PIX Feed LA: January 2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

James Minichin III on set and behind the scenes of "Mad Men" (via)

AssistantList.com

There's a new assistant-related website out there called Assistant List. Originally started in Minneapolis, they plan on expanding their reach to other markets such as Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Chicago.

Beside listing for First and General Assistants, there's also digital techs and even assistant stylists. The interface looks clean and simple judging from their Minneapolis list.

I did notice there is a list of questions familiar to assistants - when I started out assisting in the 90s, questions were like, do you have a truck, do you know 4x5 / 8x10, do you have experiences with which strobes. The two new ones that I noticed on their listing is experience with Capture One and Lightroom. You can click on the photos above to enlarge or just head to their site and poke around.

Currently their Los Angeles section isn't up yet but I'll post about it once it goes live.

Morgan Hagar "An American Dream: Guadalupe, CA" (2/3)

The exhibit An American Dream: Guadalupe, CA is the first installment in a series of photographic essays documenting the people, places and events that make up the larger story of the United States. In keeping with the traditions of the great documentary photographers that preceded him, Morgan Hagar has set out to document everyday life in the big cities and small towns that would not normally garner the attention of the mainstream media, yet are part of the continuing narrative of our land. His first subject is the small agricultural community of Guadalupe, CA.

Opening Reception Feb 3, 2011 5-8 pm

Note : On Feb 1, 2011, Morgan Hagar will be speaking at Brook's Ventura campus in their screening room (5301 North Ventura Ave. Ventura, CA 93001) at 6:30 pm.

Gallery 27
27 East Cota St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Sunday, January 30, 2011

drkrm/gallery fundraiser on RocketHub

Found this in my email and I briefly mention drkrm early in another post today so I thought I'll share this with y'all.....

Dear Friends and Fans of drkrm:

Thank you everyone who has contributed so far to helping construct the new drkrm/lab/gallery.Unfortunately, we still have quite a ways to go. And we are running out of time.

In January of this year drkrm established a new home on the much-more-accessible and desirable Gallery Row on Spring Street in downtown LA. Again we ask your support. We've posted our project on RocketHub and we're searching for Fuelers to help fund the construction of a darkroom and finishing details in the gallery. We have a lot of great rewards for different levels of financial involvement: from $5-$5000. RocketHub is not an investment or charity. It is an exchange: funds from fans for rewards from me and it's all or nothing: if I don't reach my financial goal, you get your money back. All the details are on the Rockethub web site here.

If you are not in a position to help but would still like to, please consider sending the request to others who might be so inclined. Or post it on photography websites and blogs you're familiar with. Remember, if you Fuel our project with $500, you receive $500 worth of printing once the lab is completed (4-6 weeks from the time we start). It's almost like pre-paying your lab service ahead of time.

Or if you want to be part of a group show, or even have your own show, we have options for those, too.

Time is running out. And, as we mentioned before, if the ENTIRE AMOUNT of $20,000 is not raised, then everything goes back to the FUELERS. In other words, if you contribute, you won't lose your contribution should we not achieve our goal.

But, we can do it. With your help. So please, help today if you can.

I want thank you all so much for your support.

Sincerely,
John Matkowsky

drkrm/gallery
323 2715635

"Finding Vivian Maier" + Kickstarter

I must admit, I was curious to see a resurgence of interest of Vivian Maier. I had posted some of the images last May but one couldn't help noticed the blogosphere's chatter about her this January. I didn't realized that it has grown so much since the images first surfaced last year that an independent documentary was being mounted. The filmmakers chose to go with Kickstarter to fund the pre-production phase.

Kickstarter has been mention many times in the media within the last year and it seems crowd-funding is one of the new methods for independent artist to get financing. LA photographer Patrick Hoelck recently used the site to secured funds for his Polaroid Hotel book while drkrm/lab/gallery (they just recently moved to downtown LA) is using RocketHub.

This is the future of helping artist finance their personal projects ? I'm not sure but I will tell you my second book, I'm using a combination of Kickstarter as well as applying for grants to help fund that project. Perhaps this might make a good blog for the future ?

