12.27.2020

photo-eye's 2020 FAVORITE PHOTOBOOK LIST : ZAIDO by Yukari Chikura

 
ZAIDO by Yukari Chikura (Steidl)

After following a succession of personal tragedies, Yukari Chikura photographed the 1,300-year-old Japanese ritual, "Zaido". Walking through the snow, where days can reach a severe -20°C., Chikura’s images are of a strange and mysterious landscape encompassing a range of subtlety between light and illusion.

"Steidl has designed a book that perfectly complements this stunning body of work. Opening from a slipcase to reveal a brilliant peacock-blue linen cover, we are taken on a journey through her photographs, printed on luminous silvery papers. Included is a separate Folk Tale booklet, map and a hand-made fortune by Chikura, wishing each person good health and happiness. Brilliant." – EA
 
"Before the festival, the noshu(performer) perform a very strict spiritual purification. In some of the longest cases, it is known to have lasted up to 48 days. Cold water ablutions are perfomed in the middle of the night to cleanse the body as a part of this purification. Seems like a very tough thing to do as a young person, doesn't it? On the day this photo was taken, there was a particularly heavy blizzard. The weather was so bad that it was impossible to see well in front of us" – Yukari Chikyra

photo-eye Books 

MY 2020 FAVORITE PHOTOBOOK

12.16.2020

THE 2021 PHOTO BOOK DESIGN WORKSHOP with Elizabeth Avedon

 

Design Your Own Photo Book with Elizabeth Avedon
 
A professional looking photo-book takes time to develop. NORDphotography and I have created an Online Workshop that spans 3 levels. Students will work between courses to get ready for the next level. You can register for the full course, or select a specific level depending on where you are in your book process. Sign-up soon. 10 student maximum.
 

12.07.2020

OPEN UP YOUR ARCHIVE TO YOUR STORY: Enter by January 15, 2021

Photograph © Mitar Terzic

 Open Your Archive to Your Story  

 Curated by Elizabeth Avedon 
South x Southeast PhotoGallery
 
This call to enter includes pretty much anything that lets your photograph tell your story. A return to nature … The end of a journey … Dancing under the moon … Café life, your life, someone’s private life … Pets, friends, family … Diversity is always good … Sophisticated, austere, beautiful, surprising. Anything you would love to display in our next salon-style exhibition. Let’s celebrate with this show. All genres, all processes of photography welcome - Elizabeth Avedon
 
Deadline to enter: January 15, 2021.  Exhibition on the Walls and Online Mid-March thru Mid-May.
 

11.13.2020

THE GRIFFIN MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Photo Auction Benefit

 
Lot 1007: Pete Souza, "Hair Like Mine" 
"Jacob Philadelphia touches the head of President Obama" May 9th, 2009

Lot 1032: Sandra Chen Weinstein, "Geisha"



Lot 1047: Aline Smithson,“Summer Afternoon, From "Paradise in Color”

Lot 1055: Jennifer McClure, "Untitled" from series Laws of Silence

November 15, 2020
3:00 PM EST

Participation in the auction is free, however all would need to register in advance on the auction site in order to bid. The auction items are on View Now on the InValuable website in advance of the live auction. The live auction takes place on November 15, 2020 at 3 PM. Prints will be affordable and the proceeds will help support the Griffin and enhance their programming.

Over 70 prints spanning a wide spectrum of photographic genres will be available. Original photographs will be available from established photographic luminaries such as John Paul Caponigro, Barbara Crane, Elsa Dorfman, Jim Dow, Harold Feinstein, John Goodman, Cig Harvey, David Hilliard, Lou Jones, David Levinthal, Rania Matar, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Olivia Parker, Vaughn Sills, Joyce Tenneson, George Tice, Bradford Washburn, William Wegman, Ernest Withers and so many more. Also available is a coveted and highly collectable complete set of “baseball” trading cards by Mike Mandel. A number of these cards are in major museum collections. We are also pleased to introduce you to works from the next generation of creative artists, Keiko Hiromi, Jennifer McClure, Aline Smithson and Sal Taylor Kydd among others.

For more information please contact The Griffin Museum of Photography at 781.729.1158 or by email contact Crista Dix, Associate Director at crista at griffinmuseum dot org.  
 

