, “I don’t know if this is the case with you…” or “I’m not sure if this if affecting you..” You want them to come back to you with ‘yes.” That yes is an almost certain proof of commitment.

If you’re trying cold calls, this is the approach to use: “This is an awkward call for me because we don’t know each other, and we may not have a reason to talk. Can I take a couple of minutes to tell you why I called, and you can decide if it’s right? People I usually talk to tell me….because…..which means….I specialize in_______. Not everyone needs my services, but those who do tell me_____. I don’t know if this applies to you…..”

What you’re doing here is engaging them, letting them make the decision as to whether they will talk to you, and make the decision if they are the person you should be talking with. Then you’ve used words that show you understand them and know what they’re about.

I can’t wait for next week’s class. I’ve been trying to use what I’ve learned (and I have a LOT to learn, since this runs counter to what I’ve been doing), and I have to admit it’s really helping. It’s up to me to redirect myself in the way I approach clients in order to make the experience better for both of us. Stay tuned for more about the Sandler Training classes in the weeks to come.

And let me know what you think.

ASMP Fine Art Portfolio Review 2011--by Stella Kramer

2011-03-03T14:23:00.001-05:00

The 2011 ASMP Fine Art Portfolio Review was a winner once again, and from where I sat, there were more people then I expected to see. With special thanks to Calumet Photographic for hosting the event, I’ve asked some of the reviewers to talk about what they saw that they liked. Here’s a sampling.

“I had the pleasure of meeting with 11 photographers, “said Kristina Feliciano who writes the StocklandMartell blog, SMart. “Among them:

• A woman who described herself as “emerging” because, although she’d been taking pictures all her life, she’d only recently become serious about photography. Her enthusiasm for her work was infectious, as was her complete lack of pretense. Her primary subjects are vast landscapes and animals, and she explained that she’d recently submitted 9 images to a benefit auction—and sold 7. We spoke about what her next steps might be, as well as how to edit her work.

• A man who produced a series of colorful, lyrical still lifes comprising objects he’d found on various beaches. The work was notable not just for its concept but also for its pristine execution. It seemed perfect for the pages of The New Yorker (perhaps to illustrate a short story), which is exactly what I told him.

• A woman who had once dreamed of becoming a truck driver and, having opted not to go that route (bad pun not intended), channeled her love for all things big rig into an ongoing series on truckers. It’s a great subject for a photo essay and even more compelling because of her personal interest in it—not a trace of irony, in other words. As we talked, I learned that she’d interviewed the people she photographed and could vividly tell their stories. So we talked about how that material and her skill as an engaging ambassador for her work could be put to use.

• A man who has a budding career as a fashion shooter, specifically backstage. Interestingly, he got his first fashion assignment from a landscape shot. That bit of good fortune notwithstanding, we talked about creating a separate book for his landscapes, a book for an ongoing series of fashion portraits, and another for his backstage work. We also talked about writing. He introduced himself by saying that he was not very good at talking about his work, but as we chatted, he made solid, salient points about the images. It seemed he’d assumed that any text he placed with his work had to be formal. We talked about why that isn’t necessarily the case, and how his honest, easygoing way of describing his work was a nice contrast with the sophistication of the images themselves.”

Alison Zavos, the publisher of Feature Shoot along with Hans Neleman of WIN-Initiative and consultant Louisa Curtis enjoyed Christopher Lane’s senior beauty pageant work. As Louisa says, "I've been a fan of his for ages. Brilliant!"

George Del Barrio of The Vanderbilt Republic named Carey Kirkella’s “Beauty Recital”, Alexander Berg’s “One Shot” and Noguchi Katsuya's Lighting Tokyo aerials of Japan. Katsuya's work impressed several people, myself included. As George said, “If printed big, I could see these being mind blowing!”

For Jeffrey Teuton, the Associate Director of Jen Beckman Gallery, “Sheri Lynn Behr and David Kressler were both standouts to me. Both showed projects that were in progress but there was a great open dialogue and I feel both projects will evolve. I look forward to seeing the end results.”

Hans Neleman and curator, book designer and blogger Elizabeth Avedon both liked the work of Maynard Switzer, and Chrissy Reilly, also of WIN-Initiative, chose Salem Krieger, “because I enjoy the hyper reality of his images, the odd juxtapositions... how they seem like surreal landscapes "finding" themselves in conventional every day life situations. I was very impressed with his work.”

For David J. Carol, what stood out was, “Carey Kirkella-great photos and social commentary-very good photographer!
Ashok Sinha-interesting and compelling composition of photos, and also fun. Talented and original.
Amy Lombard-I see the early stages of a very good photographer, If she keeps it up she could be very interesting to see in a few years.”

Consultant Louisa Curtis said, "I'd say that the two I remember the most and liked a lot were the very specific "series"....

Norman Borden's "Thanks for Smoking" I thought was brilliant - how something once so "in" is now so terribly "out" and his photos are of the smoking outcasts who still dare to puff on a cigarette! And David Joseph's series of "cups" - all found in New York City - coffee cups that take on their own personalities as well as the personality of the person who drank from it - very cool (or hot!)

I also loved Leslie Jean-Bart's latest sand & surf images that are now with bolder colors and introducing shadows of people."

Elizabeth Avedon spoke of Inga Moren's "Presence" images, Barry Rosenthal's new black and white images reminiscent of Karl Blossfeldt's botanicals,

Swedish photographer, Kristofer Dan Bergman's "Space" installation on Vimeo, Evan Miller's ephemeral "Euphilia" series, Michelle Kawka's portraits of Sikhs at a Temple in Queens, New York, Robert Herman's book, "The New Yorkers."

Elizabeth also cited Cynthia Matthews Bird Dog series and Rita Nannini's birth photographs as standouts.

Avedon talked about meeting former advertising and portrait photographer Dwight Carter, "whose career began as an assistant to Richard Avedon in his first studio on 58th Street, as well as assisting Hiro, Bert Stern and Helmut Newton. His collection of African-American great's include Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Leontyne Price, Oprah Winfrey and Mae Jamison, the first black female astronaut. I'll be posting a few of the photographers work I viewed on my photo blog in the future," she said.

For me the standouts were also Barry Rosenthal, whose found object series I also enjoyed, Sheri Lynn Behr's series, "No Safe Distance", Raymond Adams project "New York at Dawn" and Louisa Marie Summer, whose project, "Jennifer's Family" is strong documentary work.

There were also several mentions of Gabriela Herman's Blogger series that continues to impress. All in and all a Review of quantity and quality, and something I think we're all looking forward to again next year.

All photos copyright Viviane Moos.

Sandler Sales Training 2: Its All About Trust--by Stella Kramer

2011-02-24T13:10:00.001-05:00

This week’s Sandler Sales Training class talked a lot about trust, and how to get a potential client to trust you. When someone reaches out to you (calls you for a quote, asks about your prices, etc.) that is the first expression that their status quo isn’t working—there is something not right in their world and they want a change.

But trust is something we see as developing over time, and you don’t have the time to establish trust with the potential client. Is there a way to reach someone so they feel they can trust you? Yes, it’s in the interest you show them and the relationship you develop with them that will determine if they will trust you.

Telling someone you’re responsible, can get the job done, will bring your talent to bear on their behalf isn’t enough to make a potential client trust you. Everyone says that. You become credible by showing you want to understand them, by showing you want to understand what they need. And the only way to do that is to ask questions that put their needs first.

So we paired up and did a role-playing exercise with a set of questions created to ferret out the problem a person is having. One of us was the questioner, and one of us was the person with a problem. I really learned about myself as the questioner: I tried to solve the problem my partner was having. What I was supposed to do was find out more information about the problem. My natural tendency is to try and help. But that isn’t good strategy, because it denies the person the chance to feel understood.

No on wants to hear you tell them you have had the same experience, or that you have a solution for them. If your potential client is in pain, has a problem that is upsetting their comfort zone, they need to feel understood. That is how you make a connection with them. That begins to establish the trust that will make them want to work with you.

Lesson learned. Can’t wait for our next class.

Sandler Sales Training: A Front Row View--by Stella Kramer

2011-02-17T12:18:00.001-05:00

My first class of the ASMPNY's Sandler Sales Training began last week and I'm really excited for what is to come. Bob Heiss has been training people in the Sandler method for years, and I can already see how valuable this will be for all of us in the class. I plan on blogging about this for the entire length of the class, so keep checking back. The class meets every other Monday.

We began by naming our biggest problems/fears:
*underselling yourself (talking about money)
*cold calling
*fear of negotiation (being too needy)
*worried about rejection/being too aggressive

As Bob explained it, prospects (client) have a default psychological system. They lie to you since they initially don't trust you. Maybe they give you the real budget, maybe not; maybe they fish around for specific information from you. Therefore you have to ask questions and talk about how you can solve their problems. But the common thing is for the photographer to give away too much information. Then the client can take that information and shop it around to others, so that you may end up losing the job. Your willingness to give out lots of useful information before you've closed the deal has worked against you.

When you talk with a client you need to close. "Every close is visible," said Bob. You need to be able to tell what is real and what is not when talking with a prospective client. Are they just trying to get you off the phone? Do they tell you to call back? Have you asked them the right questions to make the close go in your favor?

That's the most interesting thing to me: the psychological aspect of dealing with getting the work. I can see that to understand what people are really saying, by asking the right questions, the pressures and fears fall away and you can deal from a non-personal perspective. That way you can be clear and unemotional in your dealings. After all, it isn't personal.

You need to know what is driving people to reach out to you. According to Bob, the number one thing that drives people is pain. They come to you because their status quo isn't working. It's your job to figure out what's not working for them and show how you can relieve their pain.

Maybe the best thing I took away from this first class was what to do when you've been repeatedly reaching out to someone and gotten no response. Bob suggested leaving a final message (email or phone) telling the person you realize there must have been a delay in the project and it isn't personal, you'd just like to know.

I had a situation like that,m and applied his suggestion and BINGO! I got back an email right away telling me what was going on. Wow!

I can't wait for my next class on Monday.

Conversations on Fine Art Photography--by Stella Kramer

2011-02-04T10:31:00.001-05:00

Curators Jeff Rosenheim of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brian Wallis of the International Center of Photography joined Howard Greenberg, one of the preeminent photography dealers sat down this week and spoke about the world of fine art photography. Thanks to moderator Susan May Tell, and photographer Aaron Lee Fineman for his photographs (just as you preferred, they're in B&W).

Here's my account for all of you who couldn't attend.

Each panelist gave a brief history of how they came to photography, and I found the most surprising thing to be Jeff Rosenheim's early interest in Plains Indian beadwork, which led him to the Missouri Historical Society and all their collections, photography being one of them. Not the expected route to become passionate about photography.

When he opened his first gallery, Howard Greenberg said he never thought about who his audience was, he just wanted to show work he was interested in. He wanted to show traditional work and work by artists no one had ever heard of. For Jeff Rosenheim it was not what was on the walls of Greenberg's gallery, it was the photography in the gallery art bins that fascinated him. In fact, he said the Met had never bought anything from Greenberg's walls, it was from the art bins in the gallery.

Each panelist spoke of about how they make decisions about what to show, Brian Wallis spoke about showing work that was known in order to be able to then slip in something unknown to teach people. But he admitted it took guesswork and intuition to decide what to show.

One of the most interesting things Susan asked the panelists was about how long it took from conception to hanging a show. Brian said that it depended, but for historical exhibits it took about 3 years Howard said his gallery did 7 or 8 shows a year and were planned pretty far in advance. It was interesting to learn that he "rode the coattails" of the museums, because he couldn't put up a show of the same photographer at the same time, but after it could be valuable.

Jeff said they do four shows a year of contemporary photography and it took about a year to plan each one. When he hangs shows in other galleries in the museum it can take from three to six years to plan, depending on which gallery he wants to use, since some are shared with other disciplines (prints, paintings, etc.). He said the fastest show they ever did was the Robert Polidori show of his Katrina photographs that they rushed to hang a year after the hurricane. Jeff brought a big laugh to the room when he said photography was "only slightly above musical instruments" in importance at the Met. That helped to explain how shows may be harder to hang there, since money is allocated at the museum by the seeming importance of each collection.

The roles of collectors and auction houses to the curators was discussed and all felt collectors had a very important role in exposing photography. They were the "front line of ideas," according to Brian. And by the way they present different types of work together, auction houses can generate new ways of looking at art. "When a collector contacts you, it's usually an extraordinary experience," said Jeff. For Howard, collectors are fascinating. "They're really curators."

Jeff spoke about the joy of visiting artists and seeing what they collect, "I've learned so much by seeing what artists collect."

The most valuable and probably useful information began when Susan asked about the importance of photographer's prints being editioned. Brian said he was much more interested in something that was one-of-a-kind, and that editions are a multiple medium, and somewhat less interesting. But that is the world we live in. Jeff doesn't care about editions, for him it's up to the individual photographer. But he referenced Lee Friedlander and thought his work was priced lower for someone of his stature due to his printing many editions of his work. Howard pointed out that from his perspective, buyers wanted limited versions of the work they bought. "It's a sad state, but we have to deal with it."

Jeff spoke about the desire for the unique object, saying "If there is an edition of three or three hundred, they're not the same anymore. My job as a collector for a museum is to get the best one. You know as photographers that there is a better and a not as good print. My job is to get the right one in my collection."

None of the panelists cared about signing prints, but Howard warned, "don't be visually offensive. Henri Cartier-Bresson is the only signature people care about seeing."

When the topic of digital photography and digital prints was broached, the expected outrage never came. "I'm getting used to digital," said Howard. "What does it mean? More important, it's becoming more and more acceptable. It'll become a non-issue as we become more sensitized to it."

"Digital applications of photography extend the democratic promise of photography," said Brian. "More exciting about digital is the reach of photography and the information-sharing possibilities of digital."

"The Met collects the work artists make. We never tell an artist what it should be. We have to accept it," said Jeff. "Stephen Shore made contact prints and was never able to use the potential of film to make the prints he wanted to. Now he scans them and makes new prints, digital allows them to 'bubble forth'--it's one of the great things. It's what they always wanted."

While Brian and Jeff use the Internet to look at new work, and find photography they didn't know existed, Howard, "can't look at works on the screen. It lessens the experience of looking at photos for me. But for museums, catalogs of museums online, it's fantastic."

I think most of the photographers were wondering how they can get their work in front of these three big wheels in the industry. Brian spoke of how he sees work at the open portfolio reviews the ICP has. "Send it in, or walk in and a curator will review it." He also said websites were a source of information for them. However Howard is not looking for new artists to represent. Jeff says they look at portfolios as they come in. So get on it photographers!

