Feature Shoot |
- Craft Supplies, Spray Paints and Glittery Things Bring Abandoned Irish Cottages Back to Life
- 18 Workshops, Panels, And Events You Shouldn’t Miss at Photoville 2015
- ‘Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs of People’
- Monetizing Your Hard Drive and Your Time: How Photographers Build Their Businesses on ImageBrief Through Search, Briefing and Assignments (Sponsored)
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Posted: 04 Sep 2015 05:00 AM PDT
  Nostalgia can often slow us down and infringe upon the present if we let it. Photographer Jill Quigley‘s approach, in her work entitled Cottages of Quigley, was to meet the present head-on and intervene directly, in the here and now, as opposed to treating her subject matter “as an emblem of the past.” For this body of work, Quigley, who graduated with an MFA from the University of Ulster in Belfast, was looking for a way of “engaging with the rural area in Donegal in Ireland” where she grew up in a way that made use of her “familiarity with the area but avoided too much sentimentality or introspection.” When first considering shooting abandoned cottages she avoided the idea because she saw them as a “sort of romanticized ‘ruin porn’,” but later realized they were “full of possibilities for interaction, and therefore were a means of exploring an aspect of the local landscape in a very direct way.” The resulting body of work is a playful, nouveau kind of self-portrait that leaves her mark in every frame, though she is nowhere to be seen.   Can you explain to me any personal significance ‘the cottage’ has to you? “This type of building, a white painted, thatched-roofed, two room cottage, is a common feature of tourism imagery of rural Ireland, associated with a disappearing way of life in the countryside. There are loads of these ruins in the Quigley’s Point area, and most people in Ireland would be familiar with similar cottages. They are abandoned as the inhabitants move to more modern houses (these cottages are usually very small and dark), or the last generation of occupants dies. So the cottages are left empty until they fall down, or farmers sometimes use them as sheds. Although local people enjoy the reminiscences that the old houses evoke, the attitude to the ruined building itself is generally pragmatic rather than romantic.” Is there any reason you didn’t put people in the photos (yourself, I’m thinking) and/or, stylistically the color and informal sculpture aspects you’re adding feel really beautiful and chaotic at once – did you have any vision of how you wanted the rooms to look while planning these shoots? “The interventions are deliberately frivolous, as the intention was for playful interaction rather than creating deliberate meaning. The use of brightly coloured cheap craft supplies, spray paints and glittery things is intended to contrast with the decaying materials in the interiors. To me the important thing was the relationship between the remains of the house and the intervention, so I think introducing another element, such as a person, would have been a distraction. Certainly if it was me. It was my hope that the effect would appear spontaneous, but the process was not entirely so. I would take an initial snapshot of the interior, then print it out and scribble on it until I found an effect that I thought would work. Then I would return with my big bag of colourful supplies. Sometimes the interventions worked out as I’d planned, but often the results were unexpected.”   Any nostalgia you’d care to share with respect to these rooms? “My parents have a dairy farm, and there is a ruined cottage in one of the fields. An old couple lived there but they must have died when I was little, as I remember exploring the house when it had been empty for along time and going through all the stuff that was left behind. Nostalgia is inherent in this type of subject matter, so the aim of the process was to reinterpret rather than oppose it entirely. The project has been perceived by some as simply vandalism, but the owners of these abandoned houses were pleased that I was taking an interest and finding a use for them, and I think they can be viewed as more than just relics. “The desire to preserve the cottages as artifacts is understandable, but I think stems from a romanticism that doesn’t reflect their reality, and is an attitude I haven’t encountered in local people who are familiar with them as part of the rural landscape. While there is nostalgia to be drawn from them, they are also part of the present landscape and are used practically, if at all. So, even though they have a nostalgic quality, I don’t think that nostalgia should give in to a romantic reverence.” Quigley will be showing work at Seen Fifteen, in London, beginning in October. via BJP The post Craft Supplies, Spray Paints and Glittery Things Bring Abandoned Irish Cottages Back to Lifeappeared first on Feature Shoot.  |