11.12.2020

STAR GATES: Astrology, Symbolism, and the Synchronistic Universe

Vincent Price © Ray Grasse (Taken when he was 13)
 
"I had heard Price would be presiding over the opening of a new art show at the Prudential building in Chicago at the time, and my father drove me down there to attend. On arriving, I saw Price standing amongst the paintings, seemingly eight-feet tall. I walked up and nervously said, "Mr. Price?" After blinding him with flashbulbs at close range, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small photo I received from his fan club months earlier (shown here), and asked if he'd autograph it. The contrast between his appearance in the old picture and how he looked in front of me was frankly dramatic. I struggled to make some conversation; having no idea at all how rude it really was, I asked him, “Umm, when was this photo taken?” Rather than be offended, his response was extremely gracious. Leaning over, he smiled and said, with that trademark swooping voice of his, "Oh, well, you know, when photos are so small like that, they make you look so much younger." It took me years to appreciate how witty that response was." – Ray Grasse  

November 10, 2020 4:59PM © Ray Grasse

November 10, 2020 7:01PM © Ray Grasse
 

I'm deep into my friend, photographer and professional astrologer, Ray Grasse' new book of essays, "STARGATES : Essays on Astrology, Symbolism, and the Synchronistic Universe." An excerpt from the Chapter 'Musings on Music, Magic and Astrology', "Both of those arts – music and magic – employ intricately arranged elements that act on the unconscious in ways the rational mind can't truly fathom. . . . It has nothing at all to do with logic, and instead operates deep down in subterranean caverns of the psyche, far below the brightly lit plateaus of consciousness and rationality...."

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"He tackled questions astrologers often skim around or barely even dare to doubt. In the Chapter on "The Challenge of Scorpio: Anger, Power and Transformation" I found a way to heal an old wound of anger and resentment I was blindly carrying...deep insight can be truly de-toxifying! Treat yourself to something special--this book is worth the read. – Astrologer Elizabeth Spring
 
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STARGATES is a wide-ranging collection of essays on the art and science of astrology, exploring both the practical and philosophical aspects of the ancient discipline. Among the subjects discussed are the Great Ages, the astrology of anomalies, the United States’ “Pluto return,” relationships and the 7th house, synchronicity and astrology, fate versus free will, traditional versus modern astrology, the search for Planet X, the highest planet in the horoscope, the theory of correspondences, and many more.

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Ray Grasse is an internationally-recognized astrologer, and author of books including The Waking Dream, Signs of the Times, Under a Sacred Sky, An Infinity f Gods, and Urban Mystic. He worked on the editorial staffs of Quest Magazine and Quest Books for ten years, and has been associate editor of The Mountain Astrologer for 20 years . . . and he is also an accomplished photographer.


Purchase STARGATES

 


10.26.2020

PORTALS: Windows, Mirrors, Doors Exhibition

The Jurors's Award⁠
 "View" © Leslie Jean-Bart⁠
 
The Juror’s Award goes to Leslie Jean-Bart’s “View.”  Reflected and refracted, with diverse scenes and angles, his window view creates a fluid multidimensional world. 
 
Director's Award⁠
"Another View/15:05, 2020" © Matt Schaefer⁠ 
 
Matt Schaefer’s “Another View / 15:05, 2020” won The Director’s Award with his minimal interpretation, made simply by the positioning of the reflective surface.
 
"Requiem 02" ©  Susan May Tell
  
"Deformation" © Marc Apers
 
"Black Lives Matter I" ©  David E. Vogel

"Opposites" © Kay Beausoleil⁠

"Italian MIrror" © Gail Skoff
 
"Gateway To Heaven, Varanasi India, 2019" 
Photograph © Richard Singh

I was impressed by the range of ideas expressed in the large number of images I reviewed for “Portals: Windows, Mirrors, and Doors.” Judging an exhibition is always an honor, as well as a difficult task. I was inspired by the eclectic group of photographs I chose for the Gallery exhibition and Online galleries. Each image was unusual, distinctive, and made with skill, and each beckoned me to explore it fully.

 It’s hard to describe why I chose one image over another. After addressing technical mastery of the medium, I looked for further evidence of creative vision, mystery, and imagination. The Juror’s Award goes to Leslie Jean-Bart’s photograph, “View.”  Reflected and refracted, with diverse scenes and angles, his window view creates a fluid multidimensional world. Matt Schaefer’s “Another View / 15:05, 2020” won the Director’s Award with his minimal interpretation, made simply by the positioning of the reflective surface.

Thank you to all who entered. All of your work was seen and noted, and I thank you for sharing it with me. Also, many thanks to PhotoPlace Gallery for their continued effort to bring exposure to so many photographers’ work. 

View all 40 images in the Gallery Exhibition here and all 40 images in the Online Gallery here!

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Nov 26 – Dec 26, 2020⁠ 
PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT

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