Thursday Briefs

+ An Evening with David Maisel "Black Maps" @ Annenberg Space for Photography's IRIS Nights next Thursday May 20th. Tickets are available at 9:30 am today, Thursday (5/13) here

+ Kodacrome: the way it was…and still is by Max Marinucci

+ Blogdowntown has the rundown on tonight's Downtown Art Walk. Check out Christopher Hernandez's “09 Reflections” over at Spring Arts Tower 2nd Floor and over at the Annex, Woodcraft Rangers Afterschool Photography Program will have student photos up. Public is encouraged to vote as 25 of the pieces will be exhibited at the 11th Annual Urban Youth Photography Show.

+ There's a few opening events tonight in Los Angeles. Just click here to see the list.

+ Julia Dean Photo Workshops have their Summer 2010 catalog out.

+ Mark down May 19th - that's when Hassy will release Phocus 2.5 and it is completely free. Curious to check this out !

+ Wanna be on the cover of Los Angeles magazine ?

SMC "31st Annual Student Photo Show" (5/15)

The opening Reception will be from 6-8pm on Saturday, May 15.
A shuttle bus will run between the two locations on that evening.

Details for the locations are:

Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery Madison Campus
Santa Monica Blvd at 11th St
(310) 434-3434

Photography Gallery Main Campus
2nd Floor, Drescher Hall
(310) 434-4289

info

David Zentz "Haiti Art & Charity Event" (5/13)

Found this on Venice-based David Zentz's blog.

Anyone in Los Angeles on May 13th is welcome to come to my photo exhibit opening at Nikki’s, 72 Market Street, Venice, CA. I’ll be there by 9 and plan to stay through closing. Since I’m primarily showing Haiti work we’re making the event a fundraiser as well, with voluntary donations being collected at the door. As with my last fundraiser, the money will benefit Habitat for Humanity, with all money going directly to their efforts to provide shelter and long-term housing for those affected by the January earthquake. I’ll also have a few images from Venice up on the wall. Also note that there’s a special happy hour from 10-12, so drinks will be cheap! It should be a fun night. Hoping to see a good turnout!

David Zentz

Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman (5/12)

VISUAL ACOUSTICS, 2008, 84 min. Dir. Eric Bricker. Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, this unique film celebrates the life and career of photographer Julius Shulman. Shulman, who died in 2009, captured the work of nearly every major modern and progressive architect since the 1930s, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Frank Gehry. Both a testament to the evolution of modern architecture and a joyful portrait of the gentleman who chronicled it with his unforgettable images

This Wednesday (5/12), the Egyptian Theater will be screening this documentary followed by a Q&A with director Eric Bricker. Event starts at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $11 general / $10 KCRW members / $9 seniors & students / $8 American Cinematheque members.

Then on Saturday (5/15), the American Cinematheque and the Modern Committee of the Los Angeles Conservancy will host a private cocktail party and a tour of Julius Shulman's home. This benefit will include a silent auction as well as guest speakers. The event is $125 and limited people. Info here.

Used Profoto Reflectors $40

Just got word from PIX rentals that they are selling about 20 used Profoto reflectors. $40 each. (Profoto 100-610 Zoom Reflector) Just call PIX over at 323-936-8488 / sales@pixcamera.com or just come on by and check it out !

We're over on 211 S. La Brea 90036.

RJ Shaughnessy "These Photographs Will Heal Your Soul" (5/13)

"The best and worst thing about being a LA photographer is Freedom. Freedom to do whatever we want and the freedom to not matter."

This Thursday is the opening reception of RJ Shaughnessy "These Photographs Will Heal Your Soul" and “Your Golden Opportunity Is Comeing Very Soon” over at Lead Apron on Melrose from 6-10 pm.

"I’m from Hollywood, Florida. I moved to Hollywood, California in late 2000. In 1998, I was 18. I started taking photos as a hobby. I wasn’t taking it very seriously. One night everything changed. I was out taking photos during a storm, and literally, got struck by lightning. During my recovery in the hospital my friends brought me photography books from the college’s library. From that moment on, I knew what I wanted to do. Shortly thereafter, I got a job in a drug store’s one hour photolab. This was in Orlando where I was in college studying Mathematics and Biology. A year later, I left Florida to attend Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where I graduated with a BFA in 2004."