Open Show Los Angeles #3 (2/3)

David Uzzardi / Tourists at the Empire State Building

Jeff Dojillo / The Romance of Mourning

Larry Brownstein / Hollywood: A Live Show Daily

Ejen Chuang / Cosplay in America

Open Show is a free monthly social screenings that provides photographers, filmmakers and multimedia producers the chance to present their work in high-profile spaces. 4 curated presenters (from students to professionals) have 15 minutes each to show their project and field audience questions and comments. Seating is limited, so RSVP on Facebook and come on time if you don't want to stand. * Starter food and drink is provided, but Open Show is potluck style, so please bring your favorite finger food or donation.

Feb 2, 2011 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Art Works Studio & Classroom
8688 West Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 202-1894

Friday, January 28, 2011

Chad's Group Photo Exhibition

Chad over at Smashbox Studios recently posted this on his Facebook and I asked if he didn't mind if I reposted this :

Hi All! What else do you do when you live in a 5,000 square ft loft? Throw a photo exhibition! Celebrating the amazing, kick ass photos of my friends, photo assistants, and mobster connections. Any and all entries will be displayed. Please drop off 1 to 3 prints, any size, framed, to me at Smashbox Culver CIty before February 27th. Doesn't matter if it's pictures of Donkey Poo or Lesbian midgets, just bring it. Make sure to email me or attach to the photo the title of the print, contact info, and price. You can take your print at the end of the show or up to a week later, but hopefully it will sell that night. Repost this event and invite all your friends. 3 dollar beer, wine and taco truck. Plenty of street parking around the building. Contact me for more info. nebraskachad@gmail.com. Please come out and support all the talented photographers. Holla!

All this goes down Saturday March 5th 6 pm to 2 am over at 6000 Avalon Blvd #2 Los Angeles, CA 90001. It's just south of downtown y'all. I'll be submitting some of my series and be there to partake in tacos and three buck chucks. w00t !

Events this Weekend

Museums Free for All is this weekend here in Los Angeles and a host of museums will be open free to the public (not counting special exhibitions) including : California African American Museum, The Autry National Center, California Science Center, Craft and Folk Art Museum (Sun only), Fowler Museum at UCLA, The Hammer Museum, The Getty Center, The Getty Villa, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) (Sat only), Museum of Tolerance (Sun only), Pasadena Museum of California Art, The Paley Center for Media, Santa Monica Museum of Art (Sat only), Skirball Cultural Center (Sat only), The Studio for Southern California History, Watts Tower Art Center (Sat only).

Art Los Angeles Contemporary is going on over at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica this weekend. $28 for 3 day pass or $18 per day. 11am–7pm everyday except Sunday when it closes at 6 pm.

FRIDAY
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X-TRA's 1 Image 1 Minute - 50 Artists, Curators, and members of the art community each present a significant photograph of their choosing for 1 minute. Participants from all over the LA art community will come together for this live presentation of ideas and anecdotes tied to images. The event will be held at the Ray Kurtzman Theater @ Creative Artist Agency / 2000 Avenue of the Stars Century City, CA. 7- 10 pm. $50. Proceeds benefits LACMA's Modern and Contemporary Arts Council, and the Art Here and Now initiative.

SATURDAY
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"Imagine That! Photographing an Invisible World" and "Inside Out: Portraits from the Permanent Collection" both open at the Museum of Photographic Arts down in San Diego. "Imagine That ! is an exhibition of works by 24 photographers who use their craft to capture invisible worlds and phenomenon while "Inside Out" will exhibit portraits from such photographers as Arnold Newman, Man Ray and Edward Weston . They also have another exhibition "Streetwise: Masters of 60's Photography" opening on Feb 5th. The museum is located at 1649 El Prado San Diego, CA 92101. 10 am to 5 pm.

Austin Young "Your Face Here" opening reception 7-10 pm @ Pop tART Gallery 3023 W. 6th St. 90020. The artist will be present during gallery hours for portrait sittings, which will eventually fill the walls of the gallery. The public is invited to participate as the subject of the exhibition through the purchase of the pop cultural real estate of the gallery walls. At the closing reception on March 5th, what he's produced over those 5 weeks will be exhibited.

SUNDAY
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Apollo Yiamouyiannis "Southern Ice" opening reception 2 - 5 pm @ Hamilton-Selway Fine Art 8678 Melrose Avenue 90069 (His images) depicts the raw earthiness of Antarctica, the earth’s most mysterious land, in a collection of images as exhilarating as they are mystical.

