Newslines
In between issues of the ASMP Bulletin, these news items from many sources will keep you up to date and informed.
Posted March 2006
PhotoAssistant.net to host Digital Technician workshop
On April 15-16, Eran Wilkenfeld (of 5LegDigital and James/NYC) will lead a two-day, hands-on workshop for intermediate to advanced photographers, assistants, students and new digital techs who have a solid understanding of Mac OS X and a good working knowledge of photography. Attendees will be working with Canon and Phase One digital cameras coupled with Capture One Pro RAW Workflow software.ĘPrerequisites include knowledge of medium format cameras (specifically the Mamiya RZ and Hasselblad H1/H2 systems), studio strobes, flash meters and color temperature.
Cost is $450, which includes lunch both days. Location is Capsule Studio, 873 Broadway #204, New York 10003. The studio is two blocks from 17th St. & Union Square subways. For more info, check the PhotoAssistant.net website.
Projekt30 shows March competition results
An artist-run group called Projekt30 has an interesting approach to the artist’s perennial problem of getting recognized in the marketplace. It uses a “public jury system.” For each comptetion, anyone can enter an image, and any visitor to the site can rate each image.
When the public phase of the contest ends, a panel of experts looks over the entries. The panelists see both the images and the public rank values. They are not obligated to honor the public rankings, but they usually accord them some weight. (An image that the public loves may or may not win, but at least it will have been seen.) The panel chooses the 30 best images, which are then featured on the Projekt30 site the following month and are promoted to a large mailing list of galleries.
Projekt30 encourages commerce, but it does not participate in the transactions, nor does it take a commission on sales that may occur. It makes its money primarily by offering web hosting and site design; the hosting fees include one entry fee for each contest. Outsiders pay $35 for up to 10 images.
Currently, the site is exhibiting its March collection and is accepting submissions for the May exhibit, which will be publicly juried during April.
Photo Review opens 2006 competition
The Photo Review, a critical journal of photography, is sponsoring its 22nd annual photography competition. As before, the accepted entries in this contest will be featured in an upcoming issue of the magazine. The winners will be exhibited at the photography gallery of The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, and on The Photo Review’s website.
Philip Brookman, Senior Curator of Photography and Media Arts, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, will be the juror for the competition. Awards include a Microtek i800 scanner, two Lensbaby selective focus lenses with macro kits, gift certificates from Calumet Photographic and from Sprint Systems, a professional level membership in Women in Photography International (worth $235), and cash prizes.
Entries must be received by mail between May 1 and May 15, 2006. An entry fee of $30 for up to three prints, slides, or images on CD and $5 each for up to two additional images entitles all entrants to a copy of the catalogue. Full details and the contest prospectus are posted on The Photo Review website or by phoning (215) 891-0214.
The War in Iraq, Year 4 - Day 1
PhotoGraphic Gallery, in Manhattan’s Seaport district, will showcase the work of four unembedded photojournalists who covered Iraq outside the protective umbrella of Coalition forces. These photographs help to dispel that notorious fog of war, which has been manipulated to impugn reflection and malign dissent. We see Iraqis at work and at play, in despair and in grief, as victims and as “insurgents.”
The opening of the show will coincide with the release of a book: Unembedded: Four Photojournalists on the War in Iraq, published by Chelsea Green.
The exhibit runs March 18 - April 30 in New York and then goes on national tour. In recognition of their brave work and that of their colleagues, a portion of gallery sales will be donated to Reporters Without Borders.
All American Chalk Out slated for April 1
The All American Chalk Out will take place this April Fools Day. It will be a chance for the American public to express their thoughts about the government — pro or con — on the sidewalk of their choice. The event is designed to provoke nonviolent free speech. So get your sidewalk chalk and draw pictures, write poetry, write songs. Bring the kids; they make the best stick figures.
Why? To let the government know our thoughts of the state of the union. “We’ve listened to them for 5 years; now they can listen to us — until the rain washes our thoughts away!”
Alfred Ramage, the prime mover of the Chalk Out, urges you to “get out and tell someone to tell someone, and lets get this event on the National media level.” He can be reached at 617-846-5955.
ASPP conference to host portfolio reviews
Among the attractions at the ASPP Education Conference (San Francisco’s Crowne Plaza Hotel, March 23-26) will be portfolio reviews conducted by ten experienced reviewers. There are 35 time slots, with five reserved for selected students (see below). The price for a review is $25 for conference attendees and ASPP members, or $60 for all others.
