ImageMaker National Photography Competition

As part of being a Fine Art Photographer in the Atlanta Area, I had the wonderful opportunity of being invited to be one of the Judges (in a panel of 3) for a National Photography Competition for the Boys and Girls Club of America, which included images submitted  from all 50 States plus all Military Installation across the world.
It was an eye opening experience due to the incredible amount of good work being produced by kids 6-9, 10-12,13-15 and 16 and up, specially in the Alternative process category. There were kids working on Film, Photograms, Lumen Prints, etc. Something I found to be very inspirational, since this type of techniques are still being taught at this level of learning. The only downside on this was that only one winner could be chosen on each one of the categories, making the decision excruciatingly hard. (All the the Judges made sure that all the runners up would get a note for encouragement). The winners will participate on a travelling exhibition across the US.
Results for all the winners will be posted here very soon .

"In your Dreams" Opening

Please Join me, other fellow photographers and Media Artists  at the APG Gallery  in Atlanta for the Opening of "In Your Dreams", the show will run from June 24th to August 26th.. I am very excited to be part of this show. Above all, I really enjoyed the Juror Statement that you can access here.

Hope to see you there.

Light and Film

Beautiful Results!!!!

Mauricio Sapata and The Carandiru Prison

If Something needs to be noted about Mauricio Sapata, (a Brazilian native residing in London ) is his incredible extensive photography  portfolio,compiled with the use of an impresive camera collection; and it occurs to me that he has dominated them all.

Out of all of his images, a body of work that caught my attention immediately is the Carandiru Prison Project, the pictures reflect the chaos, the terror and the imminent danger of being there as an inmate.

An excerpt from his website:

"In November of 2002 I had the opportunity to visit what once was the largest prison in South America. The Carandiru Prison was located in Sao Paulo, Brazil and it was build to held 500 inmates when it opened in the 50's, but had about  7,000  until its final days.

It was the site of the Carandiru massacre in October of 1992, where at least 111 prisoner were killed by police after a riot broke out in the 9th Pavilion, although witnesses claim that around 300 were killed that day".

All Images Copyrighted to Mauricio Sapata.

What was Recovered

 I guess at one point or another it is bound to happen, technology fails, including  hard drive copies,backups and such.
The only reliable source is your film negatives, which will have to be edited once more.

BLUR-MAGAZINE

Blur Magazine is an amazing  Free PDF Format-Photography magazine that got started in Croatia in 2007, the array of photographers who are being showcased is just fantastic, you can see a lot of unknown and upcoming  photographers, along side mid level career or very well known ones (from all over the world).

Their focus is on Art , so the medium within photography extends to whatever realm this might take it, from Wet Plate, Lomography, Lo-Fi, to highly digital or Polaroid; you name it; is there. It is visually engaging and  with  lots of variety, and since there is a multi country based editing team, the samples reflects the view not from just one spectrum of what Fine Art Photography should look like. It is one of the Internet Based Publication that I have enjoyed the most lately.

Their submission process is also free to any photographer with interest in photography as a form of art, you can either enter 2 images or a whole project, they publish their issues on a quarterly basis, so it might be a little late to be considered for their Summer Issue but anybody for sure can try already for their Autumn one. Good Luck to anybody who submits.

First Sight

Everybody has a main reason for buying a new or old camera (whichever the case may be) some are following an specific brand, others are pursuing an specific type of optic. In my case, the decision to get a Yashica was mostly founded in two basic points. 1.- It was the Camera that Francesca Woodman used to take most of her images; 2.- I was dying to work with a twin reflex camera because I love their optics, and the Yashica fitted the bill; in fact it fitted the bill so much that I got a great deal, twoYashicas for the price of one.

Well, the above image was the first one I took from the first roll of film with an idea in mind of a new series, well, I am absolutely pleased with the result, and I will keep the ball rolling

Gustavo Osmar Santos Photography

If you wanted to walk on the Street of Buenos Aires, Argentina but didn't have a chance to, you can absolutely look at Gustavo Osmar Santos Photographs, and you will be able to stroll along with a visual fascination on what this South American Urban setting has to offer. Which is as diverse and open, as his analysis or criticism with the camera.
Using a classic Black and White interpretation on Street Photography, Gustavo's utilizes his lens to portray (at least in my mind), a new vision of what my idea of this city is or was.
I really enjoy his work......
All images are copyrighted to Gustavo Osmar Santos

Pieces, and some Extra Images...