When the panel was asked about how they feel about artists taking their own paths to put their work out, especially since it's so difficult to get a gallery or museum show, Howard said," It's great for any artist to put their work out in their own way."

"The important thing to consider is that the means of presentation becomes part of the message," said Brian.

"If an artist can convince me they've done something great in their own home--I want to see that!" said Jeff. "Yes we look at online magazines and curated sites. Paper ephemera is where we are rivals. It's so valuable and germane to photography. We have teams of people looking for this."

The Met will buy print on demand books from artists if that is the way the work is collected. He stressed that the artist determines how their work is presented, and the museum responds accordingly. They have a large collection of artist books, especially if this is the only form the work exists in.

Howard stressed that raising the price on each multiple edition wasn't something he was a fan of. "Keep the price the same throughout the edition. Rather, increase the price on the first edition."
All of the panelists were open with information, informative about what they do and
why, and had a sense of humor. I think this was a wonderful panel and everyone left with information they didn't have before. Just another wonderful panel from ASMPNY.

Let's Get Our Films to Verge--by Stella Kramer

2011-01-28T13:48:00.002-05:00

I want to pass along this email I just got from Robert Hooman, and ask everyone to pass it along.

"Hello friends! I've been asked by the Verge International Art Fair to curate a video screening/motion gallery for the art fair this year in NYC. It'll be held in DUMBO March 3-6.

I'm looking at video submissions for the next couple weeks and I would very much like to see your work, or if you've seen and know an artist/filmmaker who may have material for me, please direct them to me. This will be quite an undertaking and I'll be needing all the help I can get to pull together a stellar show!!

Here are my submission criteria:

-I'm seeking work that'll challenge the viewer's visual language and understanding, present a unique narrative and have interesting style and/or technique.
-FINAL SUBMISSION DATE: FEB 21, 2011
-All work must be produced in the last three years
-No restrictions on language or country
-I'll be looking at original pieces from all formats. including but not limited to: Live action, animation, documentary, mixed media, video installations, video art (even slide shows that blow me away).
-Maximum length should be between 4-5 minutes and not a frame longer than that.
-NO trailers, excerpts, cut-downs, multi-segements or REELS will be considered. All work must be self contained and hold up as an individual piece of artwork/story/video (or whatever you want to call it). If you need to re-edit to fit your piece in the 5min limit, that is okay.
-If the screening requires special equipment or additional gear, artist will have to provide the equipment. We will provide security for your equipment (whether its inside or outside)
-Please be ready to submit a final high-res version digital format, if the piece is accepted. So even if I review the work on YouTube, I will need a full resolution and full size version.
-I'm still working out terms and conditions with the organizers
-We are still looking at delivery/screening methods.

Please send a LINK (AND ONLY A LINK) to VIDEO@RobertHooman.com. If you cannot upload or link your work, please contact me directly and we'll figure something out. PLEASE DO NOT ATTACH VIDEO FILES TO THE EMAILS. All emails with attachments will be deleted without consideration.

I'm looking forward to your submission."

Fine Art Conversations--by Stella Kramer

2011-01-21T17:05:00.001-05:00

ASMPNY's Fine Art Conversations - Curators and Dealers!

I've been told that registration is now CLOSED.

When: February 2
Where: Soho Photo
15 White Street
Time: Doors and check-in open 6:30pm
Panel Discussion 7-9:00pm

ASMPNY is honored to have three of the most commanding voices at the nucleus of fine art photography on this panel discussion about fine art photography.

- HOWARD GREENBERG - One of the world's top photography dealers and owner of the Howard Greenberg Gallery

- JEFF ROSENHEIM - Curator of Photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Art

- BRIAN WALLIS - Chief Curator, ICP, the International Center of Photography

Moderator - Susan May Tell, photographer and ASMPNY Fine Art Chair

All three panelists strive to create interest in and share great photography with the public. Yet their mission, because of venue, is different and that impacts what each does and how they do it. Topics may include similarities and differences as they relate to this, such as:

· Who is 'your' audience? How do you interest people to become part of it?

· The process of creating/organizing exhibitions: i.e. the length of time involved; chosen by committee or individual vision; do market-place decisions play a role?

· Relationships with collectors, auction houses, critics.

· The importance (or not) of prints being editioned.

· Silver and chromogenic vs. digital prints. Vintage vs. recent prints.

· How your paths cross and how do you work together (or don't). Are their rivalries? Do you compete for photographers' work?

· Perspectives on work being done by this generation of photographers.

· The role of the Internet (and all its electronic iterations) on our fine art photography heritage.

· How photographers become on one's radar and the best ways for photographers to grow that relationship.

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED!

Member: Free
Non-member: $25
Student, non-member: $5

ASMPNY's Conversations has been designed to be intimate and personal, so seating is limited and will fill up quickly. To secure your spot, please register early.

Please note that REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. NO WALK-INS WILL BE ADMITTED. Also, to accommodate the maximum, there may not be chairs available for everyone.

If you have participated in previous events as a reviewer, panelist or lecturer and would like to attend, please email Susan May Tell to be put on the guest list.

Sandler Sales Training-Sign-Up Now!--by Stella Kramer

2010-12-21T14:13:00.001-05:00

Focus On Sales: Level One Sandler Sales Training

You asked for it, and ASMPNY responded.
Sandler Sales Training is back after another great round of rave reviews!

Get the tax write off for 2010, sign up now!

Why should you take this course?
- Do you feel like you're always at a disadvantage when negotiating?
- Do you want to learn how to uncover a prospect's budget?
- Did you ever hear, "I'm interested, but call me back after the holidays"? Then you never heard back from the prospect?
- Or, "This is great, I just need to run it by my boss / editor / wife/ business partner"?

Sandler Sales Training with ASMPNY gives real world solutions for all of these sales issues and more.
Let's face it - photographers need a roadmap to navigate the tricky highways and byways of the current market. Sandler gives photographers a complete system on how to handle the sales process and uncover a prospect's real motives for buying.

The 6-session Level One course will start January 24 and meet every other Monday.

If you close one more deal or even negotiate slightly better fees you will have paid for the course. We guarantee you will get so much value out of the course that if after the first class you don't want to continue, you can get your money back- no questions asked. In essence, the first class is free to try out.

Led by Bob Heiss of Sandler Training, a world leader in innovative sales training, the course will combine classroom learning, role-playing and negotiation, and individual troubleshooting using YOUR real world examples.

"The course was one of the smartest %&$#@ things I've seen a trade organization cover in recent times. It really breaks from the norm of presentations. Most appreciated is that this course was not taught by someone in the photo industry. The outside perspective was excellent and very applicable." - Shannon Fagan, Photographer

"I have attended seminars like this for over 3 decades and none compare to the excellence of this course. Bob Heiss offers a path to expand our business contacts and remain true to our creative work. It is a clear, structured, exciting and meaningful approach to sales. It gives a tangible method to integrate one's personal experience, fundamental interaction with people, and conduct our business in a positive flow.
There is so much more ground to cover and I am eager for Level 2. I recommend the Sandler Training for every artist and photographer who is serious about their profession." - Joe Goldman, Member ASMP, Member International Cinematographers Guild

"I found this class to be one of the most helpful, hands-on, real-world workshops I've ever done. If you're like most photographers, it might have taken you a while to realize you were actually running a business. This class fills in the blanks in a big way. It is the best investment in my career I've made since I bought my first professional camera. Sign me up for the next level!" - Sari Goodfriend, Photographer

When:
6 sessions, every other Monday starting January 24 until April 4th
6:30 PM Arrive
7:00pm Training begins
9:00pm End

Where:
TRS Suites
44 East 32nd Street, 11th floor
New York

The course is limited to a max of 30 participants. Register early to assure your place. Get the tax write off for 2010, sign up now!

Costs
- $225.00-ASMP Member - early bird
- $325.00-Non-member - early bird
- $300.00-Professional Association member (APA, EP, NPPA, NYPPA, etc.) - early bird

It's Party Time Tonight! Bring a Coat!--by Stella Kramer

2010-12-10T11:31:00.002-05:00

ASMPNY's Holiday Party (and Coat Drive) is tonight, Friday, December 10th. So come to Westbeth Community Center
57 Bethune Street
mid block btw. Washington and West Sts. then up steps to inner courtyard
Alternate Entrance: 155 Bank St btw. Washington and West Sts, enter outer courtyard and up ramp to inner courtyard.

7:00pm - 10:00pm

FREE for ASMPNY MEMBERS
$20 for non-members (or bring a coat to donate)
Members and VIPs are encouraged to bring a coat as well.

TRENDS:A Hands-On Workshop--by Stella Kramer

2010-12-03T22:18:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow (Saturday) at 3pm is your last chance to sign-up, so get cracking!

A follow-up event to Karen D’Silva’s hugely popular panel discussion at Shoot NYC in October! Durinda Underwood and Villislava Petrova join D’Silva once again to help you learn how to understand trends and create images that resonate.

9am- 10am: Interactive lecture on branding and trends, which will include a recap of the panel discussion at Shoot NYC about heritage, cinematics, and transparency. Each participant will "brand" himself during this lecture, and this will inform how you approach the workshop activities

10am- 1pm: After the lecture, you'll be broken up into groups to complete a series of brainstorming activities. The team with the most ideas wins a prize, so come with your thinking caps on!

Karen D’Silva is one of today’s most influential creatives within the commercial photography community. Karen D’Silva Creative Services is a trending, marketing & research company designed to help creatives understand the marketplace and create visual images with traction. Ms. D’Silva also co-founded Spark Visual Research.

Durinda Underwood is a creative strategist and founder of Frank, a content strategy company specializing in content mapping, branded content and micro branding.

Villislava Petrova is a widely recognized trend and color forecast specialist.

Monday 6th December, 9am - 1pm
Calumet
22 West 22nd Street
$100 admission
REGISTRATION CLOSES TOMORROW AT 3PM!
Save your spot now- this isn't an event you want to miss!
Sign up here

Roberto De Luna's "Lost Weekend"--by Stella Kramer

2010-11-15T13:25:00.001-05:00

I met Roberto De Luna when he agreed to be on a panel I was organizing. A gifted photo editor, Roberto has always been a photographer first and foremost. In this, his first show at the Michael Mazzeo Gallery, he presents "Lost Weekend," a show of his 100 Polaroids that delves into the idea of memory.

"Typically accepted as an accurate and truthful photographic record, the Polaroid print functions here as mnemonic device, a vernacular tool with which lost memories are re-experienced, reshuffled, and reconstituted into new mythologies."

There will be an opening reception on Thursday, November 18 from 6pm - 8pm.
Michael Mazzeo Gallery
526 W. 26 St.

The Reviewers Review the Free ASMP Portfolio Review--by Stella Kramer

2010-11-11T16:44:00.001-05:00

Monday night was the free, ASMP commercial portfolio review and there was quite a turnout of both reviewers and photographers. I enjoy doing reviews as it gives me a chance to see new work, and also, hopefully, offer some perspective. I usually see people I know and the entire evening is very enjoyable. That said, it was stranger for me this year than last. I saw fewer photographers (but then I’m not as valuable a commodity as an art buyer or magazine editor), and the noise level really affected me this year. As freelance photo editor Lindsay Blatt said, “It was really loud in that studio space, and I had a hard time hearing.”

I asked reviewers for their opinions in order to gauge their feelings, and thought I’d also bring you some of their suggestions on how to make it even better next year.

Joe Pritchard, a freelance photo rep said he like the structure and the fact that it was free for members. “What I would like to see is a larger space, as it tends to get very loud and difficult at times to hear people and to focus on what they are talking about and showing you.”

Julie Grahame, editor-in-chief, aCurator magazine wondered if “we could include a couple of successful photographers as reviewers next year.”

For Patrick Cunningham of Photolibrary, “It was fun, enjoyable, and social. Thanks for the candy. I really liked helping both the newbie’s and seasoned professionals. Everybody needs a fresh perspective sometime.”

Photography consultant Louisa Curtis said, “I think it was perhaps too close to PPE as there were more portfolio review events at PPE this year. The signs above each chair only said the person's name and not their company – that made it hard to identify people. There were too many reviewers and not enough photographers”

“I know that my colleagues in the corner tables did not get to see as much work as I did,” said Jessica Moon, senior visual content editor, online specialist, Scholastic, Inc.

And Anna G. Dickson, photo editor, Clear Channel Radio - Digital said, “I thought the event went well, although I did not feel there were enough timers for the reviewers. It was hard to hear the timer and after the very first review, I was on my own with time and I'm SURE that I went over 15 minutes several times.”

Monica Suder, creative coach, consultant and curator, “found the noise level very hard and was hoarse by 9PM.”

Wini Alcorn, business affairs manager, Coca-Cola-MCCANN ERICKSON,| thought “it would have been helpful to have someone using a BELL for the whole space to time the meetings, instead of individual timers per table. Those were annoying as they went off throughout the event. I think it would also streamline the event to have people all move at the same time to a new table, instead of waiting in lines.”

When asked about the quality of the work they had seen, and if anything was really special, Anna G. Dickson said, “The overall quality of the work was very good, and most, although not all people seemed open to constructive criticism

Patrick Cunningham: “I was most impressed by Ian Spanier’s portraits and lifestyle, as well as Bruce Katz’ food images.
Whitney Tressel of Hearst “loved Carl Wooley, Chad Hunt, and Peter Riesett's work the best.”

Jessica Moon had this to say about what she had seen: “Ashok Sinha – STUNNING! James Leynse – Curious, intriguing, wonderful! Stephen Mallon – lovely.”

Wini Alcorn: “Of the people I met, most of them were very talented. That is a huge step up from other events like these where usually the overall work is mediocre. Loved Mimi Ko, Erin Patrice O’Brien and Chad Springer.

Joe Pritchard felt that “many of the photographers need the support of creative consultants and branding help. I am finding that the photographers are so worried about making money and trying to jump into this so fast that they are not presenting themselves and their work properly. Also as we know photographers are some of the worst when editing there own work.” I would have to agree with that general assertion.

Mike Hartley of Big Flannel was pretty candid in his assessment, saying, “The quality of the work was on average higher than I expected. I am rarely wowed and was not on this evening. I am falsely of the belief my work sells itself, and so were many of the photographers. We should both being trying harder I think.”

Most of the responding reviewers said socializing with other reviewers was an important aspect of participating. Wini Alcorn thought, “perhaps a cocktail hour/mixer BEFORE the event starts (in a separate room) for people to say hi and chat before getting down to business would b better. “I also think name tags would be helpful for both photogs and reviewers.”

