F-Stop Magazine Portrait Exhibition

I'm delighted that five of my photos have been included in the F-Stop Magazine #51 Portrait Exhibition. F-Stop Magazine is an online publication which features contemporary photography by established and emerging photographers. Christy Karpinski, the founder and editor, selects a unifying theme for each issue and submission guidelines may be found on the website.

Girl in Chair - Ometepe, Nicaragua
  

César - Santiago de Atitlán, Guatemala
  

Man Pouring Tea - Anren, China
  

Musician - Baisha, China
  

Repairman - Xizhou, China
  

Avoid Naples!

Nine prints from my series Avoid Naples! will be on display at the Clarridge Gallery in Bellevue, WA from January 28 through February 24. My sarcastic title for this exhibition was inspired by the following warning which I found on the internet.

   
Naples, Italy must be avoided at all costs by any tourist for any reason. Do not go. Do not even think of going. You will be robbed, mugged, beaten, and perhaps even killed. If you manage to make it out in one piece, you will suffer long term health ailments from exposure to the most polluted environment in Europe. Sodom and Gomorrah was Disneyland as compared to Naples. If you absolutely have to see Capri, Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius ... rent a video!  –  Hal Licino
    

Contrary to the above admonition, I found Naples to be an extremely interesting location to photograph. My web gallery contains a total of twenty photos which I took during my wonderful, week-long visit to Naples in April 2011, where I was not robbed, mugged, beaten or killed.

The Clarridge Gallery is located in the office/bookstore of the Eastshore Unitarian Church, 12700 SE 32nd Street, Bellevue, WA. Gallery hours are weekdays 9am to 5pm.  Call 425 641 3146 for weekend hours.

Spanish Quarter Warning, Naples

Piazza Dante Nord, Naples

Salita Paradiso, Naples

Via Foria, Naples

Linea 1 Stazione Museo, Naples

Piazza Cavour, Naples

Via San Liborio, Naples

Linea 2 near Montesanto, Naples

Vico della Zite, Naples  

Collective Visions Gallery Annual Show

I'm pleased that my photo Horse and Rider, Naples was selected for inclusion in the 2012 Annual Washington State Juried Art Competition at the Collective Visions Gallery in Bremerton, WA. The show was juried by Kathleen Moles, Curator of Exhibitions at the Museum of Northwest Art, with work by over 130 Washington State artists. The exhibition runs from January 28 to February 24 and includes a number of special events and lectures. The Collective Vision Gallery is located at 331 Pacific Avenue in Bremerton and is open Tuesday through Saturday 10am to 5pm.

Horse and Rider, Naples

Journeys at SAM Gallery

I’m delighted that six photos from my Metro series are part of the Journeys exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum Gallery.  This exhibition was curated by Gallery Director Barbara Shaiman and features work eight artists who have been influenced by travel or relocation. In addition to my photography, the show includes paintings by Juan Alonso and Monika Steiner, fiber art by Rachel Brumer, and prints/mixed media by Romson Regarde Bustillo, Dionne Haroutunian, Kathy Hastings and Curt Labitzke. 
  
The show runs from January 12 through February 11, 2012, with an opening reception on January 12 from 5-7 pm. The SAM Gallery is located at 1220 Third Avenue in Seattle. Tuesday - Saturday 10:30 am to 5:00 pm.

Metro Line 1 near People's Square, Shanghai
  

Tren Ligero near La Noria, Mexico City
  

The B Train at 42nd Street, Manhattan
  

Linea 2 near Piazza Cavour, Naples
  

Metro 1 near Politechnika, Warsaw
  

Metro Line C near  Letňany, Prague

Update:  Jody Bento blogs about the opening of Journeys at the SAM Gallery

Lenscratch Favorite Images of 2011

Aline Smithson published a collection of favorite images of 2011 contributed by readers of her Lenscratch blog on January 1.  I'm pleased to have my photo Linea 2 near Piazza Cavour, Naples included in this diverse and interesting exhibition.
  

Year in Review

As the year draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on the many wonderful photographic experience I’ve had in the past twelve months. The major highlight of the year was the publication in LensWork #97 of my ten-page interview on street photography and a portfolio of 20 images from my series Return to New York. LensWork extended #97 included more images and an additional 33 minute video interview. I was also honored to have my work in solo exhibitions in Hungary, Solvakia and Seattle. My prints were also included in over a dozen juried group exhibitions in locations ranging from Oaxaca to New York to Minneapolis to Seattle. I also had the opportunity to do street photography in many urban locations including New York, San Francisco, Sicily, Naples, Rome, Budapest, Vienna, Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, Mexico City and Oaxaca. All of those cities also afforded wonderful opportunities to visit photography exhibitions in local museums and galleries. This year I also enjoyed  taking workshops with Ernesto Bazan in Sicily and Oaxaca. Finally, I pleased that I received the Merit Award from B&W Magazine in the 2011 Portfolio Contest and Honorable Mention in the Texas Photographic Society Portfolio Mid‐Career Artist Competition III. The upcoming year promises to be equally exciting so check back on my blog for updates. 

