by Barbara Ayotte

Benedict Fernandez at his Almanac Gallery in Hoboken, NJ. Photograph by Elliott Ruga

On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon this spring, PRC Executive Director Glenn Ruga, his brother Elliott, and I visited the Almanac Gallery on Garden Street in Hoboken, NJ, owned by Benedict “Ben” Fernandez and his wife, Siiri.  Originally Ben’s parents’ home, the small gallery feels more like a museum, marking significant milestones in documentary photography. Ben is most known for his “protest” photography, particularly his famous and intimate portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr. (A portfolio of this work will be sold at the upcoming PRC event “Treasures from the PRC Vault” on May 7.)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Photograph by Benedict Fernandez. One of 12 images included in Countdown to Eternity portfolio.

Ben was seated on a couch in a small, sparse room dominated by a wall of posters marking the first photography expos at Arles that Ben helped to organize, the ICP lectures of The Concerned Photographer series featuring the icons of twentieth century photography including Cornell Capa and Ben, and posters of rallies with Martin Luther King, Jr.  Photos of Ben with Lisette Model, Richard Avedon, Susan Meiselas and Capa dotted the other walls, near shelves of boxed prints and portfolios.

Minutes after we walked in, Siiri was ready to reminisce about the amazing influence and breadth of Ben’s career, of which Ben prefers to call “photo-anthropology” as opposed to photojournalism. Siiri started by taking out his famous Martin Luther King, Jr. portfolio “Countdown to Eternity,” commissioned by Kodak. The exhibition based on this portfolio has been shown in 18 cities and is still traveling. We didn’t know that there was also a second portfolio, commissioned by Leica. Only five copies of the Leica version were created and are valued at $25,000. The Kodak version sold at the George Eastman House Auction for between $5.000 and 7,000. (Ben and Siiri could not remember the exact price.)

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By Ron Cowie, photographer

I’ve attended AIPAD every spring for years and love every minute of it. There is no other place where I can see the entire history of photography under one roof in one afternoon besides AIPAD. Galleries of every stripe show up and showcase their strongest work to sell. That in itself is interesting because I get a snapshot of current market trends. I won’t say the collection is comprehensive but just about every base is covered by one gallery or another.

 AIPAD is the ice cream parlor in the belly of the “Photo World’s” beast. Something sweet for everyone.

It’s fun to make art and not think about money. However, if you plan to have any career in the arts that is based on the selling of said art, you had better see what people are willing to pay for work that is similar to what you are making. That’s right, if you attend AIPAD, you’re going to bump into some work that looks a lot like yours. This is a necessary dose of humility, which frees up some space for making better work. Knowing there is an audience for the work I create saves a lot of energy in the creative process.

I go to be inspired by the work of old masters and new “stars.”  I also get a better idea of which galleries are “right” for my images by seeing what they are showing in their booth. Websites don’t always accomplish this in the same way. It costs a lot more to ship actual photos to New York than it does to upload images to a website. That kind of commitment to an artist speaks volumes.

At AIPAD, I get to talk to people who are just as interested in photography (gallery owners, artists, fellow collectors, curators) as I am. At AIPAD, I get to I introduce myself to a gallery owner or artist, take his/her cards and get in touch later. Some call it speed dating; I call it a lovely way to meet people who share the same interests for the sake of meeting. It beats Facebook hands down.

After all is said and done about social networks and whatnot, making and collecting art comes down to old fashioned face to face relationships. I don’t go to AIPAD to have my suspicions and cynicism confirmed but to have them dispelled. It is nice to know there is a place at the “Photo Industry” table for just about anyone willing to do the work. Galleries play a very important part in promoting photography. The investment they make to participate at AIPAD is not a small one and should be respected.

Also, I like rubbing elbows with the big shots. I know, I’m shallow for thinking that way, but it’s true. It is reassuring to see people I admire hustling as hard (if not harder) than I do. You can’t leave the Park Avenue Armory without a profound respect for the work that is being done in order to get seen there. No one gets off easy in that regard.

Business woes aside, the main reason I go is just to be an audience member for my fellow photographers. I love being able to look at the photos and buy them. I collect photography because I need to be a good viewer in order to be a good photographer. I don’t have the time or budget to make every opening that I want to attend or collect every piece that inspires me. AIPAD allows me to cover a lot of bases in an afternoon or two. Even if I leave empty handed, I’m encouraged by what I see and the people I meet. That’s worth the price of the ticket alone.

By Liz Ellenwood, PRC Volunteer

My work at the 2013 Krappy Kamera Exhibition at SoHo Photo Gallery.

