2011 Jurors Announced

SlowExposures is pleased to announce the jurors for 2011:

Elizabeth Biondi has served as the Visuals Editor of The New Yorker magazine since 1996, helping transform the look of the publication by collecting a group of impressive staff photographers and commissioning established masters as well as emerging talent, and utilizing portrait, fine art, and documentary photography.  Her earlier work at GEO, Stern and Vanity Fair has established her credentials as an accomplished innovative professional in the field.  In 2010, Ms. Biondi was a reviewer for the portfolio review during the show at Stricklands in Concord. 

Peter Essick has worked as a freelance photographer for the past 25 years.  His main client has been National Geographic magazine.  Essick first started at the magazine as a summer intern while studying photojournalism at the University of Missouri.  He has produced 35 stories for the magazine on a variety of topics. 

SlowExposures Winning Photos

Charlotte Weber, Train Station, Third Place

 

Joe Cattoni, Lonely Days, Second Place

 

A.E. Davidson, In the Quivering Forest, First Place



This is Not Thornton Wilder

Sometimes photographs can be viewed as a component of language, each image contributing to a larger idea. Some would call this documentary but, as usual, there is a fluid quality that defies definition. With photographs we can reach across cultural gaps and speak a direct short hand, the difficult part is not to be too simplistic or to produce cliches. In Southern Memories, I wanted to be in the middle showing a world that was neither rich or poor. Small town America is seen as the place to be...there is that disconnect that says this is where only good things happen; you know your neighbor. I found photographs of a shrinking small town where the streets at night are overwhelmed by shadows and hopelessness in seeing another soul; light makes one feel vulnerable not safe and shadows add fear.

This is an Edward Hopper town when the last of the brave or unaware have made their way home to lock doors and hide. This is the town you want to drive through quickly. Using hi-contrast and German neo-expressionist lighting David Simonton has created images that reminded one of The Night of the Hunter and the stories my parents told. These are the small southern towns we hear about and dread.


John A Bennette

In the South

As I work on Southern Memories, The South started out as a magical place like all places children inhabit absolute good and evil that change moment to moment, shadows could become creatures and even wall paper could move, shape shift if you had to stay in bed and look at it for a day or two. Home and church filled your life - that was a constant.

So there are a few of these images in the show, some of the most interesting are done by Ms Jane Robbins Kerr, a woman who took up photography later in life and burns with a passion to make pictures and to tell stories with them. I met this Georgia lady in New York when she came to see a show of Sylvia Plachy work, I heard that accent and turned around to see a ball of energy and, of course had to ask that question; where are you from? Since then I have become one of the people on her journey. Ms Kerr as four images in the exhibition the one that stands out are her groupings of churches and houses taken in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Small black and white photographs that make you aware of the basic language of structures. Simple, almost naive, as if a child had drew them. You recognize them; they reassure. If one was to look at grander building you would find these basics in some variantions it is a human thing.

Because all the pictures have the same viewpoint and central placement in the camera's frame, one feels that they fall into the tradition of Topography. This is a clean and intellectual approach to making photographs but by her arrangements of images Ms Kerr has created rhythm and magic.

Speaking of magic, when I was a child, Sunday was an all day event from Sunday school to evening service. This was not a delightful day for a child of serendipity. That is why Anderson Scott's image of an abandoned(?) church with the words "Thank God' scribbled on the back wall behind the altar brings a smile to me --makes me pause; is it a tribute to something happening, a soul saved, or the realization that church is over for the day? Photography allows you to question the moment and the details of life. Is this the interior of a church Jane R Kerr photograph on her travels through 3 southern states as she found her way home.

I hope once all the pictures of Southern Memories come together that people will try to read the stories created by these photographs being placed in a room together. To look backward to see the good and the bad of a time leaving us now as each moment we move forward.

