Forbes Weighs In: Twelve Undervalued Photographers

Forbes contributor Missy Sullivan has written an article on collecting and the fine art photography market, Twelve Undervalued Photographers. The article has advice for those jumping into collecting for the first time, and those who are still considering it. Ten examples of photographers are given, accompanied with the key information that is resommended in the article.

"The problem with photography, joked Eastman House curator Alison Nordström, is that there’s so damn much of it. But the fun is in the finding. Don’t assume that all these auction records will price you out of the game. Sure, as vintage material becomes more scarce, values will rise. It’s in the intersection between photography and contemporary art--especially in the secondary market--where you need to be most cautious. That’s where the winds of fashion and hype can blow prices sky-high. But it’s also one of the many areas of opportunity. One highly respected photography collector, John Bennette, has amassed a visionary collection of postwar and contemporary material without ever spending more than $2,000 per print."

To read an excerpt from the Forbes Collector's newsletter and suscribe, click here. You can also view a gallery of the ten photographers.

New! The Center for Fine Art Photography: Artist's Showcase

On the Center for Fine Art Photography's website, collected images from four juried exhibitions in 2006 are being featured in the Artist's Showcase 2006. The exhibitions collected are "After Dark," "Positive-Negative," "Photo Works of the 21st Centuy," and "On the Edge." Larry Padgett, Executive Director of The Center for Fine Art Photography, presents the Artist's Showcase 2006 in all its glory.

The Center for Fine Art Photography’s mission is to promote the Art of Photography, support the growth of creative artists through exhibitions, educational programs, international publications, and to educate the public to the collectable value of photography. The Center is a 501(c)3 non profit organization. The Center has become an international gathering place showcasing the work of both emerging and established photographic artists. Each issue of Artists’ ShowCase highlights the Center’s commitment to these artists. With each issue, the Center presents a selection of juried work from previous gallery exhibitions. The images in Artists’ ShowCase are chosen to represent the theme and diversity of each exhibit.

The Artist's Showcase will be featured in the November/December 2006 issue of CameraArts Magazine.

TUTORIAL: High Definition Range Photography

The Daily Pete blog has a tutorial of High Definition Range (HDR) Photography, as well as a few incredible samples.

Using software like Photomatix you can create images with a more detail in the highlights and shadows than you can with a normal photo from today's digital cameras. It's similar to the old technique of exposure blending. Taking one photo for the sky and one for the ground, then merging them both together in Photoshop. HDR takes it a step further by increase the amount of detail in the image and allows you to create some unique photos. You can use it carefully to create natural looking photos or you can use it creatively to create atmospheric and emotive photos. The choice is yours as to how you process the end result.

CameraArts Magazine (September/October 2006) has featured an article by George DeWolfe on Dan Burkholder's application of HDR with Photomatix in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. You can view "Dan Burkholder: A Personal Portrait of Disaster" here. This and other web portfolios are available on the Web Exclusives page.

"HDR imaging allows us to capture, with bracketed exposures, a very contrasty scene from the deepest shadows to the highest highlights and still render those highlight and shadow details clearly. In a normal digital capture image, the range of detail is, at the most five f/stops. With an HDR image you can have 6, 9, 15 or more images and combine them to decrease contrast and increase detail."

Download a trial version of Photomatix here.

Hasselblad H3D raises concern

At Photokina 2006, which just wrapped up for the year, Hasselblad debuted their new H3D. The new system has a bevy of advanced features such as compatibility with a brand-new 28mm Hasselblad Wide-Angle Lens. However, in another first thefor the camera series, the H3D has been designed as a closed system, compatible only with backs made by Hasselblad. Michael Reichmann at The Luminous Landscape raises the usual concerns about changing to closed compatibility, i.e. the limitation of choices for customers, and the necessity to buy multiple products in a "linked sale." He also has this to say about the medium format market:

"This is a small and somewhat fragile segment of the marketplace. In recent years we have lost Bronica and Contax. Pentax 645 cameras can’t take removable backs, and so that leaves just Mamiya and Hasselblad standing as full system medium format offerings. (The new Rolleiflex Hy6 open architecture system is still some time off.)