MONDAY
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Reidar Schopp "BOXED: The Life We Build For Ourself" opening reception 6-8 pm @ Flazh!Alley Studio (1113 S. Pacific Ave., Suite B San Pedro, CA 90731 )

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Tonight is the opening night (8-10 pm) for Art Los Angeles Contemporary held over at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. This runs till Sunday.

Photo (top): Royal/T (bottom two) Downtown ArtWalk

Felice Beato Lecture @ Getty (1/27)

As Western colonial empires expanded in the second half of the 19th century, the public's interest in distant lands increased dramatically. Eager to take advantage of this growing market, Beato traveled from one country to another to cover current events. .... Beato was among the first photographers to offer images of these foreign countries as they opened to the West. He set up successful photography studios in Japan and later in Burma (present-day Myanmar). The photographer was adept at promoting his work, disseminating his pictures widely in magazines, military memoirs, and travel diaries.

Tonight Anne Lacoste, assistant curator of Photographs will give an overview of Felice Beato's photography career. Free but reservation recommended. Starts ay 7 pm @ Getty Center, Museum Lecture Hall

The Getty
1200 Getty Center Dr
Los Angeles, California 90049

Austin Young "Your Face Here" (1/29)

YOUR FACE HERE is a solo exhibition by artist Austin Young that challenges the normative conditions in which portraits are produced and exhibited. Young, for over 25 years, has been a celebrated portrait photographer and artist, whose works blurs the lines, and transcends the distinctions, between fashion, portraiture, and gender. This exhibition marks a rare and glamorous moment when Young will generously open his lens onto the public.

For the duration of the exhibition, Young will establish his art studio for a 5 week residency at Pop tART Gallery. The artist will be present during gallery hours for portrait sittings, which will eventually fill the walls of the gallery. The public is invited to participate as the subject of the exhibition through the purchase of the pop cultural real estate of the gallery walls. Participation extends beyond simply sitting for a portrait - it will be a collaborative process where the participants determine the portrait's size and placement. Following the legacy of Warhol’s Factory, Young will transform each participant into an art celebrity. Or, just impress your high school chums by having the man who just broke attendance records at LACMA with his co-collaborator’s of Fallen Fruit take your Facebook profile pic. Bring your face!

First editions start at:
5x7 $100 (limit 20)
8x10 $150 (limit 20)
16x20 $200 (limit 20)
24x30 $250 (limit 20)
30x40 $400 (limit 10)
40x60 $500 (limit 8)

This definitely sounds interesting enough to head over and check out the opening reception on January 29th, from 7-10pm though the closing reception on March 5, 2011 is definitely one to be at since all he's photographed in the 5 weeks will be exhibited.

Opening reception is Jan 29, 2011 7-10 pm

Pop tART Gallery
3023 W. 6th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90020

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Packed house at APA/LA's Varis System event Wed night. Photo : Heidi Goverman

Photos : Dan Winters

Lucie's E-pprentice Mentor Program

As part of our Mentors Program, E-pprentice, an electronic apprenticeship, opens a creative and technological dialogue between emerging and established professional photographers. The 6-month online e-pprenticeship facilitates bi-monthly meetings using the internet as the platform for communication and sharing of ideas. This program is free to the public.

Mentors will include BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO previous Lucie Award recipients, as well as other honored photographers who have proven their dedication to photography and the next round of image-makers. Their expertise range from advertising, fine art, photojournalism and fashion, not to mention sports and portraiture. You will be paired based on style and expertise, since Lucie Honorees have mastered film techniques as well as the digital medium. Information about previous Lucie Award recipients can be found on LucieAwards.com. Each 6-month mentorship provides a minimum of two sessions of contact per month. During the duration of the program, mentees will have access to secondary mentors such as gallerists, publishers, agents, and consultants.

Who is Eligible:
Emerging professional photographers (students, recent grads, early career professionals) with a sufficient portfolio are encouraged to apply, especially those with a focus for the mentorship period (creative, technical, or industry-related). Those with more specific initiatives, questions, or needs will be preferred, as they will help make an effective pairing.

Cost to Apply:
There is no fee to apply.

More info here. Due date is Jan 31, 2011.

