On January 21, 2012, the PRC Board of Directors approved by unanimous vote a new mission statement for the organization. The new statement affirms our commitment to our members and the photographic community with updated language that is shorter and more focused on our core work. The new statement is:
The Photographic Resource Center (PRC) is a vital forum for the exploration, interpretation, and celebration of new work, ideas, and methods in photography. We inspire our members and the broader community with thought-provoking exhibits, educational programs, and resources that support the advancement of the photographic arts.
This short film, more like an extended trailer, provides a quick snapshot of what the Photographic Resource Center is all about, from the perspective of a small but important faction of the PRC: the interns. If you never knew about this place, you would probably walk right past the gallery’s modest, inconspicuous storefront along the B Line on Comm Ave. The PRC’s physical space does not match the large and lasting impact it has had on the photographic community in the Boston area and New England since its founding in 1976. From artist lectures and student exhibitions to workshops and portfolio reviews, this well-established nonprofit has provided, and continues to provide, a great service towards furthering the medium of photography. My hope with this video is to give a brief but honest testament to this statement.
Flipping through my old family albums last month, I saw the picture of my little sister on her first day home after she was adopted, the horrific things my mother made me do to my hair in the ‘80s: an awful perm, a mullet (yes, a mullet) during my First Communion, and orange Pippi Longstocking braids (okay, that one was my choice). Also, there was a sweet family photo taken during my grandmother’s last trip to our house in Toronto at Christmastime 1980. Each of these photographs is framed in a white border, the year and the people in it labeled in my mother’s scrawl. Each one of these prints was shaken, flapping back and forth in the air, the white edge held tightly between the fingers of an excited photographer, a child, me. For each one of those special moments, at least two of us stood around the photo ogling as it developed before our eyes. It wasn’t like watching the pot – the pictures emerged quickly, and it was awesome.
The PRC recently received a copy of Digital Photography: A Basic Manual. Written by Henry Horenstein, it is an excellent book for anyone looking to get into digital photography. The book starts with the fundamentals of how to use a digital camera and guides the reader through all the intermediate steps before arriving at the final stage, such as printing and matting the final image.
The first half of the book is largely dedicated to the instruction of learning how to operate a digital camera. From different types of cameras to lens and filters, Horenstein covers it all. By the second half the book, the focus turns to the processing of the images and setting up a consistent digital workflow. This book is not for those who want to dig deep into photo editing software. Instead Horenstein keeps it simple with the basics, such as spotting and color correction and all the steps required to properly edit an image.
This book serves well as an introductory guide to anyone who is starting out in digital photography or wants to make sure they have a basic foundation. It is a clear and easy to follow book, allowing anyone to jump in.
I’m not thrilled about the speed at which technology is evolving. Just when I figure out how to use one device, a newer version comes out and quickly renders my work unreadable. I have considered getting a website for my photography – and people frequently ask if I have one. Last time I attempted building a website, I got overwhelmed with computer language and put my website on the back burner. The pace of technology may be frustrating, but I can’t afford to fall behind. When the opportunity arose to attend a website workshop specifically designed for photographers, I decided it’s time to face the challenge, elbow out my uncertainties, and geek-out.
Glenn Ruga, Director of the PRC and presenter of the Websites for Photographers workshop on December 3, showed about fifteen photography professionals and enthusiasts how to understand the many different ways to create an easy-to-maintain website without paying someone else to do it. He showed us that we can pay, but with just a little bit of “geeking-out” we’ll be on the right track for doing it ourselves.
This workshop was perfect for photographers looking to build that eye-catching website. The PRC’s Executive Director Glenn Ruga presented a great introduction to this topic by delving into the many components of a website and how your branding idea can work for you.
Glenn Ruga's introduction to the workshop.
A view of the classroom and workshop attendees.
Glenn began with defining some terminology of a website, such as i.p. address, H.T.M.L., Javascript, and Flash. We then looked at differences between good—and not so good—websites, and determined if their branding idea worked cohesively as a marketing tool. A key design point I learned for creating a website is to make sure there is a “Home” button on your page. This way, the viewer can always return to the beginning and start over. Also, make your page easy to navigate because no one wants to be lost, and always have consistent color and text that goes along with your brand. We looked at a lot of examples, critiquing each one, which helped get my ideas flowing.
The task of creating a memorable and comprehensive portfolio that depicts our strengths and abilities is challenging and a little daunting. Larry Volk and Danielle Currier, authors of the new book, No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete Guide for Photographers and Designers, and presenters at the PRC workshop on November 12, showed us a new way to approach this project. They suggest we stick with our artistic impulses and be creative. Go figure – experts explaining to artists they need to be creative. It sounds preposterous, but ultimately, we are faced with the undeniable truth: conservative presentations always prove to be less memorable, less marketable. Perhaps we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s face it, we do.
Volk and Currier emphasize the importance of remembering the potential customer/curator perspective. Another cloth-bound book neatly composed and devoid of personal voice can easily go unnoticed on a busy desk, forgotten among stacks of other books, also full of excellent photography. The workshop included a presentation with many examples of portfolios that stand out and make a statement even before they are open.
Paul Ickovic. Kafka’s Grave & Other Stories: Photographs. New York: Okapi Editions, 1986. Print.