John A. Bennette

Show Opens Friday Sept. 17

There are both ethereal and ripe landscapes...portraits of the landed and the dispossessed...the traditions that we associate with raising in the country...the inescapable intimacy of the land and the weather, and the buildings and structures that reference southern memory and culture. Our jurors, Brett Levine and Jack Spencer have done a fantastic job selecting 78 images from a total of 668 submitted for this year's show. We thank them both for putting together a thoughtful, diverse and exciting body of work. We would not have had such a exciting show without the efforts of all the photographers who entered their work.

To all entering photographers -- for your courage in putting your work out there, we thank you. The SlowExposures Committee had the opportunity to see everyone's work--we all had our favorites that we will remember always. We hope that we will get to meet you all during the two weeks of the show. It's a fantastic opportunity to learn, to enjoy the camaraderie of fellow photographers, and to see some great images. Please consider joining us for the Salon at the Whiskey Bonding Barn, the Juror's Talk...or simply enjoy making the rounds of the "big show" and the satellite shows during these last two weeks in September. Introduce yourselves--we would love to put a name and a face with your images

Sincerely,
The SlowExposures Show Committee


Photographers for 2010
Nicole Akstein, Atlanta, GA
Jerry Atnip, Nashville, TN
Anne Berry, Newnan, GA
Linda Best, The Rock, GA
Donna Black, Fayetteville, GA
Eddie Booth, Gray, GA
Matt Bower, Atlanta, GA
David Boyd, Gay, GA
Myra Bullington, Clarion, PA
Margena Burnett, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Ken Callaway, Hiram, GA
Joe Cattoni, Roswell, GA
Paul Conlan, Newnan, GA
Myrtie Cope, Smyrna, GA
Cheryl D'Amato, Atlanta, GA
A.E. Davison, Douglasville, GA
Malgorzata Florkowska, Griffin, GA
Kenny Gray, West Point, GA
Raymond Grubb, Charlotte, NC
Gary Gruby, Senoia, GA
Nattawut Guname, Suwanne, GA
Rebecca Harlan, Johnson City, TN
Cindy Hodnette, Eufaula, AL
Warren Howell, Chapel Hill, NC
Julie Ivey, Forsyth, GA
Robert Jones, Dawsonville, GA
Owen Jones, Cumming, GA
Kisa Kavass, Franklin, TN
Diane Kirkland, Atlanta, GA
Sarah Moffett, Atlanta, GA
Becton Morgan, Savannah, GA
Suzi McKibben, Hogansville, GA
Wynne Ragland, Atlanta, GA
Brook Reynolds, Charlotte, NC
Breanne Sanders, Hiram, GA
Anderson Scott, Atlanta, GA
Rob Simmons, Atlanta, GA
Rita Songer, Cumming, GA
Phillip Spears, Fayetteville, GA
John Sumner, Atlanta, GA
Ellen Tew, Thomaston, GA
Colton Vincent, Atlanta, GA
Anne Walker, Peachtree City, GA
Chris Walker, Auburn, AL
Charlotte Weber, Barnesville, GA
Michael Weeks, Columbus, GA
Haley West, Sardis, MS

Pines

The things you love sometime go unnoticed until you let your mind wander or stop thinking at all. That moment came to me when I saw Pines by Donna Rosser. All of a sudden I remembered my attachment to trees. The years of laying beneath them reading, dreaming or talking with friends. The awareness that some trees and forests of the south are cathedrals reach reaching up with focused effort to be with the sun while creating pools and shadows of protection beneath their canopies. For many years I rode through and by forests and trees when I took the Silver Crescent which created a different view often blurred sometimes close as leaves and branches pressed against panes of glass. The tall pine trees were struggling in a sea of rope like plants. Then I could see the real world was just blue and green and that world was at war too. In New York I am lucky there is a strip of forest primeval across the street and below my window is a well maintained garden. In front of my apartment building there stand two magnolias. So I do not miss trees, I just never experience them until I come home. Then I walk among them look up thorough and see light.
John A Bennette

