Seattle's Photo Center NW seeks entries for contest by May 18

Seattle's Photo Center NW is seeking entries for its 18th Annual Photo Competition, a contest open to all photographers, living anywhere in the world, and using any sort of photographic process.

The deadly for entry is Saturday, May 18. For submission details, please see the call for entries at the Photo Center NW website.


Serving as the juror for this year's competition is collector and curator John Bennettee. The winners will be exhibited at the center in Seattle from August to mid-September 2013.

Awards will include:

• First Place Award: $1000 cash & $75 gift certificate for Blurb, the photo book self-publishing site. 
• Second Place Award: A $500 gift certificate for Glazer's Camera of Seattle and & $75 Blurb gift certificate
• Third Place Award: $250 cash & a $75 Blurb gift certificate.

Submissions sought for National Historic Landmarks contest

 
The National Park Service, a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior, is seeking submissions for its 2013 National Historic Landmark Photo Contest . The contest is open to all.

The deadline for entry is July 9.

The photos submitted need only involve a National Historic Landmark. A state-by-state list of those--ranging from grand mansions to trains to battleships to civil rights sites, and even a jet propulsion lab--can be found at the NPS website.

All in all, some 2,500 such landmarks exist nationwide. And Louisiana, like other states in the Gulf South region, no no lack of often-evocative landmarks.

Any photographer may submit up to ten photographs for the contest. To enter, go to the contest group page at Flickr, and look for instructions, including a how-to screencast. Please note that all applicants will be asked to share an observation about each photo.

MPS Fund 2013 grant finalists: A gallery of documentary works

Show below are selections from, and brief descriptions of, projects for the 11 finalists for the Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary Photography (MPS Fund) 2013 grant, as recently announced by NOPA.

This fund, established by the Photo Alliance to honor legendary New Orleans photographer Michael P. Smith, awards one $5,000 grant annually to a Gulf Coast photographer with a sustained commitment to a long-term, cultural documentary project.

Brandon Thibodeaux, Dallas TX

Project: "When Morning Comes," an exploration of daily life in the Mississippi Delta

Bryan Schutmaat, Kemah TX

Project: "Grays the Mountain Sends" a series of photographs that explores the lives of working people residing in small mountain towns and mining communities in the American West

Walker Pickering, Austin TX

Project: Photographs of young musicians as members of marching bands

and drum & bugle corps in the United States

William Guion, Austin TX

Project brief:  Ongoing documentary on historic and century(s)-old live oaks of Louisiana.

Andrew Kaufman, Miami FL

Project: The people of Panama voted overwhelmingly to expand the Panama Canal. The massive 10-year and $5.25B project will change the way Panama looks and the business world looks at Panama. 

Kris Davidson, New Orleans LA

Project: "In the Southern Garden" is a formal portrait series that explores how history, memory and individual identity have unfolded in the American South, a place where the past is always present and

constantly in a state of revision by the people who tell and re-tell.

Corey George, Lutz FL

Project:  "Babylon" explores the environmental impact of the housing bust of southern Florida. 

My photography of these areas serves as an elegiac record of how Fla. is being changed for the worse.

Syndey Byrd, New Orleans LA 

My deep passion for the elaborate customs and indigenous music of New Orleans 

has inspired me to record and interpret it's remarkable and unique customs. 

My work is a gateway to see and feel the essence of New Orleans.

James Edward Bates, Gulfport MS

Project:  "Passing the Torch" is photojournalist Bates' documentary look at modern-day racism through

an intimate view of the current-day Ku Klux Klan, with a particular focus on the children.

Bates hopes the images will spark communication, education and change.

Jeremiah Ariaz, Baton Rouge LA

Project: "Fact & Fiction" juxtaposes the town of Tucumcari, NM with a region of Spain used as a substitute for the American West in popular films. These works acknowledge the realities of their 

respective locations while showing how the fantasy of the West persists.

JT Blatty, New Orleans LA

Project: A historic preservation documentary of Louisiana's vanishing culture of fresh seafood harvest.

Octavia Art Gallery exhibits Pickford Louisiana work, May 3-25

 Octavia Art Gallery of New Orleans will present work by Joel Pickford's "Photographs of Southern Louisiana," beginning this weekend. The exhibition, culled from a decade's work in the region,  will run from May 3 -25, 2013.