BOOK REVIEW by Stephanie Robb, PRC Intern, Fall 2011
“Go down to the library, select a book, any book,” Julie gestures a wide arc, “and write a review for our blog.” She is smiling when she says this. “Great, okay!” I reply, enthusiastic about the opportunity. Moments later, I stand in the middle of the library wondering how on earth I can choose just one book. If you’ve been to the PRC library, you’ll understand my dilemma. The collection is widely varied and every single book is full of pictures—and I love picture books. Having said that, I am also a devoted lover of stories and I have developed a passion for words.
I decide to begin my search with titles. If the words on the spine of the book catch my attention, I carefully pull it from the shelf and decide if the contents capture my imagination in the way a good storyteller can. After glancing through several books and tearing myself away from several more, a familiar name catches my eye. Ever since Renée Zellweger said his name while pushing a vacuum wearing Granny underwear in Bridget Jones’ Diary, and much more frequently in the last year, the name Kafka has nagged at me. It is a familiar name, one I ought to know, whose work I have somehow managed not to have read yet. In the last few months, I have heard his name mentioned more and more regularly. I’ve always been a person prone to find meaning in numbers and repetitions. “What does all this have to do with photography?” You might be asking.
One particular book, tucked on a shelf that is difficult to access, reads Kafka’s Grave and Other Stories / Ickovic, printed in black on a cloth spine. I think it is out of place and, therefore, most enticing. I press my finger on the top corner, tip the book so I can pull it out. It’s much wider than I expected. At this point in my library assignment, I am speaking aloud to myself, “Oh, it’s wider than I expected!” I thumb through and read the forward by David Mamet, which lures me in further. His words are concise and they speak to my life experience in our increasingly globalized society. He writes:
“…I have always felt like an outsider; and I am sure that the suspicion that I perceive is the suspicion that I provoke by my great longing to belong. I would like to live a life free of constant self-examination—a life which may be ruled by the processes of guilt, remorse, hope, and anxiety, but one in which those processes themselves are not foremost in the mind. I would like to belong to a world dedicated to creating, preserving, achieving, or simply getting by. But the world of the outsider, in which I have chosen to live, and in which I have trained myself to live, is based on none of those things. It is based on observation….”
I have decided. This is the one. So begins my adventure into the photography of Paul Ickovic.
When I heard Constantine Manos was doing a workshop, I had to be involved. The man is legendary, and I needed to see who he was, what he was about, in order to get the pictures that he does. My expectations were exceeded.
Costa started the workshop by showing us some of his unreleased work. I’m sure we were all thinking the same thing, “How did these pictures not make it into his books?!” The presentation was an awesome look behind the scenes of Costa’s work, which not many people get to see, and that was beyond awesome.
After being blown away by some truly incredible street photography, we started to look at the students’ previous work. We all came from different backgrounds in photography, so it was interesting to see what Costa had to say about such a vast collection. His criticism was direct and helpful, and made everyone very excited to shoot and come back with what they had captured. At the end of class we were sent out into the streets, the world’s biggest light reflector.
Paris Visone’s Culture of Looking
Suffolk University Art Gallery, through September 12
The title of Paris Visone’s Culture of Looking bears a weighty universality, suggestive of broad sociological implications and a wide scope seemingly antithetical to the deeply personal and individual nature of its subject matter, the intimate sphere of the photographer’s own family and friends. The concepts of “time and life,” writes Visone (in a statement on her website), “are vast yet narrow, complicated yet clean. These photos are what exist in-between.” Taking her own family as a point of departure, Visone’s deceptively simple snapshots illuminate this interstitial space that she describes, the interaction of private and public life, of family and cultural identity, memory and change. Her photographs appear honest, direct and untouched, with a consistently frontal and centralized approach to her subjects, whose engagement with the photographic moment alternates between disarming self-awareness and casual disregard of the camera. Dense with descriptive detail, each large, vivid digital color print reads simultaneously as an objective, investigative document for social analysis—in which the photographer’s family becomes representative of general social truths and “types,” exemplary of the issues, relationships, gendered and generational roles of the 21st century American family—and, on the other hand, as an extremely personal record of the places and people most important to the artist, an affectionate, subjective and individualized portrait of a single family, lovingly photographically preserved at their most ordinary moments. Culture of Looking derives its subtle complexity and compelling tension from this relay of oppositional terms, ideas and photographic categories (portraiture vs. documentary, public vs. private, subjective vs. objective, depiction of unique individuals vs. the delineation of a social typology), so that each image at once bursts with cultural significance and also provides a blank slate upon which the viewer may project his or her own memories and experiences of family and society.
Boston Photography Focus is a blog dedicated to Boston photographers, Boston photography exhibitions and education, photo enthusiasts, and all manner of photo-based activities, news, happenings, topics, and ideas in and around Boston, New England, and beyond. It is sponsored by the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) at Boston University, New England's center for photography. The PRC is an independent non-profit organization that serves as a vital forum for the exploration and interpretation of new work, ideas, and methods in photography and related media.
Upcoming New England Events For a complete list of New England photography exhibitions and calls for entry visit our website here.
Boston Photography Focus is a blog dedicated to Boston photographers, Boston photography exhibitions and education, photo enthusiasts, and all manner of photo-based activities, news, happenings, topics, and ideas in and around Boston, New England, and beyond. It is sponsored by the 
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