"For Hasselblad to now close the door on interoperability is a slap not only at camera buyers, but also dealers, and the industry as a whole. It seems to me that they are using their dominant market position to lock out other companies that wish to participate. By doing this they not only restrict competition and potentially harm competitors, but also reduce choice for consumers."

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Julia Dean Gallery

From CameraArts' Calls for Entry page...
The Berenice Abbott Prize for an Emerging Photographer
Open to amateur photographers that have not been featured in a solo exhibition. Award is an all-expenses paid one-person exhibition at Julia Dean Gallery. Entry fee: $100 for a series of 25-30 prints.
Deadline: December 9, 2006.
Click here for details.

LUCIE AWARDS UPDATE: CameraArts has been nominated!

In just one week, the 2006 Lucie Awards will take place in New York City and continue the tradition of honoring the greatest accomplishments in photography. The nominees for Magazine of the Year have just been announced. Among those chosen are American Photo, Black and White, two-time consecutive winner Photo District News, Picture, Zoom, and CameraArts Magazine!

This is the first year in which CameraArts has been nominated for this prestigious award.

In-Your-Face Photographic Installation gains notoriety, and then respect

This year in Paris, an anonymous photographer known as JR has been posting his images on public buildings without permission. His images are contorted grotesques of urban youths that have, like many of his previous exhibitions, caused a gret eal of controversy. In the context of recent events, however, JR’s latest shocker has garnered unexpected support from city officials. AP’s Angela Doland has more:

Almost exactly a year ago, when riots broke out in France's troubled suburban housing projects, the world's media broadcast countless photos of hooded youths setting fire to cars. French photographer JR, who goes by his initials only, thought about those images and the stereotypes they reinforced, and how he could use photography to bring a different message.

“After the riots, Parisians viewed suburban kids as extraterrestrials,” said JR in an interview in his Paris studio. “On television, you always saw them wearing masks. People said, ‘those kids are all the same, everybody who comes from those areas took part in the riots.’ Everybody was afraid of them.”

The images indeed make these young people look frightening, their features altered to emphasize violent and confrontational attitudes, like those seen in a psychedelic music video. The images have been exhibited at Paris' European House of Photography, and have even helped inspire a new exhibit at Clichy-sous-Bois featuring twelve well-known photographers.

The exhibit, Clichy Sans Cliche (Clichy without Cliches) has a website here. Unfortunately, it’s in French. You can view JR’s website, English version included, here.

Brooks Institute Exhibition: A Soldier’s View

In 2004, Jeff DelaCruz took a break from his education at the Brooks Institute of Photography, not because of senior-itis, but the call of duty. DelaCruz completed a tour in Iraq, and recorded his experiences in what has become the retrospective "A Soldier’s View: A Pictorial Reflection of the War in Iraq." The Brooks Institute will be exhibiting this series at the Cota Street Campus and Gallery in Santa Barbara, California from November 10 (reception from 5 to 7 pm) to December 22, 2006.

Visit the photographer's website here.

The Net Neutrality Act: Stop it in its tracks

In our latest issue of CameraArts, publisher Tim Anderson has weighed in on an important topic that has a lot of web-based entrepreneurs concerned: The Net Neutrality Act. Photographers who rely on the online marketplace make up a considerable hunk of those who oppose the act. Tim had this to say:

"Today, what (telephone companies) and cable providers want is to be able to control the Internet, and charge even more than we are paying at this time. According to the reporters on the Moyers program, they want to be able to control the traffic, where it goes and how. The analogy of a two-lane highway was used to explain that if Congress continues to work from a “blind-eye” angle on this subject, then the telcos would be able to select, for example only, eBay to get a “fast” lane, and Google only to get to use the “slow” lane. Of course, I am paraphrasing the subject, but my point is that if the telcos/cable providers and Congress continue to go in the direction they are moving, then we small businesses (us little guys, again), as well as the every-day consumer, will get the proverbial shaft. Please go to PBS’s site to find out more about this timely and VERY important subject.

"As photographers, most of us use the Internet on a regular basis. We send both low- and hi-resolution images across the country, and even, in some cases, around the world. As a publisher, CameraArts is delivered to our printer via the Internet as well. Without free and open access to this utility, it would be very difficult to publish this magazine. Most of the staff of CameraArts is scattered throughout the country, from New York to Albuquerque to Portland (Oregon) to Maine. At the present time, the U.S. is currently tenth in the world, when it comes to Internet speed.