The opening reception is set for Saturday, May 11, from 6-8pm. (The date and time coincides with the Magazine Street "Champagne Stroll")

Octavia Art Gallery is located at 4532 Magazine Street. This will be the final show in the current location, before moving to a new home on Julia Street, in the Warehouse District, in June.

NOPA announces 11 finalists for 2013 MPS Fund grant

NOPA is proud to announce 11 finalists for the Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary Photography (MPS Fund) 2013 grant.

This fund, established by NOPA to honor legendary New Orleans photographer Michael P. Smith, awards one $5,000 grant annually to a Gulf Coast photographer with a sustained commitment to a long-term, cultural documentary project.

The preliminary jurors were Stacey D. Clarkson, Art Director for Harper's Magazine; Ed Kashi,  photographer and member of the VII photo agency; and Susan Sterner, Director of New Media Photojournalism at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington DC.

Michael P. Smith

    MPS Fund 2013 Grant Finalists

• Jeremiah Ariaz, Baton Rouge, LA
• James Edward Bates, Gulf Port, MS
• JT Blatty, New Orleans, LA
• Syndey Byrd, New Orleans LA
• Kris Davidson, New Orleans LA
• Corey George, Lutz, FL
• William Guion, Austin, TX
• Andrew Kaufman, Miami, FL
• Walker Pickering, Austin TX
• Bryan Schutmaat, Kemah, TX
• Brandon Thibodeaux, Dallas, TX

Kevin Miller, the Director of Dayton, FL's Southeast Museum of Photography, will select the 2013 MPS Fund grant recipient from the finalists. The recipient will be announced in early June 2013.

Arbus, Model photos in French Quarter beginning April 25

NOPA member Dickerson begins tour for 'Porch Dogs' book

NOPA member Nell Dickerson is celebrating the recent release of a new photography book, "Porch Dogs," a work full of charming and evocative fine art photos of canines on southern front porches.

The book of color photographs is being published by John F. Blair, Publisher of Winston-Salem, NC.

Dickerson launched a promotional tour for "Porch Dogs" on Saturday in Memphis TN. Her tour is to feature activities ranging, she notes, "from fundraisers and pet adoptions to dog-kissing booths, speed-dog-dating, and dog rentals for walks and play."

Dickerson's events schedule includes two stops in Louisiana. She will sign copies of her book at New Orleans' Garden District Book Shop on  Friday, May 17. The event is to begin at 5:30 p.m.

 
Meanwhile, she will appear at St. Francisville's West Feliciana Parish Library on Saturday, May 18 for a joint event of the West Feliciana Animal Humane Society Friends and the Friends of St. Francisville Library organization. The latter event is set to begin at 11 a.m.

A full list of "Porch Dogs" events is featured at her blog and the John F. Blair website. 
 
Images: Front cover, "Porch Dogs" (top, left) and "Liza Jane" (right, taken in New Orleans' Bywater neighborhood)

Spaces open for cyanotype workshop at NOPA Saturday

Woody Woodroof

Three spaces are still open for a cyanotype workshop at the NOPA Gallery with Washington DC area photographer Woody Woodroof, set for Saturday, April 20. The workshop is to run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuition is $125 for NOPA members and $175 for non-members. Please note, however, that those wanting to renew an old or existing NOPA membership or become a member for the first time can pay $160 for tuition and a membership.

For more information, please see the NOPA website.

Steve Pyke back in NOLA

NOPA is bringing back our good friend Steve Pyke for two events this week:

Last foot on the moon (Gene Cernan), Houston, 1998

Film Screening: Moonbug 
Thursday, April 11, 7:30pm (with brief Q&A after screening)
$11. Gen. Admission
Prytania Theater
5339 Prytania St., NOLA 70115

NOPA is partnering with the New Orleans Film Society for Film-O-Rama at the Prytania Theater. We are bringing Moonbug (2010), a documentary by filmmaker Nichola Bruce, with rare archival footage and an original score by Matt Johnson (of The The).