Continuation...

of mixing both digital and Film...

Almost Done

Sarah Moon

.

" I never photograph reality"- Sarah Moon

Sarah Moon is a wonderful French Born photographer (1941) who started her

 career as an insider in the Fashion World, she was a Model from 1960 to 1966,and  then switched to  Fashion Photography in 1970, she handled  campaigns for Cacharel, Dior, Chanel and Vogue;After 15 years of career she decided to develop a more introspective, personal and art oriented work, always searching for the detachment of reality.
This reality evasion is certainly coming across her images, the blur, the long time exposure, the background nonexistence at will; produced this imprecision that translates in to what is not recognizable in the tangible world, but in the subconscious level of our minds.
All photography shown is copyrighted to the artist

A breather....

It was a breather in the middle of the winter, a quick beach stop when nobody is there.
The cold was still. Even when I came back.

LIFE-SUPPORT JAPAN AUCTION, MARCH 19TH 2011

The tragedy in Japan has touched so many lives,The earthquake, the subsequent tsunami and the eminent danger of a nuclear disaster makes things even more dire by the minute. The need for donations and support is increasing as the days go by; there are several organization that are taking even the smallest of donations that will be directed for relief efforts, some of those links are below:
Red Cross
Habitat for Humanity

It is an honor for me to belong to a community which in the last week has shown what can be done when compassion and caring are the engines that propel the motion of helping. Several photographers based donations and online and live auction efforts are up and running. Donations from photographers throughout the world are pouring in, and it gives me a warm feeling, that even in the darkest of circumstances there is always a better nature within us that make us do selfless deed.

Below you can check some of the links I am aware of, which are photographic community related trying to raise some money one way or another, so if you feel in the spirit of getting a good print by superb photographers this is the opportunity you were waiting for. In most cases 100% of the proceeds will go towards a verifiable organization working on the Japan relief efforts.
http://lifesupportjapan.blogspot.com/
.wall-space gallery.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/charityprintauctions/

On my neck of the woods, there would be a live silent auction this coming Saturday at The Jennifer Schwarz Gallery in Atlanta, all works were 100% donated by photographers from the US and around the world. you can also place absentee bids by e-mailing auction@jenniferschwartzgallery.com, from 11 am to 5pm EST.
The link for the images involved on the silent live auction is here LIFE-SUPPORT JAPAN AUCTION

Remember

The beautiful problems that day. Tried to correct it but there was no need.

I am in Love

My new friend, confident and traveler buddy...

Midsummer Night in the middle of Winter

The Results are in for Possible Landscapes.

After almost two weeks since the competition closed results are in for "Mirando el Espacio Verde" (Looking at The Green Space) are in. Congratulations to all participants and hoping that this initiative can be spread throughout the South American Continent and beyond.

The first three wining images shared a content of criticism well beyond expected, I am really pleased with that.

It has been an honor to be part of this effort on trying to give a little push to the photography world in South America.

First Place/Primer Lugar "Respiro"

Second Place/Segundo Lugar "Naturaleza Encerrada"

Third Place/ Tercer Lugar (32 de Marzo-Maracaibo recibe el otono"

Honorary Mention/ Mención Honorífica "Verde mirando a Verde"

 Honorary Mention/ Mención Honorífica "Integración de los seres humanos en los espacios verdes"

Honorary Mention/ Mención Honorífica "La ciudad llena de colores"

Después de dos semanas de haber finalizado la competencia fotográfica “Mirando el Espacio Verde” Maracaibo, los resultados se dieron a conocer hoy. Felicitaciones a todos los ganadores y espero que la iniciativa se extienda a varias partes del continente Sur Americano.

Las tres imágenes ganadoras tienen un contenido crítico solido, elemento resaltante dentro de los resultados. Ha sido un honor el haber participado en esta iniciativa, y darle un poco de apoyo a la fotografía en Sur América.

Double Exposure from a Hotel Window

Under a Different Light