Smith Fund documentary grant application period begins Feb. 1

The Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary Photography, established by NOPA in honor of a Crescent City photographer who spent his career documenting the city's music and culture, will begin accepting applications for its 2012 grant on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The fund annually awards one $5,000 grant to a Gulf Coast region photographer whose work combines artistic excellence with a sustained commitment to a long-term, cultural documentary project. Emerging, as well as established, photographers residing in the Gulf states of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are eligible to apply.

The award honors the late photographer Michael P. Smith.

Applications will be accepted through Friday, March 30. For submission guidelines, and to download an application form, you may visit the Photo Alliance website's MPS Fund page.

Potential applicants should note that the grant is awarded by a juried, two-part review process. Three preliminary jurors first select ten finalists, and a single juror selects a recipient from those finalists.

This year's preliminary review jurors include:

Glenn Ruga, director of Boston's Photographic Resource Center and the SocialDocumentary.net website;
Paul Moakley, Photo Editor at Time magazine; and Ellen Fleurov, Director of the Silver Eye Center For Photography of Philadelphia PA.

A 2012 grant recipient will be selected by Brett Abbott, the Curator of Photography at Atlanta's High Museum of Art.

Image: Michael P. Smith

Curators lead walk-through of "RAW" at HomeSpace on Sunday

Curators Luis Cruz Azaceta and Sharon Jacques will lead a walk-through of "RAW," the current exhibit at the HomeSpace gallery in New Orleans, on Sunday, Jan. 29, beginning at 2 p.m.

The gallery is located at 1128 St Roch Ave.

The RAW exhibit features work from: Alejandro Aguileram Luis Cruz Azaceta, Willie Birch, Mark Bercier, Kyle Bravo, Keith Calhoun, Teresa Cole, Stephen Paul Day, George Dureau, Courtney Egan, Carlos Estevez, Margaret Evangeline, Ming Fay, Gory, Jan Gilbert, Sharon Jacques, Kevin Kline, Robin Levy, Maria Lino, Deborah Luster, Shawne Major, Kevin McCaffrey, Chandra McCormick, Gary Oaks, Mary Jane Parker, Geandy Pavon, Sibylle Peretti, Peter Saul, Ann Schwab, Elizabeth Shannon, Mike Smith, David Sullivan, Victor Vazquez and Monica Zeringue.

WWII Museum registrar's talk concludes NOPA exhibit this Sunday

Toni Kiser, Registrar for National World War II Museum, will give a talk at the New Orleans Photo Alliance gallery this Sunday, Jan. 30, at the conclusion of a NOPA exhibit of selections from the Jungeun Lee series, "Silenced Suffering." The talk, "Korean Comfort Women: Sexual Enslavement During World War ll," will begin at 3 p.m.

The Photo Alliance gallery is located at 1111 St. Mary St. in the Crescent City's Lower Garden District.

The photos in the Lee exhibit evoke the testimony of these Korean women, who were enslaved by the Japanese military during the war. The Lee exhibit opened during the PhotoNOLA, the city's annual festival of photography, on December 10.  It closes on Sunday. For more information on the exhibit, please see this previous NOPA entry.

Image: "Shrouds 6," by Jungeun Lee. 

Artist talk concludes LA West Bank exhibit at McKenna Museum

The George and Leah McKenna Museum of African-American Art of New Orleans will be hosting an artist talk on the evening of Saturday, Jan. 21, in connection with the conclusion of a photo exhibit, "Becoming Home," that focuses on African-American residents of Louisiana's plantation country.

The series of photos by Marianna Sheppard and Nakeya Brown examines, more specifically, the lives of black people on the Mississippi River's West Bank. According to the museum, the exhibit's 30 photos show how residents have built, cultivated and maintained their region's grandeur.

The exhibit opened in early December 2011 and concludes Saturday.

The artist talk will begin at 6 p.m. Complimentary refreshments will be served. The museum is located at 2003 Carondelet Street in New Orleans.

ASMP chapter presents seminar on marketing on Jan. 24

The New Orleans/Gulf South chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers will present a  seminar on marketing for photographers, led by writer, speaker and consultant Colleen Wainwright, on Tuesday, Jan. 24. The seminar, "Making People Love You Madly: Selling Yourself in a Postmodern Marketplace," will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at at Professional Color Service in Metairie.

Among the subjects discussed and information provided will be:

• A simple, logical framework that photographers--or any creative types--can use to market themselves more effectively, online and offline. 
• Strategies for improving one's social media engagement that can be put to use immediately
• Tips and tools on making websites and their copy more compelling to prospect
• Real-life examples of all the above, including profiles of photographers who are successfully using social media to gain work and attention

The cost of the seminar is $25 for ASMP members, $50 for non-members, and $40 for members of professional associations, such as NOPA. Student admission is $10. Persons interested in attending must register online at the ASMP site or register by calling ASMP at (215) 451-2767 from 8 to 4 p.m. Central Time. Early registration is recommended.

Professional Color Service is located at 604 Papworth Ave. in Metairie.

at The Morris Museum

NOPA members' meeting, juried exhibit deadline coming up

There are two important dates for members, and Gulf South photography people, to remember for the coming week, including:

• Monday, Jan. 16: NOPA Members Meeting.

The Photo Alliance will be hosting its first monthly meeting of 2012 on this date, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Alliance gallery, located at 1111 Saint Mary Street in the Lower Garden District.

On the agenda are items including: A rundown of the annual PhotoNOLA festival, from December 2011, and discussion of new partnerships that NOPA will be making this year. Russell Lord, the new Curator of Photographs, Prints and Drawings at the New Orleans Museum of Art, will also be on hand to talk about what the museum has in story for the new year.

• Wednesday, Jan. 18, Deadline for NOPA's "Light," a juried exhibition.