LensWork Extended #97

I’m pleased that LensWork Extended and LensWork Online #97 are now available. They contain additional content including my 33 minute video interview with Brooks Jensen, which expands on topics covered in the print interview, and more images from my series Return to New York.
  

  
These versions also correct a minor glitch which may have puzzled careful readers of the print edition interview. The image Atlantic Avenue MTA Station is referenced in my discussion of secondary elements with Brooks starting in the last paragraph on page 51 in the print edition, but the proper image for this discussion is actually Washington Square MTA Station. This error has been corrected in the extended and online versions.
  

Washington Square MTA Station

Fotovisura Photo of the Day - December 19, 2011

I'm delighted that my photo El Viernes Santo - Good Friday, Antigua in my series Guatemala has been selected as the Photo of the Day by curator Adriana Teresa for the Fotovisura website. Fotovisura is a user-friendly self publishing and photo sharing community. It contains a public archive that may be used in lieu of a traditional website and offers a myriad of interesting features. Fotovisura also publishes Visura Magazine and sponsors an annual grant competition. My albums and profile on the Fotovisura public archive may be found by searching on my name.

El Viernes Santo - Good Friday, Antigua

Exhibition in Slovakia

I'm delighted that my Never Ending Stage exhibition 38 of prints has traveled from the Sixth Ménes-patak International Festival of Photography in Szécsény, Hungary to Fil'akovo, Slovakia, where it will be shown at the fifth annual International Artfoto Festival at the Hradné Múzeum from December 1, 2011 through February 17, 2012. The entire show, which also includes work by my friends Attila Kleb and Bernd Arnold, is entitled Hrad Svetov V in Slovak and Világok Vára V in Hungarian which translates to Castle Worlds Five in English. This is quite appropriate since the Hradné Múzeum is located high on a hill in a restored castle. The exhibition was curated by András Tóth, who kindly sent me images of the installation. 

Exhibition Poster

Partial view of my installation in Fil'akovo, Slovakia

Installation detail

LensWork Portfolio and Interview

I’m thrilled and honored to be featured in issue #97 of LensWork magazine, with both an extensive interview and a portfolio from my Return to New York series. LensWork, the premier international magazine covering photography and the creative process, is published six times annually and is available as a high quality 96 page print edition, an extended DVD version and is also available online by subscription.
  

  
My interview consists of a ten-page discussion with Brooks Jensen concerning street photography in general and with reference to my accompanying portfolio, Return to New York. The print portfolio contains twenty beautifully crafted duo-tone images, and also includes my brief biography and a project description. 
  

  
The extended DVD and online versions of the publication, available in mid-December, will include an additional images in the portfolio as well as a video interview.
  
The rest of the issue is also not to be missed. It includes a portfolio by the late Vivian Maier, the recently discovered street photographer who privately created a compelling body of work during the 1950s to 1990s in Chicago, where she was employed as a nanny. Also included is an essay on imaginative photography by Brooks Jensen and the 2011 year end gallery. 
  
LensWork #97 is available from their online store as a downloadable pdf.
  
Ever since seeing LensWork for the first time when I began my photographic journey back in 2003, one of my long-term goals has been to have my work appear in this prestigious publication. I am now most delighted to have achieved that benchmark.
  

Flor Garduño Exhibition in Oaxaca

On my last full day in Oaxaca I spent some time visiting the Flor Garduño exhibition Trilogía at the Santo Domingo Cultural Center. The show consisted of over 85 large black and white digital prints which spanned over three decades of work by the Mexican photographer and filled nearly the entire lower floor of the former convent. Like her newest book, Trilogía, the exhibition was divided into three parts. Bestiarum showed images of people and animals and included many of her iconic images. This was my favorite part of the show. The second section, Mujeras fantásticas, consisted of nudes, which I found less compelling than her other work. Many of the images were repetitive in nature and this section would have benefited by a tighter edit of the work. The final section, Naturalezas silenciosas, contained quite a few interesting images, including some of her newest work. Overall, this was a wonderful way to end my trip to Mexico.
   