The reviewers are: Cathy Aron, Executive Director of PACA; Ilene Bellovin, photography director and editor most recently with Newsweek Budget Travel magazine; Pat Bruno, Positive Images Stock Photography; Danita Delimont, Danita Delimont Stock Photography agency; Susan Jones, agefotostock agency; Kerry Faulkner, Discovery Communications; Mary Fran Loftus, Omni Photo Communications; Scott McKiernan, ZUMA press; Christie Silver, Macmillan/McGraw Hill; and James Wood, San Francisco Academy of Art College.
Thanks to the sponsorship of AdBase, five students will be chosen to get free reviews. They must apply on a separate form, and the selection process will include faculty of their school. For complete details on the student and general sign-up processes, check the ASPP web site.
NAPP, Microsoft to offer sessions at Photoshop World
Photoshop World conference and expo will take place March 22-24 in Miami, Florida. There, [Microsof will demo Windows Vista and will conduct “bonus classes” on the fine art of configuring Windows for maximum Photoshop performance. Elsewhere on the show floor, the National Association of Photoshop Professionals will offer an all-star cast of experts.
Dan Cox to offer Nature’s Best Photography Experience
Led by ASMP member Daniel J. Cox, this seminar series will make stops in 16 cities across the US, starting March 26 in Washington DC and ending December 3 in Phoenix. Each seminar will be one day long. Although this is primarily aimed at hobby enthusiasts, it may benefit some pros who want to learn ‘tips and techniques’ about nature photography. Cost is $149; to register visit the Blue Pixel website.
Digital Tech workshop for NYC
Von Thomas, one of the people interviewed for the article on Digital Technicians in the last ASMP Bulletin, will present the second annual Digital Tech Boot Camp on March 25. It is designed for mid-level photo assistants (two or more years of experience) and focuses only on high-end digital workflow issues. Price is $350 for the all-day session (but ASMP and APA members get a $50 discount). For details, email digitech@digitaltechnyc.com.
IPA to host first annual Palm Springs Photo Festival
On March 26-31, International Photography Awards (IPA) will conduct Connect 06, a Palm Springs Photo Festival that, we are told, will be the most extensive photo festival in the US. IPA members get free admission; ASMP and APA-LA members can buy one for $35. However, that does not include the workshops, which cost $250 for the one-day sessions, $450 for the two-day ones. Festivities include tours of galleries, evening screenings of photographers’ works and the chance to hobnob with some well known names.
Food photography to help feed the needy
ASMP member James Scherzi was asked to contribute three food images to the Taste of the NFL recipe book for the 2006 edition, one for each of the three New York state NFL teams: New York Giants, New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. The book was launched at a food- and wine-tasting event called The Party with a Purpose, held on Super Bowl weekend.
Taste of the NFL has been a recipe for success for over fifteen years. The proceeds from the annual events and sale of the cookbook are donated to local and national hunger relief groups. An astounding $6 million has been raised and distributed since its start in 1992.
In memoriam: Gordon Parks
On March 7, the famous photographer Gordon Parks died. His life was a story of struggle against poverty and prejudice, and he overcame them with great talent and effort.
 This photo of Gordon Parks was taken about the time he received ASMP’s Memorial Award; we do not know the name of the photographer. |
Born in Fort Scott, KS in November 1912, Parks was the youngest child of a large and poor farm family. His mother died when he was a teenager, and he was shipped off to live with Minnesota relatives. After dropping out of high school in St. Paul, he earned a living for several years by playing semi-pro basketball and football, playing the piano in brothels and working as a Pullman bartender on cross-country trains.
Notes in the ASMP files say that, while in Seattle in 1937, he bought a Voightlander camera for his amusement. Unfortunately, his first time out with it, he dropped it into Puget Sound while taking pictures of seagulls. But he got another camera, and was soon exhibiting at the local Eastman Kodak store back in the Twin Cities, where the store manager encouraged him to become a photographer. He first concentrated on portraits of African-American women, then started doing fashion shots for a St. Paul clothing store.