The NOPA gallery will be hosting this exhibition from Monday, Feb. 6 to Sunday, March 25. Submissions are sought that explore the meaning of light, and its visual, sensual or emotional qualities.

The juror for this exhibit is Julie Grahame, a photography publishing consultant and the publisher of the online photography showcase aCurator. 

Photographers may submit the work via an entry form at the NOPA website. 

Joyce Tenneson 'Trees of Life' exhibit opens in NOLA on Jan. 16

A Gallery for Fine Photography of New Orleans will host "Trees of Life," an exhibit of the work of Joyce Tenneson, beginning Monday, Jan. 16. Her work will be on view at the French Quarter gallery through Wednesday, Feb. 29.

According to the gallery, "Trees of Life" addresses the relationship between trees and humankind, in a way that harks back to anthropologist Sir James George Frazer's 'The Golden Bough," a comparative study of religion and folklore. The new works are mixed media, involving a fusion of photo prints and gold leaf.

Tenneson, who lives and works in New York, has studied photography and worked in the medium for more than four decades.

She received the Infinity award for Best Applied Photography from the International Center for Photography in 1989, the Photographer of the Year award from Women in Photography International in 1990 and the 2005 Lucie Award for Photographer of the Year. Her photographs have been published in 16 books.

A Gallery for Fine Photography is located at 241 Chartres Street in the French Quarter. An inventory of the "Trees of Life" exhibit can be found at its website.

Image: A selection from "Trees of Life," by Joyce Tenneson.

Upcoming Canon Workshops

Canon will be holding an all day seminar/lecture on Saturday, February 11th from 10 am to 6 pm, as well as two hands on workshops on Sunday, February 12th from 9 am to 5 pm.  Both events will be taking place at the Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp Street.

The Saturday Seminar is an all day lecture based presentation on the Canon EOS camera.  Segments include Creative Essentials of your EOS camera, shooting with Speedlites and HD Video capabilities.

Sunday is broken into two separate workshops: Creative Lighting with Speedlites and Storytelling with HD Video.  The workshops are limited to 16 participants so the day is a real hands on experience.  Both events are geared toward the intermediate to amateur professional photographer.

Saturday Seminar is $150 
Sunday Workshops are $300 each

For more information on this event is available online here.
Register for the seminar and/or workshop here.

To receive the $50 off the seminar enter the discount code NEWORLEANSALLIANCE12 on the agenda page of the registration form.

Posselt photos of Crescent City showing in Lake Charles

The 1911 City Hall Arts and Cultural Center of Lake Charles, LA will be showing a collection of photos by NOPA member Rita Posselt, beginning this Friday, Jan. 13. The exhibit, "Open Shutters on the Big Easy," will run through March 15.

An opening reception for "Open Shutters ..." will be held at the center on Friday from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

The collection of photos from Posselt includes images of the French Quarter and Mardi Gras, as well jazz funerals, musicians and celebrations. “New Orleans culture," the photographer said, "is like none other on earth. I work to capture the spirit of the people who laugh in the face of adversity, and celebrate at the drop of a hat.”

Posselt, a native of Marinette, Wis., moved to New Orleans in 1972. She lived in the French Quarter for 33 years, and operated the Posselt-Baker Gallery there from 1984 to 1990. Posselt served as an archive photographer for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation in 2008.

The center is located at 1001 Ryan Street in Lake Charles. It is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. For more information, please call 491-9147 or visit the City of Lake Charles website.

Leonard, Shaw works in Mobile AL center's 'Pulse' exhibit

An exhibit of work by two photographers who have called New Orleans home, including the late Herman Leonard and former NOPA Secretary and current PhotoNOLA Coordinator Jennifer Shaw, will be presented by the Center for the Living Arts (CLA) of Mobile AL, beginning Friday, Jan. 13.

The opening reception for the exhibit, "PULSE," will be held at the exhibit venue-the CLA's Space 301 gallery in Mobile--Friday from 6 to 9 p.m.

According to the Centre, the exhibit of the memory-infused Shaw and Leonard photos--which focus on Shaw's Hurricane Katrina evacuation experience, and Herman's iconic images of American jazz musicians, respectively--will make for a relevant run-up to a nine-month CLA initiative that opens in the spring, "The Memory Project."

The "Pulse" exhibit will run through Monday, Feb. 27.

The photos from Shaw will come from her series and book, "Hurricane Story." In the series, Shaw uses dolls and children's toys and dolls to depict her family's post-Katrina evacuation experience, which included the birth of her son.

The Leonard segment of the exhibit, "Above All, Enjoy the Music," will feature 40 of the most well-regarded works of Leonard, known for images of such major jazz icons as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, among others. He lived in New Orleans for 14 years, moving only after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He passed away in August 2010.

The Space 301 gallery is located at 301 Conti Street in Mobile .For more information on the exhibit, you may call (251) 208-5657.

Image: Courtesy of the Centre for the Living Arts

Wet-plate collodion demo Sat., Jan. 7 at Homespace gallery

NOPA members Bruce Schultz and Euphus Ruth will demonstrate the antique art of wet-plate collodion print-making on Saturday, Jan. 7 at the Homespace gallery in New Orleans' St. Roch neighborhood. Also more than worth noting: After the demonstration, attendees may have their portraits made and printed in the mid-19th Century collodion style, one strongly associated with images from the American Civil War.

Photographers Jenny Sampson and S. Gayle Stevens will also be on hand for the last day the gallery's "'tintype' show," to discuss their recent work in the same medium.

The event will begin at noon on Saturday and run through 5 p.m.

The Homespace gallery is located at 1128 St. Roch Ave. For more information on the demonstration, you may call (504) 418-8237.

Image: Brian, December 2001 by Bruce Schultz, a wet-plate collodion print.