Jessica Moon found this year’s music “very cerebral and the party following the review missed an opportunity for revelry. Everybody was starving by then end,” she added.

And Wini Alcorn suggested having, “a 10 minute break to get up and stretch for the reviewers—a bathroom break.”

I would say that I saw most of the work on iPads that evening, and while it’s a fun toy at this point, I found the reflective screen very distracting. I know there are specific iPad apps for showing your work as a porfolio, and I think if that’s what you want to do, you should invest in the best technology. Always consider the chance for a portfolio review (or even casually showing your work) to be a professional situation, and to that end, be professional in how you present your work.

RepAudrie Lawrenceof Levine and Leavitt though that “50% of what I looked at was on iPad. I like seeing work on an iPad in equal measure to a well printed book. Since there is a serious drive toward photographers also doing double duty as directors I feel like having an iPad is an asset. I also think that photography can look really great on an iPad. That said, I do still really love the overall experience of looking at a well-printed book and would prefer that photographers have a regular printed portfolio along with an iPad to show additional work and video.”

Monica Suder added that, “iPads are good for some things. I came across a wonderful book and exhibition project on the Spirit of Tea in China and the images worked great on the iPad (by photographer Matthew London).

Jessica Moon is “happy to see work by any means necessary. iPad, whatever, it doesn’t matter. Next year I hope to see more iPads....”

Lindsay Blatt said, “I still like books, it shows some commitment to what you are doing. People using digital devices seemed flippant in their image selections.”

And Witney Tressel prefers “portfolio books or loose prints. I work for a print magazine so I want to see prints. I had a couple iPads but I don't prefer it, it's deceiving how good the quality is.”

Mike Hartley: “I looked at two portfolios on iPads. I generally prefer any process that engages me with technology. It feels contemporary and of the future. I do this realizing there may be a compromise involved (lack of size and resolution when looking at a screen relative to a print for example). I felt with the iPad, the compromise is still too large for it to be used as a primary portfolio. It worked for me when it was used in support of a primary portfolio, to show a 'hot off the press' project, or an archived project. However, it's an expensive object to achieve this and I think at best it is a useful (and unnecessary) toy in its current state.

“Don't get me wrong,” he continued. “Tthe possibility of touching and sharing a screen is a wonderful one, but the practical experience is so far lacking and the debate about its use seems to focus more on Apple's divisive marketing practice, and whether we can afford to not look like we embrace everything they sell us, rather than any fitness for purpose.”

“I was asked what I prefer and said print but ended up looking at both,” said Julie Grahame. “For me, the iPad is OK, for example, to show a single body of work that you haven't printed or edited yet. Like a kind of oh, by the way, I'm working on this--Robert Hooman's Eddie Adams project was the perfect example.”

“It has a tendency to make one feel stupid,” she continued. “I don't know how to navigate whatever it is you're showing me your images on, it's awkward, and as Ilene (Bellovin) said to me today, we've been trained to not touch the screen!”

Photos:
top: Joe Mondello
bottom: Frank Rocco

Fine Art Blogging Panel Last Night--by Stella Kramer

2010-11-04T15:26:00.001-04:00

Wednesday night's panel with Elizabeth Avedon, Ruben Natal San-Miguel, A.D. Coleman and yours truly, moderated by Susan May Tell, was a lively discussion about fine art blogging, enhanced by the fact that we all come to it from a different perspective. Alan Coleman comes to it as a social commentator, and has been blogging since 1995. As a leading writer on the subject of photography at Photocritic International, he uses his blog as a platform to be a journalist, having exposed and followed such stories as the dismantling of the Polaroid collection. He's now reporting on the story of the recently "rediscovered" Ansel Adams negatives.

Elizabeth Avedon likens blogging to, "putting a message in a bottle and throwing it out into the ocean. You don't know if anyone will read it." But with an international audience Avedon shows work by not just photographers, but all artists whose work moves her. And "knowing how few shows galleries put up in a year, blogging is a good forum."

The idea of blogging reaching out to an international audience was echoed by Ruben Natal-San Miguel, who sees his blog, Art Most Fierce, as a business whose purpose is to promote art collecting. He began collecting art after Sept. 11, and after buying the art he writes about it. He promotes artists and not-for-profit organizations to raise money for them. He was most direct in talking about the importance of using Facebook and Twitter in concert with his blog to promote photography.

For me the important thing is to know why you're blogging. Without a strong definition, a blog can just be more noise. I love the fact that I can say anything I want, and the work I feature is work I like. It's discussing the creative process that I find most satisfying--giving photographers a chance to talk about what they do, why they do it, and what it means to them.

The one problem we find with blogging is that it is not going to make money--but then none of us started with that intent , although Ruben is adamant about it being a business for him. He sees his blogging as a way to put info out there for others to benefit from. He curates shows which sell work, and speaks of treating work as special--not overexposing it everywhere. Avedon had a different opinion of that, saying putting work out there was a way for people to find out about it. But the idea of scarcity creating interest for collectors was Ruben's impetus for cautioning people about overexposure.

While both myself and Avedon look at more work online, both Ruben and myself go to shows--although he goes to many more than I do. Coleman doesn't go to shows, but he goes to FotoFest, and the Palm Springs Photo Festival to see work.

There was a large crowd who seemed to hang on every word, and I think we all enjoyed the discussion, hearing each other's point of view. If you weren't there, plan on being at the next panel. If you were, let us know what you thought by commenting here.
Photos by Frank Rocco

Notes from the Underground - Moments in Seminar History

2010-11-02T14:24:00.002-04:00

Below ground, in the underbelly of the cavernous hull that is the Javits Center I found respite from the air-sucking crowds glued to the free seminars on 'how to pose your subjects' and the clambering consumers all racking the focus rings on every camera on display. The subterranean paid seminars are an intensive trip into some enlightening territory.

I was enthralled at the CGI manufactured world of advertising photographer Glenn Wexler who was on a panel to discuss "How to get work from ad agencies". The money just seemed to ooze from every pore of the discussion, with the very heart of it being how many hundreds of thousands YOU could make by creating images that would manipulate people to consume through visions of a plastic fantastic hyper-real existence.

The panel was made up of ad-agency art buyers--or as they are called these days 'art producers'--and top photo agents, moderated by ex-photo-agent maven Deborah Weiss, who enjoyed reminiscing about the glory days of the later part of the 20th century when ad agents were sipping gin martinis for breakfast, and lustfully seemed to be wishing that the characters of 'Mad Men' were still roaming the hallowed halls of NYC ad agencies--not hipsters in low-slung Silas jeans.

But good practical advice abounded for those snappers hoping to hit the Coca-Cola gravy train to a Skittles-colored world.

Across the hall, but on a different photo planet from the technicolored world of advertising photography, I sat in on two seminars hosted by the chaps from VII Photo agency: Ron Haviv, Ed Kashi, Karim Ben Khalifa, Jenn Ackerman and Tim Gruber, who had good, practical advice on working in multi-media . Ed Kashi said he saw himself as, "a coal miner, not a diamond polisher." He said photographers should reach out to those with great audio and editing to skills, if one does not have them, and seek collaboration from those experienced in sound and editing to create a final piece of professional quality.

Researching your story was the bedrock off what nearly everyone on the panel was saying. Think about what you want to say and who your audience is. Kashi said to not just think about getting the story into a magazine, but to use your journalism as advocacy, and create material others can use for positive change, whether they be NGO's , foundations, seats of learning etc. "Produce something bigger than yourself" was the ringing message that I left with.

In the diminished world of editorial assignments many of us have looked for ways to fund projects, and the panel's Karim Ben Khalifa has taken the KickStarter model of fund-raising and fused it into a place where people can support photographers to produce stories -Emphas.is

Back across the hallway, Aurora Photo's Mr. Adventure, Corey Rich, was also on the multi-media platform. He gave an eloquent and practical account of his merger into multi-media over the last 10 + years. Corey has combines his love of the outdoors 100% into his work and is now pushing deeper into video productions using the Nikon DSLR cameras to shoot commercials (much to the chagrin of some camera operators he was shooting along side whose $50,000 Red Cams could not compete in the failing light of day). Corey keeps shooting while they retire to the bar.

Bouncing back to the second seminar run by VII Photo, I found myself at a seminar called "International Tool Kit" - I was in pig heaven. Ron Haviv went through a 28-point check list that every photojournalist should tick through before hitting the Hindu Kush. The top tips included:
1) Double up on everything.
2) Cash is king.
3) Always carry as much of your kit on the plane as possible so you can start work as soon as you touch down, even if your checked bag is delayed, and enlightened me to a camera bag system call Newswear.

English sports photographer Simon Bruty was also on the panel and uses the 6 P's rule before leaving for an international assignment - PROPER PREPARATION PREVENTS PISS POOR PERFORMANCE.

All good stuff.

Jason Florio

Photoplus Expo 2010 has come to an end--by Stella Kramer

2010-11-01T23:37:00.002-04:00

Photo Expo has once again come to a close. A crazy three day whirlwind of seminars, cameras, networking, BMX bikes and fun at the cavernous Javits Center, NYC!

Some fun things:

1. HDDSLR with Vincent Laforet seminar Thursday morning.
2. Free Black Rapid Strap giveaway if you recite something they tell you to say from their Twitter
3. The coffee in the press lounge
4. Seeing old friends and making new friends
5. The BMX ramp!!!!
6. Learning, learning, learning at the seminars and by talking to folks. Everyone was very generous with their time
7. The parties!

Some not as fun things:

1. The Javits Center
2. The fact that there was less space in the area they used in the Javits center, thus making
it almost impossible to walk down the showroom aisles. Check out my video to find out first hand accounts of the Expo.
3. The coffee in the press lounge!
4. It was sub degree temperatures in the seminar rooms
5. Some of the seminars were really not as good as other seminars. But I guess that's all subjective.

As I reflect on my first expo that I attended in 2002. I had just graduated from college and didn't really know anyone in the NYC photo industry. I feel as though I have made some large strides since then. DSLR camera's have also made some large strides. Now we have as many megapixels as we can dream off and we can shoot HD video with our DSLR cameras and we can actually afford these cameras!! They are not for the elite top photographers, they are for you and me and your parents too. I'm hopeful that next year I will be as impressed with the developments in HDDSLR cameras and that the prices tags will also make me equally happy.

Until next year!

-Andrea Fischman

An observation from guest Alex Wright of Dripbook

2010-11-01T13:53:00.000-04:00

Two keynote speakers, each looking the other way.

The two PhotoPlus Expo keynote speaker presentations by Chase Jarvis on Thursday and Albert Watson on Friday clearly presented the crossroads facing the photography industry today. The two talks couldn’t have been more different. Both are great photographers. Neither was wrong. But there was such a palpable difference between the two, and that difference is metaphoric of what we’re all experiencing around us in this industry today. The statue of the Roman god Janus looking both forward and backward comes to mind.

Albert Watson showed stunning images (that he endlessly apologized for the terrible presentation of via the projectors) and told equally stunning stories of his career. He talked of photographing a magazine cover in Paris, flying the Concorde to New York for a second shoot hours later, and ending the day at a third shoot in Los Angeles. He talked of 8x10 cameras. He talked of printing one of his books with an eight color offset press with two additional plates on two page signatures that kept the presses going nonstop for a month to complete the edition. The crowd in the room hung on every word, held its breath, and never wanted to admit the truly unpleasant truth that Albert Watson’s world is no more.

The same room the day before saw an entirely different keynote with Chase Jarvis dressed and pacing along the stage in an almost comedic interpretation of Tom Cruise’s motivational speaker character in the film Magnolia. Chase showed a slide depicting a diverging pathway with one direction labeled “Old shit?” and the other “New shit?” and proceeded to declare this the most exciting time to be a photographer in the history of history. Why? Because we can now control – or can take advantage of – the distribution channels. We can create and distribute images like never before. It’s not just about taking images, but about new distribution channels and new ways of sharing what we have rather than protecting it. Book project from an iPhone app. Tens of gazillions of people sharing information and images at light speed. Do and share and go forward and be creative and the rest will fall into order. At least for Chase it does.

But really, agree with Chase or not, the journey that Albert Watson experienced just isn’t an option anymore (as unpleasant for all of us as that is). And Chase’s seems like one of the only positive and possible paths forward presented right now. It seems that it is time to let that breath out and get moving.

How Twitter Can Help Photographers – Scott Bourne

2010-10-31T17:46:00.000-04:00

PDN Photo Plus Expo

Scott Bourne, founder of Scott Bourne Media Group, has been using Twitter https://twitter.com/since its inception and for the last year he has been successfully using it to sell his wildlife photography prints http://scottbourne.com/
http://photodiary.photodiary.com/

He had a plethora of information to impart on how to navigate and use Twitter to its full potential in relation to marketing and selling photography.

He began with a couple of statistics:
200million users on Twitter putting up 50 million tweets put per day!

The “traction point” is around 9 months– this is when you should begin to reap the rewards of your tweeting (if you follow the basic guidelines and use Twitter efficiently)

He then went on to say that in order to promote your business well as a photographer on Twitter, there are a few basic guidelines such as:

Have a goal and know your objectives.

Know who your audience is.

Be concise with content – avoid “fluff” If its business then stick to business related tweets – i.e. don’t mix it with personal stuff (you can always start another Twitter account for personal/chatty tweets).

Make sure your design reflects your style – i.e. put up your images in the background design and change frequently.

Brand yourself effectively by using a profile image of yourself as opposed to one of your images. “People respond more to faces”. Ensure that you have all the relevant professional information in your profile set up – business name, email, website,, blog.

Interact with the photography community you want to part of – have a voice – follow all the people/businesses that you have a commonality with such as connect with photographers, photo editors, curators, art buyers, photography magazine’s etc.. Connect to the photography lists. This will help to increase your profile on Twitter.

Interlink your Twitter account with Face Book, LinkedIn, Flickr, your website, blog and other social media groups you are connected to, to ensure a wider audience.

If its your first foray into Twitter land, then ease your way in gradually by “listening and learning the language” of the communities your want to be involved in. “Get the feel of how it works” Don’t go blasting in there, pushing your ware’s as soon as you sign up. Build up a relationship by offering advice, tips or share contacts with others in the community and hopefully they will begin to reciprocate. “put others ahead of yourself” Scott Bourne

Establish credibility within your community first by re-tweeting others tweets if you find them valuable. Have a conversation with other photographers you link with, about work, the business etc. Ask questions.