"Several towns around the country have set up their own Internet, much to the anguished consternation of the telcos, who, of course, are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fight this issue. I only bring this to your attention because those of us who use this wonderful tool, the Internet, would like it to remain “net neutral,” free, open, and available for everyone to use."

Moveon.org also has a petition to keep this act from passing into law as written. You can check it out here.

Welcome to the CameraArts Blog!

Welcome, one and all, to your newest source for fine art photography news! We've been planning on launching our blog for a long time. Those of you who have received our e-newsletter, FRAMES, have been privy to the news and information that we've wanted to feature on our own corner of the blogosphere.

It's been quite the balancing act deciding what topics to cover in this new section. The internet is populated with all matter of press releases, museum and gallery sites, photographer's sites, and of course hype for the next big release from (insert your favorite camera or software maker here). We didn't want to fall into the trap of becoming another tech site—there are so many good ones already—or to be a megaphone for photo companies and agencies. And then, of course, surrounding every aspect of photography, from the technical nuts and bolts to the issues being debated on the senate floor, has been the primary concern of CameraArts Magazine: the pursuit and creation of fine art.

Question: what, then, can one expect to see here? Answer: whatever you, the reader, want. We are constantly striving to present the very latest in news from around the world, with as much variety as possible. In this vein we are always open to new ideas and suggestions, so if you feel that we go astray or are unbalanced in presenting the news or info that you want to see, let us know. Nothing is out of bounds; anything that will further our goal to serving the fine art photographic community at large is valuable to us.

Also, like with any blog, you can leave comments and create the discourse that any good web site should have. This feature, like many others at this new edition of www.CameraArts.com, can be accessed by logging into the space on the menu bar at the left. And for those to whom this will matter, you will NEVER have to provide your subscription number. AGAIN. Simply register, and all of the content on our site will be at your fingertips.

So, without further ado, I present to you the CameraArts Blog! We couldn’t have done it without you.

Tom Gibbons

Assistant Editor

CameraArts Magazine

The J Paul Getty Museum presents Where We Live: American Photographs from the Berman Collection

On October 24, a new exhibition will mark the opening of the new and expanded Center for Photographs at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Running through February 25, 2007, "Where We Live" will feature 170 works of color photography by 24 contemporary artists.

To mirror fine art photography’s huge role in the Getty's collection and the Los Angeles contemporary art scene, the space has increased to 7,000 square feet, a staggering change from the previous 1,700.

“Where We Live” draws from nearly 500 examples of postwar American photography donated by (Nancy and Bruce Berman) to the Museum over the past eight years. The collection recognizes that the ordinary markers of life—barns, churches, billboards, and Main Streets of even the smallest towns—may one day be historic artifacts. The photographs that the Bermans have donated to the Getty form an archive of late 20th-century American life.

Among the photographers represented in the exhibition are John Divola, Jim Dow, Doug Dubois, William Eggleston, Mitch Epstein, Karen Halverson, Alex Harris, Sheron Rupp, Stephen Shore, Joel Sternfeld, George Tice, and the team of Virginia Beahan and Laura McPhee. Working mostly in color and in a range of styles, the photographers' diverse backgrounds in sociology, anthropology, art, and psychology inform their efforts to document the country from the 1960s onwards.

In addition, the Public Faces/Private Spaces: Recent Acquisitions will be on display until February 4, 2007. The emphasis is on images made from the mid-1960s through the early 1980s.

Gearing up for the 2006 Lucie Awards

On July 7^th, the 2006 Lucie Award Honorees were announced by Hossein Farmani, Founder of the Lucie Awards and President of the International Photography Awards. The announcements were made during the 36th Annual Rencontres D'Arles Festival. The event was well-attended by members of the international photography community. Read more…

Also in attendance was Lucien Clergue (CameraArts October/November 2005), master photographer, founder of the Arles festival, and recipient of the 2005 Lucie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fine Art. Clergue talked about the importance of the awards, and introduced Sarah Moon, this year's recipient for Achievement in Fine Art.

The honorees will receive their awards at a gala event on October 28-30, 2006, at the American Airlines Theatre in New York. For more information on the recipients and to get a look at their images, click here.

