the two most exciting things worth knowing

1) En Foco's People / Places / Things deadline is coming up soon

2) CRITICAL MASS 2009 WILL OPEN FOR REGISTRATION AT THE END OF THIS WEEK. FRIDAY, IN FACT (UNLESS SOMETHING GOES AWRY, BUT IT'S LOOKING GOOD). INVITATIONS HAVE BEEN, AND ARE CONTINUING TO BE SENT TO, SOME OF THE BEST PHOTO REVIEWERS ON THE PLANET.

how great is

this?

both the book and the quiz.

GET READY

CRITICAL MASS 2009 WILL OPEN FOR REGISTRATION IN JULY!

DETAILS SOON...

p.s. that also means that this is your last chance to send me suggestions for Reviewers you'd like to have looking at your work. Drop me a line.

CM Top 50: Carlo Van de Roer

© Carlo Van de Roer

• Name, location

Carlo Van de Roer, I live in NY but I'm from New Zealand.

• Is photography your day job? If not, do you want it to be?

Yes but I'm kind of nocturnal, like a raccoon but with a camera.

• Can you remember/describe the first print you ever made? Why photography? Why do you do this?

The first print I ever made was of portrait of Guapy Van de Roer, a black cat with a white spot under its neck which was really difficult to print.

© Carlo Van de Roer

• How did your project develop?

I grew up in New Zealand where people learn to swim as kids so I spent a lot of time in swimming pools and the sea, they're familiar social spaces to me, spaces where social interaction and solitary communion with nature intersect.. The photographs are taken from an elevated angle, looking down on the pools so that the arrangement of people can be seen, revealing their interactions with each other and with their surroundings.

© Carlo Van de Roer

• It's early yet, but have you had any concrete opportunities arise from your participation in Critical Mass? Shows? Publications? Print sales? High fives at a party?

Critical Mass is a great opportunity for exposure, and has led to some really fancy handshakes.

© Carlo Van de Roer

• Who are your favorite photographers, images, websites, projects, or blogs, etc. that inspire?

I often check out blogs like iheartphotograph, conscientious, tinyvices etc and find there's an ever chancing list of inspiring photographers, lately Ive been looking at the work of Lieko Shiga which is really interesting and Ive always been interested in Nadav Kanders approach to both his personal and commissioned work. I'm also interested in the the work of Gavin Hipkins, Penelope Umbrico, Kevin Newark, Kohei Yoshiyuki, Pierre Bismuth, Laura Letinsky, Christopher Bucklow....

© Carlo Van de Roer

• Do you have a favorite youtube video that you'd like to share? It doesn't have to be photo-related.

Oh, so many...

CM Top 50: Damion Berger

© Damion Berger

• Name, location

Damion Berger, .....I'm an Englishman in New York - as the song goes.

• Is photography your day job? If not, do you want it to be?

The term 'day job' is something of a misnomer, photography takes up most of my waking hours but it's not yet the only thing I do although it's rapidly becoming so.

• Can you remember/describe the first print you ever made? Why photography? Why do you do this?

My first print was definitely one to forget aesthetically - aged 16 and at boarding school in England, I remember feeling like the first person to access my school's poor neglected darkroom since the war. Cobwebs and lack of instruction aside, I nonetheless emerged with a print - a sorry looking portrait faded due to minimal time in the developer and fix. Nonetheless, that initial sense of alchemy ignited the flame so to speak, which was further fanned as an assistant to Helmut Newton and then given some formal direction whilst at Parsons.
Why? That first appreciation of the wonderment of the process continues to underscore the foundation of what I love about photography. I could go on and on but my motivation ultimately comes down to wanting to consistently challenge and surprise myself artistically, and the stimulation derived from trying to produce work that is both fresh and strong - mindful that one cannot help but build on what has come before, whilst conscious of the importance of avoiding repetition.

© Damion Berger

• How did your project develop?

In hindsight, the 'In The Deep End' series might at first have been a subconscious reaction to my 'R.S.V.P - The End Of Opulence.' project, during which I had been dressing up in 'black tie' and travelling extensively to photograph the very traditional and dry (excuse the pun) world of society Balls and other formal functions. Swimming with a mask underwater in a busy public pool in the South of France, I was immediately bowled over by the photographic potential - it felt like a mix between the energy and surprise of Cirque du Soleil intertwined with a the grace of some contemporary ballet. I had no idea about underwater photography to begin with but I found a used Nikonos in a shop nearby, bought a pair of swimming trunks to match the colour of the camera and started to spend day after day in different public pools, swimming around with the camera held tightly between my legs to avoid suspicion. It was such an escape both visually and psychologically from what I had been doing and it also felt so far removed from the work I was familiar with of the genre. I had gone from photographing a world so steeped in social reference to one that couldn't have been more devoid of such context. Apart from the physical challenge of repeatedly having to hold my breath for that moment longer whilst my lungs were burning for air, I was mostly content to avoid being labelled a pedophile and simply live to shoot another day!

© Damion Berger

• It's early yet, but have you had any concrete opportunities arise from your participation in Critical Mass? Shows? Publications? Print sales? High fives at a party?