About Snow

A good life will have structure, order and tradition but a great life will also include moments of serendipity, music and magic. This image SNOW by Jo Lynn Still for me represents the great life. I started to look at Jo Lynn's photographs at Atlanta Celebrates Photography in 2006 and our paths crossed over the years, but I could not find a way to contact her until Facebook and while flipping through her many fine photographs this one stopped me. I knew that I wanted it in my southern show and over time it moved to center stage. How can snow be a southern memory, ask any child that has looked out of a window in wonder, ask any child that has run and laughed for an hour with cold crystals falling all around in an alien landscape. One of my primal memories as a child was my first snow in the fifties in Birmingham Alabama my parents brought me my first Brownie Camera. We made a sad snowman .... This is a happy photograph, we look up at a brilliant blue sky our heads tilted back, maybe our tongues are trying to catch the snow. Flakes and laughter brushing against our cheeks -- what a memory because it is all gone, fleeting except for this picture at this moment.

John A. Bennette

From Jo Lynn....I am Jo Lynn Still , a mostly self-taught photographer and a self-described emotional shooter. I was born and raised in what was once called the Kaolin Capital of The World: Washington County, Georgia. I will always call this place home. One of my goals as an artist is to prove that success can be obtained from a rural location. This will take meeting individuals that have access to the art world outside of my comfort zone. Portfolio reviews are invaluable sources of contacts and critique. I have made a wonderful contact and friend through a portfolio review and a Slow Exposures photography salon. Several years ago at my first portfolio review I met Manhattan based John A. Bennette: curator, collector and critic . His honest critique of my work encouraged me to keep shooting. I thank him for that particular 20 minutes of attention back in 2006. And I especially thank him for including 3 of my images in his “Southern Memories:Part One” exhibition. This opportunity is payoff for years of shooting. I seldom arrange the subjects of my images and I can easily lose inspiration if I get bogged down in technique. Some believe this is a weakness and I will be the first to agree that I’m just not that good at producing a “perfect photograph”. John’s eye sees beyond my short-comings and that feels great! It’s similar to the feeling I had while photographing our snow-fall in February 2010. Snow can make a southerner revert to childhood in a flash. For me, snow conjures images of getting out of school early, rushing to the grocery store to get bread and milk before the shelves were empty and playing for hours in what little snow fell. The milk, of course, was for making snow ice cream. One of my photographs John chose for the exhibition is SNOW. If you look at SNOW and imagine that I was dancing around in the woods with my camera, randomly pointing it towards the sky and laughing, you are correct. A combination of emotion and equipment produced an image of sheer happiness frozen in time (no pun intended). I am excited about the exhibition. I look forward to meeting photography fans and fellow photographers. Thank you John A. Bennette and Slow Exposures Photography

Salon

SlowExposures has assembled an interesting panel of photography professionals for the third annual Salon. In less than two weeks, you will have an outstanding opportunity to hear from and communicate with experts in the field of Fine Art Photography. This is an opportunity not to be missed! Our panelists for the 2010 Salon are John Bennette, curator and lecturer, NYC; Tony Cassadonte, director of the Lumiere Gallery, Atlanta; Gary Gruby, fine art and commercial photographer, Senoia; and Rob McDonald, fine art photographer and book author, Lexington, VA.

The SlowExposures Salon begins on Sunday, September 19 at 1:00 with a picnic lunch. The Salon is scheduled from 2:30 until 4:00. The Salon will be held at the historic Whiskey Bonding Barn in Molena where you can view John Bennette’s satellite show “Southern Memories Inside Out”. To sign up for the Salon, please visit our website at http://www.slowexposures.org/. If you prefer, you may sign up for the Salon by visiting A Novel Experience or by contacting Harriet Moultrie (use the contact form on the Salon page of the SlowExposures website.)

(Photograph by Ellen Tew, 2009 Salon)

Southern Memories

Southern Memories : Part One is not only about the South or memory, for me it is also dedicated to the artists who participate in making photographs that allow us to stop; to see, and in seeing reflect about our world inside and out. This year SlowExposures will be doing their first photo reviews. I am often asked about the benefits of reviews and juried shows. I believe they are necessary for an artist to be seen because most photographic artists do not have easy access to their audience. A lot of them work alone without the benefit of galleries or magazines to show and promote their work. Today there are websites and self publication to help, but where does an artist go for dialog, to be where people are responding.