The Krappy Kamera just celebrated its 15th year at the Soho Photo Gallery in New York City, and the theme is simple—you can only apply with photographs that were created using “equipment from the low end of the technological scale.”  That means toy cameras, Holgas, Dianas, etc., cameras that you can pick up at a garage sale or even make yourself. My image was created with a Holga that I have had for a few years now, and it has seen better days. There is black tape on the sides to protect my film from light leaks and apparently something inside it broke off so it can double as a maraca if I shake it. Did I mention it’s also a plastic camera (both body and lens)? Regardless of its musical talent and its durability (it won’t shatter if I drop it), it is SO much fun! As is the Krappy Kamera Exhibition.

I was actually made aware of the call for entry for the Krappy Kamera by Jesseca Ferguson when I was her workshop assistant for the PRC’s ”Pinhole Madness Workshop with Jesseca Ferguson.”  Ferguson primarily works with pinhole cameras, which you guessed it, are considered to be “Krappy Kameras.” Her work is anything but “krappy” it is eye catching and ethereal. So with her encouragement I decided to apply with my recent work made with my Holga. Needless to say I did a little happy dance when I received the acceptance email to the Krappy Kamera Exhibition. My selected image was Untitled 002, an in-camera multiple exposure that was then printed as an archival silver gelatin print.

I was thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful show juried by Christy Karpinski, the Founder and Editor of F-Stop Magazine. Karpinski selected 47 artists from 180 applications and pieced together a fantastic grouping of photographs, ranging in both subject matter and printing processes. I am honored to have been in this show with photographers from all over the United States and from other countries. I even knew one of the selected photographers from Boston, Suzanne Revy.

I was able to attend the opening night at Soho Photo Gallery. The gallery was even more beautiful in person: great lighting, terrific wall space, I could go on and on about the space but lets focus on the show. The exhibition celebrates the excitement of cameras that people have written off as “not good enough” because they are not at the top of the camera food chain. Looking around the room I felt proud to be a part of something so simple yet beautiful. We were taking away all of the fancy settings and digital capabilities and just having fun with photography. That was my favorite quality of the show, the lighthearted exploration of photography.

At the end of the opening, I was awarded the People’s Choice Award and won a GOLD Holga. I can’t wait to take this baby out for a spin!

Winning the People’s Choice Award and receiving the “Gold Holga.”

Issue #3: Building Your Online Presence

By Cindy A Stephens

“How do I drive more traffic to my website?” is a question that I hear frequently.  Creating a website is merely the first mile in a marathon of establishing your online presence, which is now fairly straightforward with the myriad digital tools that are available for photographers and other creative professionals.

The answer to the question is that once your site is built, you need to recognize that you have just started a marathon and then make the commitment to complete the journey.  This persistence is critical to successfully building your online presence.  And that, says online influence expert Stephanie Sammons, “cultivates business success.”

Stephanie told me that “most people give up before they reach their desired level of success with the volume of people visiting the site, growing their network or connecting with them.”

It all starts with getting clear on what your goals are and aligning your online presence with those goals, which Stephanie says is “very, very critical to building a successful online presence.”

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Fast Camera:

An App That Lives Up to Its Name

by Zach Hoffman

Right now, more and more camera and photography related apps are flooding the online market. There are hundreds of apps all telling you that they can radically change the way you take pictures with your phone, but none seem to do more than put a new face over the default camera. Fast Camera, on the other hand, not only changes the interface of the camera, but also alters the way the camera captures images to speed up the process without sacrificing quality. Most apps are designed to streamline the image capture process and generally replace technical controls with “cool” filters and aesthetic facades. As an academically trained photographer, this app provides me with the technical control I am used to in an interactive, touch sensitive experience.

Basically this app allows you to capture quickly and easily several images and review them later. With the default camera on your phone, images can only be captured as fast as you can push the button. With Fast Camera, you have full control of not only the speed at which the images are taken but you can also set and lock exposure, focus, and white balance settings with a simple touch.

When you first open the app, the capture mode is set to auto by default. This means as soon as you open the app, Fast Camera instantly starts capturing images. This feature can be a little agitating if you are not expecting it but once you understand the settings and their functions, this app really begins to shine. Read the rest of this entry »

Issue #2: Describing Yourself and Your Work

By Cindy A Stephens

As artists we are natural visual communicators and are comfortable sharing ideas and information through images.  It is written and verbal communication, however, that is often used by artists to bridge the gap between our creative intentions and the audience of our work.  It acts as a translator to the language of photography.

Whereas artists are comfortable at storytelling using imagery, the rest of the world (including art collectors) often needs a verbal translation from these visual clues to discern the intended meaning. Reviewers and jurors sometimes need this verbal translation too when reviewing work.

Photographer and founder of Lenscratch, Aline Smithson, tells me that the way photographers share work has changed in the past 10 years.