OPENING RECEPTION: “Daido Moriyama”

From November 9 to December 30, 2006, Stephen Cohen Gallery will exhibit the black-and-white photographs of Daido Moriyama, one of Japan’s foremost photographers. Born in Osaka, and raised during Japan’s post-World War II “westernization,” Moriyama’s work is heavily influenced by this collision of worlds. An opening reception for the artist will take place November 16, 7-9 pm.

Born outside of Osaka in 1938, Daido Moriyama lived through the changes that engulfed Japan in the decades following World War II. Traditional Japanese life and culture was forced into an existential abyss, altered permanently by the defeat it had suffered. This dynamic became one of the central themes of his work.

Taking inspiration from Japanese photographers Eikoh Hosoe and Shomei Tomatsu, and from the west, William Klein, Robert Frank and Weegee, his style of street photography was shot almost on the run. Grainy, tilted, dynamic, expressionistic, alienated… more like the poetry of the Beat Generation than any haiku ever written.

You can access the Daido Moriyama page by clicking “Next Exhibit” on the Stephen Cohen Gallery front page.

The work of Keizo Kitajima, a former student of Moriyama’s, will also be displayed. Just as his mentor was inspired by the cultural evolution of the 60’s and 70’s, Kitajima photographed the changing cultural landscape of New York City in the 1980’s.

The Stephen Cohen Gallery is located at 7358 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 6 pm, and by appointment.

NEW at the Santa Fe Center for Photography: Review Santa Fe

The Santa Fe Center for Photography (SFCP) has announced two calls for entry to coincide with the upcoming Review Santa Fe 2007. The Project Competition honors committed photographers working on long-term documentary projects and fine art series. The Singular Image Competition recognizes outstanding individual photographs in color or black & white. Read more…

The Deadline for both competitions, and Review Santa Fe 2007, is December 15, 2006.

Review Santa Fe is the nation’s only juried portfolio review. 100 photographers, who are chosen by a jury of three picture professionals, will be reviewed by a select group of 45 internationally known curators, editors, art directors, publishers, and gallery reps. A photographer must have a compelling, cohesive body of work ready for national recognition. “This standard changes the whole event.” said Maggie Blanchard, Marketing and Operations Director of SFCP. “It attracts reviewers who expect to see significant and well-crafted photographic projects.” Review Santa Fe runs through May 18-20, 2007. Applications are now available.

The Santa Fe Center for Photography has announced the Excellence in Photographic Teaching Award.

Finally, The SFCP has announced its online auction Portrait Sessions with Renowned Photographers. The auction includes artists like Keith Carter (CameraArts June/July 2001), Greg Gorman (CameraArts February/March 1998), David Maisel (CameraArts April/May 2003), and Joyce Tenneson (August/September 2004). The auction will commence live November 1-5, 2006 on eBay Giving Works, a program dedicated to support non-profit organizations.

LexJet extends its line of fibre-based papers

LexJet has released two new inkjet-compatible Sunset Air Dried Fibre papers: Gloss Natural 300g and Air Satin 300g. With these two additions, LexJet is championing its line of papers as being the end-all and be-all for photographers wishing to work with a variety of materials. Alex Reid, Lexjet’s products manager, has claimed that the new papers replicate the warm, natural look that comes from traditional fibre-based materials.

“So many photographers we’ve talked to were looking for a way to reproduce the look they always loved about the chemical process, but couldn’t quite match with inkjet. LexJet has nailed it with the Air-Dried Fibre line,” adds Reid. “You really have to feel the Air Dried Fibre paper, and see the printed results, to fully appreciate its uncanny ability to replicate traditional darkroom printing.”

For a complete list of Lexjet’s papers, click here.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Rocky Mountain National Park Artist-In-Residence Program

The National Park Service is accepting applications for its summer 2007 Artist-in-Residence Program until December 1, 2006, at Rocky Mountain National Park. Two-week residencies are available at the summer cabin of celebrated journalist and author William Allen White from June through September. In the long-standing interest of artistic diversity, consideration is given to professional artists in all media, including photographers, musicians, writers, poets and performance artists. For more information, visit the National Park Service’s website.

Click for more Calls for entry…