Every day you use Twitter, you should see your followers growing in numbers. If you don’t then you need to re-evaluate how you are using your account to help increase your followers.

According to Scott Bourne, the most effective times each day to reach your chosen audience in the US are:

6am Pacific Time – 9am Eastern Standard Time
4pm Pacific Time – 7pm Eastern Standard Time
(Adjust accordingly to the countries that are relevant to you)

This is “real time environment” so its important that you are on there at the most effective times in order to interact with your community. Whatever you are promoting in the morning, then repeat the tweet(s) later in the day. This should ensure that you are reaching your desired audience at all times.

To find out how to effectively sell your work on Twitter, Scott recommended that you check out certain sites to see how well they do it:

www.jetblue.com
www.opgear.com
www.pictureline.com/

He then went on to tell us how he sold out of 100 limited edition prints in just 8 months (at $400 per print – you do the math!) and he said himself “I take photo’s of birds….who really needs photo’s of birds?!” The reason he sold the prints was because he “told a story” about how he took the photograph in question and how it had actually taken him 13 years of going to a place in New Mexico (sic), to capture. He linked the tweets to his blog. And, that was the story that captured everyone’s attention (and their wallets!). So, think of a story that will capture’s the community’s imagination and see how it works out. I know that I will try this for Jason Florio’s fine art prints gallery!! http://www.floriophoto.com/#/fine%20art%20print%20sales/black%20+%20white%20collection/1

Scott finished with a re-cap on the seminar and to say:

Be patient – don’t expect success to happen overnight (remember the ‘9 month traction time’).
Listen and build your community slowly – “everyone wants to be a rock star but remember you have to learn the chords too”
Don’t just try to attract a large audience with people who are not relevant to your business and goals.
Ask questions and answer them. Be a voice in your community.
Always respond to messages – its only 140 characters maximum!

Ok, I’m off to get my tweet on!!

Helen Jones

Follow Helen Jones & Jason Florio and their journey around The Gambia in 2009 - a 930km walk with 3 Gambians, two donkeys and a cart! Award-winning photography and road stories:
http://930kmafricanodyssey.tumblr.com/
Follow us on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/hellyjonesphoto
https://twitter.com/floriophotoNYC

Presenting Work To Fine Art Community – Mary Virginia Swanson

2010-10-30T13:10:00.000-04:00

MVS knows her stuff! We listened to her talk yesterday about how to get your work out there, particularly to the fine art community. She talks with such eloquence, ease and a whole heap of knowledge along with years of experience.

Because we are running (writing) on the hoof at PDN’s Photo Expo, I’m going to list a bunch of mainly bullet points from the seminar:

Get your work out there – as often and as much as possible – whether it’s a finished body of work or not. Create a dialogue about your work. This will help to grow your work.

Portfolio reviews – these are really important in not only getting exposure for your work but getting it seen by the right people in the industry. Their expertise and critique can be paramount in helping you to move forward – and to evolve as an artist. You get the opportunity to have your work reviewed by top editors, publisher’s, corporate art buyers, gallery curators etc. MVS mentioned a whole list of the best portfolio reviews which you can find on her website
http://www.mvswanson.com/events/index.php Including:

Review Santa Fe, Center, Santa Fe, NM http://www.visitcenter.org/ – a tough one to get invited to and/or accepted (only 1 in 7 photographers who apply are accepted) but its one of the top portfolio reviews around. Once the review is over, the Santa Fe100 is listed on their website until the next review. Your name and website are linked from this list for a year. You also get to meet some amazingly inspiring photographers.

Fotofest, Houston, Texas http://www.fotofest.org/ – the ‘grandaddy of portfolio reviews’ (MSV)

Lens Culture, Photo Nola, Photoweek DC…..and more on MVS’s website.

When attending a portfolio review, make sure that they remember you after you have gone. ‘Leave behind’s’ – make up a postcard with an image of your work or a mini book These don’t have to be expensive to put together and can leave a lasting impression, Be as creative as possible to make sure you are remembered. After the review, send a thank you postcard or email embedded with an image to the reviewers. And don’t forget to add your website and contact details!

Your graphic identity: ensure that all your postcards, emails, booklets, website are consistent. This is your branding.

Competitions and grant applications: don’t wait until the last minute to apply. Get a dialogue going with the organizers as soon as possible. Plan ahead – i.e. keep a diary of comps/grants and the deadline dates.

Don’t just enter comps or apply for grants willy nilly! Do your research before you enter/apply – find out who the juror’s are, what work they like, who won the previous competition/grant etc. Is your work applicable?

Prestigious art fare’s such as AIPAD, http://www.aipad.com/ in NYC, are key for research purposes alone. There is so much to learn from just walking around and listening to business deals being made between curators and agents or artists. You won’t hear this kind of talk in a gallery (at least not out on the floor!). So, take advantage and listen to the language and, above all, learn. Check out what dealers are looking for. Study price points, size, edition numbers, the paper choices photographs are printed on, installation styles etc.

Your website: this is ‘your voice’ so keep it consistent. As mentioned, this is your branding; this is the face of who you are. Make it clear on your home page what it is you specialize in. A succinct, concise sentence or two can say it all. Make it easy for any photo editors, curators, collectors, corporate buyers etc who may visit your site to see immediately who you are and what you are about. These people don’t have time to search your site for the relevant information that should be right up there in the first place.

If you have a book – don’t forget to promote it on your website!

Prepare for viewing your website on ANY device – how does your site look on an iPad, iPhone, other computer screens (the view can often be compromised on smaller screens)?

Sending out your work to curator’s, fine art buyers, agents, etc: don’t just cold-send work. Call them first to find out what their policy is on accepting work. They may only accept work once a month or once a year even. MSV is a great advocate of picking up the phone! Again, research everyone that you want to approach – know their market. Will your work be relevant to them? Also, find out the name of person (i.e. don’t address an email to anonymous info@photographers.com) you wish to make contact with at, i.e., a gallery – personalize any communication as often as you possibly can.

Social networking: is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc relevant to your market? If so, do it well, update regularly and keep it consistent.

MVS tip: Art buyers and curators are looking at the following sites for new work. Contact them to see if your work can get featured on these two great sites:
Flakphoto http://www.flakphoto.com/
Fraction Magazine http://www.fractionmagazine.com/

MSV Soundbites: Know your market. Who do you want to target? Plan your career well. Don’t sell for less than you are worth. Research is key. Be consistent. Plan. Communicate what you want. Be present wherever you are. Your branding has to be clear at all times. Be patient. Own your decisions!

MVS’s website is a treasure trove of information for any photographer – however established or not your may be . And, if you ever see her listed on a panel for a portfolio review, then get your 15 minute slot booked with her asap!! It will most definitely be worth it!

Helen Jones

Follow Helen Jones & Jason Florio and their journey around The Gambia in 2009 - a 930km walk with 3 Gambians, two donkeys and a cart! Award-winning photography and road stories:
http://930kmafricanodyssey.tumblr.com/
Follow us on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/hellyjonesphoto
https://twitter.com/floriophotoNYC

Some interesting products so far at Photoplus Expo

2010-10-30T08:47:00.000-04:00

A couple of cool little things at the expo this year!

1. Black Rapid camera strap.

2. New Gary Fong Flash Diffuser to fit the New Nikon SB900 and other new flashes that the old Gary Fong diffuser didn't fit.

3. New somewhat cheaper but super high end looking business cards from MOO (Great name!)

4. Tamrac Zipshot Tripod
Although I made fun of this earlier, it is actually cool. It's a a super light tripod that fits into your backpack.

more tomorrow..

-Andrea Fischman

Making Money In Stock Now--by Stella Kramer

2010-10-29T11:30:00.001-04:00

It seems that there is still money to be made in stock photography, but like everything else, the world has changed. Where in the past there was royalty-free and right-managed stock only, there is now micro stock and direct sales as well. And questions about quality versus quantity remain. Is it better to edit and submit many images hoping to make more sales, or is it better to submit fewer, but better images?

According to the panel (Sarah Fix of Blend Images, Ellen Boughn and Jonathan Ross), you want repeat sales, so your business strategy needs to be based on how you can make that happen. Agencies and clients want to see that your sell-thru rate is high, and keeping your selects down will give the images you do submit a better chance of a higher sell-thru rate. So when they search your images or want to know more about you as a stock photographer they can see that you make money.

Sarah Fix made some great points about knowing your competition. Echoed by Jonathan Ross, they both spoke about looking at agencies and other shooters and identifying holes in the coverage. You have to be smart and strategic in approaching your career. But isn't that true for anything?

Jonathan also made another point worth considering: think about the way you shoot and how well your image works as a thumbnail. If you open the front page of any agency there will be a grid of thumbnails. The ones that speak most clearly at that size are the ones people will open. So shoot cleanly and with clarity--crafted quality. Make your work stand out.

If you shoot travel and are wondering how to do more, and wondering what to do when there's no money to travel to exotic locations, remember this: You can shoot in your own backyard. Someone is interested in where you live, so take what you know and put it to use to build a great, intimate library of images that no one else would have of the place where you are. You know it best.

End of Day 1 PhotoPlus Expo--by Stella Kramer

2010-10-29T08:32:00.003-04:00

This is today's last post. We'll be picking it up first thing tomorrow, and promise all kinds of surprises, including video. It's been a long but good day that ended on a perfect note, with a Sony AmericanPHOTO party that was exactly what we needed. There was great food and drink, all in a wonderful space with amazing work projected across huge walls. I want to thank Brain Smith for the invite.

One of the highlights of the day was the Darius Himes/Mary Virginia Swanson "How To Publish Your Photobook" seminar (a book with the same title will be out Winter 2011). They are both wonderfully engaging speakers, and so giving with their information.

Some of the important points they made were:

1. Own the domain name of your book. Know how to use social media to build a strong audience for your work.

2. Is your book a S, M, L or XL project?

3. Know how to talk about your book. Does your idea have a clearly defined subject? What is it?

4. Figure out who your audience is and be able to spell it out. Do you know how to reach them?

They suggested you really do research--looking at a lot of books to understand what different publishers look for, what kind of books they publish, what kind of paper they use, etc. Spend time on the publishers' website to understand who they are and what they can offer. Know that it is very rare for publishers to take blind submissions. Try to build a relationship with a publisher--portfolio reviews can help you in this.

Darius talked about his company, Radius, and what kind of books they publish. It is not in the publishing a photo book where the money can be made, unless there is a way to spin off things like calendars, cards, etc. Money can be made back through limited-editions done in addition to the trade publication. But if you're looking to become rich through publishing you will be disappointed.

Both touched on self-publishing and made the most important point: If you are not able to be the one and only--to be able to handle all aspects of getting your book out there, then it isn't for you. There are so many facets to putting a book out into the world that it is important to remember that your book needs to have a life of its own--it is a book, it is not your photographs. And that is an important and vital distinction to remember.

An Intro to HDSLR Cinema with Vincent Laforet

2010-10-28T12:48:00.000-04:00

Just saw my first seminar this morning at the Photoplus Expo here in warm and sunny (i think although I am in the ominous Javitts Center) NYC!!

"An Intro to HDSLR Cinema" with Vincent Laforet.
First of all, he's not only a talented visual person but first and foremost an educator. Take a peek at his blog when you have a chance. So, this seminar covered basically all you need to know to shoot your HD DSLR films, shorts, commercials, music videos, you name it.

We started out watching his short called "Reverie" which is his first short with the Canon 5D Mark 2 and also his first short video that he made himself. Or at least that's the impression that I got, as he never went to film school. At the time that he shot Reverie, the 5D had only auto-exposure for video and a lot of the kinks of the camera had not been worked out.

Key Points about Reverie
1. Was shot with a very small crew
2. Used a number of lens, 45 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, 200 mm, 400 mm, Fisheye and the Canon Mark 2
3. He used Profoto 7B's to light the film (what!!)
4. A lot of the more "Hollywood effects" were done in very simple lo-fi ways. For example, there is a scene where a guy has a flickering Tv light look to him and that was done by plugging in his laptop to the Tv screen and changing the hue/saturation level up and down in photoshop. Go to the behind the scenes look on Reverie on his site and you can see how it was done in more details. There is a great scene where the driver is filmed by suctioning a manfrotto suction cup mount to the side of the car.
5. The budget was $5000. Most of which was spent on the helicopter rental
6. That film led him within 72 hours of being released online to a very high paying job from SmugMug shooting surfers in Hawaii! Much better use of $5K than sending out a promotional mailer campaign right!

Vincent touched upon the explosion of HDDSLR onto the scene for the photo industry and how there hasn't been a revolution like this since the time when Auto-focus was introduced. I can attest to this at the Expo just by walking around the showroom for 15 minutes. There are so many vendors here geared towards HDDSLR and handheld lighting rigues etc.

From there, we discussed the nuts and bolts of work-flow with HDDSLR. Here's some highlights.

1. Shoot on Mark 2 (or whatever HDDSLR camera you have)
2. Copy into folders on external harddrive
3. Load into Final Cut (or Premier or Avid)
4. Convert footage using ProRes 422HQ or LT or Proxy. You don't need to use the super high res 4.44. Not worth it unless it's going to the silver screen :) This makes the footage much easier to work with in Final Cut.
5. Use application Pluraleyes to sync audio (i have used this and it's incredible, no more slate boards- especially helpful if you are only one person shooting)
6. Start editing!

But still most important according to Vincent is the following below. You can have all the gear in the world but no one will want to watch your film because you don't have a clear message. He really has some cool shorts he has made testing cameras for Canon.
Here's the skinny to a great short or film:
1. Concept
2. Story
3. Emotion
4. Sound
5. Motion
6. Editing

Lastly...glad I stayed till the end because he brought out his rique which is impressive but not over the top. Which is his thing, to K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple stupid)

Also some take-home knowledge that I found valuable below to do before you start shooting with the 5D:

1. Set the Canon 5D at ASA 100 at 1/50 sec
2. Turn off all Sharpening and Contrast and keep your color tone to Neutral
3. Get a couple of pieces of equipment (i.e. tripod with fluid head or some sort of steadying device to make your work move up to a pro level)
4. Pick up a decent Microphone and shoot with a Dual System. You can buy an inexpensive Zoom recorder even for $500.
5. Pick up an ND filter

More to come from me! Stay tuned.

-Andrea Fischman

PhotoPlus Expo Is Coming to Town--by Stella Kramer

2010-10-07T13:11:00.001-04:00

Now that fall is here it's time to make your preparations for PhotoPlus Expo to be held at the Javits Center from October 28 - 30th in New York. Here's your chance to hear keynote speakers Chase Jarvis, Albert Watson, Laurie Kratochvil and Christina Mittermeier, plus attend seminars that cater to nearly every topic available.