IRIS Nights - Daisy Gilardini "Polar Wonders: Photographs from the Ends of the Earth" (2/3)

Daisy Gilardini fell in love with Antarctica on her first trip in 1997, and has since spent most of her time photographing Polar Regions. Her talk will celebrate the beauty and diversity of remote and fragile ecosystems. Since 1997, she has participated in 16 expeditions to Antarctica and 24 to the Arctic. During the presentation, Gilardini will share her extraordinary adventures, including close encounters with penguins and polar bears. These images will narrate a Pole-to-Pole journey and its many fascinating tales.

Next Thursday Feb 3, 2011 (6:30-8:00 pm), Daisy Gilardini will be speaking at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City as part of their IRIS Nights lecture series. Tickets are free and available today at noon and tomorrow at 9:30 am.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Here’s what one art buyer told me, though: ”There has never been as much good photography as there is right now. There has also never been as much bad photography as there is right now.” Whoa.

- Jessyel Ty Gonzalez, Denver photographer

PPLAC Open House (1/27)

The Professional Photographers of Los Angeles County will be hosting an open house this Thursday in Culver City. Refreshments, music, drawings and a photo exhibition as well as the announcement of photographer and image of the year. Event is free to both members and non-members. Full details here.

Thursday Jan 27, 2011 6:30 pm - 10 pm

Veterans Memorial Center
4117 Overland Avenue
Culver City, CA 90232

Monday, January 24, 2011

Spencer Murphy "Architects of War"

UK photographer Spencer Murphy's images of IDEX (International Defence Exhibition and Conference), an arms tradeshow in the Middle East. See the entire series here

APA/LA "The Varis System" (1/26)

Lee Varis presents an overview of his radical new image enhancement workflow. The workflow is based on applying individual channel luminosity to the color image to manipulate tonal separation and contrast apart from the color. This approach can create sophisticated effects that could not be achieved any other way. See how to:

• Best use the RAW processing tools to prep the image for manipulation in Photoshop

• Build a better B&W image through channel manipulations

• Use B&W luminosity with color images

• Enhance color saturation in Lab colorspace with layer blending

• Apply "a" and "b" channels to RGB images to enhance contrast

• Build shadow masks using the "K" channel in CMYK

Lee shows how to create stunning 3 dimensional shading effects that make images really pop off the page. The popular notion that most of the image enhancement should be done in the RAW processor is discarded in favor of the powerful layer blending options available in Photoshop that take advantage of the multi-channel structure of the image as it exists in different color spaces.

*Notice the location change* Cost is free for APA members, $20 for others

Wednesday Jan 26, 2011 6-9 pm.

The Studio
6442 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Photographers on Tumblr

Brooklyn photographer Noah Kalina posted up this list and I already see a few familiar names on it. Heck, a few of them rents from us before (and one used to work here) ! And yes, we have our own pixfeedla.tumblr.com as well. I started this a few months ago since I'm always find stuff online. Some of the post crisscross from this blog there while others are just available on the tumblr. Think of it this way. More LA-centric on this blog, while more world-centric on the tumblr.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

photoLA photo booth

The Equation + Samy's Camera set up a photo booth at photoLA this year and Samy's Camera Facebook has all the days posted. If you went, go find yourself ! I'm in there somewhere (pssst. Friday)

Build a Better Online Portfolio w/Stella Kramer (1/27)

Stella Kramer will be doing a webinar on Thrusday Jan 27, 2011 (1 pm - 2 pm PST). The webinar is free and just register here. More info here.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Open Show : Los Angeles #3 Call for Submission

DEADLINE: January 26th

OPEN SHOW FORMAT

● Open Show is a free monthly social screening that provides photographers, filmmakers and multimedia producers the chance to present their work in a rotating high-profile spaces.

● 4 curated presenters have 15 minutes each to introduce one project. Both ongoing and completed
work is accepted. We welcome diverse topics ranging from documentary to fine art.

● You MUST be present at Open Show for your work to be shown, so please keep your schedule free for the show date.

● You will need TO SPEAK ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WORK
1) Quick bio / Where do you come from / live? Current job?
2) Background. How did you get into Photography?
3) Project genesis. What sparked this story or visual theme?
4) Your goals. What do you want to get out of tonight? Feedback on something particular?
5) Next steps. What will you do with it? How do you plan to distribute?

● This is an INTERACTIVE salon, pause to give audience members a chance to ask questions or comment!

● Our event team creates all title slides and NO explanatory text slides are allowed
.
● Open Show will notify artists the week of the show to announce who will be presenting.

