Epson Launches Focal Points, a new addition to its website

Epson America, makers of professional imaging products for photographers worldwide, has announced the launch of "Focal Points," a supplement to the company's official website. The new addition is Epson's way of spotlighting the success stories of leading professionals in the industry of creative photography, and their experiences in pushing their work to a higher level through the use of Epson products.

One of the portfolios currently on display is "Movie Stars: Portraits by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders." When invited to display his images of famous personalities at the Museo Carlo Bilotti in Rome (following exhibitions at the prestigious Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum), Greenfield-Sanders utilized the Epson Stylus Pro(r) 11880 wide-format inkjet printer to produce stunning 56x72 inch prints in both color and black and white. Focal Points tells the story of how this and other exhibitions came to life.

Other featured stories include "Rock and Roll" by Lynn Goldsmith (September/October 2006), who created enormous, high-detail prints for her exhibitions at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; "Just Suppose" by Maggie Taylor and Jerry Uelsmann (CameraArtsCameraArts May/June 2007), who met a challenge to "go bigger" for their joint exhibition at the Harn Museum; and "Empowered by Color" by Pete Turner, legendary colorist and satisfied user of Epson UltraChrome K3™ ink technology for greater transparency in his prints.

From Dan Steinhardt, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc:

"Focal Points features content that is both informational and inspirational. The first round of stories, images and videos allow viewers to experience recent exhibitions in some of the most prestigious galleries and museums in Europe and North America that they otherwise may not have had the opportunity to see. The accounts are also a testament to the overwhelming trust leading artists have in Epson Professional Products."

To view the new stories, and watch video interviews with selected photographers, Click here.

Image © Lynn Goldsmith.

Presenting Humanitas: Images of India by Fredric Roberts

The Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, CA has announced a special exhibition of the work of Fredric Roberts (CameraArts September/October 2006). Titled "Humanitas: Images of India," the exhibition comprises scenes of everyday life in India, photographed by Roberts over five years. Roberts' photographic catalogue spans countries as diverse as India, Cambodia, Bhutan, Thailand, Myanmar, and China. The two books that have been released under the name of the series have received many honors, including Honorable Mentions in the Fine Art and People categories of the 2007 Lucie Awards.

Though Roberts' photographs are mostly simple portraits, the photographer's eye captures in these images the subtelties of human interaction, its cultural undertones, and real-life implications of globalization, with the small societies that still exist in resistance of the greater tide. The photographs possess a real sense of worldliness, most likely a benefit of Roberts' 30-year career as an investment banker (and one-time member of the Nasdaq Board of Directors), followed by a long list of contributions and service to various cultural organizations, such as President of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and Founding Chairman of the Spotlight Awards Scholarship Program.

The exhibition takes place from May 3 to September 7, 2008. Click here to visit the Museum of Photographic Arts' website.

Image ©Fredric Roberts.

Trio of Humanistic Photography Exhibits at Hallmark Museum

Starting March 20, and running through June 15, 2008, three photography exhibitions will open at the Hallmark Museum of Contemporary Photography, each covering a unique and often unknowable way of life. In Gallery 56, Linda Butler will present "Meditations on Simplicity," a visual contemplation of the legacy of the Shakers, a religious society with its peak in the Eastern United States more than a hundred years gone; Lili Almog will present "Perfect Intimacy," an exploration of three Carmelite female monasteries in Maryland, Israel, and Bethlehem; and in Gallery 85, Stella Johnson presents "AL SOL," a series assembled from two decades' worth of photography among the rural people of Mexico, Nicaragua, and West Africa.

The Museum's featured galleries will be open for longer than usual on the day of the reception on March 29, and Almog and Butler will give talks, then sign copies of their books. A seperate reception for Johnson will be held later, on April 26. The Hallmark Institute of Photography Educational Center will host an artist's talk after the reception. It seems curious to push the reception back on the calendar, until you consider Stella's globespanning assignments and photographic outreach projects.

The emphasis of this exhibition is on the human condition, and all three photographers are superb examples of expression by camera of a people's way of life. For example, Johnson travelled to Mexico in 2006 as a Fulbright Senior Specialist, teaching documentary photography and possibilities for the archiving of cultures in visual forms at (deep breath) the Regional Center for Multidisciplinary Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, (CRIM-UNAM) in Cuernavaca. Almog's portraits have appeared in the most respected photography journals in the United States, Britain, and Germany. Butler has had more than 50 solo exhibitions in the US, Canada, and Japan.

To learn more about these photographers, their names are linked to their personal websites, all with excellent galleries. Hallmark Museum's information is still anemic, but that is bound to change soon as the premiere draws closer. Click here to go to the Museum's website.

Class Pictures: New Exhibition at Aperture Gallery

Dawoud Bey is a photography professor at Columbia College in Chicago, who for the past fifteen years has created striking color photographs of High School students from across the United States. He will be opening his new exhibition at Aperture Gallery, titled "Class Pictures," with a book to be released under the same name. The students in Bey's photographs come from all social and economic walks of life, and each image is accompanied by their stories, thoughts, and musings.

From Aperture:

"By turns poignant, funny, or harrowing, these revealing words often contradict our assumptions about youth in America. Bey’s unusually respectful and perceptive portraits transcend teenage stereotypes and establish him as one of the best portraitists at work today."

This exhibition was previously presented at Addison Gallery of AMerican Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in Fall 2007. Bey is represented by Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago. Exhibition is on view at Aperture Gallery, New York, from January 11 to February 28, 2008.

Click here for an extended gallery of images.

National Geographic announces shortlist for 2007 Photographic Prize

Four top photographers have been selected for National Geographic’s fifth annual major international photography award, The Photographic Portrait Prize. 60 portraits were selcted from a pool of 6,900 entries from 2,700 photographers. This record-setting number of submissions comes from photographers all over the world. The exhibition will run from November 8, 2007 to February 24, 2008 at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

England-based photographer Michelle Sank was selected for her single portrait Janine; Argentinian photographer Julieta Sans for Lucila a.m.; English photographer David Stewart for Alice & Fish; and Israeli photographer jonathan Torgovnik, for Joseline Ingabire with her daughter Leah Batamuliza, Rwanda. The winning portraits can be viewed here.

From the National Portrait Gallery’s press announcement:

“The prize-winners for the National Portrait Gallery’s Photographic Portrait Prize will be announced at a ceremony on Tuesday 6th November 2007 at 7pm. The Godfrey Argent Award for the best portrait taken by a photographer aged between 18 and 25 will also be presented that evening. The Press View for the exhibition will be Wednesday 7 November 11am-1pm. The exhibition opens to the public on Thursday 8 November. The exhibition will tour in 2008.”

Click here to read more about the exhibition.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: PX3's The Human Condition

This one-time only event aims to document the wide spectrum of peoples' ways of life around the world. Entries may showcase daily experiences and encounters involving people from any walk of life. Rich to poor, from the West to the Third World, from joyful celebration to global expressions of sorrow. $6,000 in awards. 25 chosen photographers will be exhibited at an as-yet unannounced gallery in Paris, and published in a high quality catalogue. Entry fees are $20 for each photograph, and $30 for each series of 2-5 images. Entries from certain countries will enjoy fee discounts.

The Deadline is October 1, 2007.

From the Px3 website:

"The purpose of this exhibition is to broadcast the bold contrasts of human conditions around the globe. The top 25 winning photographs selected by the esteemed jury of magazine and newspaper photography editors will be exhibited in Los Angeles and New York."

Click here to register or login.