Well, who doesn’t but let me clarify. We’re not looking for your typical fear of abandonment/commitment/have to step over every other sidewalk crack, type of issues. Not that those aren’t valid, believe me I understand. Yours truly used to be an obsessive counter and reader of museum labels– nerdy, I know. But the issues we most want to hear about are those currently facing the world of commercial photography.

The PRC is investigating a program that would explore not only the current climate of commercial photography but its future trajectory. We plan on speaking with a whole host of folks to decide on the most effective course of action for this research and subsequent program. But before we get too ahead of ourselves we want to hear from all those of you in the trenches. So, if you’re a commercial photographer or shoot commercial work, if you work in an agency, if you’re a rep, sell stock, etc, please let us know what issues/challenges you face that you would most like to see addressed. What elements, germane to the future of this industry, would you like to hear about. Please list your thoughts in the comments section of this post.

Can’t wait to hear about your issues!

Image Credit: Sigmund Freud Museum/Associated Press

Before we go any further let me just say that I am not the world’s most tech savy person-far from it!  However, even with my meager understanding of printing processes, I was pretty impressed when Eric Luden, owner and operator of the brand spanking new shop Digital Silver Imaging, showed me examples of work shot digitally and processed using traditional gelatin silver chemicals. How is this possible…well, I’m not exactly sure. It involves some very cool machines, old school chemistry and new school papers and technology. I do know that it presents some interesting options for folks out there who shoot digitally but want an actual gelatin silver print. If you want to learn more why don’t you head out to Digital Silver Imaging’s grand opening tonight and ask Eric yourself. The event goes from 4-7 p.m.  You can also check out the article Eric wrote for teachingphotography.com or see him at the Photographic Resource Center’s Annual Portfolio Review Day this Sunday, where he will have a booth and tons of samples.

Teaching Photo is a wonderful resource for photographers, photo educators, and students. It’s run by Henry Horenstein whose no-nonsense approach to topics like post-grad life options, lesson plan ideas, current trends, etc., is refreshing and helpful. Be sure to check it out.

From the “This Just In” department: Renowned photographer and uber educator Stephen DiRado has agreed to lead the Photographic Resource Center’s Fall 2008 installment of the Portfolio Project Seminar. This program provides an in-depth opportunity to share and receive feedback on your work in a small group setting and supportive environment. For this installment Mr. DiRado has offered up the use of his legendary personal studio, in which he has been conducting salon style photo gatherings for many years. More details will be available on prcboston.org shortly.

In the meantime check out Stephen’s website, stephendirado.com for more on his work. Read Alec Soth’s interview with Stephen or read an article published by Clark University, where Stephen has been teaching for more than 20 years.

The image above is from his “Dinner Series,” a wonderful long term project in which the artist captures intimate moments–partly candid, partly constructed–from meals shared with friends and families. Anyone whose grown up around a dinner table populated by a larger than life family can attest to how formative this space can for developing identity and relationships.

The first ever New York Photo Festival is in full swing this weekend. Sadly, taking down the New England Survey exhibition and artists dropping off and overall gallery prep for EXPOSURE: 13th Annual PRC Juried Exhibition is keeping me close to the fold here in Boston. Neverthless, we wish them the best and have a few neat PRC/Boston overlaps to note! Congratulations all!

Our 2008 PRC juror Lesley A. Martin is one of the curators of the festival. She put together a wonderful exhibition, Ubiquitous Image, which includes Penelope Umbrico, represented locally by Bernard Toale Gallery, whom I showed most recently in the PRC exhibition Ad/Agency.

A few names of note made the inaugural NY Photo Awards list under fine art single images and series. Martin Fougeron has been getting a lot of attention as of late and will be in our upcoming juried show. Jessica Todd Harper, who was in the 2005/2006 PRC exhibition Group Portrait, makes the list as does local imagemaker (and the photographer of the Boston Superheros Project) Tanit Sakakini.

When dropping off her work for the juried show yesterday, Claire Beckett told me that she was invited by Laurel Ptak of Aperture and i heart photograph to be on an Aperture panel. She’ll speak on Sunday with photographer Nina Berman, a sort of before and after Iraq. Claire was in our 2006 PRC exhibition, DOCUMENT, and was interviewed this week in Big, Red, and Shiny.

Consider this an open invitation to add any other
connections/kudos in the comments!

For those heading to NY, have a safe trip. Please take lots of pictures and share them with us will you?

For those who haven’t yet had the “Swanny” - aka Mary Virginia Swanson - experience , I pass along a link to her web site and to her incredible blog.

I first met Swanny at the SPE Austin, TX in 2003 and she knew who I was before I knew who I was! I highly recommend her book The Business of Photography and required it for my class at AIB.

For those wanting to get all the happenings, news, and calls for entries first, her blog is a MUST! I thought I subscribed to a lot of emails and listservs, but she takes the cake. You can get it all in one place here. Check it out now, bookmark it, visit often, or better yet, subscribe to her RRS feed - marketingphotos.wordpress.com

ABOVE IMAGE: We heart blog, found on flickr in tarop’s photostream.

