[pure-silver] Re: Fotofest meeting place

  • From: "Adrienne Moumin" <photowonder2010@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 09:17:09 -0400

Shannon,

By "competitive" I meant that there are SO many photogs wanting to get in that the orgs running these things can, it appears, get away w/not listing the reviewers (so they want YOUR commitment of the money but won't give theirs about what you are GETTING for your investment), and by only giving hints about what the reviewers DON'T want.......not very helpful, as evidenced by your example.

Yet people sign up in droves (as I mentioned before, I got shut out of the PowerHouse reviews, and I heard from a friend there were over 150 on the wait list!) , hungry for an oppty to get a show, make contacts, or whatever their goals are.

I could name so many examples: photo contests w/glittering prizes and/or great exposure run by established orgs...but the catch is that you sign away your rights to how and how much the image is used.........and there are many other examples I come across regularly of the hyper-competitive, commerce-driven place the photography world can be.

But perhaps PhotoFest is different, I heard someone rave about it 5 or so yrs ago; unfortunately I have not had the oppty to hear anything more recent.

I think most if not all of these orgs assign you to reviewers based on your stated goals & work samples; but in a PhotoExpoPlus seminar I went to last year, Sarah Hasted (of HastedHunt Gallery in Chelsea, NY) suggested that photogs wanting to be "seen" by a certain reviewer should, after the formal reviews have ended, approach that person and ask if "they have a few minutes to look at your work".

What is traditional landscape? Great question! Seems to me that no matter what your work is, you have to have some sort of a "hook" (to use marketing lingo) that makes it different, unique, and eye catching. It's not good enough to just be good anymore in certain arenas, the competition is too fierce.

Again, just my $.02.

-Adrienne Moumin

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From: Shannon Stoney <shannonstoney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Fotofest meeting place
Date: Mon, 28 May 2007 21:26:10 -0500

Fotofest does list the reviewers I think on their website but I haven't
looked at it yet. Not sure what you mean by competitive: do you mean, competitive for photographers to get in, or that the reviews compete
with each other?

--shannon

OK, I misspoke.  The fotofest site tells you who their reviewers were
LAST time, in 2006.  And each reviewer says what she doesn't want to
look at.  Usually it's "traditional landscapes, architecture, nudes,
and flowers."  Ok, so what if I have a picture of myself in my flower
garden, with my shirt off?  I guess that's verboten, huh?  Maybe that's
the way you're avant garde these days:   you manage to put nudes,
flowers, architecture, and landscape all in one picture!!  Maybe a baby
animal for good measure.  (Today I found two wild baby rabbits in my
garden. I petted them.)

So, do you get to pick your reviewers at events like this, or do you have to go to the ones that they assign to you? What is "traditional landscape" anyway?

--shannon

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