Many artists, once they leave school, do not have a community of support. Some of these artists travel around the country to be a part of the floating, photographic, artist community which SlowExposures is becoming a part of. Like most creative things we apply value to, we often forget the dedicated person who strives to produce an artwork and continuously create with little financial rewards or great public acclaim. I always think of artists in a religious sense, or like the wise virgins working for that moment that is never guaranteed -- but you have to be ready.

More than 60 percent of the artists of Southern Memories were discovered at photo reviews held since 2000. Their images were strong enough for me to remember and to keep in contact with the artist. Some of the photographers have entered juried shows including SlowExposure, others I met while at events like this one. But it is the quality and the power of the image that they created that makes for their being included in this exhibition. Southern Memories started as an organic process and shifted enough to make me rethink some of my childhood memories. I always thought that my childhood was bright and idyllic but the 45 photographs in this exhibition have me wondering what was real and what was glamor; questioning why I only saw light and not the shadows and secrets. The artists who come from as far away as Shanghai and England and as close as Georgia, a few towns away, opened my eyes and heart.

Southern Memories : Part One started out as a lark an idea I had about the power of photography to evoke and assist memory. I often am amazed by people who can remember all the details of their life -- date, time, and temperature. I, on the other hand, feel emotion and broad strokes. My first remembered Christmas contains a few details like peppermint candy, oranges and nuts in a shoe box (stocking), and a haze of every gift a boy could want in 1952 being under a tree. I remember my trip downtown -- a downtown that was festooned for the holidays; store windows with moving toys, something new and magical. But over it all I remember being very happy while everything around me was sad, bleak, gray. The light was near perfect; cold, crisp, and winter blue but Birmingham Alabama was not Thornton Wilder's small town. Still I grew up to love Christmas.

Paul Conlan in Southern Spaces Katrina Exhibition

For the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the online journal, Southern Spaces, has announced the publication of Katrina + 5: An X-Code Exhibition by Dorothy Moye.

In an earlier commentary for Southern Spaces, Dorothy Moye described the widespread use of the X-code, an iconic graphic applied by search-and-rescue teams in 2005 post-Katrina New Orleans. In this virtual exhibition, Moye presents X-code images selected from the work of more than twenty-five photographers in the intervening five years. Visually striking and emotionally compelling, the X-code speaks through its sheer numbers, its rhythmic repetition across the curving network of city streets, its narrative traces of ciphered messages, and its graphic directness.

Paul Conlan, a principal with the SlowExposures committee and featured photographer in the show, has 13 photos included in this work, including images from the Lower Ninth Ward, Bywater, Faubourg Marigny and French Quarter areas of New Orleans. Note that due to the large number of photos and photo slide shows incorporated in this work it takes awhile for the online document to fully load. Be sure to scroll through the slide shows.

Debbie Fleming Caffery: Katrina Images

“Restore Trinity: An Exhibition of Katrina Images,” featuring the work of Debbie Fleming Caffery, Mario Tama, (Getty Images) and Lee Celano,(Reuters) will be presented by Camp Restore Friday, August 27 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the still-damaged Trinity Lutheran Church, 5234 North Claiborne in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward.

The photographers will donate work that will be auctioned on online to help restore Trinity-Claiborne. Proceeds will be dedicated toward efforts to restore Trinity-Claiborne, which remains damaged after flooding with 12 feet of water during Hurricane Katrina. Camp Restore hopes to reestablish Trinity as a multipurpose community center and place of worship by Easter, 2012.

Please check out a slide show of my work on Time Magazines web site this weekend from my series “Religion in Ruins,” and the “Destruction of St. Bernard Projects” and some samples from my new handmade book of Katrina images edited by Jack Woody on my web site. This weekend we will celebrate the great will and spirit of New Orleans residents while we mourn the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. We will remember what still needs to be done in Louisiana and the people we all need to help.

Debbie Fleming Caffery: Visual Storytelling

New workshop scheduled with Debbie Fleming Caffery: Visual Storytelling, October 21-24, 2010.