His books will be available at the show. "These Photographs Will Heal Your Soul" 11x16 hardcover, 62 pages/29 black & white. 1st edition / 200 copies signed & numbered. $150 "Your Golden Opportunity Is Comeing Very Soon" 9.75x12.25 hardcover book. 44 pages / 37 black & white. 1st edition / 500 copies signed & numbered. $50

Lead Apron
8445 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90069

Interviews here and here.

Monday Briefs

+ Julia Dean's The Berenice Abbott Prize for an Emerging Photographer is open for submission. Due date is July 17. David Fahey of Fahey/Klein Gallery is judging.

+ Tomorrow The Two Shots of Photoshop Tour hits Los Angeles @ Embassy Suites in El Segundo. Runs from 5-10 pm $59 advance/$79 door.

+ This Wed ASMP/LA presents Canon Explorer of Light Parish Kohanim @ Bergamot Station $10 bucks. 7 pm. Info

+ Attorney Carolyn E. Wright, "Photo Attorney," discusses legal and business issues affecting photographers on a PMA webinar on Tues, May 18th.

+ LAT has photos of Chinatown then and now.

+ SMart "John Midgley shoots at the Salton Sea for 125 magazine"

Vee Speers "The Birthday Party" opening reception (5/12)

Capturing the last days of childhood and seeing that slipping away with my own daughter; realizing that once you’re a teenager you’re not innocent anymore and that’s the way life is. I really wanted to package up that little world. That was my initial motivation. After that, I wanted to get in there and really explore that childhood through a child’s eyes. I shot them low down so they were dominating. We always look down on a child, they are small, but in the photos are taken at the child’s eye-level, so the children dominate. They’re not smiling but they are in control. They’re not unhappy. They are in their own world. via

(Video from PhotoInduced.com)


This Wed, opening reception for Vee Speer's "The Birthday Party" from 7-9 pm @ Environment

Environment
8126 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Book Project : An Introduction

Social media, social media, that is what everyone is talking about. I recently found this video which is of course advertising a book called "Socialnomics". The last two years has been an upswing on the social media. It has literally exploded where now companies have a blog, Facebook page and/or Twitter. How will this translate into work ?

Well, I'm about do a little experiment.

Many of you know me as Eric or Ejen and know me from PIX. Some of y'all know I'm currently collecting days to get into the union for production stills for the motion picture industry and many of y'all may know I've been working on a photography coffee table book for the past year.

In 2009, I travelled to six anime conventions in the United States, photographing over 1,600 people for a book project. The book is edit down to 260 people representing 30 states. I've contracted a printer in Shanghai to print the books - 272 pages, hard cover, 8x10 and will be sold at $40 each. Currently thousands of copies of my book is on a freighter heading to Los Angeles.

As I have no publisher or distribution, my experiment is to see how well I can sell this book via two methods :

1) going to conventions where I'll have a table to sell the book
2) online on my website using Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, deviantART, YouTube, Flickr and Model Mayhem for exposure.

Currently here's my stats

YouTube - 42 subscribers
Facebook - 2,863 fans
MySpace - 1,482 fans
Flickr - 131 contacts
deviantART - 329 watchers
Twitter - 990 followers
Model Mayhem - 386

Total : 6,223 people.

I started many of the site last year as I began the project. Obviously there will be many crossovers as the same person can be flowing me on multiple platforms. Some platform lend itself better than others. Model Mayhem for example does not provide a way to update your viewers - they do not see any new images you placed while on Flickr, every new image you post will alert your friends.

My plan is to use social media to connect me with the fans. Every convention I go I'll be tweeting, facebooking, myspacing, as well as making videos. I'm creating a story that folks can follow on my adventure through America. I'll be updating you about my progress throughout the year and my thoughts on how social media is working for me. I'm interested as you are to see how far and how many books I can sell just by using the two methods mention.