This year the Palm Springs Photo Festival is sponsoring a portfolio review with a great cast of reviewers. So there's something for everyone, and that doesn't even include the big bash to be held this year on The Intrepid! Should be a wild time for all.

Remember, the earlier you sign up the better.

I will be blogging the entire event with photographers Andrea Fischman, Sari Goodfriend, Jason Florio and producer Helen Jones so that we can cover everything from seminars to exhibitors. We will be filming interviews and equipment reviews, giving you a front row seat on many of the seminars and some surprises still to be announced. So if you can't make it, you can learn about everything here at Sharpen, and also at my blog, Stellazine.

You will also be able to follow us on Facebook and Twitter (more details to come).

If there are things you want us to cover, feel free to email me and let me know now, and during the event. And if you see any of us floating around at the Javits Center, come up and talk with us. Maybe we'll put you on camera.

Free Braintrust Meeting Tomorrow!--by Stella Kramer

2010-09-21T13:40:00.001-04:00

This is a reminder that the ASMP-NY will be having the Braintrust Quarterly meeting. It is free to all members, and pizza and drinks will be available.

If you've heard about the upcoming Sales Training program for photographers, here's a chance for a free advance preview. This evening will be dedicated to sharpening your business development skills with guest speaker Bob Heiss of Sandler Training. In a "roundtable" discussion Bob will discuss key points to the Sandler method of sales and negotiation, including troubleshooting real issues like negotiation and closing skills.

Sandler is a world leading organization in innovative sales technique and Bob has 20+ years of experience. He knows the sales process thoroughly and is both a teacher and a guru. This will be a fun and informative evening.

For those of you who have expressed interest in joining a Braintrust, this is the perfect opportunity to meet existing groups as well as possibly form new groups. To date we have five Braintrusts currently meeting, with plans to expand the second Fine Art Braintrust.

To sign up for the Sales Training starting 9/27, click here.

When:
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
6:30 - 9:30pm

Where:
SoHo Photo
15 White Street
New York, NY 10013-2406
(212) 226-8571

Cost:
The Quarterly Braintrust meeting (and sales training preview) is free to all ASMP members - whether you are currently in a Braintrust group or would like to consider joining one

What is Braintrust?
The Braintrust is a monthly, focused peer group (up to 8 members) that shares information and advice and helps each member work toward career goals. It's an opportunity to make connections, exchange information about resources, bounce ideas around and get constructive advice from your peers. Topics include marketing, portfolio reviews, negotiation, rights, how to research and shoot personal work, etc. -- it's up to you!

Sales Training Seminar--by Stella Kramer

2010-09-16T09:39:00.001-04:00

Sales Training Seminar
with Sandler Training
6 Mondays, Sept 27 through November 1

After rave reviews, ASMP NY Sales Training is back! We are offering a 6-session training customized to photographers' needs. Successful photographers are good salespeople and developing your sales skills will help your business and your bottom line.

Led by Bob Heiss of Sandler Training, a world leader in innovative sales training, the training will combine classroom learning, valuable role-playing and negotiation and individual troubleshooting using YOUR real world examples. With 20+ years of experience, Bob knows the sales process thoroughly and is both a teacher and a sales guru. As a courtesy to participants he will be available outside the classroom - free of charge - to answer your sales questions.

During the course you will:

* Learn to be effective in conversations about budget
* Discover the real reasons prospects buy
* Understand how prospects think
* Practice negotiation, role playing and closing skills
* Become confident in talking with prospects and clients
* Learn how to make more sales, more effectively and more profitably

"The course was one of the smartest %&$#@ things I've seen a trade organization cover in recent times. It really breaks from the norm of presentations. Most appreciated is that this course was not taught by someone in the photo industry. The outside perspective was excellent and very applicable."
— Shannon Fagan, Photographer

"As a result of Sandler Sales Training I have acquired more appointments and closed more deals. It has taken the stress out of the sales cycle. Bob Heiss is a great teacher and understands what every photographer needs, no matter what stage of their career."
— Michelle Kawka, Vice President, ASMP NY chapter

Mondays, September 27-November 1
6:30pm Arrive
7:00pm Training begins
9:00pm End

The Tribeca West Center
12 Desbrosses Street, between Hudson St. and Greenwich St., Tribeca

The course is limited to a maximum of 30 participants. Register early to assure your place.

* $225.00—ASMP Member (early registration)
* $250.00—ASMP Member (registration after 9/25)
* $325.00—Non-member (early registration)
* $350.00—Non-member (registration after 9/25)
* $300.00—Professional Association member (early registration) *
* $325.00—Professional Association member (registration after 9/25) *
*NOTE: proof of membership required for discount.

Register Online

Besides registering via our website, you can register by calling ASMP at 215.451.2767

Opening Wednesday 9/15 & Thursday 9/16 in New York--by Stella Kramer

2010-09-13T19:48:00.001-04:00

A lot is happening, so get up, and get on out!

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 15:

Chris Killip " 4 + 2 0 P H O T O G R A P H S"

Amador Gallery
Fuller Building
41 E 57 Street 6 Fl
6pm - 8pm

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 16:

New Orleans photographers Jennifer Shaw, Bryce Lankard, David Halliday and printmaker Kyle Bravo bring work influenced by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to Salomon Arts Gallery. The collection of art in "Delugians" focuses on a different aspect of the aftermath, how the emotional, social, and psychological effects of this catastrophe manifest themselves in the work of 4 lens-based artists.

Jennifer Shaw
Hurricane Story is a graphic novel told in photographs. A first person narrative illustrated with toys, Hurricane Story depicts the strange true tale of Shaw's evacuation adventures, including the dramatic birth of a son on the day Katrina made landfall. Shaw's toy camera, black and white images have always had a dreamlike quality, but these vibrant color images are a notable departure from the idealized world of her earlier work.

David Halliday
Whether it is landscapes, still lifes or portraits, David Halliday is well known for a luscious, meticulous approach for revealing the beauty in the mundane. New Orleanians have long been the subject of his portraits. In pre-Katrina days those subjects often reflected the whimsy and eccentricity of the city, while his portraits post-Katrina, of volunteers at Common Ground, a lower 9th ward organization, show an altogether new side of life in New Orleans, and reveal a somberness that reflects the burden of their struggle.

Bryce Lankard
Having experienced the trauma of 9/11 as a New Yorker, Bryce Lankard found in the Katrina disaster that unfolded in his beloved city of New Orleans, another event that tore at the fabric of his world. Witnessing first-hand the physical and psychological toll that both events exacted, and yet saturated by images of destruction, Bryce set out to create images that capture the idea of loss in another way. "Blink of an Eye" is a series of images and faux panoramas that use the iconography of childhood and summertime, both fleeting, temporal periods, quickly gone, to suggest how quickly things, taken for granted, can disappear.

Kyle Bravo
Primarily a printmaker, Kyle Bravo, has used photography liberally in two series of "conglomerations". In "Obituary Conglomerations" Kyle has sampled from the Obituary section of the Times-Picayune to create collective portraits of the dead of New Orleans. His own photographs of architectural elements of wrecked homes of the lower 9th ward are collaged into graphic icons in "House Conglomerations." The subjects of both series, when removed from their context, serve as signposts of the post-traumatic stress, depression, destruction and spiritual and emotional brokenness that plague many in New Orleans.

Salomon Arts Gallery
83 Leonard Street, 4th floor (Tribeca)
6-9pm

JONATHAN SMITH "UNTOLD STORIES"

Rick Wester Fine Art
511 West 25th Street Suite 205
between 10th & 11th Avenues

"Jon Smith is making risky, provocative images out of ordinary moments, fixing himself as a bright star of his generation... He is street savvy with a sensitive eye, showing the mystery hidden in everyday intimate moments. This work bears a sensibility and a poetic impulse reminiscent not only of Edward Hopper's New York, but the dark pleasures of Blue Velvet as well."
— Joel Meyerowitz

"Pathos" Tetsugo Hyakutake

"I attempt to connect historical, economic, and social issues of post-war Japan with personal experiences and the voices of my generation. Despite the loss of human lives, destruction of its major cities, and its lack of raw materials, Japan became the second largest economy in the world in less than 30 years. Industrialization and economic development are often considered to be synonymous with the advancement of society. This is one 'unspoken truth' that I attempt to question by expressing the ironic duality of both the beauty and dehumanization inherent in industrialization."--Tetsugo Hyakutake

Alan Klotz Gallery
511 West 25th Street, Suite 701
6pm - 8pm

Paul Strand in Mexico

A historic exhibition comprised of over a hundred photographic works by Strand, including vintage prints, previously unseen documents, and ephemera, that presents a unique and important photographic portrait of Mexico at a critical point in its history by one of the great modern masters.

Also at Aperture

Mexico + Afuera: Contemporary Mexican and Mexican-American Voices curated by Miriam Romais of En Foco
Aperture Gallery
547 W. 27th 4th floor
6pm - 8pm

"Next Stop Atlantic"--by Stella Kramer

2010-09-09T12:24:00.001-04:00

There is something about Stephen Mallon's industrial photography that appeals to the child in me, the part of me that loves to learn about things I never come in contact with. I am fascinated by the world that exists beyond my own. With "Next Stop Atlantic" we see what happens to old subway cars after the MTA has retired them. The cars are dropped into the Atlantic from New Jersey to Georgia and become artificial reefs--home to barracuda, grouper and other marine life.

Stephen's photographs are not just fascinating as subject, but beautifully composed and compelling. His show at Front Room Gallery in Brooklyn opens tomorrow, Friday September 10, and is worth checking out.

Upcoming Shows Worth Seeing--by Stella Kramer

2010-09-02T10:32:00.001-04:00

Summer is nearly over and it's time to gear up for fall and photography openings. Several ASMP photographers have shows that are worth checking out.

Susan May Tell (Por)Trait Revealed at the RayKo Photo Center 428 3rd St. in San Francisco until September 10 is a juried group show that explores the genre of portraiture and varying characteristics of us humans.

Tomorrow, Friday, September 3 the Garrison Art Center opens PHOTOcentric a juried show and Joseph Squillante is showing a new work, Orbit#1, very different from the black and white work he has done for years. His color image is mounted on metal with a clear high gloss laminate.

The Garrison Art Center is at 23 Depot Square (Garrison train station). The show runs until September 26.

On Tuesday, September 7, Bill Wadman opens "Drabbles" at Soho Photo at 15 White St.. A drabble is a precise work of fiction of exactly 100 words. Wadman says, “These photographs are intended to be the same: a short story, a moment which needs to be imagined and expanded in the mind of the viewer. It's a voyeuristic glimpse into someone else’s world, sometimes fantastic or silly; other times scary or even sad.”

Stephen Mallon's "Next Stop Atlantic" opens on Friday September 10 at Front Room Gallery 147 Roebling St. in Brooklyn.

Mallon's photographs capture the retirement of hundreds of New York City Subway cars to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. In a bold move, the NYC Transit authority joined the artificial reef building program off the East Coast of the US in 2000 and sent stripped and decontaminated subway cars off on barges to be dropped into the Ocean in order to build refuge for many species of fish and crustaceans which would colonize the structures.

Call for Photojournalism--by Stella Kramer

2010-08-27T15:00:00.001-04:00

As we head into fall (and I am sooo happy about that), I want to put a call out to photojournalists/documentarians with projects needing a platform. I will be curating an issue of a soon-to-be released online magazine, and am looking for material to publish.

Their first issue is soon to go live, and when it does I can name the publication. My issue will be number 3 and is scheduled for November. I am looking for stories from anywhere and everywhere that offer us a strong, new view of the world. This is a wonderful opportunity that I hope brings all kinds of work that I can consider. I am accepting both B&W and color stories.

Please don’t send me dozens of images to look at. Either direct me to your website or blog, or send 4-5 images that capture the story. There is, unfortunately, no payment. But this new magazine is coming from a source that I support 100%.

As I know more, you'll know more. But I'm really excited about this, so tell your friends and send me your stories. Email me at info@stellakramer.com with your work or any questions.

Show me what you got!

NOTE:
I wanted to add something here to those who think I am a despicable person looking to take advantage of photographers. First of all, I am not commissioning or assigning photographers for free. I would never do that. I am only interested in existing material.
Second of all, I am not being paid, and the magazine's founder is not being paid for this. We are looking to create a platform for work to be seen, so that possibly it will bring paying work to the photographers. Let me state here I do not advocate people working for free. NEVER! But these days the more people who see your work the better for you.

Manjari Sharma: The Shower Series--by Stella Kramer

2010-08-05T12:23:00.001-04:00

I first saw Manjari Sharma's project The Shower Series at ASMP's most recent portfolio review. It was not just such a fully realized project, but something so filled with sensuality, reverence and stillness, that I was blown away. Manjari is so full of energy and light, and her excitement is contagious. We spoke about the amazing success she has had since presenting this project to blogs and at portfolio reviews. I was struck by how the Web helped to propel the momentum of Manjari's work and career, and asked her to tell her story here.

How did you come to photography?

I came into photography by sheer fate. I never thought of photo as a career, even though in retrospect I had always been my family's "Kodak moment" girl on road trips. I was actually planning on pursuing dietetics in college. I got very turned off by the thickness of the food and nutrition text books actually. Also, the lenses on the reading glasses adorning the faces of the students in that department were so thick!

It's funny how vividly I remember that being the sole reason for me to drop the plan of being a dietician; visual communications, still photography sounded more attractive to me. I did exceeding well my first year (shamefully) without working very hard, receiving a merit of excellence for my images. That certificate was the turning point for me. I decided to take it very seriously and never looked back. I wasn't going to flirt with the camera anymore I decided--I entered into a committed relationship.

How did the shower project start?

I was actually centering my own showers around this light that came in through my bathroom window. For one hour it turned my shower space into this glorious sun room. I invited someone in for a dry portrait and then asked her if she had showered that day...so in essence the project started in a very simple way--following the light, and my heart of course.

The fourth person changed my project and made it into so much more. As I studied what happened to these people as they showered for me, I felt there was a ritualistic unveiling of the mind. The walls that somehow surround us and restrict us, came down in the shower and made people say some very personal things about their life to me. In my artist statement I attribute it to the intimacy of standing in the same bath tub, the washing down of the water and the shower thereby transforming into a confessional.

The project lasted for a year and just started back up a couple weeks ago actually.

Where did you find your models?