This workshop invites photographers to explore a unique and challenging intersection, one that is fundamental to the nature of photography- images that document the world from a personal perspective.

Famous for her remarkably poetic and insightful documentary portraits, Debbie Fleming Caffery shares her wealth of experience, techniques and unique personal approaches to the special relationship that exists between the photographer and the subject, and the world at large. Open to all levels, this four-day workshop prepares participants working in black and white or color photography to observe and respond to the poetic possibilities that are present in each moment.
Through daily morning discussions and reviews of works in progress followed by afternoon shooting sessions, participants hone their skills, capture emotional content, and create memorable images in a legendary New Orleans neighborhood.

Famous for its friendly, eccentric and colorful characters, the French Quarter over its nearly 300-year history has inspired artists and writers from Edgar Degas and Walker Evans to William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and any number of others whose creativity was sparked by its diverse and individualistic inhabitants. Mime artists and street performers, exotic dancers and drag queens, blues singers and fortunetellers all contribute to the heady mix of a neighborhood known for round the clock street life. Debbie also covers the practical aspects of the photographer's tool kit: camera systems, lenses, film selection and printing, as well as the possibilities posed by the final result, for instance, a book, an exhibition or a portfolio of images.

This workshop prepares each photographer to enter the field with an active eye, heart, and mind, ready to observe and respond to poetic possibilities present in each moment. There are daily discussions and reviews of work in progress, as well as shooting assignments designed to help participants hone their abilities to recognize and capture emotional content and create memorable images. Participants should be confident working on their own as each student works on a project for the duration of the workshop.

Participants are encouraged to research possible subjects prior to arrival and come ready to continue to research with an open mind upon their arrival.

A portfolio is required for admission.

Diane Kirkland

Diane Kirkland graduated from the University of Alabama with a BFA in Art and an emphasis in Photography. After school she worked for many years with the State of Georgia as the marketing photographer for tourism, industry and film production within the state. Her job was to produce the images used in Georgia’s advertising campaigns, promotional publications, and travel features for newspapers and magazines (domestic as well as international).

Diane was also the exclusive photographer for two large photographic books: “Oglethorpe’s Dream, A Picture of Georgia” and “Democracy Restored, A History of the Georgia State Capitol”. For the past few years she has been working as a freelance photographer with a special emphasis on natural landscapes and historic preservation. Diane has been selected by a juried panel to join the Georgia Council for the Arts, the Fulton County Arts Council and the Southern Arts Federation, which is a multi-media internet registry that spotlights outstanding artists who live and work in the South.

Diane was recently awarded the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Artist in Residence grant for Ossabaw Island, and have had the opportunity to return several times to continue my photographic exploration of this remote and beautiful place. During the month of September Diane Kirkland's photography will be on display at A Novel Experience in Zebulon, Georgia. A reception for the show is scheduled for September 18, 6 to 8pm. Also at this reception is a double book signing featuring Kathryn Kolb and Rob McDonald.

SlowExposures Salon

The third annual SlowExposures Salon is now accepting registrations. The Salon is limited to the first 30 people who register. Don’t miss out on an exciting opportunity to discuss “The Business of Photography” with our panel of experts. The Salon will be held from 2:30 until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 19. We will begin with a picnic lunch at 1:00 p.m. at the Whiskey Bonding Barn in Molena.

We are pleased to have participating in our panel this year, four experts exhibiting a range of talents in the field of photography. Our 2010 panel consists of John Bennette, curator and lecturer, NYC; Tony Cassadonte, director of the Lumiere Gallery, Atlanta; Gary Gruby, fine art and commercial photographer, Senoia; and Rob McDonald, fine art photographer and book author, Lexington, VA. With a panel of this caliber, SlowExposures Salon 2010 promises to be a stimulating one for our local photographers!

Our experts look forward to answering your questions and sharing their knowledge with you. For more information and to register for the Salon, please visit our website at http://www.slowexposures.org/.