Featuring the Apollo Team and photographer Steve Pyke, Moonbug is both a photographic road trip and an exploration of how photographs become signposts for history.

Film-O-Rama info 

Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Los Angeles, 1998

Apollo Remembered
Opening Reception:
Saturday, April 13, 6pm

Apollo Remembered is a collection of photographs which Steve made on his journey meeting the people behind the Apollo Space Program.

Good Children Gallery
4037 St. Claude Ave., NOLA 70117

www.goodchildrengallery.com

Pailet photos in World's Fairs decorative arts exhibit at NOMA

Work from New Orleans photographer Joshua Mann Pailet, owner of A Gallery for Fine Photography in the French Quarter, will be on exhibit as part of a World's Fairs decorative arts exhibit, opening this week at the New Orleans Museum of Art.


"Spectacle and Spectator: Joshua Mann Pailet's Photographs of the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans" is being presented by NOMA as a complement to the larger "Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World's Fairs 1851-1939," which officially opens on Friday, April 12. A preview for museum members is set for Thursday, April 11, from 7 to 9 p.m.


Pailet noted he will have an artist's perspective talk later on, but no firm date has been set thus far.

Thursday night's preview is open to members. Pailet noted that non-members who are active with the Photo Alliance or with PhotoNOLA may send him an e-mail if they would like to attend as guests of his for the evening.

The "Inventing the Modern World" exhibit will run through Sunday, August 4. You can read more about the exhibit at the NOMA website.

Image: "Shadow People, New Orleans World's Fair, 1984," by Joshua Mann Pailet.

Slideshow, NOPA-benefitting gear raffle set for Sat., April 13

Momenta Workshops, a Washington DC-based photojournalism and social documentary photography organization, is inviting anyone with an interest in photography or the work of local nonprofits to a slideshow and party on the evening of Saturday, April 13, at the NOPA gallery.


The event is to include a raffle, with all proceeds benefitting NOPA. Prizes will include camera equipment, ranging from photo books to camera bags, free licenses of Photo Mechanic, SD cards, jump drives and more. 


The event will begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 13 at the NOPA Gallery. It is being presented by Momenta in connection with its Project New Orleans 2013 workshop.


A cocktails and conversations hour will kick off the event, with the slideshow set to begin at the gallery at 8 p.m. The NOPA gallery is located at 1111 St. Mary St. in,  the Crescent City's Lower Garden District.

The slideshow and party is formally billed as a celebration of the work of New Orleans nonprofits. It will feature the work of students of the Momenta workshop, which is aimed at assisting photographers interested in documenting the work of nonprofits, communities and others involved in the city's post-Katrina recovery.

The Project New Orleans 2013 workshop begins Wednesday, April 10, at the NOPA gallery, with final lectures set for the afternoon of Sunday, April 15.

Prizes for the NOPA-benefitting raffle are coming from Momenta, along with Leica Camera, PNY Technologies, Photo Mechanic and Roberts Camera.

Luna Press seeks submissions for New Orleans Photography Book

LUNA PRESS has announced an exciting publication opportunity for New Orleans photographers:



Luna Press is working on a new book project to be released in December 2013, during PhotoNOLA.
New Orleans photographers are invited to submit work for consideration. Image selection will be juried by Eric Bookhardt, writer, art critic and photographer. There is no submission fee.

From Luna Press:
“The book is based on the desire to showcase the multiplicity of excellent quality photography works and styles being produced in New Orleans. We believe that New Orleans is going through a serious renaissance in photography and want to pay tribute to it while providing something for PhotoNOLA visitors to take home.”


Luna Press is dedicated to the publishing of illustrated books — based on Baudelaire’s idea that there are “correspondences” between the arts and that the best and most natural appreciation of a work of art may be a response to it in another.

Submission guidelines:
Photograph submissions should represent work created post-Katrina.
Images do not have to be New Orleans subject matter.
Submitting photographers should live and work in New Orleans or its environs.

Submission details:
Submissions are due by April 15th.
Please submit 5 images.
Images should be in jpeg format, 7″ long dimension @ 300dpi. (Please note that the final images selected will be requested as a CMYK, 12″ long dimension “tiff” files for reproduction.)