They were always 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation friends. I stayed away from people who were too close because I felt it took some of the nervous energy away.

Where did you shoot?

I shot the entire project in my shower in Brooklyn. My apartment was gut renovated when I moved in, and my shower is all marble, which certainly helped.

What did you do when you thought the project was ready?

I decided that when I had a pool of images ready I would contact a list of people--an admiration list--a list of online haunts I respected, and online portals where I went to learn and get inspired.

Can you take us through the steps of showing it, portfolio reviews, gallery representation, show, etc?

I firstly showed the work when I had shot maybe six people and made a little self bound book that I took to a Fine Art portfolio review where I showed it to a handful of reviewers. I got some great feedback about it at its midway point, which I now think in retrospect was crucial! I then showed it at a Commercial Portfolio review, a few months later, and showed it to agents like Joe Pritchard from Vaughn Hannigan, to Redux Images and PDN. This gave me great insight into the project's commercial and editorial capabilities.

On a personal level, I was shooting the project as a fine art piece, purely for the concept I was after.

I submitted it to PDN's Photo of the Day and got selected, which gave me some initial high visibility online. Chronologically I then entered my work in a Centre for Fine Art Photography competition and two pieces were selected by John Paul Caponigro for a "Water" themed exhibit. This was my first group exhibit for the series.

All along the way I did small informational interviews with industry folks like Jacqueline Bovaird of Glasshouse Assignments and Jonathan Cherry of Mull It Over. These were just small ways to make sure that this body of work in progress was still on people's radar.

Finally in December when I felt I had a good set of final images together, I wrote to David Bram of Fraction Magazine who blogged about me as "a must see". From there I got picked up by Aline Smithson's Lenscratch and Exposure Compensation, which is a blog I greatly admired. The interesting parts to me, were the blogs that picked me that I did not submit to, like Notcot, KameraKuntz, 180 Magazine, Boing Boing, and Detangle.us. These were all blogs that contacted me to run my work after seeing it on other blogs.

Some of these blogs were followed by design lovers which opened the work up to a bigger audience, making it interesting to design portals like Beautiful Decay. In the following months I got picked up by blogs in Italy, Scotland, Germany and then Leica's blog in China, all through a chain reaction off of other blogs. It was great to see the work just jump from one cloud to another.

Nina Buesing Corvallo from nymphoto did an interview of my work and finally PDN Edu decided to spotlight The Shower Series as one to watch for their spring portraiture issue, running my image as a cover for their magazine. Some of my most recent and strongest response was from Burn Magazine. They ran a great edit of the work as recently as a couple months ago. To view a complete list of people that showed this work feel free to visit the website.

Via all of this blog success which was so exciting and humbling, I got contacted in March by Richard Levy from Levy Gallery based in New Mexico. Richard expressed his interest in picking me up as an artist for his roster and took me to the San Francisco Art Fair. Richard has since offered me a solo show and will also be taking me as one of his three premier artists to Art Miami 2010 in December.

The most important part in all of this is to certainly remember that:
A) It's about forgetting about all of the above and actually making work that is true to the artist you are
B) When making it, let it be seen by some trusted eyes because as artists we can get too close to our projects
C) To develop it, and particularly remember that no one knows what you're up to unless you inform them.

It's like every day, you have to wake up and fall in love with what you do again. And if you truly love it, then share it with conviction and know that infectiously those others are bound to love it too. It of course does have to come from a place of sincerity for all of this to translate and work.

How did the advertising job come to you?

The advertising job was certainly another blessing of the blogosphere. While this work was being bounced around a lot on the blogs early this year, an art director from Delhi happened upon it and pitched me to Grohe, a German company that manufactures high end shower heads and faucets. Grohe was launching in a big way in India and I got hired for an advertising campaign based on this personal project. The job was to shoot ten Indian models under the shower, enjoying water under Grohe's products.

The work is currently being shown on billboards in eighteen cities in India. This was again so graciously another treat from the work being out in the open and being available to be recognized.

What steps should people take when they’ve finished (or think they’ve finished) a project?

I think people should be open to taking feedback from trusted sources as the project develops. In my case it gave me tremendous chutzpa when I showed it around to run harder with my concept. Of course you have to somewhat feel resolved at your own level with it before you show it to people. It's very important to have your hand on the pulse of what is going on in the scene. My Google Reader is chock full with blogs I respect and I've always been up on as much industry news as I can be.

I definitely think that work should be made from the core of your heart. Certainly whilst making the work the mind has to be uncluttered and not focused on who may be impressed with it and run it. But once it is created, it cannot live in a vacuum. It needs to breathe and air on other platforms--online, and in print. As artists, we must allow other peoples' seasoned eyes to fall upon it. Or else it's like a delicious meal that is not being eaten and thus appreciated.

I always think of a body of work/a project as an album of composed songs that needs to be released. Once the CD release party is over and done with the world will interpret it, love it, dislike it, be intrigued by it and/or be depressed or disturbed by it. The work has to be allowed to evoke a response. Without that, it is just like a tree that fell in the woods that no one heard.

So my word of advice would be to read, be up on the blogs, take advice and feedback from peers and be open to rejection. The people who critiqued my work early on, in good and bad ways, were certainly in on shaping it. I did ultimately do what I wanted to, but to hear from incredible industry professionals that the work has a strong back bone is such great reinforcement while it's still in production.

So get it out there.

What's next?

A new project is already brewing, more will be revealed about it on my blog so stay tuned!

Chelsea Art Walk Tonight 5pm-8pm--by Stella Kramer

2010-07-29T10:49:00.001-04:00

Galleries all over Chelsea are offering special events tonight. For more information here

Flashes of Hope--by Stella Kramer

2010-07-21T13:00:00.001-04:00

Flashes of Hope is a national nonprofit organization that changes the way children with cancer and other life threatening illnesses see themselves - through the gift of photography - and raises money for pediatric cancer research. Professional photographers provide free portraits of the children to help them feel better about their changing appearance.

Flashes of Hope is currently in 40 children's hospitals and 20 children's camps across the country and ASMP photographers are creating powerful images of strength, beauty and dignity in cities across the U.S. for Flashes of Hope.

Having a strong partnership with ASMP, a Shared Copyright Agreement has been created. In addition, ASMP members are exempt from the extensive portfolio review process.

The next opportunity to get involved:

Camp Sunrise photo shoot on August 5, 2010 in Wheatly Heights, NY (Long Island), from 8:30am-12:30pm.

There are 4 spots for Photographer volunteers that need to be filled. An email including volunteer instructions, guidelines, file preparation instructions and the copyright agreement will be sent to photographers prior to the photo shoot explaining how photographers work with the organization.

To sign up for one of these dates and for more information, please visit www.flashesofhope.org
Photograph by Dani Steele.

Last day to see MSF's Starved for Attention exhibition in New York!--by Stella Kramer

2010-07-01T14:11:00.001-04:00

Starved for Attention: The Crisis of Childhood Malnutrition

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and VII Photo present “Starved for Attention,” a multimedia campaign exposing the neglected and largely invisible crisis of childhood malnutrition.

“Starved for Attention” aims to rewrite the story of malnutrition through a series of multimedia documentaries that seamlessly blend photography and video from some of the most accomplished and award-winning photojournalists working today.

VII photojournalists Marcus Bleasdale, Jessica Dimmock, Ron Haviv, Antonin Kratochvil, Franco Pagetti, Stephanie Sinclair, and John Stanmeyer traveled to malnutrition “hotspots” around the world—from war zones to emerging economies—to shed light on the underlying causes of the malnutrition crisis and innovative approaches to combat this condition.

“Starved for Attention” captures frontline stories of malnutrition from Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, India, Mexico, and the United States.

VII GALLERY
28 Jay Street
DUMBO, Brooklyn
(Two blocks north of the York Street F-Train Station)
Gallery opens at 10:00 AM — Reception begins at 5:30 PM

David Arky On Still Life and X-Rays--by Stella Kramer

2010-06-24T13:08:00.001-04:00

I have admired David Arky's work for a long time. The precision and cleverness of his still life work always attracted me, and I am a great fan of his X-ray photography. While I was never fortunate enough to work with him on assignment, I have followed his work and wondered how he achieved such strong editorial and commercial work.

David graciously agreed to talk about his work with me, and after a fascinating conversation in his beautiful midtown studio, I found out just what was behind his creative photography.

How did you come to photography?

I discovered photography in summer camp when I was 8. The magic of developing film and seeing my first print emerge under a safelight has never left.

Tell us about your background including family/science connection

My family members were always interested in the sciences – my dad, uncle and older brother were all pharmacists and I also had an uncle who was a physician, painter and inventor. I was captivated by his still life paintings at a tender age. My relatives would get together and speak in their native Hungarian, and since I didn’t understand a word of what they were saying, I found myself getting interested in the artwork on the walls.

So how did you get into still life?

At the beginning of my career, my former business partner, John Barrett and I shot a variety of assignments for the covers of Esquire, National Lampoon and a variety of trade magazines. We built sets, shot people in the studio and on location, as well as still life. Even though I admired the other work we did, I always returned to my first passion of still-life.

How did you get into x-rays? Is it difficult? Scary? What was it like when you saw the first results?

Michael McGinn, a very talented graphic designer asked me if I could create some x-ray images for a campaign that he was producing for Strathmore paper. The concept was that we would be seeing 3 different briefcases as they passed through an airport x-ray machine, to reveal Strathmore paper inside.

I had no idea if it was possible and asked Michael for two weeks to test the idea out. After a lot of research, we found an x-ray lab that I could use to shoot the images. The lab was straight out of the 1950’s – There was a box with “Buck Rogers” looking dials and switches that operates x-ray camera.

Yes, working with x-rays was frightening at first, but after I realized that there was 3 feet of concrete separating us from the x-ray source, I finally relaxed.

The first x-ray shots that we produced rekindled the feelings that I had as a kid when those prints came up in the darkroom trays. Seeing the x-ray film come out of the processor is still an oh-ah moment for me.

Is photography a solitary or collaborative pursuit for you?

I used to think that being a still-life photographer was a solitary pursuit, and imagined a painter working alone in a garret or skylit studio. I quickly came to the realization that my best images were the result of collaboration. The props that my stylist chose, the suggestions that my photo assistant made, the skills that my retouched had developed to nuance details, all contributed to the strength of the final image.

Talk about the process of the work you do

Most editorial assignments begin with a conversation to help understand what is the concept of the story. Reading through the text or story outline, is an ideal way to spark some ideas. I am sometimes asked to deliver a sketch of what I am thinking of, or a verbal description alone might be sufficient with a regular client. After the idea is approved, I get in touch with my prop stylist or model maker and have them source the props that we need for our shoot. I always use an assistant, since I feel that it is so important to collaborate, even on what might seem to be the simplest of shots. After the shoot I hand the images off to my retoucher, and often let him give me his ideas about how to enhance what we shot.

What differences are there between working on editorial and commercial projects?

Many times there are no differences – good photo editors, graphic designers and art directors want to work with someone who is a creative collaborator.

You don’t have a rep, can you talk about that in terms of how important or unimportant you think that is

I don’t think that having a rep is absolutely necessary for editorial assignments, as long as you have a studio manager or office assistant who can help you get your work out in the marketplace through email marketing campaign and print promotion.

I think that in order to get regular advertising assignments, having a rep is essential in getting your work in front of art buyers, negotiating fees and acting as a go between the photographer and client.

You teach at ICP--what is that like for you?

I have taught a studio lighting class at ICP for nine years now and really love it. I enjoy sharing my passion for photography with my students, who by the way come to ICP from all over the world. It’s very stimulating when students work together in my studio, experimenting with lighting techniques and bring in great work to discuss during our critiques.

What are you working on now?

I just finished my second cover still life shoot for Newsweek, as well as an x-ray project for AARP magazine. I have always been shooting an ongoing still life project for Comcast.

RESTREPO Theatrical Release--by Stella Kramer

2010-06-17T10:17:00.001-04:00

Photographer Tim Hetherington, and journalist Sebastian Junger's award-winningt documentary, RESTREPO is making it's theatrical debut Friday, June 25 at the Angelika Theater.

RESTREPO follows the men of Battle Company, 2nd of the 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team during their deployment in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, “Restrepo,” named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military.

This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley; there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 94-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you.

Watch the trailer here

Heart for Haiti--by Stella Kramer

2010-06-14T18:36:00.001-04:00

Don't miss the Heart for Haiti exhibit opening Wednesday, June 16
Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th Fl.
(between 10th and 11th Ave.)
6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
$20 suggested donation at the door.
This is your chance to look at the images being auctioned to raise money for Doctors Without Borders' efforts in Haiti. You can still bid until just before midnight Thursday, June 17.

This Week in New York--by Stella Kramer

2010-06-07T19:34:00.001-04:00

Here are some of the interesting things happening this week.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 9
Dot Editions is presenting "New Options for Portfolios" at their Brooklyn studio, 119 8th Street, Suite 210
7:00pm - 9:00pm

Please join us for an informal discussion on the state of the photographer’s portfolio in the digital age, and to see samples of printing and custom binding options that are now available. We are excited to announce that we will have two special guests for our round-table discussion: Photo-editor/photographer/Salaam Garage workshop leader Maggie Soladay and Bookbinder Judith Ivry.

Directions to the studio: 119 8th Street (bet. 2nd and 3rd Aves in Brooklyn): We are located 2 blocks from the F, G, M or R trains at the 4th Avenue/9th Street stop. Upon exiting the subway station, walk down the hill on 9th street and turn right on 3rd Avenue. Walk one block and turn left on 8th Street. We on the right hand side of the street, at 119 8th Street, almost all the way at the end of the block towards 2nd Avenue. Dial 210 on the buzzer.
Please RSVP for the event here!

Join photographer Keith Barraclough for his Vintage Photo Shoot and Video Release party
122 Spring St. Apt. 3 South
(corner of Spring & Greene Sts.)
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to keith@keithbarraclough.com or 646-789-1961.

THURSDAY JUNE 10

CLIC GALLERY presents SMASH HIS CAMERA: THE NOTORIOUS PHOTOGRAPHS OF RON GALELLA

Ron Gallela is, simply put, the most famous celebrity photographer of all time. Calling himself "the bandit of images," Galella has snapped every celebrity of importance since the 1960s, in photographs that are unrehearsed, unposed, and often hilariously candid. In the past few years, Galella has become recognized as one of the foremost chroniclers of twentieth century America, and his photographs are now in the permanent collection of the The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and the Helmut Newton Foundation Gallery in Berlin.