“Prior to 10 years ago artists were bringing in portfolios of beautiful images unrelated to each other.  A lot of the focus was on the mastery of the darkroom print.  Now in the digital age, reviewers are looking for artists to have explored an idea in a deep way with at least 20 images.  Often times that work is enhanced by the written articulation of it.”

Describing yourself and your work now goes way beyond defining yourself by the photographic genre you fit into, such as landscape or nature photography.  “That’s old school,” Aline says.  “Now you are articulating ideas.  Why are you making those landscapes? What is that other layer that makes the work deeper?  How could a gallerist or curator convince a buyer or museum director that your project is meaningful?”

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During my first year of college, a classmate of mine declared that she wanted to work in an art museum because it was the one place where all cultures, represented by objects and visitors, could gather under one roof. Of course our art professors spent the next four years challenging this idealistic view of an institutional space. As a photography curator, I’m happy to say that there are some places where at least those of us passionate about photography can gather under “one roof.” One example is the Society of Photographic Education’s annual conference—an inclusive gathering that promotes dialogue amongst photographers, scholars, educators, critics, students. curators, publishers, enthusiasts, vendors, industry leaders, and gallerists from around the country and some from abroad.

Entitled, “Conferring Significance: Celebrating Photography’s Continuum,” this year’s conference encouraged debate and discussion while providing ample opportunities for sharing work, networking, socializing, and giving one another advice and support. The Society for Photographic Education (or SPE) fulfills a lot of concrete professional needs. Intangible and yet equally vital, SPE fulfills an emotional one: the need for inspiration.

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By Zach Hoffman, Spring 2013 PRC Intern

On display at the Koppelman Gallery at Tufts University until April 21, Night Hunter by Stacey Steers takes the viewer into the dark and hopeless environment of Victorian life. By blending hand-made video, 3-D sculpture, and collages, she not only deepens the impact of the video but also creates several new access points into the work giving the viewer room to explore the conceptual and technical aspects.

When I entered the space the first thing I noticed was the dark and despondent dollhouse. Each room of the house was well crafted and displayed a typical Victorian style lost in a psychedelic nightmare. Integrated into each room, solid-state video screens played out select clips from the video playing on the far wall. After viewing each room I became more and more interested in the video and was able to place what I saw on the screen into the setting of the house. The dialog between the two made the experience even more pertinent, as I was able to understand the work conceptually and to place the character in a physical realm.

Stacey Steers, Night Hunter House, 2012, mixed media, music and sound by Larry Polansky. Image from Hood Museum of Art.

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Living in small towns all my life, my exposure to galleries and arts administration was limited. After receiving my BFA in Photography from Montana State University, I made the long trek east to continue my education in the Photo MFA program at the Art Institute of Boston. Through AIB, I found this amazing internship with the PRC and it has opened my eyes to a new world of photography and art.

From the beginning, I have been eager to learn all the aspects of working at a nonprofit photographic resource center. The internship started in the fall with a rush working on the annual PRC Auction. From online galleries, social networking, artist correspondence, and installation, I was able to experience all the anxieties and thrills of organizing such a massive event. Even more rewarding than setting up was being able to see the huge variety of work from a countless number of talented photographers.

Once the dust and debris from the auction began to settle, the rest of the semester seemed to fly by. I continued to stay busy working on an array of different projects, each one pushing me towards a more complete view of the PRC. As the semester began to wind down, my enthusiasm to learn increased. To satisfy my thirst for understanding, I agreed to stay on for a second semester.

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(Installation view with a glimpse of works by Jesseca Ferguson and Ron Cowie)

As a curator, I spend a lot of time researching ideas for new shows and jotting down ideas for exhibitions as they come to me. “Doors of Perception…” is perhaps a little bit different because I have been thinking about curating a show like this one for many years.

The seed for this show was planted in a workshop at the George Eastman House in Rochester, a few years ago.  Simply titled, “1839,” the workshop, led by photographer and Process Historian Mark Osterman, served as a hands-on introduction to the historic photographic processes from 1839: photogenic drawing, daguerreotype, and Bayard’s process.  A seamless integration of making photographs (in the gardens and darkroom) and viewing photographic objects in the Eastman House’s collection, the workshop was a thorough and rewarding education in historic processes.

At the end of the workshop, I had the chance to see Mark Osterman’s studio, which he shares with his wife, photographer, and teacher, France Scully Osterman.  Having taught so many students historic processes over the years, France had a lot of insight into students and practitioners of alternative processes. During that visit, she said something that really stuck with me.  She said that a lot of people learn alternative processes and think that that’s it; “but you need to have something to say,” she pointed out. In other words, the historical process is not an end in and of itself. It’s only the beginning. To make compelling artwork, one still needs to have something to say. Read the rest of this entry »