Submit images by mailing or dropping off a disc or flash drive to:
Luna Press
c/o Jenny Bagert
838 N. Rendon St.
New Orleans, LA 70119
Please write your first and last name on the disc or drive.

The final selection of work/artists to be included in the publication will be announced by Luna Press by May 25th.

Copies of the book will be for sale to the public.
All photographers included in the book will receive a complimentary copy.
The book is being funded by Luna Press and is a labor of love. Any profits generated will be donated to the New Orleans Photo Alliance.

Questions? Contact: Jenny Bagert – sales@lunapress.com

Sacabo, Wonk present 'Artist Perspective' at NOMA tonight

New Orleans photographer and NOPA member Josephine Sacabo and poet Dalt Wonk are to appear at the New Orleans Museum of Art this evening (March 29) for an "Artist Perpective" presentation, in connection with the museum's Friday Nights at NOMA series.

The presentation, "The Continuing Dialogue with Nature: Words and Images," is to begin at 6 p.m. The NOMA event at a whole, meanwhile, is to run from 5 to 9 p.m.

The "Artist Perspective" program will begin in NOMA's Stern Auditorium and continue in the exhibition, "Reinventing Nature: Art from the School of Fontainebleau." After the presentation concludes, Sacabo and Wonk will sign copies of their book "Nocturnes," in the museum shop.

The elaborately designed "Nocturnes" brings together a series of black and white photos by Sacabo with a series of poems by Wonk, her husband. A preview of the book is available at the Luna Press website.

For more information about the Friday Nights at NOMA event, please see the museum website.

Lenscratch looks at PhotoNOLA's Shaw, and her photography

Jennifer Shaw, the coordinator of the annual PhotoNOLA festival and a mainstay NOPA member, is profiled this week at Lenscratch, a blog dedicated to contemporary photography. The blog notes that she is "the heart and soul of PhotoNOLA," but focuses less on her role there as it does her photographic work.

More specifically, the blog features Shaw's series about parenthood, "The Space Between."

This series evolved from an earlier--and more celebrated, Lenscratch notes--project of Shaw's, "Hurricane Story." The latter told the story of her giving birth while evacuating from New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina, via macro shots of toys and models, with all shots taken with a medium format Holga camera. The new series features her flesh-and-blood children, however, not plastic stand-ins.

Of the newer series, Shaw says:

This ongoing series is about childhood, but it is also about the complexities of being a parent. While my two sons and their circle of friends navigate the playgrounds of their world, I watch with camera poised, balanced between protection and permission.

Motherhood is the hardest job I have ever had. Photography allows me to embrace the chaos and connect with my children. As they explore the elements with carefree abandon, I marvel at their intensity and document them in all their wild glory. These images chronicle the adventure, traversing the spaces between shadow and light, delight and despair, dreams and reality.

To see other selections from the series, please see the Lenscratch post on Shaw and her work.

Image: "Jump," from "The Space Between," by Jennifer Shaw. 

Funding sought for doc on war photographer, relationship

The maker of a documentary film focusing on the relationship between a fashion designer and a war photographer---Sebastiano Tomada, who presented and discussed his work for PhotoNOLA 2011's "Picturing War" panel--is seeking funding for the work's completion, via the Kickstarter crowd-funding website.

The film, "Embedded," will look at how the typically dangerous assignments and extensive travel involved in war photography affected the relationship between Tomada and New York-based fashion and handbag designer Gessica Smith. The film is to include footage from the field, taken in connection in Tomada's work in Syria and Afghanistan.


As of the afternoon of Saturday, March 23, Brooklyn-based filmmaker and photographer Madeleine Pryor's fundraising campaign was to continue for another 19 days. to the deadline of Friday, April 12. Individuals had pledged just under $5,200 in donations, toward a goal of $10,000.

As with all Kickstarter projects, if the "Embedded" campaign fails to meet its financial goal by its deadline, then it will remain unfunded, and people pledging funds will not be charged any money.

Photographers might want to note that, if the project is funded, those who pledged $150 or more will receive a portfolio review from Tomada, as a reward.

For more information, please see the project page for "Embedded" at Kickstarter.

Image: One of the Tomada photos featured at the project page for "Embedded."