At the opening, Mr. Galella will also be signing copies of his books VIVA L'ITALIA, NO PICTURES!, MICHAEL JACKSON: THE MAN IN THE MIRROR, WARHOL BY GALELLA and many others.
Clic Bookstore & Gallery
424 Broome Street
6:00pm - 8:00pm

Opening Reception for Will Steacy, "Down These Mean Streets"
Michael Mazzeo Gallery is pleased to present Down These Mean Streets, an installation of photographs and ephemera by the American documentary photographer and writer, Will Steacy. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition at the gallery.

Michael Mazzeo Gallery
526 W.26 St
6:00pm - 8:00pm

The exhibition is accompanied by a 16 page color tabloid newspaper full of photographs, journal entries, notes and maps. 50 of these newspapers will include a signed and numbered, original 8 x 10 inch print from the series.

NYCSALT, a non-profit photography program whose mission is to engage inner-city teenagers by inspiring, empowering and showing them show to contribute to NYC culture is holding their summer show and biannual fundraiser at Sputnick Gallery, 547 W. 27th, 5th floor from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. Limited Edition Prints will be for sale.

Robert Herman Talks About "The New Yorkers"--by Stella Kramer

2010-05-27T14:20:00.001-04:00

When I first met Robert Herman at a portfolio review, and saw The New Yorkers, I felt I was looking at a soulful, dead-on look at the city I was born in. His project was so fully realized, so sophisticated and compelling.

I see a lot of what people call "street photography," but it's mostly an unconnected series of images they have taken. Few photographers have the eye, the grace and the ability to really see, in order to make great street images.

Robert has all those qualities, along with a driving passion to more fully realize his own aesthetic. I knew right away that I wanted to talk with him about his work, and this city.

Give us a brief background of your photography career

I've been a photographer since I was at NYU Film School in the late 70's. However, my love of images began much earlier. My parents owned movie theaters in New York City, Long Island and elsewhere. As a child and a teenager I was able to watch movies in their theaters. Cinematography became one of the references for my sense of light and composition.

For a while, when we lived in Long Beach, we had a screening room with two 35mm film projectors. I remember watching Warner Brothers cartoons like Bugs Bunny as well as some feature films at home, which my father projected for the kids. I used to go with my father when he went to work. I saw Blow Up in 1966 when I was 11. At that age, it was overwhelming.

When I was 14, I worked as the candy guy and an usher at the theater in Brooklyn. It was 1970 and I got to see a lot of the movies over and over again like Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point, A Dream of Kings with Anthony Quinn, Friedkin's The Boys in the Band and Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson. Watching the same movie over and over until the narrative began to recede and the image itself moved to the forefront had a profound effect on the way I saw the world.

Seeing images on a big screen shows deep spatial relationships on a two dimensional canvas. Along with the great photographers such as Frank, Callahan, Bresson, Strand and Kertész, I was also inspired by modern painting: Motherwell, Picasso, Matisse, Pollack, De Kooning, Rauschenberg and Keifer.

It wasn't until I was at NYU Film School that I truly applied myself to photography. I needed some electives to fill out my schedule and I decided to take a class in the School of Education: An intro to Black and White. I could have taken a similar course in the School of the Arts, but the emphasis there was more about technique. I was afraid that I wouldn't have the space to develop a "voice" if the emphasis was on technique. I just wanted to shoot and see if I had anything to say.

My first photography teachers were Len Spier and Steve Price. Class was a very simple process of going out and shooting developing and making contacts and seeing if there was anything worth printing. They were both very helpful in identifying strong pictures and giving me the freedom to let myself wander.

Here are two images I made that first year:

I was directing an experimental narrative short and shooting it on 16mm color and black white reversal film. This led me to experiment with slide film, particularly Kodachrome. I realized I wanted to use a reversal process because unlike color negative you didn't have an intermediary i.e. the photo print processor making an interpretation about what the colors were originally. What you saw was what you got. It was and is the most beautiful film ever made, but for exposure the most unforgiving. There was no push or pull processing in those days. I was using my father’s manual Nikon F with a 50mm 1.4 lens at the time. Kodachrome was a great way to teach yourself how to make exposures based on reflective readings through the camera of different parts of the scene unfolding in front of you. An F-stop off in either direction or you would not have a useable image.

Three books on photography had a great influence on me: I had seen Harry Callahan’s 1978 Color book--it was a revelation. I had never seen images that looked like those in this book. I was taken by the formal composition, his love of color and the distortion of wide-angle lenses. The second was Robert Frank's The Americans. I studied this like a textbook; Frank's images became embedded in my consciousness. The third was Mirrors and Windows: American Photography since 1960 from a group show put together at MoMA by John Szarkowski. This too, was an eye-opening exploration of the many ways the medium of photography could be explored.

It was these three books along with Paul Strand's work, On Reading by André Kertész and Thomas Merton's Geography of Holiness that informed my sensibility. I drank in all that information about what was a great photograph and tried to make photos that approached that bar.

Perhaps, the real turning point occurred when I was visiting my girlfriend, a film editor working on a film in Mexico. I went down there for a month in January of 1981. It was a great opportunity to make photographs.

The filmmaker had a big house in Tlayacapan. A woman named Sylvia and her two children were staying at the house at the time. They were refugees from Bolivia fleeing the fascist government. Sylvia and I became friends and one day she gave me a book to read in English: About Looking by John Berger. It was a revelation.

Reading John Berger and shooting Kodachrome in Mexico, I found my “voice” as a photographer. It was a truly special gift from one outsider to another. Berger is a clear and brilliant writer about art and photography. The book. was a breathtaking, life-changing read. I recommend to anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of art and life.

When I graduated from film school, I needed a job. I had been shooting production stills on student films to build up a portfolio. After some really miserable employment at some film production houses, I finally got a paying gig on a feature: Vigilante, with a reasonably sized budget,and Fred Williamson and Robert Forster as the leads. I was given the opportunity to expose slide film under numerous lighting conditions. I basically was allowed to shoot as much film as I wanted for what turned out to be six months. It was a great education in spite of the extremely harsh relations between the crew and the producers.

The crew was "camped out" in a Brooklyn Key Food parking lot for a few weeks, hoping to match the light. Waiting around, day after day, I began shooting photographs in the Greenpoint neighborhood in between set-ups. I found this to be much more interesting than production stills. I had to find my own subject matter and decide what made a compelling photograph. For a while I was spending almost as much money on my own photos as I was making in salary.

One of my favorite photos from this period is in The New Yorkers:

Tell us about The New Yorkers

The New Yorkers is a book of color street photography made mostly on Kodachrome spanning the years 1978-2005. I identified with the struggle and vulnerability in people and how tough it is to survive here. I was feeling vulnerable myself and I saw this everywhere I went.

At first, New York seemed extremely chaotic and confusing and the images in The New Yorkers are representative of my most successful attempts to work through this confusion. Making pictures was my method of getting to know myself and to feel connected and understand my surroundings. It is a dialogue about my love/hate relationship with the city. I felt I was an outsider.

To quote Picasso:

"Painting isn't an aesthetic operation; it's a form of magic designed as a mediator between this strange, hostile world and us, a way of seizing the power by giving form to our terrors as well as our desires."

The book has images that depict how humans interact with and are affected by media. A great deal of the city we live in, even back in 1980, was surrounded by advertising, graffiti, signage and store window displays etc. I was fascinated by this two-dimensional world creating a dialogue with the physical world.

The New Yorkers is also about space and how we inhabit it. We are so crowded in on each other, open space always comes as a surprise. There is a visual relief we all appreciate when we turn off a crowded street onto a relatively uncluttered view: the little parks, alleys and mews.

Most importantly, the book is about my fellow city dwellers and how they interact with the environment around them. Some are survivors, some are crushed by the city, and some are just managing. It takes strength to survive. You must develop a sense of self and put much effort to continue to thrive and grow as a human being. A photograph of someone whose heart is momentarily open to a stranger's camera says more about a New Yorker than I ever can in say in words.

Talk about street photography and what it means to you

Street photography is a way of keeping things real. It's a great feedback loop and it requires discipline to focus your awareness when shooting, editing, printing and presentation. Photography is a language, and teaching myself to become fluent made me work towards making better pictures. Showing my work to my friends, to curators, and my teachers at the School of Visual Arts and in galleries is an enlightening and ultimately rewarding process. Testing your work in the real world such as these pushes you to improve, as is true of any art.

Street photography, the way I have practiced it, is to be an observer. When I was shooting film I would take a walk and use up a few frames to "warm up" to get myself in a Zen state of mind. Inevitably, on a good day, I would start to see details that previously had gone unnoticed. There were a few maxims that I had about my method: Treat everyone with respect, be without judgment, and do not make exploitive, easy photographs.

I did not set out with a plan, except to try and make strong pictures. For a very long time I resisted having an idea about a body of work and then looking for situations or setting them up to complete it. I wanted to maintain spontaneity and authenticity as much as possible.

What is your favorite neighborhood? Borough? Subject?

Soho was my favorite neighborhood to shoot in. I lived in the narrow building on the corner of Kenmare Street and Cleveland Place where the Storefront for Art and Architecture is now. Soho has very good light because of the low buildings and the architecture was quirky and interesting. It was a great place to teach your self street photography. Unfortunately, Soho has changed so much since then that today they should just put a dome over it and call it a mall.

A photographer can only see something for the first time once. This may seems obvious but it is precious. I didn't want to tarnish this with a preconceived notion when I went out shooting. To paraphrase John Berger, if a photograph is a surprise for the photographer, it will be for the viewer as well.

I was aware that there were patterns emerging and with careful editing, bodies of work could be made. One of my first was inspired by abstract 20th Century paintings. I realized that many images I had shot of torn advertising on walls could be printed 20" x 30" and larger as a homage to the paintings of Motherwell, Pollack and Rauschenberg. When I received a commission from Craig Barnes, the art director at Workbench, I had an opportunity to produce the work the way I envisioned it.

An example of this:

How did you approach shooting? By being invisible on
the street? Asking permission?

At the beginning it was mostly by being invisible. I didn't want to interfere with what was happening in front of me. It seemed at the time that was a purer way to go. I was looking for the decisive moment and the best way to do that was to be an invisible observer. I let my heart and body take the pictures, and use my head to edit them later. After a while, I became comfortable enough to approach people who were interesting and ask them if they would allow me to take a few pictures. I chose not to aggrandize or to judge my subjects and thus allow something authentic through onto the film.

What was your worst experience shooting on the street? Best?

Worst: I was shooting on the street on Kings Highway in Brooklyn at night. I was heading back to the subway. About a half a block ahead of me 4 teenagers were walking in the same direction. I made a long shot of them from behind and thinking nothing of it I went into the Dunkin' Donuts to get a drink before getting on the train.

As soon as I entered the store and was about to order, the four teenagers attacked me for taking their picture. One of them knocked the camera out of my hand. It fell on the floor and the lens broke off. Another was reaching in his backpack for what appeared to be a knife, but luckily, he changed his mind.

No one in the store was helping me. I noticed that my fingernail had broken off and I was bleeding. The teens fled out of the store. In shock, I picked up the camera and wandered outside to the sidewalk. I was amazed that no one had offered to help.

A minute later a police car arrived. They asked what had happened and did anyone know where the teens had gone. Someone had called the cops! A customer said that they had gone upstairs to the train. We hurried up to the platform and there they were, waiting for the train.

We did a line up in the train station, I identified my attackers and we all went to the local precinct. They were arrested and charged with felony assault. Their parents arrived and finally about 4 in the morning I asked the officers for a ride home. They said that only happens in the movies. I then asked them to at least take me to a different subway line so I could get home. During the ride they chalked this one up to "cultural differences."

A few months later, an assistant DA called me and suggested we make a deal. The teens would plead guilty to a misdemeanor and they would be obliged to pay me back for my broken camera. It would all be handled anonymously through Victims Services. For about two years, I received a check for $17 every few weeks or so, until it was all paid off. I knew that I didn't want to wreck these kids’ lives, and imagined that their parents were probably very hard on them. The stress of the attack faded over time. It was the only time in 30 + years of street photography that I have ever been assaulted.

Best:When I was living on Kenmare Street, my landlord was a man named Harry. At 85, he still owned and operated the tire and tube place on the ground floor of my building. I thought he would make a great subject. He was still changing tires himself and he had an ever-changing crew of employees and customers. He was kind enough to let me hang around and make pictures. It was one of my first opportunities to shoot a long term project and teach myself portraiture and photo journalism.

What is your favorite neighborhood? Borough? Subject?

Soho was my favorite neighborhood to shoot in. I lived in the narrow building on the corner of Kenmare Street and Cleveland Place where the Storefront for Art and Architecture is now. Soho has very good light because of the low buildings and the architecture was quirky and interesting. It was a great place to teach your self street photography. Unfortunately, Soho has changed so much since then that today they should just put a dome over it and call it a mall.

The New York skyline photograph was never what interested me. I lived in neighborhoods and it was there my source of inspiration and my sense of identity and craft began to grow. I've lived in seven different apartments in New York City. I like to shoot where there is some possibility of having direct sunlight fall on the subject. The light is the beginning of the magic in a photograph. In New York, tall buildings block most of it. But downtown and in the Boroughs that light is available for much of the day. It makes all the difference.

What have you learned about yourself, the city and this project?

Photography saved my life. I am bi-polar and I had a great deal of difficulty functioning for many years, particularly before I was correctly diagnosed. Making photos gave me hope for my future. It was my belief that as I began to heal, I would have something valuable to offer.

Survival in NY is really tough for the little guy and that can range from the small business owner, and the struggling artist or the homeless, I identified with all of them.
In my better moments I think that empathy is a road to some sort of peace. Without being sentimental, I try to reflect that in my pictures.

Photography is very expensive, and much of the time, like many artists, I was living on the edge. The great thing about street photography is you don't need a client or a plane ticket, just a roll of film and a camera.

How has New York changed since you began shooting (in terms of the landscape, people, difficulties, etc.?

Obviously, the city has changed enormously since 1978. The crime rate is down. We all feel safer. Most of the graffiti is gone. The city now is more homogenized and more corporate. One of things I always loved about NY was the sense of a neighborhood. You could get to know the small business owners. They were the ones who had a real vested interest in keeping on eye on things. You got to know these people over time. If you were in a jam they would be inclined to help you and they for the most part were truly kind people.

Corporations have made real estate much to expensive for the small storefront business in NYC. Landlords leave spaces empty until they get the rent they want. The cost of an apartment has risen as a percentage of income. It wasn't as brutal to be an artist in 1980 as it is now.