For more info click here.

OPEN SHOW LA#3: February 2, 2011 7:30 - 9:30 pm

Art Works Studio & Classroom
8688 West Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232

"In Focus : Still Life" @ Getty Ends This Weekend

This exhibition presents some of the innovative ways photographers have explored and refreshed this traditional genre. During the 19th century, still life photographs tended to resemble still life paintings, with similar subjects and arrangements. Beginning in the 20th century, still life photographs have mirrored the subjects and styles that have more broadly concerned photographers in their time.

The exhibition ends this weekend at The Getty on Jan 23rd so check it out while you can !

Photo : André Kertész (1928)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Le Book Connections - Los Angeles. Held @ MILK Studios Jan 20, 2010. Photo : Mathieu Young

Roberta Price "Across The Great Divide" book signing (1/22)

Roberta Price's many photographs of Drop City, New Buffalo, Reality Construction Company, Libre, and other southwestern communes capture long-haired men, women in self-made peasant attire, psychedelic art, sheaves of marijuana, cast-iron stoves, and preindustrial agricultural practices visual evidence of the great divide that separated Price, her friends, and associates from the families and neighbors among whom they had grown up. The photos also reveal the presence of record players, amplifiers, and electric guitars, along with a staggering array of architectural and interior design, and visits by such iconoclasts as Ken Kesey, Peter Orlovsky, and Allen Ginsberg.

Roberta Price will be signing over at Book Soup this Saturday Jan 22, 2010 @ 7 pm.

Book Soup
8818 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90069

Taschen Warehouse Sale this weekend

Yup, time of the year again when Taschen marks down their slightly damaged and display copies from 50-75% off. Here in Los Angeles, there's two stores - one in Beverly Hills and the other at Farmer's Market in Fairfax District. Sale starts tomorrow Jan 21-23, 2011.

Beverly Hills
Friday, January 21st, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, January 22nd, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday, January 23rd, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Fairfax District
Friday, January 21st, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday, January 22nd, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday, January 23rd, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sale is at all their stores including the ones in Miami and New York.

Photo : Brent Rieck

IRIS Nights - Out There: Capturing The Dramatic Moment w/ Tyler Stableford (1/27)

Next Thursday , Canon Explorer of Light Tyler Stableford will be here in Los Angeles at IRIS Nights, Annenberg Space for Photography's weekly lecture series. Tickets (these are free) are available today at 9:30 AM here.

Thursday Jan 27, 2011 6:30 - 8 pm

Annenberg Space for Photography
2000 Avenue of the Stars
Los Angeles, CA 90067

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Art Weekend LA (1/22 + 1/23)

“This is a curated gallery tour. We’ve specifically gone and seen all the exhibitions we’re touting and we picked out the best ones going on in Downtown. We consolidated them all in a map and a guide. We’ve hired shuttles to take people around.” - Edgar Varela

This weekend is the inaugural of a new quarterly event called "Art Weekend LA". Organized by past Downtown Art Walk director Jay Lopez and gallery owner Edgar Varela, this artwalk will focus more for the serious art lovers as a counter to party atmosphere of the Downtown Art Walk.

The event runs Sat & Sun from noon to 6 pm. Shuttle buses only available on Sat. Check their website for full details.

Participating galleries include Bert Green Fine Art, Edgar Varela Fine Arts, CB1 Gallery, DRKRM Gallery, Morono Kiang Gallery, PYO Gallery L.A. and ADC Contemporary Gallery.

LINK
LAT "Get ready for Art Weekend LA"

"Still Developing" book release + polaroid party (1/22)

So y'all remember the "Instant gratification" opening reception @ Bergamot Station last Jan 2010 ? It was held at the Copro Gallery with live music and food trucks. Apparently the news got out into the mainstream media and the place was completely packed. I remember glazing over the crowd outside and wondering how did all these people managed to show up at the same time. Visitors had to be usher in a few at a time to prevent overcrowding in the gallery.

The Instant Gratification exhibition tour was so successful that this Saturday in Santa Monica is the book release (and polaroid party) of "Still Developing : A Story of Instant Gratification", a book containing polaroids from over 200 photographers around the world. To join the party, just RSVP and see y'all down there !

Saturday Jan 22, 2011 8 pm - 11 pm

Deyermond Art + Books
2801 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405