Ernesto Bazan Workshop in Oaxaca

I arrived in Oaxaca from Mexico City on October 17 to begin another photography workshop with my friend and mentor, Ernesto Bazan. That evening at Centro de Fotográphia Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Ernesto presented a video, produced by Juan De la Cruz, detailing the story behind the creation and production of his latest book, Al Campo. The book contains 88 gorgeous color images from the Cuban countryside, which Ernesto captured during the many years he lived there. After the video, Ernesto was given an award from the Center and answered many questions from the audience.
  
The following morning, the workshop began with participants from the USA, Mexico, Spain, Turkey and Romania. Ernesto’s approach to teaching make his workshops a unique and truly wonderful experience. In the morning we photographed in Oaxaca and then went to the nearby village of Atzompa where we were invited to view and photograph a Día de los Muertos play and procession at the elementary school.
  

Atzompa playground - Photo by Juliann Petkov
  
In the evening we returned to Oaxaca in time for the gala opening of an exhibition at the Centro de Fotográphia featuring the work produced by Ernesto’s students during the previous nine years of workshops in Oaxaca. The 86 images from Ernesto's students were beautifully framed and presented in three rooms with each person’s worked grouped together. I was pleased and honored to have five prints in the show.
  

Opening at Centro de Fotográphia - Photo by Sorin Frasina
  

Visitors at the exhibition in Centro de Fotográphia
  
After breakfast the following morning, we began the portfolio reviews and critiques of the previous day’s shooting. Only one of the eight participants had not previously done a workshop with Ernesto and she had the privilege of having her portfolio of several dozen images reviewed first. All of the students are involved in this process, and Ernesto generally asks them to comment on the images before he gives his own evaluation. This is an amazing learning experience and it allows everyone to train and refine their photographic vision.  Disparate opinions often arise and are discussed in detail to provide a tight edit of the work. During the next few days, all of the other participants also presented their portfolios for review and critique by the entire group.
  
Each morning students show selected photos captured on the previous day and, just as in the portfolio review, everyone is involved in evaluating the images. Only a few photos make it through the preliminary culling process, and every day the bar seems to be set a little higher. At the end of the workshop, the previously selected photos are reevaluated, culled once again and sequenced to give a final cohesive group of around 20 images, which Ernesto then posts in student galleries on his website.

  

Critique session

  
Ernesto also showed his work to be evaluated and critiqued. In previous workshops, his students helped him to selected and sequence images for both Bazan Cuba and Al Campo. In this workshop, we saw and critiqued wonderful black and white panoramic work from Cuba. Editing one’s own work is always a difficult task and this collaborative process greatly improves the selection of only the strongest images.
  

  

  

Viewing and critiquing Ernesto's panoramic work
  
During the following days we had the opportunity to photograph a variety of Día de los Muertos events, including an all-night stay at the cemetery in Atzompa and many delightful processions in Oaxaca and surrounding pueblos.  On November 5, the Bravo center presented another video by Juan De la Cruz which highlighted Ernesto’s previous workshops in Oaxaca. The workshop concluded the following day with a marathon editing and sequencing session of everyone’s images.  All in all, it was a magnificent experience, with lots of excellent photography, delicious food and wonderful camaraderie. 

LENSCRATCH Halloween Exhibition

Trick or Treat! I'm delighted that my image Man in Mask, Barrio de Jalatlaco, taken in 2009 during Día de los Muertos celebrations in Oaxaca, was featured in Aline Smithson's 2011 LENSCRATCH Masks, Costumes, and Halloween Exhibition.

Man in Mask, Barrio de Jalatlaco, Oaxaca, Mexico

Mexico City Museum Visits

I spent Tuesday visiting more museum exhibitions in Mexico City – something which I could do for days on end and still be amazed by the diversity and quality of the work on display. I started my day at Antiguo Colegio de San Ildeonso in Centro Histórico where there is an exhibition Sol y Sombras, de la Fotografía Moderna Mexicana. The exhibition consists of some 75 B&W prints by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Agustin Jiménez and Luis Márquez from the 1920s and 1930s. Many of the prints are grouped by subject matter with all three photographers represented next to one another, providing a convenient setting to compare and contrast. The exhibition contains two of my favorite Álvarez Bravo images – El ensueño (1931) and La buena fana duriendo (1939).

Visitors at the Sol y Sombras exhibition

   
A second set of salas examines modern Mexico City in an exhibition entitled DF Penúltima Región.  The show displays over 60 contemporary photographs and videos by Gerardo Suter who documented the urban landscapes with large digital prints, including an interest diptych printed on copper plate.  Both of these show run through January 15, 2012.
   
The museum also contains a wonderful exhibition by the Australian sculptor Ron Mueck, who creates amazing hyper realistic sculptures of people out of fiberglass and silicon. Mueck’s choice of scale – both much larger and much smaller than real life – adds to the impact of the work. There is also an interesting video showing the arduous process Mueck uses to craft his work.  The Mueck show runs through February 5, 2012.
   