We’ve heard our members loud and clear. You’ve asked for increased portfolio review opportunities so here it is - the (much) bigger Annual Portfolio Review Day! This is, by far, the most substantial portfolio review event we’ve ever offered. It is a great way to receive direct feedback on your work from respected, influential, and insightful curators, gallerists, directors, editors, and others! The accompanying Portfolio Sharing event is another great way to share your work and network with peers.

Registration is required and the deadline has been extended until May 17, 2008. For registration information please visit the Upcoming Programs section of our website, call 617.975.0600, or download the registration application form.

REVIEWERS TO DATE INCLUDE:

• Camilo Alvarez, Owner/Director/Curator/Preparator, Samson Projects
• Katie Block, Director, Miller Block Gallery
• José Luis Blondet, Curator, Visual Arts Program, Boston Center for the Arts
• Leonie Bradbury, Gallery Director/Curator, Montserrat College of Art Gallery
• Emily Moore Brouillet, Assistant Curator, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
• Leslie K. Brown, Curator, Photographic Resource Center at Boston University
• Pieranna Cavalchini, Curator of Contemporary Art, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
• Kate Dempsey, Koch Curatorial Fellow, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park
• Jim Fitts, Executive Director, Photographic Resource Center at Boston University
• Karen Haas, Curator, The Lane Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Randi Hopkins, Co-director, Allston Skirt Gallery
• Beth Kantrowitz, Co-director, Allston Skirt Gallery
• Gus Kayafas, Owner, Palm Press Photographic Atelier
• Heidi Kayser, Founding Director, Axiom Gallery
• Shannon McDonald, Gallery Director, Panopticon Gallery of Photography
• Dana Salvo, Director, Clark Gallery
• Jonathan Singer, Owner, Singer Editions
• Lane Turner, Picture Editor, Boston Globe
• Paul R. Turnbull, Executive Director, Hallmark Museum of Contemporary Photography
• Eelco Wolf, former Executive Director of Magnum Photos

I’ve been rabidly collecting photographs for over 30 years and my collection has ballooned to the point where most of the images are lined up against walls or in closets or under beds.

One drawback of having a large collection is that there are precious few opportunities to present it to an appreciative audience. All my friends have seen it and they do not even try to feign attention any longer. So when an opportunity to air a portion of the collection to a new public was presented, I was thrilled.

The invitation came as part of a private event hosted by Panopticon Gallery in Boston featuring Andy Grundberg. I was asked to bring a few photographs from my collection to an event where Andy could use the images as part of a conversation about collecting.

The first kafuffle was trying to figure out which images to select. The best? My favorites? The dogs? As you can see, a dog ended up as part of the final selection.

Knowing one of the other contributing collectors, and the stellar quality of his collection of vintage photographs, I chose to contribute a few of the more affordable, contemporary pieces.

The selection process behind me, the fear of public ridicule set in. Here was one of the world’s most significant voices in art criticism looking at the images I’ve collected and commenting on them. What if he broke out in loud laughter? Or worse, delivered a remarkably astute critique of the photos under the title of “What not to collect.”

The William Wegman print titled “The Duck” was selected and I thought that this would be his chance to let ‘er rip.

But to my surprise there was not a chuckle or a sneer. Instead he spoke insightfully about Wegman’s early videos, his sense of humor, and his – and others - use of the Polaroid 20×24 camera.

Perhaps I wasn’t in my underwear after all.

Andy Grundberg ponders “The Duck”.
Photograph by Shannon McDonald

LKB here again, aka the girl whose brain is mush from being gone for most of March and then deinstalling and installing the next 2 weeks. I promise that I will write many inspired posts giving you the inside scoop as well as tips for these two important industry events in the coming month. However, until I regain my brain cells after looking at what I estimate to have been over 100 portfolios, my flickr pics will suffice. I just posted on the PRC’s flickr site dozens of fun photographs of Fotofest and SPE. Both were amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Houston and Denver, especially the latter. You can see the company with whom I reviewed in Fotofest’s Meeting Place session one here and see an overview of all of the SPE 2008 sessions and events here. Enjoy the PRC’s flickr pics here or by clicking the above montage!

(To entice you further, there are some great pics of new SPE board member and recent PRC lecturer Arno Minkkinen and some behind-scenes party pics.)

ABOVE FLICKR MONTAGE - CLOCKWISE STARTING IN THE UPPER LEFT:
David Coleman of UT’s HRHRC photography collection chats with former Bostonian Jim Stone at Fotofest;
A Fotofest opening - that is Aperture’s Lesley A. Martin on the right, our next juror for our PRC juried show!;
Jonathan Singer, John Craig, and new SPE board member Arno Minnkinen look at their fuji prints at the SPE closing dance party;
At the SPE opening reception, from left, Thomas Gustainis, and MassArt alums Caroline Burghardt, Rebecca Sittler, and Bruce Myren (latter now an MFA student at UConn).