Exploring 21st Century Photography

F295 Member Marydorsey Wanless is the Grand Prize Winner of the Soho Photo Krapper Kamera Competition!
F295 would like to congratulate member Marydorsey Wanless (Topeka, KS) on her grand prize in the 11th annual Soho Photo Krappy Kamera Competition! Her piece ‘Evidence of Self’ (seen above) was selected as the winner by juror Brian Clamp, Director of Clampart Gallery, NYC.

Marydorsey has been to each of the 2 previous F295 symposia in Pittsburgh and we look forward to seeing her again this year!

A complete list of the winners may be seen here.

Congratulations Marydorsey!

Great variation on the classic D76 developer but without the variability which comes from prolonged storage.

750 ml, Distilled Water (125F)
2.5g, Metol
100g, Sodium Sulfite (Anhydrous)
2g, Borax

Mix ingredients in order given then add H2O to make 1000ml of solution.

Theme: Photographic Possibilities!
Each month our friends at Focal Press run a juried photography contest in which you can win cool stuff! This month F295 member and friend Robert Hirsch is the guest judge and the theme is (appropriately) Photographic Possibilities!

This month you can win a copy of the new edition of Photographic Possibilities!
Visit the website for more information!

As when entering any contest, exhibition, etc ALWAYS remember to read the fine print to make sure you’re comfortable with the rules and regulations of each contest. Focal Press contest fine print here.

The art of photography has always been very intimately bound to the medium’s technological methods. At its introduction it had the distinction of being the first creative medium where a machine was responsible for the production of the image and the artist was limited to aiming the apparatus at the subject and hoping for a more or less “artistic” outcome. The naive, and I think still pervasive, view that photography is a medium which is limited to simply depicting the subject has undercut much of it’s potential to communicate complicated ideas.

Artists have undertaken very sophisticated projects over the years, and the analysis of those bodies of work have been ornate and multidimensional, but I would maintain that in almost all cases the material aspects of the medium have not been well integrated into the design of those projects nor the eventual critiques. The camera, in most cases, has functioned as a tool of convenience and it’s most valued quality has been its ability to stay out of the way while transmitting the presumed subject of the photograph. This represents a failure of imagination and a squandering of a huge part of photography’s ability to communicate.

Don’t forget to check out Spagnoli’s beautiful collection of Daguerreotypes:

Jerry Spagnoli: Daguerreotypes

Jerry Spagnoli is based in New York, NY USA. You can find more information on hiswebsite.

F295: 21st Century Photography
Hosted by The Camera Club of New York
January 16-20, 2009 | New York, New York
Opening Reception: January 17, 7:00-9:00pm

F295 is pleased to announce that the Camera Club of New York will be hosting an exhibition entitled F295: 21st Century Photography from January 16 - 20, 2009. This show coincides with the F295 Seminar at BandH Photo on January 18 and showcases the work of 21 contemporary photographers who are currently engaged in the creation of a new, 21st century photography.  By exploring various techniques or freely combining photographic processes in their work these innovative artists are moving beyond the traditional photographic paradigm characterized by the adoption of newer equipment and the obsolescence of older equipment. The photographs on display provide a taste of the richness and complexity of work created by those allow themselves the luxury of experimentation, and use a broad range of tools and materials to make exciting and dynamic pictures.

Presently confirmed artists include:

Jo Babcock
Craig Barber
Michelle Bates
Gabriel Biderman
Laura Blacklow
David George Brommer
Martha Casanave
Jill Enfield
Dan Estabrook
Jesseca Ferguson
Alida Fish
Joy Goldkind
Robert Hirsch
Kerik Kouklis
Scott McMahon
France Scully Osterman
Mark Osterman
Tom Persinger
Jerry Spagnoli
Keith Taylor

These are some of the most well known artists working in the field today! Don’t miss your chance to attend this short lived but very important exhibition.

More information about the Camera Club of New York:
http://www.cameraclubny.org/

*Bromoil image by Joy Goldkind, Adagio #32,

Many of you have noticed that the 2009 Symposium is called the ‘f295 Symposium on 21st Century Photography’ and we changed the name of the f295 forum to f295: Exploring 21st Century Photography. But what is it? This section offers thoughts on this 21st Century photographic phenomenon.

Empowerment
The 21st Century Photographer remains open to the exploration and use of a variety of processes, techniques, and technologies so long as the chosen method(s) most concisely articulate their creative vision. A net result of this paradigm shift is not only complete artistic freedom but also a palpable sense of empowerment. Historically photography has marched down the long path of process obsolescence - one in which new techniques replace old in a continual cycle of progress. In a 21st Century approach, however, control is wrestled from profit driven agencies -corporations, advertisers, and the marketplace all promoting a consumptive photographic model- and given to the artist/photographer. By virtue of taking the responsibility of control, photographers allow themselves to use a pastiche of tools and materials to make pictures. It is this freedom -which is new for many- that empowers and fuels the 21st Century Photographer.

This concise and reliable handbook provides professional and advanced photography students with practical pathways of utilizing diverse photographic methods to produce engaging, expressive pictures from an informed aesthetic and conceptual position.

F295 Subscribing Members recently received a coupon code for 20% off this book (& free shipping) at the Focal Press store. If you’re a member and didn’t receive the code let us know.

See the book here >>

Given the parameters of light, time, and apparatus, I suppose time is the most overlooked component here. One speaks of the “decisive moment,” but this implies one is dealing with equipment and film-sensitivities that allow instantaneous photographic representations to be extracted from the continuous flux of human perception.

Making my own paper-negatives and cameras and lenses has obliged me to use large amounts of available UV light coupled with small apertures, and this has resulted in exposure times of ten to fifteen minutes. From here, I have been led to analyze particular confluences of time, light, and place to a point where there only were ten to fifteen minutes in a given time of day or season where a photograph could turn out as intended. As a result, my awareness of the transient quality of light has increased, with apparatus being characterized by the limitations it places upon me.

Don’t forget to check out Greene’s informative technical manual:

Primitive Photography: A Guide to Making Cameras, Lenses, and Calotypes

Alan Greene is based in Cambridge, MA. He’ll be leading a workshop at the 2009 F295 Symposium entitled Lens Building and Optical Effects.