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Posted: 03 Sep 2015 09:20 AM PDT
 © Niko Koppel Featuring everything from a dog friendly photo booth to exhibitions on ebola, child marriage and poverty in America, Photoville, NYC’s largest annual photo event, is right around the corner, and from the lineup of happenings, it looks like once again there is something for everyone. Feature Shoot will be presenting the Flora & Fauna exhibition featuring 25 works chosen by our Instagram followers, and I’m moderating a panel presented by PhotoShelter entitled PR For Your Photography: The Secret To Getting Featured. We’ll also be going on a photo walk with @thenytimes. Here are some of the other exhibitions, events and panels on our radar. We’ll be Instagramming from the event over the next few weeks so make sure you’re following us on @featureshoot!  © Yurko Dyachyshyn EXHIBITION: Flora & Fauna, September 10-20, 2015. Presented by Feature Shoot, curated by Feature Shoot’s 25K+ Instagram followers, and featuring Andrea Bakacs, Federico Ciamei, Ramsay de Give, Brooke DiDonato, Mediha DiMartino, Yurko Dyachyshyn, Jon Feinstein, Fiona Filipidis, Sophie Gamand, Kari Herer, Winky Lewis, Kevin McCollum, Emma McEvoy, Ruairidh McGlynn, Yigithan Özden, Liam Sinnott, Elizabeth Stowe, Kate Sweeney, Hajdu Tamas, Meg Wachter, Sarah Wilmer, and Thomas Wilson Flora & Fauna, presented by the photography website Feature Shoot, is a show about plants and animals curated by Feature Shoot’s 25K+ Instagram followers. Over a period of 3 weeks, we sorted through over 9,000 images and posted over 400 images to Instagram, inviting our followers to vote. Our followers cast their votes simply by “liking” the image(s) on Instagram, and the 25 most popular images from 22 photographers around the world are presented in this show.  © Stephanie Sinclair EXHIBITION: Too Young To Wed | Photographs By Stephanie Sinclair, September 10-20, 2015. Presented by Too Young To Wed and Curated by Stephanie Sinclair and Christina Piaia. Worldwide, many brides are still children, not even teenagers. In fact, child marriage affects one in three girls in the developing world. Award-winning photographer Stephanie Sinclair first stumbled upon the issue of child marriage more than a decade ago while on assignment in Afghanistan, and she’s been committed to documenting it worldwide ever since. In every community, she has encountered activists—mothers, fathers, village elders, and even other children—who oppose the practice and want to see change. As a non-profit organization providing visual evidence of the human rights challenges faced by women and girls around the world, Too Young to Wed calls on governments to make it a foreign policy priority to end child marriage and many of the ills associated with the practice: poverty, hunger, gender inequality, child and maternal mortality, lack of education, and the spread of HIV/AIDS.  © Lynn Johnson EXHIBITION: Blast Force Survivors, September 10-20, 2015. Supported by United Photo Industries and featuring Lynn Johnson. “I got blown up.” That’s what they say. Blast force—the signature injury of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan—creates a pressure so powerful it can be seen before it is heard or felt. Soldiers remember confusion, deafness, slowdown, the feeling of being squashed. And the soldier is never the same. They say they feel “crazy:” hyper-vigilant, sleepless, suicidal. They have language and hearing problems, memory loss and migraines. They anger easily. They abuse alcohol and drugs. Wives and lovers leave them, and their children fear them. Soldiers long for a missing arm, leg, eye—a visible wound that would command respect and understanding. The veterans in these photographs—Aaron, Bo, Chris, Perry, Tiffany and Maj. Jeff Hall—found help at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, a Department of Defense institute that serves some of the 360,000 men and women damaged by blast force injuries. In addition to receiving sophisticated imaging and care from physicians and therapists, soldiers make masks. Making art cracks open the trauma and then knits the brain. The masks, like MRIs of their psyches, make the scars of blast force visible, a first step to healing.  © Radcliffe Roye EXHIBITION: When Living Is a Protest, September 10-20, 2015. Presented by United Photo Industries and featuring Radcliffe Roye. Recently, news of Black men and women being killed by some members of law enforcement has raised the consciousness of this country to see how black folks have been living. With the increase in social media platforms and the use of smart phones to both document and record everyday life, the United States and the world on a whole are seeing first hand the evidence of complaints that can be traced back to the death of Emmett Till. In 2015, I walk around Brooklyn, South Carolina, Mississippi, Memphis, Manhattan, and Ferguson, photographing, recording and reading the tales of those whose living is a testimony to this ongoing struggle. This Exhibition is my attempt to show a glimpse into what it means to live in ‘the struggle.’ From photographing everyday life in places like South Carolina, Memphis, and Mississippi, and documenting some of the tumultuous protests from the streets of Ferguson and New York City, I show you the faces of those whose lives are spent in protest. INSTALLATION: The Mash-Up, September 10-20, 2015. Supported by United Photo Industries, curated by Janette Beckman, and featuring Cey & Queen Andrea. In celebration of the Photoville opening night show, Down & Dirty, the UPI team are double-stacking two containers where photographer and curator Janette Beckman has invited celebrated street artists Cey Adams and Queen Andrea to “mash-up” two of her iconic music images larger than life.  © Matt Black / Magnum Photos INSTALLATION: The Geography of Poverty, September 10-20, 2015. Supported by The Economic Hardship Reporting Project, MSNBC, and The Pulitzer Center and featuring Matt Black. The most vulnerable Americans are being crushed by the grip of poverty, from the deserts of the Southwest through the black belt in the South, to the post-industrial, rusting factory towns that dot the Midwest and Northeast. From border to border, high-poverty rates have crippled entire communities, leaving bellies burning with hunger and hope of better days dwindling. Income inequality has widened in recent decades while upward mobility has declined. A tiny percentage of high income Americans hold the majority of the wealth in this country. Quite plainly, the rich have grown richer and if you’re born poor here you’re likely to die poor. The slight declines in the national poverty rate have done little to allay the day-to-day plight of so many who are just scraping by, largely invisibly and along the margins. DROP IN: The Photographer’s Playdate: What Color Is Your Aura? Saturday, September 12th, 12:00PM-10:00PM in the Activity Tent Presented by Aperture. Inspired by the recent publication The Photographer’s Playbook, Aperture will be hosting an “aura” portrait studio, based on an assignment by photographer Bill Armstrong. During this studio session, you will meet with an “aura consultant” to choose which colors best represent your aura. Your picture will then be made against the selected colors, and you will be given a set of four portraits. Decide which portrait best captures what you feel is your true aura. DROP IN: Cyanotypes, Saturday, September 12th, 2:00PM-4:00PM in the Penumbra Tent. Presented by The Penumbra Foundation. The Penumbra Foundation will offer an introduction workshop to the Cyanotype Process. Participants of the workshop will be given a piece of paper pre-coated with the Cyanotype synthesizer on which they will place small objects (also supplied) before putting this assembly in sunlight. After the exposure, the paper will then be developed in a tray of tap water. This workshop is especially designed to introduce children to the Cyanotype Process; however, adults are certainly welcome to participate. Materials are provided, though small, transparent and/or translucent objects may be brought to the workshop as well as black and white negatives up to 4 x 5.  © Stephanie Sinclair PANEL: Influencing Policy and Social Change Through Photography, Saturday, September 12th, 4:00PM-5:00PM at the Photoville Pavilion. Featuring Michelle Bogre (Moderator), Debi Cornwall, Stephanie Sinclair, and Brooke Singer. Photographers spend a lifetime bringing attention to some of the most urgent crises of our time and yet, what happens after they click the shutter in world full of images? As the industry evolves, so does the role of photography. Having acknowledged the limitations of the stand alone image in effecting change, these photographers sought out ways to create broad social impact and policy reform through their long term projects and accompanying campaigns. EVENT: Print Swap, Sunday, September 13th, 6:00PM-8:00PM at the Photoville Pavilion. With special guests Gowanus Darkroom, BKC, and Brooklyn Grain A free, RSVP event for photographers who want to show, share, and swap their work! Guests will be asked to bring at least (2) and up to (5) prints that they would be willing to trade with other artists in an effort to learn about new work, get feedback on their prints and projects, and network with their peers. This is a fun, free, and low-stakes swap that mirrors Photoville’s mission to build community among photographers through affordable, accessible public events and art-happenings. All Print Swap participants will also be automatically entered to win raffle prizes, generously donated by local studios spaces and community darkrooms. Prizes can either be accepted by the winner, or, at their discretion, entered back into the swap and traded for other prints or prizes.  