He then moved to Chicago in search of better opportunities, where he took up documentary work in the South Side slums. Out of that work came an apprenticeship with the Farm Security Administration’s photography project under Roy Stryker. The FSA work was merged into the Office of War Information in 1943, and Parks served as correspondent for the all-black 332nd Fighter Group based near Detroit. When the squadron was posted overseas, Parks moved to New York City and did freelance work.
In 1944, he began doing fashion photography for Vogue, and continued in that role for many years. From 1945-1949 he made industrial documentaries for Standard Oil, and in 1949 he joined the staff of Life. He stayed on the staff until 1972, when the magazine ceased weekly publication.
He joined ASMP in March, 1954. He received ASMP’s Memorial Award in 1960, and in 1965 he was elected to the ASMP Board of Governors.
His autobiographical novel, The Learning Tree, was published by Harper & Row in 1963, was subsequently translated into nine languages, and later became a motion picture. Another book that drew heavily on his personal experiences was Choice of Weapons.
In 1965, he earned the Award for International Understanding from the Photographic Society of America. In 1968, he received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute of Fine Arts. Other accolades included a Gold Medal from the New York Art Directors Club.
He was also a talented music composer whose works were performed in New York, Philadelphia and Venice. When Warner Brothers made The Learning Tree into a movie in 1969, he composed its score. He also wrote the music and the libretto for the ballet “Martin,” which premiered in 1989. Interestingly, he could not read music notation; instead, he numbered the keys of his piano and wrote down the sequences of numbers. Later, he tape-recorded his compositions and had them transcribed.
In the 1970s, Parks moved away from photography to concentrate on movie-making. He directed several successful action films, including Shaft and Shaft’s Big Score, but later lost favor in Hollywood after losing money on Leadbelly. He also helped found Essence magazine and served as its editorial director from 1970 to 1973.
His daughter Toni became a composer; his two sons, Gordon Jr. and David, became photographers. David covered the Vietnam war for Look and wrote a book, GI Diary about his experiences. Gordon Jr. was killed in a plane crash while making a movie in Kenya, but the other two, and a daughter from a second marriage (along with five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren) have survived.
In 1987, his first photography retrospective was organized by the New York Public Library and the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University. Another retrospective was held in 1997 at the Corcoran Museum of Art in Washington, and later went on tour across the country.
He died at the age of 93. The New York Times recapped his life story in the March 8 edition (free if you’re a subscriber until March14, for sale afterward).
In memoriam: James F Brown
Longtime ASMP member James Brown died on March 2 at age 72.
 James Brown submitted this photo with his ASMP membership application. |
He was born in Canton, Ohio, in March 1932 and moved with his family to Dayton, Ohio, when he was 15. He began photographing at age 16 for the the Dayton Daily News, covering school events. Several years later he moved to Cincinnati and started freelancing for The Post. It was there he earned the sobriquet “Quick Draw” because he had begun working with a piece of newfangled technology: the 35mm camera. According to The Post, he kept a police scanner in his car and often beat staff photographers to the scene of an accident or crime.
He joined ASMP in 1959 and remained a member for the rest of his life. In 1999, the Ohio Valley Chapter of ASMP gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award. But he had earned many an award during his work years; one year, he garnered UPI’s “Best Photo of the Month” laurel for six consecutive months. According to his daughter, “They asked him to stop entering so other photographers would have a chance to win.”
Survivors include his wife, Jennifer M. Palanci; a daughter, Hali Grauvogel; and a stepson, David Mooter.
Orphan Works: watch your government in action
On Wednesday, March 8, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., the House Intellectual Property Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the recent Copyright Office proposal on “orphan works.” At this hearing, David Trust, CEO of Professional Photographers of America (PPA) will testify. You can watch a webcast of the live proceedings at http://judiciary.house.gov/schedule.aspx.
Positive news on Dallal vs NY Times
Last May, photographer Tom Dallal’s suit against the New York Times received a stunning setback when the district court judge dismissed his claims. The judge ruled that, by continuing to work for the Times while arguing about rights and fees, Dallal was in effect waiving his right to sue over the matter. A capsule summary of Dallal’s case is on the GAG web site.
Fortunately, the appellate court saw things differently. Its decision, issued at the end of February, said that was wrong: Dallal could sue.
Dallal isn’t home free, exactly. If the Times still refuses to settle the case, the matter will be tried again in district court. This time, however, a trial would examine facts that the judge refused to consider last time. In addition, another trial (and possibly another appeal) would cost a lot of money. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.