I then headed off to San Ángel to where there was an exhibition of nearly 30 photographs by Lola Álvarez Bravo as well a handful by Manuel Álvarez Bravo. The show runs through February 17, 2012. The exhibition was held in the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Khalo, a pair of buildings connected by a sky bridge. While at the museum, be sure to visit Diego Rivera’s studio and watch the video detailing the life of Frida Khalo.

Centro de la Imagen - Fotoseptiembre

Escribir con la imagen y ver con la palabra [Write with the image and see with the word] - This quote greets visitors to a wonderful exhibition of photos by Maureen Bisilliat accompanied by text from several authors at Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City. Bisilliat was born in England in 1931 and moved to Brazil in 1957. Most of the prints on display are from her adopted country, including work from Bahia and Xingu, taken several decades ago. The large B&W and color digital prints, some more than 60 inches wide, are displayed unmatted and unglazed in simple black frames. Interestingly, this striking presentation would not have been possible when the photos were originally captured. Bisilliat's photos are both passionate and poetic.
  

Maureen Bisilliat - Images from Bahia

   

Next door, in the long corridor which bisects the Biblioteca de México, are two exhibitions that are part of Fotoseptiembre 2011. Hijos de la Tierra includes over 40 traditionally framed and matted B&W prints by Milton Guran, captured in the 1970s and 1980s, which document indigenous groups in the Amazon. These prints are an intriguing contrast to the work of Bisilliat, both in style and presentation. Further down the corridor is a mixed bag of color and B&W work by over a dozen contemporary artists selected for the Fotoseptiembre exhibition Relaciones a Relatos. 

Milton Guran - Hijos de la Tierra
   
Centro de la Imagen and Biblioteca de México are both located in Plaza de la Ciudadela, Centro Histórico (Metro Balderas), Mexico City.

Un Viaje in Mexico City

I arrived in Mexico City yesterday to spend several days before traveling to Oaxaca to photograph Día de los Muertos, and I was delighted to find a wonderful photo exhibition entitled Un Viaje by Francisco Mata Rosas at the Museo Archivo de la Fotographía. The exhibition includes over 45 beautifully crafted prints of Rosas' photographs taken on the Metro in Mexico City. Not surprisingly, this is subject matter near and dear to my heart. The exhibition includes commentaries in Spanish by Carlos Monsivátis, Fabrizio Mejía Madrid and Gildardo Montoya Castro. There is also a brief video depicting scenes in the metro and a display of items that are sold on the trains by wandering vendedoras. The Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana has published a lovely exhibition book which contains all of the photos and commentaries. 

The Museo Archivo de la Fotographía is located at República de Guatemala 34 in Centro Histórico and is open 10 am to 6 pm, Tuesday-Sunday, with free admission.

  

Rosas' contact sheets

Self-portrait with Rosas' print

Ernesto Bazan Exhibition in Oaxaca

The renowned photographer Ernesto Bazan is being honored by the Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo to commemorate ten years of BazanPhoto workshops in Oaxaca. An exhibition of his students prints will be on display there from October 28 until November 27. The opening reception on October 28 at 8 pm will include two audio visual presentations, with the first showing images from the exhibition and the second featuring Ernesto’s newest work, Al Campo. Both of these presentations were directed by Juan de la Cruz.
   
I am honored that five of the images I captured in Ernesto’s 2009 Oaxaca workshop have been selected as prints for the exhibition.
   
Centro Fotográfico is located at M. Bravo 116, Col. Centro, CP 68000, Oaxaca and is open Wednesday to Monday 10 am to 8 pm.

Catrinita, Oaxaca de Juárez

   

Comparsa de Jalatlaco, Oaxaca de Juárez

   

El Matadero, Oaxaca de Juárez

   

Hombre Cansado, Ocotlán de Morelos

   

Familia, Ocotlán de Morelos

   

Where in the World?

I will have two prints from my Metro series in the Where in the World? Exhibit at the Mpls Photo Center. The exhibit was juried by Toby Kamps, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Menil Collection in Houston. The show will be on display from October 7 through November 27, daily from 12-6 pm, and there will be an opening reception on October 14 from 7-10 pm. The Mpls Photo Center is located at 2400 North Second Street, Minneapolis, MN 55411. Phone: 612 643 3511.
  
The Mpls Center has published a 125 page 9"x9" book that features all the exhibit photos printed on 100 pound Chorus Art Silk paper. The Where in the World? book may be viewed and ordered online.

Metro Line A near Les Halles, Paris

Metro Line 1 near People's Square, Shanghai