The short answer is yes, I think so. It's sometimes hard to draw a direct link and say such and such a thing happened because of this or that, its often less tangible than that. Reviewers, competition judges, gallerists and the like are much more likely to respond positively if they've previously been exposed to the work via Critical Mass or otherwise. Many people I've shown my work to for the first time have told me they've seen it somewhere before, only to remember that it was thanks to CM. Other than doing strong work, I think familiarity breeds success and CM much to do with that - around the same time as CM, I was included in Magenta Foundation's 'Flash Forward' and subsequently awarded their inaugural book award. Although by mutual consent we've decided not to publish the book together, 'In The Deep End' will nonetheless be published through another publisher next Spring. I was a nominee in the recent NY Photo Awards and my 'R.S.V.P. - The End Of Opulence' series received an Honourable Mention in CENTER's project competition and that work is also slated for publication next fall with Mets and Schilt.

As for high fives, I'm still holding out hope - you never know. I'll be part of a group show "Hot Fun In The Summertime" opening on Thurday June 18th at the Bonni Benrubi Gallery in NY - If anyone reading this comes to the opening, I might get lucky!

© Damion Berger

• Who are your favorite photographers, images, websites, projects, or blogs, etc. that inspire?

My favourites run from J-H Lartigue, Cartier-Bresson & Elliot Erwitt to Adam Fuss, Abelardo Morell and Vic Muniz.....and of course many more. I'm also a big fan of Tierney Gearon's recent double exposure series aptly named 'Explosure'.

© Damion Berger

• Do you have a favorite youtube video that you'd like to share? It doesn't have to be photo-related.

A bit of English humor: The Subprime Crisis

CM Top 50: Reiner Riedler

© Reiner Riedler

• Name, location

Reiner Riedler, Vienna, Austria

• Is photography your day job? If not, do you want it to be?

It's my full job and my life!

• Can you remember/describe the first print you ever made? Why photography? Why do you do this?

My first print which I made was a B/W print, made in the darkroom of a friend. It was very simple: There were 3 trees, side by side without leaves, shot in autumn.
This was when I was 14 years old.

© Reiner Riedler

• How did your project develop?

My project "Fake Holidays" was started in 2004. I am a very slow worker. So all my big projects need 4-5 years to be realized. But after my last trip to Japan this year it is finished. There will be a book published about this project in June this year.

© Reiner Riedler

• It's early yet, but have you had any concrete opportunities arise from your participation in Critical Mass? Shows? Publications? Print sales? High fives at a party?

Well, there were some requests for blogs, where my pictures are being used. But I can feel somehow, that there is something going on. This is indeed a big opportunity.

© Reiner Riedler

• Who are your favorite photographers, images, websites, projects, or blogs, etc. that inspire?

There are many photographers I LOVE: William Eggleston, Simon Norfolk, Martin Parr, Alec Soth, Jacob Holdt etc. etc.

© Reiner Riedler

• Do you have a favorite youtube video that you'd like to share? It doesn't have to be photo-related.

Well, My son is now about 2 years old and he likes to see Heidi or Biene Maya on youtube. I myself hardly use it.



hey... why is that bee crying?

CM Top 50: Tom Chambers

© Tom Chambers

• Name, location

Tom Chambers, Richmond, Virginia

• Is photography your day job? If not, do you want it to be?

My photography is my (second) day job, although I dont like to call it a job. I would love to support myself totally with my photography but it isn't feasible at this point in time.

• Can you remember/describe the first print you ever made?

The first print I made that excited me was one I made in art school (1983) A double exposure: An image of a woman opening a door and outside a huge tiger head, teeth exposed. Ha, since then things haven't changed all that much with my direction.

• Why photography? Why do you do this?

Photography is the medium that best allows me to express my vision. Photography generally depicts reality, but skew that to some degree and it makes the viewer uncomfortable and draws their attention quickly. It is also a medium that I've been familiar with for some time due to my work as a graphic designer.

© Tom Chambers

• How did your project develop?

I am very concerned about what is happening with the environment and the world's wild animal population. Since I typically use images of animals in my photomontages, it was not a huge step to create a series that uses animals as symbols.

© Tom Chambers

• It's early yet, but have you had any concrete opportunities arise from your participation in Critical Mass? Shows? Publications? Print sales? High fives at a party?

Nothing this time around but the last one in 2006 led to a solo show at the George Billis gallery in LA and a number of print sales.

© Tom Chambers

• Who are your favorite photographers, images, websites, projects, or blogs, etc. that inspire?

Josef Koudelka, Sebastião Salgado, Graciela Iturbide, Cormac McCarthy (writer)

© Tom Chambers

Your inspiration for today

comes in the form of the current issue of F-Stop Magazine



© Susan Worsham

a) there's a lovely article about our recent Reviews. Thanks Aline.

b) there are portfolios by Jeff Krolick and Susan Worsham, and a group show that is truly international.

c) there is a call for entries for their next issue. The theme is AMUSEMENT and the deadline is July 15th.

go get 'em, Team Photo!

in the event that you're among those who

are considering attending a portfolio review event (such as ours that just finished up), Mary Virginia Swanson has just written a very thoughtful and informative post with lots of great information:

check it out here.