The law has changed somewhat in terms of where you can shoot because of the threat of terrorism. I don't agree with the restrictions, but I understand the impulse of the lawmakers to limit photography.

On the street, the average person is much more conscious of the power of the image. As a result it has become harder to make unfettered images with short lenses. People have a greater tendency to not want to have the picture taken. Some innocence has been lost.

All images ©2010 Robert Herman

Review 2010 is Here!--by Stella Kramer

2010-05-25T18:12:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow night, Wednesday May 26, is "Review 2010" which is free and only available to ASMP members.

This portfolio review event boasts dozens of accomplished photo people including curators, photo editors, art buyers, reps and consultants. It's a fantastic opportunity to get feedback and put your work in front of important people, so don't miss out!

Calumet Photographic is hosting the event at 22 west 22nd St. and doors will open at 6:00pm. The review is from 6:30pm - 9:00pm. Register online or by calling ASMP at 215.451.2767 during business hours.

I'll see you there!

Haiti Is Not Forgotten--by Stella Kramer

2010-05-19T10:13:00.001-04:00

It's been several months since the earthquake in Haiti, and help is still desperately needed. Heart for Haiti is a wonderful effort to raise money and give everyone the opportunity to buy phenomenal photography. Everyone from Cameron Davidson (National Cathedral, Haiti) to Stephen Mallon (Stone Wall) to Janette Beckman (Debbie Harry), to Warwick Saint (White Bengal Tiger) to Cleo Sullivan (Filles), and dozens of others have donated prints to this auction.

Auction Opens Weds, 5/19/10 @ 9:00am (officially, but you can actual
bid now)
Auction Closes Thurs, 6/17/10 @ 11:59pm

Viewing/Party:
Weds, June 16th
Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th st, 4th fl.
6-10pm

There is some AMAZING art on there and the starting bid for most is $250.

So please, take a look and if you have the money, please bid! And if
you don't, then come to the Event on June 16th where the suggested
donation is only $20!!

cleo sullivan cameron davidson, haiti, heart for haiti, janette beckman, stella kramer, stellazine, warwick saint

Julie Grahame is aCurator--by Stella Kramer

2010-05-17T11:15:00.001-04:00

When I met Julie Grahame I found we had very similar ways of looking at the photo industry, and when she went live with aCurator, I wanted her to talk about photography. Julie is smarter than most, opinionated, funny as hell, ambitious and accomplished—a person full of ideas.

If you haven’t checked in with aCurator (she posts several times a week), and the blog you’re missing some wonderful photography.

Julie has already featured everything from portraits of queer kids by M. Sharkey to Ashok Sinha’s Uyghurs of Xinjiang, Dirk Anschutz’ BMX trick biking, Jesse Burke's Intertidal, and Jade Doskow’s World’s Fair Projects as well as other work.

If you’d like to be featured on aCurator, email julie@acurator.com with sample jpgs and if she’s interested, she’ll send you submission info.

Tell a bit about your photography background

I ran a C41 dev-and-print line at 16. Went back to college for a diploma and began working in the library of photo agency Retna in 1990. I was running the UK office within a year and begging to be sent to NY a year later. Been here in NY since 1992 and we sold the agency in 2006. I worked at ZOOZOOM for a couple of years,

I manage a few websites other than aCurator, am doing social media for a few photographers, and I still represent Yousuf Karsh in North America.

Who are your favorite photographers, past or present?
Brandt, Doisneau, Lartigue, Mapplethorpe, Avedon, Abbott, Cunningham, Parr, Frank, Hank Willis Thomas, Burtynsky, Arbus, Salgado...

Are you a photographer? If so, what do you shoot?

I took one paid job out of college, an architecture shoot of all things. Couldn’t sleep all night worrying about the film and decided I’d be better working with photographers than being one.

What made you start aCurator?

I’ve always wanted to edit a magazine and as the editorial print market is going down the dumper without embracing what the screen can offer, with things like the Boston.com Big Picture being great, but still a scrolling up and down column of images laid out around text. The time seemed ripe for something like this.

My husband, Mike Hartley of bigflannel, ran ZOOZOOM for years - way ahead of its time, a Webby Award-winning full screen online fashion magazine. So we knew people loved to see full screen images, and that photographers were eager to be featured in such a format.

What is the quality of the submissions you’ve seen so far?

I would say I am pleasantly surprised, they’ve been from excellent to not bad.

Do you prefer one genre over another?

I’d like to be as open-minded as possible. But I’m definitely a lefty and I assume that affects my choices.

What haven’t you seen that you would like to see?

I wouldn’t mind seeing more political work. As you and I have discussed, there’s a lot of work on “the recession” out there that consists of images of empty rooms with an old tissue in the corner of the frame and a drawer hanging open, for example. And (separately) more humour.

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about photography these days?

Both. I’m pessimistic for those who knew the days of decent day rates, expenses, rights retention and resale, and verbal communication, and built their business accordingly.

I’m optimistic because clearly the number of potential licensors of images, and the chance to reach them online, is increasing. If we can just get to the place where people pay for content, maybe there will be an industry that supports us.

I’ve found that not even the large companies, MSN for example, have been interested in differentiating themselves from blogs and fans by using ‘better’ or just different content (from the all-you-can-eat service model).
I hope this changes. I’m not thrilled that we might make money in pennies instead of dollars, but I am realistic about it.

What do you want aCurator to do?

To give photographers who value the web and how it can complement their work an opportunity to publish features that look fantastic online; and indeed other organizations who don’t have a good presence online to benefit from the space; and for a wide variety of viewers to enjoy it.

I hope to expand to physical exhibitions, print sales, collaboration and sponsorship. Ultimately if there’s a chance to make money and pay something to the contributors that would make me really happy. But first we have to get the number of viewers way up.

How do you feel about the ubiquity of photography and its effect on the professional market?

It’s been a pain in the arse really. It’s understandable where the industry has been headed, between the advent of digital photography (which, regardless of what anyone says, was and is a costly nightmare), the state of the economy, the acquisition of photo agencies, the general downturn in publishing - all support a turn toward cheap and voluminous. But I’m a bit surprised by how photo editors have embraced the agency deal (paying one fee for a month’s images, for example) because I think it’s incredibly short sighted.

If buyers don’t pay either a decent license fee or a decent day rate, in 5 years all there will be is stock and it’ll be crap. And I’m also surprised that Getty would concentrate on editing from Flickr. I go through these conversations in my head: “I love that image of blah blah - are there more from the shoot? Can I see the Raw files?”

Any pet peeves about photographers or photography?

Nah, nothing that I can condense to a couple of sentences, anyway.

Any idea where things are heading?

10 years ago I thought image buyers might pay-per-view of an image - indeed I tried to cut a deal with a major organization but they weren’t capable of tracking clicks.

5 years ago I thought fees would be driven down and never come back. This might well be the case. Pay-walls might help up fees or respect for photography.

We’re moving away from local hard drives to app-based cloud computing. I think there will be an ongoing burden on the image maker to stay up to speed - eg. now we’re having to repurpose websites for the iPad. Not free or simple.

Moving away from protecting and managing copyright in the same ways (eg. Creative Commons; Orphan Works).

What else do you want to talk about?

Just to say that I hope there is still a place for great photography, that we see broader and more in-depth publication of images online (with the photographers getting paid actual money), that people in general do want something fine amongst all the lowest common denominator rubbish being forced upon us culturally, and that there’s enough of an industry for photographers to actually make a living - but I encourage everyone to add skills to their repertoire.

It's Going To Be A Big Photo Week--by Stella Kramer

2010-05-11T10:21:00.001-04:00

Things are going to heat up this week with the New York Photo Festival debuting on Wednesday and continuing until Sunday. But that isn't the only thing happening, so here's a rundown that you can mark on your calendars.

TUESDAY MAY 11

CLIC GALLERY invites you to a book signing and film screening of Henry Horenstein's "SHOW"

Join Clic Gallery for the book signing and film screening of SHOW by Henry Horenstein. The spectacular documentary photobook, published by Pond Press, features images of fetish, drag and neo-burlesque performers. Shot in underground clubs in Los Angeles, New York and New Orleans, these intimate and clever black and white photos capture the pasties, fishnets and lipstick kisses of the superstars of neo-burlesque, including Dita Von Teese and Murray Hill.

SHOW is available as a first edition Artist’s Edition limited to only 600 copies plus a special Collector’s Edition of 20 slip-cased books with an original, signed and numbered print.
Clic Bookstore & Gallery
424 Broome Street
6pm -8pm

NY PERSPECTIVES
Amsterdam discovered by New York photographers

Joshua Lutz
Gus Powell
Carl Wooley

A selection of work that was commissioned by the City of Amsterdam Archives and Foam_Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam in 2009 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's discovery of Manhattan for the Dutch.
25CPW
25 Central Park West @ 63rd
6pm - 9pm

WEDNESDAY MAY 12

Start the day with ASMP's The Fine Art of Digital Printing
An Epson Print event with John Paul Caponigro and R. Mac Holbert

Find out about the latest advances in digital printing. You'll learn to evaluate printers, inks, media, RIPs,and profiles. You'll learn to seamlessly integrate Adobe software Lightroom, Bridge, Camera Raw, and Photoshop and a variety of tools and techniques to refine your digital files and prints. See the latest Epson printers and media in action. Take the results home! John Paul and Mac will give a custom poster to every participant. This one day seminar is one of the best values in the industry!
View all the details and more event info here
Calumet Photographic
22 W. 22nd St.
11am - 5pm

FREE for All ASMP Members
$99 non-member
$49 non-ASMP member Student*
Register Online

APA/NY Image Makers Lecture Series presents Sarah Small & Jason Florio

Apple Store
103 Prince St. (between Mercer & Greene)
6:30pm – 8pm

THURSDAY MAY 13

Henry Gregg Gallery celebrates the art of Black & White photography featuring Gordon Parks, Robert Herman, Bryce Lankard, Robert Frank, and other
Henry Gregg Gallery
111 Front St.
Dumbo
6pm - 9pm

Bonni Benrubi Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new work, "Turkana" by Jehad Nga

Bonni Benrubi Gallery
41 East 57th Street
6pm - 8pm

THE NAKED TRUTH Curated by Ruben Natal-San Miguel
A photographic and video visual survey of 50 years of Voyeurism, Nudity and Sex.From Bert Stern's Marilyn Monroe 1962''Last Sitting'' to the 2010 Jen Davis- Skype/Webcam series.
hous projects gallery
31 Howard Street 2nd Floor
6pm

For those of you who live in and around NY or are planning a spring trip to the city, we are thrilled to announce the first annual Foundation Rwanda: An Evening of Food & Fotos benefit. You can help sponsor a child's education in Rwanda, acquire some great contemporary photography and enjoy some fantastic local cuisine at the same time!
The evening will include an exhibition of portraits from Rwanda by photographer Jonathan Torgovnik and a silent auction of luxury culinary items, wine tastings and contemporary photographs selected by New Yorker magazine's visual editor Elisabeth Biondi, Aidan Sullivan of Getty Images and Bill Hunt of Hasted Hunt Kraeutler gallery. Photographs include images by Platón, Eugene Richards, Steve Pyke, Nigel Parry, Gillian Laub, Elinor Carucci, Pieter Hugo, Ruven Afanador, Paulo Ventura & Martin Schoeller among others. Click here to view the auction items.
Bonhams
580 Madison Ave.
7:00- 9:00 pm, $125 in advance, $150 at the door
VIP Admission: 5:30-7:00 pm, $350 *Sponsors 1 child for 1 year of school.
*Includes VIP access to cuisine, silent auction, champagne and exclusive gift bag.
To buy tickets and for more info

BED TWO Curated by Harvey Stein

Umbrella Arts
317 East 9th Street
6pm - 8pm

Sound Foundation & Major Tom
216 E. 45th St. 15th floor
6pm - 9pm

FRIDAY MAY 14

Join Andrea Narins for the opening of her black & white "Night Stories and Landscapes" at The San Francisco Zen Center, 300 Page Street at Laguna.

SATURDAY MAY 15

Remember Slideluck Potshow comes to the New York Photo Festival
Manhattan Bridge Archway
Water & Pearl Streets
Dumbo
Beautiful Bountiful Brooklyn Tasting Hour at 6pm
Potluck at 7pm
Slideshow at 9pm

It's All Happening This Week--by Stella Kramer

2010-05-04T18:04:00.001-04:00

WEDNESDAY MAY 5
Happy Cinco De Mayo!
En Foco presents "Tango, Never Before Midnight," an artists reception with Adriana Groisman

Pregones Theatre
575 Walton Avenue (between 149th & 150th Streets)
from 6pm-8pm

*** Hop on the Bronx Culture Trolley, and make an art night out of it!

Aperture is pleased to present a talk and book signing with Eikoh Hosoe following Aperture's recent publication of the trade edition of Hosoe's groundbreaking Kamaitachi, and the day before the National Arts Club in New York presents him with the Medal of Honor Presentation for Lifetime Achievement in Photography.

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th floor
6pm - 8pm

THURSDAY MAY 6

Julian Faulhaber's "LOWDENSITYPOLYETHYLENE II" opens at
Hasted Hunt Kraeutler
537 West 24th Street
8pm - 8pm

FRIDAY MAY 7

Alison Elizabeth Taylor "Foreclosed" at
James Cohan Gallery
533 W 26 St.
6pm - 8pm

In Foreclosed, Alison Elizabeth Taylor turns to architecture and interior space to reveal the pathos of lives dispossessed by the recent economic disaster and to explore the human impact of the short-sighted policies and greed that triggered millions of foreclosures. Visiting her childhood home of Las Vegas, Nevada, Taylor watched first-hand how an explosive housing market has fallen prey to the bubble-bust phenomena that has become common across the country.
Throughout this new body of work, the viewer experiences an architectural space not through its contents but through its voids.

American ReConstruction: An exhibition of new photography organized by Michael Hoeh

Winkleman Gallery
621 West 27th Street
6pm - 8pm
American ReConstruction : a group exhibition of new photography
Featuring Matthew Albanese, Jowhara AlSaud, Jeremy Kost, Mark Lyon, Curtis Mann, and Cara Phillips.

SATURDAY MAY 8

ASMP IMAGE 10 DEADLINE EXTENDED until Saturday MAY 8th.

SUNDAY MAY 9

Peter Turnley: Moments of the Human Condition - 1972-2010: Photographs by a Renowned International Photojournalist. Come hear a premier photojournalist talk about his work at:
B & H Event Space
420 9th Ave
1:00pm - 3:00pm