(By the way, this is on top of everything else I do for PIX's social media. In my world, I update two blogs, three Facebook pages, and two twitters as well as assorted other social media for my book. Luckily, the conventions are on weekends so I can still work on the PIXFeedLA.)

Joel-Peter Witkin

Sat Briefs

+ Let the photoshopping begin !

+ LA Times reviews Michael Light's exhibition currently @ Craig Krull Gallery. Ends May 29th

+ Hey, today, Tony Duran is one of the panelist of "Hollywood Glamour". Other panelist is celebrity stylist Estee Stanley and is moderated by Degen Pener, Editor in Chief, Angeleno. The event is free and is held over at Scalamandré 800 N. La Cienega Blvd. 90069. Starts at 10 am.

+ Oh, all weekend you can catch a Special exhibition of George Hurrell photography @ Todd Hase Furniture, Inc. 729 N. La Cienega Blvd. 90069 and ‘Take It Off: A Color Exhibition Story,’ featuring photography by fashion and celebrity photographer Douglas B. Friedman @ Jean de Merry 8417 Melrose Place 90069.

+ 10 am over at The Icon, Tom Stratton will be talking about Photoshop Layer Masks. It's $10 and last I check at 1:23 AM, there is still 11 tickets available though the sale ends at 7 am. My guess is if interested, I'm sure you can show up and get in. The event is from 10 am to noon at The Icon.

+ If you're in Venice on Sat, go over to Venice Art's opening reception for their student group showing students’ films, photographs, animations and multimedia pieces from the 2009-2010 workshop session. It is from noon to 2 pm.

+ Were you at Smashbox for MOPLA's Group show amd had your photo taken at their photo booth ? Well, the photos are up ! Oh, hey, there I am !



+ Was over at Freestyle and noticed they have Holga Stereo Cameras as well as Holga Twin Lens ^^. BTW : Over in their gallery is "emerging (i) 5" exhibition with local college students until June 5th.

Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia / William Claxton's Jazz Seen

This afternoon, Ovation TV will be broadcasting the 2002 documentary "The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia" at 4 PM PST and 7 pm PST followed by Jazz Seen, a documentary on William Claxton at 5:30 PM and 8:30 PM here on the West Coast.

You can check out Shelby's work over on his site here. In one of his posts, he asks Hobert White, the father of one of the boys he has photographed about the images he took of Appalachian life.

"You see a generation of people that no longer exist. When you go to the heads of these hollers those people still preserve the old ways. They do things the way we done'm 30 to 40 year ago. They's people that hang true to that. The pictures that you take, when I first saw them, they automatically take me back to my childhood, that old plow, that wall paper made out of old newsprint, the fact that they are black and white, that brings back happy memories to me, yet they are of today, too. The good part of it to me is the memories. Pictures are good memories, past and present, and good for our children's future."

If you remember, Shelby had an exhibition over at Fahey/Klein last June. I regret I never made it out to catch that.

Oh, if you miss the documentary on TV, it is available on DVD over on Amazon.



I believe William Claxton needs no introduction. A celebrated photographer who recently left us in 2008 was best known for his images of the jazz scene. Once many years ago, he walked into PIX where I literary drop everything and had to go get an autograph and a Polaroid taken with the man.

A feature-length journey through decades of American entertainment history as seen through the eyes of talented jazz photographer William Claxton. The film focuses on the man who has given us images of film stars, jazz musicians, top models - icons of the American dream. Claxton started his career in the early fifties with a photograph of a young Chet Baker. He captured the moments when a young unknown actor became known as the famous Steve McQueen. Jazz Seen features interviews with Chico Hamilton, Burt Bacharach, Dennis Hopper, Helmut Newton, Vidal Sassoon, and many others. Claxton himself shares insights of his life, his work and the fascinating world in which he lives.

The documentary airs today on Ovation at 5:30 PM and 8:30 PM.

Legends of La Cienega Design Walk

Right now, the Elle Decor Legends of La Cienega Design Walk is going on for the next few days. This should be a must-see for architectural and interior design photography as well as stylists, interior designers or anyone interested in design. I took a quick look and picked out the following that have a photographer on the panel. BTW : all events are open to the public and free.

