02.06.07
Photo LA
I’m a social being, and I like social events that have to do with photography. So when I found myself in San Francisco when Photo LA was going to be happening, I decided to take a little side trip to La-La land to see what’s going on in the photo gallery world.
I’ve been to photo education conferences, trade shows, and portfolio reviews, but never one of the gallery shows. Definitely a different angle on the world of photography, and a valuable one. Here, galleries that specialize in photography from around the world set up booths with their best work on the walls, catering to collectors. You can see stunning prints by contemporary photographers and vintage prints from all eras. My favorites were big Sebastiao Salgado prints of penguins and icebergs (from his Genesis series), a series of images from Lucien Clergue and some old contact prints of products made in the midwest in the 1950s (who knew a paint can could look so beautiful?).
I took a workshop give by Center called “Center Thyself.” It featured several people in the gallery world talking about how to create your work and get it out in the world. My favorite presenter was Mark Pinsukanjana, who gave 16 great tips, including “Master your tools, Be open to whatever comes your way, Share what you know and learn from others, and Fix whatever you complain about the most.” There were several more great ones as well, and I was inspired by the last one to finally clean my office, where I am happily typing away, and not worrying about tripping over things.
I ran into a few people I know, including Mary Virginia Swanson, and got a copy of her new book, “The Business of Photography: Principles and Practice”, which is a must have for any photographer interested in the world of fine art photography. She knows it all, and is very generous in her sharing of knowledge; see her blog for all the latest photo contests and events.
Alan Griffiths had a booth set up to tout his website, Luminous-Lint, which is an enormous site dedicated to cataloguing the history of photogarphy. It’s got the photographers, genres, techniques, etc, all cross-linked. Sometime soon I’ll have an exhibition of Toy Camera Photography up there – I’ll post when it’s ready.
Well, I’m busy getting ready for the Freestyle show that opens on Feb 22nd. Stop by if you’re in the LA area. Next post will be the card and info. Lecture on Saturday the 24th.
~Michelle