PANEL: Photography Restaged, Saturday September 19th, 1:00PM-2:00PM at the Photoville Pavilion. Featuring Saul Ostrow (Moderator), Rose DeSiano, Lori Nix, and Lorie Novak. Artists Lori Nix, Lorie Novak and Rose DeSiano talk with Bomb Magazines’s Saul Ostrow about contemporary photographers’ practices of “Re-Staging”. By employing handmade miniatures, reenacted theatrics and, elaborately staged room installations, these three artists draw attention to the uncanny state of the real world. PANEL: Behind the Scenes: The Photo Editor, Saturday September 19th, 3:30PM-4:30PM at the Photoville Pavilion. Featuring Nina Berman (Moderator), Meaghan Looram, Paul Moakley, Amy Pereira, and Vaughn Wallace. For photographers, photo editors are gateways to getting their stories before a larger audience. This panel will look at the process from the photo editor’s perspective – we’ll dissect what it takes for a story to go from idea to print. Once they have story concept, how does an editor champion this all the way to publication? How have they been successful in navigating this system and what are their challenges? EVENT: An Evening with National Geographic, Saturday September 19 at the Photoville Beer Garden. Celebrate photography and storytelling with National Geographic. The Evening will begin with photos and videos from the past 127 years- up to the most recent stories from National Geographic and their digital platforms. Hear from National Geographic photographers Stephanie Sinclair, Katie Orlinsky, Robert Clark and David Guttenfelder. Director of Photography Sarah Leen serves as Master of Ceremonies.  Photo by @heislerphoto ACTIVITY: @nytimes Photo Hunt, Saturday, September 12. You’re invited on a photo hunt with the @nytimes Instagram Team. The team will post a series of clues that will lead you through #Photoville and @brooklynbridgepark. Your Task: Find the answers and photograph them. Post your pictures on Instagram with the hashtag #NYTPhotoHunt. The New York Times’s Lens blog will also host a nighttime slideshow featuring photographers from around the world, including Whitney Curtis, Eli Reed, Ernesto Bazan, Nancy Borowick, Phil Knott, Martha Cooper, Joni Sternbach and New York Times staff photographers. DROP IN: Photobooth For The Whole Family (Kids & Dogs Welcome!), Sunday, September 20th, 3:00PM-6:00PM at the Activity Tent Featuring Michelle Pedone and Lynne Correia. Lights, camera, action! This special photo booth is for the most adorable, treasured members of your family…Bring your kids and your pups as the Photoville Activity Tent transforms into a commercial studio. Portrait photographer Michelle Pedone and costume designer Lynne Correia come together to put on a photo shoot that’s fun for the whole family. Your kids and your pups can don custom-made costumes and pose in front of colorful backdrops. They’ll have a blast and you’ll have one-of-a-kind images of your treasured family members. The photos can be downloaded online after Photoville, so the memories are yours to keep.  © Chris Owyoung CONFERENCE: Luminance Professional Development Conference Presented by PhotoShelter, Friday, September 11th Luminance returns to Photoville as a full-day conference showcasing insights and resources for building your photography business, such as navigating online photo contests, developing creative PR strategies, leveraging your local community, and demystifying SEO. EXHIBITION: Down and Dirty, September 10-20, 2015. Curated by Janette Beckman and featuring Adrian Boot, Al Satterwhite, Andy Freeberg, Andy Willsher, Ann Summa, Art Meripol, Aviva Klein, Barrie Wentzel, Bill Bernstein, Bob Gruen, Brad Elterman, Carl Posey, Catherine McGann, Chalkie Davies, Che Kothari, Clay Patrick Mcbride, Danny Clinch, David Corio, Dean Chalkley, Ebet Roberts, Ebru Yildiz, Ed Sirrs, Edward Colver, Eric Johnson, Eric Ogden, Glen E. Friedman, GODLIS, Greg Allen, Henry Horenstein, Ian Dickson, Janette Beckman, Jay Blakesberg, Jill Furmanovsky, Joe Conzo, Joe Russo, Jonathan Mannion, Josh Cheuse, Kevin Cummins, Laura Levine, Lawrence Watson, Mel D. Cole, Merri Cyr,Michael Benabib, Michael Knapp, Michael Lavine, Michael Putland, Mick Rock, Mike Schreiber, Norman Seeff, Phil Knott, Ray Burmiston, Ricky Powell, Roberta Bayley, Stephanie Chernikowski and Steve Double. A show celebrating iconic music photography from over four decades.  © Austin Canales / NYC SALT EXHIBITION: NYC SALT: Preserving Art Education Through Teen Photography Programming, September 10-20, 2015. Presented by NYC SALT, curated by Michael Bocchieri, Alicia Hansen, and Gabe Biderman, and featuring Rami Abouemira, Saida Blair, Ashley Bordoy, Jason Bravo, Austin Canales, Kayla Cerda, Sindra DeJesus, Sterling Diaz, Nia Gordon, Danny Martinez, Rashawn Meeks, Nora Molina, Christian Ogando, Kamal Robinson,Christian Rodriguez, Allyssa Rubino, Malike Sidibe, Irvin Vega, and Henry Zapata. Technology drives every aspect of the photo industry, and in the hands of a young mind we find inspiring results. Digital photography becomes an empowering tool to a teenager. It allows them to have an artistic voice at an age they are learning to find themselves. They are able to explore their world with a camera in hand and develop meaningful relationships with their subjects. The Photoville venue will showcase the award winning photography portfolios our students have created to show a raw, unfiltered look of their world. The post 18 Workshops, Panels, And Events You Shouldn’t Miss at Photoville 2015 appeared first on Feature Shoot.  |
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Posted: 03 Sep 2015 07:00 AM PDT
 Photographer and writer Henry Carroll has a great little book coming out simply titled “Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs of People,” which promises to help you figure out “how and why you want to photograph people.” It’s perfect for aspiring photographers and anyone looking to learn more about taking portraits without being weighed down with too much technical information. I particularly enjoyed his curation of images to go along with the tips and have included a few of my favorites below. The book features work by 50 photographers ranging from August Sander to Mike Brodie and is published byLaurence King. 1. The light touch: The most beautiful studio portraits employ the simplest lighting setups.  © Hendrik Kerstens 2. It’s all in the details: Don’t let your preconceptions about portraiture interfere with what you instincts are telling you.  ©Zed Nelson3. Making eyes: Photographing people results in a tense power play of gazes between subject, photographer and viewer.  ©Pieter Hugo 4. Assult your subject: Allow your own personality to feed into your portraits.  ©Bruce Gilden 5. Link the layers: Keep one eye on your subject and the other on the background.  ©Sam Abell The post ‘Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs of People’ appeared first on Feature Shoot.  |
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Posted: 02 Sep 2015 07:00 AM PDT
Right now, more images are created daily than ever before, meaning that photography buyers—ranging from leading photo editors to advertising executives—have more options. Chances are that as a photographer, you might have the perfect photo just sitting on your hard drive waiting to be discovered and sold, but how do you get that image seen by people who are looking to buy? And what if a buyer needs custom content that needs to be shot… how do you promote yourself to them at the specific time they are looking? That’s whereImageBrief comes in. Here’s how it works: Buyers from major agencies, publications, and corporations post briefs onImageBrief outlining the kind of image they’re looking to find. Some recent examples of briefs include “Lumberjack Hipster Men w/ Varying Beards,” “A man bathed in artificial light,” and “Shots of musicians w/ Budweiser,” the second of which could reap a rate of up to $25,000. Buyers can upload reference pictures and can be as detailed as they want to be. Photographers know up front the budget as well as the deadline, and if the client and project seems like the perfect fit, artists can upload their work for consideration. From there, artists are shortlisted and the image or job is granted to the best candidate. In addition to briefs, photographers can also get hired on assignment and appear in buyers’ searches for the perfect photographer. ImageBrief has also recently added features that allow photographers to upload images to MyMarketplace, where buyers can search and purchase photos instantly, without having to put out a brief. Every image a photographer uploads is connected to their online portfolio which means every image you submit becomes an ‘always on’ digital business card promoting you and your work. A special group of Photographers on ImageBrief are able to promote their work direct to the screens of top image-buyers. These photographers are supported by their very own team of experts, who are there to assist on getting new assignments, negotiating rates, and reviewing and building their portfolios to be the best they can be. ImageBrief pays the industry’s highest commissions to photographers on image sales and assignments. To learn more about ImageBrief, start selling your images and promoting yourself for hire, sign up for a free account. ImageBrief is a Feature Shoot sponsor. The post Monetizing Your Hard Drive and Your Time: How Photographers Build Their Businesses on ImageBrief Through Search, Briefing and Assignments (Sponsored) appeared first on Feature Shoot. |