++ FRIDAY ++

1 PM to 2 PM "Smoke & Mirrors"

Beauty revealed from beginning to end—inspirations and insights from the creatives who meld myth and magic. Panelists include Lighting designer Jonathan Browning; fashion journalist and television personality Merle Ginsberg; Patrick Hoelck, photographer and director of Mercy; and Todd Willamson, painter and recipient of the Pollack Krasner Award

Moderated by Arianne Nardo, Editor in Chief, Interiors

Navona Antiques
739 N. La Cienega Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069

2 PM to 3 PM "West Side Story"

Discover how L.A., the lifestyle capital of the world, has influenced the interior design, fashion, and film industries. Panelists include Roman Alonso, Commune Design; photographer Lisa Romerein; and interior designer Schuyler Samperton

Moderated by Andrea Borda Stanford, Design + Style Editor, C Magazine

Maison au Naturel
819 N. La Cienega Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069

++ SATURDAY ++

10 AM - 11 AM "Hollywood Glamour"

Defining the look of Hollywood opulence in fashion and at home panel discussion with panelist : fashion photographer Tony Duran and celebrity stylist Estee Stanley Moderated by Degen Pener, Editor in Chief, Angeleno

Scalamandré
800 N. La Cienega Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069


And all weekend you can catch a Special exhibition of George Hurrell photography @ Todd Hase Furniture, Inc. 729 N. La Cienega Blvd. 90069 and ‘Take It Off: A Color Exhibition Story,’ featuring photography by fashion and celebrity photographer Douglas B. Friedman @ Jean de Merry 8417 Melrose Place 90069.

BTW : Fashion Rules ! blog has an interview with Douglas Friedman as well as Huff Post.


PDF of the schedule

Martynka Wawrzyniak

Found a video on Feature Shoot about Martynka Wawrzyniak's new series. Her last series "Kids" is currently up over at Kopeikin Gallery on Melrose as part of their "4 x 4: four figurative photographers" exhibition until June 5, 2010.

Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket launch

Wow......

IRIS Nights : An Evening with Dennis Dimick (5/13)

The IRIS Nights series continues with a lecture by photographer Dennis Dimick, Executive Editor for Environment at National Geographic Magazine, who helped guide the creation of the April 2010 issue on global freshwater on display at the Annenberg Space for Photography.

His lecture will focus on environmental photojournalism and share behind-the-scenes details about the freshwater issue. A picture editor with nearly 30 years of experience at National Geographic and 14 years as a faculty member at the Missouri Photo Workshop, Dimick will show recent outstanding environmental photography from the pages of the magazine and discuss how photographers interested in the environment can produce insightful reports.

As always the IRIS lecture series is free, just need to get a ticket. Available at 9:30 PST this morning here. If you don't get in, there's always stand-by.

Thursday, May 13, 6:30-8:00pm

Annenberg Space for Photography
2000 Avenue of the Stars
Los Angeles, CA 90067-4700


Gazette Times - Interview w/ Dennis Dimick

APA/SD presents: Plastic Fantastic | CALL FOR ENTRIES

Plastic/toy cameras must be making a comeback.

Just last month there was the I Spy With My Plastic Eye exhibition at 5th & Sunset Studios. Before that a Lomography Gallery Store LA open up over on Santa Monica Blvd near Fairfax and now I see APA/SD is doing a call for entries for their "Plastic Fantastic" show

Not Just for Hipsters
Plastic Fantastic is a photography competition and group exhibition presented by APA San Diego featuring images created with plastic cameras. We’re calling for photographs that reveal your unique outlook. Each artist will approach their imagery with a singular voice, utilizing a variety of film types and techniques — using plastic cameras. So, dust off that Diana, load up the Holga or borrow a Lomo from that plaid flannel wearing friend to show us your best blurry light leaked, flared photos.

The Details
Thirty images will be chosen for display at Subtext Gallery. Frames and matte will be provided. Finalists will donate the proceeds from a silent auction to The Joy of Giving Something charity foundation and the San Diego Chapter of APA.
All entries will be judged by respected photography gallery owner Joseph Bellows, and prizes will be awarded for the top three images.

We strongly suggest all entries be created with a plastic camera, using film. All entries will be judged and the top thirty will be exhibited at a one night only benefit auction at Subtext Gallery in Little Italy on Friday, September 3rd. 2010.
The competition is limited to five entries per person.

Deadline for Submissions
All images must be submitted in jpeg format, no larger than 1000 pixels for either dimension at 72dpi. All entries must be submitted by Friday, July 9th, 2010. For entry submission and more information visit apasd.org.

So yup, bust out that Holga and hey, if you need film, PIX got expired film at 50% off ^^ (plug, plug)

Ruven Afanador's Kobe Bryant

In the May issue of Los Angeles Times magazine, there's a profile of Laker star Kobe Bryant as photographed by Ruven Afanador. Let's just say Kobe thinks the images are a bit "too artsy".



James Valeri, the stylists chimes in here and check out the comments.

FaceHunter Book Signing Tonight

Following in the steps of The Sartorialist, The FaceHunter (Yvan Rodic), a street fashion blogger/photographer has a selection of 300 images from his four years of posting at Facehunter.blogspot.com collected into a book form.

Character and charisma are what he prizes people who wear their clothes with confidence. The result is a contemporary portfolio of what s chic on the street, and an insightful predictor of what will be chic on the runway. Whether you re fashion forward, backward, or sideways, you ll find something inspiring in this radical, personal, and unpredictable book of street style around the world.

Tonight, he'll be signing at LeadApron in WeHo from 6-8 pm. If his fans on Facebook (12,157), MySpace (21,706) or Twitter (18,953) are any indication, I expect his signing tonight to be extremely packed.

LeadApron
8454 Melrose Place
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Wed Briefs (5/5/10)

+ If you're down in OC, “15 Minutes of Fame: Portraits from Ansel Adams to Andy Warhol” open this past weekend over at the Orange County Museum of Art. Exhibition goes till Sept 19, 2010.

This spring, the Orange County Museum of Art showcases more than 175 works primarily from the museum’s significant collection of photography, including many that have never before been exhibited. 15 Minutes of Fame: Portraits from Ansel Adams to Andy Warhol explores a diverse range of photographic portraits from early modernism, to photographs of celebrities from the 1930s to 1960s, photojournalistic street photography from the 1960s, and contemporary portraiture.

Other photographers include Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, William Claxton, Andre Kertesz, Robert Mapplethorpe, Catherine Opie, and Edward Weston.

+ Interview with Andrew Eccles. Good read !

+ NPR Picture Show on The Art of Food Photography (which btw "Tasteful Pictures" is an exhibition currently @ the Getty)

+ Lomography Gallery Store LA is going on a their first LomoJourney to Farmer's Market over on Fairfax on may 23, 2010 11 am - 1 pm.

+ Jonas Lara Legal Defense Fund has a Facebook page. Discarted has an interview with Los Angeles photographer Jonas Lara and PDN reported about his incident with the LAPD last week.

+ 48 Hour Magazine . On May 7th, they'll announce an theme. Creators (writers, photographers, designers, etc) will have 24 hours to submit work. Then they spend 24 hours to put it together and in the end, there'll be a website as well as a magazine. Oh, this should be interesting ! Plus, they're streaming live for on Ustream.com too !

Writers and artists from some of your favorite publications like Rolling Stone, Wired, Dwell, Gizmodo, GOOD, Lapham's Quarterly, HiLoBrow, Fray, Paleofuture, and The Rumpus have already signed up. Mainly because we promise that this thing will be fun. No long commitments. No pitches. No grinding editing process. You make good stuff fast; we publish it with other good stuff.

+ Wanna win $200 gift certificate from Aperture ? Click here !

+ Oh, another photo competition - APA/NY 2010

+ Photoshelter's latest "Top 13 Ways To Piss Off A Photo Editor"