(Shown above are Jody Iodice, moderator, and panelists Julian Cox, John Bennette, and Sylvia Plachy from our 2009 Salon.)

The Joy of Farming

This September, Griffin photographer, Malgorzata Florkowska, presents a collection of her original photographs at J. Michaels, 130 South Hill Street, to complement the annual SlowExposures juried exhibition that celebrates photography of the rural south.

A native of Poland, Malgosia (to her numerous friends) began pursuing her interest in photography six years ago when her new life in the South exposed her to Georgia’s red clay and rural farming community.

In 2007, her photograph “Ties that Bind,” won First Place in SlowExposures. In 2008 she curated “Horsing Around….,” an equine related photography exhibition. A year later, she published her first photography book, “The Joy of Farming.” In 2009, she was a juror for “Puppy Love” and this year her “Forgotten Luxury” has been accepted into the 2010 SlowExposures exhibition.

“Last April, I published “The Joy of Farming.” In the book, I selected over sixty photographs of rural Georgia including people, animals, landscapes and old agricultural structures and equipment.

I have chosen twenty-four images from that book to show at J. Michael’s next month. All photographs are in black and white and will be for sale at the frameshop in historic downtown Griffin.

This Fall marks the eighth year of SlowExposures --- September 17th through September 26th, 2010. The free photo exhibition is held annually at the R. L. Strickland Building in Concord, Georgia.

For more information, please call J. Michael’s at 770-467-0025.

Portfolio Review -- a few spots left!

As previously posted, SlowExposures has added a portfolio review to the events during the show. This review is limited and the slots are filling fast. To make sure you have a place at the table, sign up through the website by clicking on Portfolio Review and following the steps.

The review includes 20 minutes with each of the 5 reviewers: Sylvia Plachy, fine art photographer, NYC; John Bennette, collector and curator, NYC; Elizabeth Biondi, Visuals Editor, The New Yorker, NYC; Elizabeth Turk, professor, Savannah College of Art and Design; Brett Levine, Director of the Visual Arts Gallery, University of Alabama, Birmingham.

Some tips for those interested in the review:

1. Select 10 to 20 images of your best work; keep them a manageable size.
2. Present the images in print form in a book or portfolio box.
3. Begin working on the portfolio right now, think about it, add and delete photos to be sure that your images presented are the best. Do not wait to put this collection together.
4. Remember 20 minutes goes by quickly -- bring something to take notes.
5. Be consistent, edit, have work from one or two bodies of work.
6. Be prepared to discuss the work.
7. If you choose to have a leave behind, a CD is nice -- make sure it is representative of your art.

Portfolio Review at SlowExposures

For the first time -- this year -- SlowExposures is offering a portfolio review during the two week event. All information for the event is on the SlowExposures website. Click "portfolio review" at the top of the homepage to read about it and to sign up. There are a few spots left.

You will see that one of the reviewers listed is Julian Cox of the High Museum in Atlanta. It was recently announced that Julian Cox is leaving Atlanta in August for an amazing opportunity in California. We wish him nothing but the best! However, his departure left a space to fill -- SlowExposures needed another reviewer. Who?

The question can now be answered -- Elisabeth Biondi! Elisabeth is the visuals editor for The New Yorker Magazine. Everyone at Slow is very pleased that she is a part of this event. What a thrill to have her review portfolios!

In the Hands of the Jurors

Thank you to all who shared photos with us. We understand the experience of entering a juried competition. One hundred fourteen photographers entered this year -- 57 new and 57 returning. SlowExposures has become such a national show, we received entries from 13 states and 36 cities in Georgia.

This year we decided to only have one category and to allow up to six entries per photographer. Most photographers entered the maximum number -- although a few entered less. It is going to be a tough job for the jurors to choose the photos for the show from the great group of entries that we have.

It was an interesting time -- to make the leap to all online entry and we appreciate everyone's patience during some of the work throughs -- especially those volunteers with the show providing assistance to photographers not used to the automated system. Notifications for the show will go out at the beginning of August.

Good luck to all -- and mark your calendars for the events during September. Check the website for all events scheduled. We are adding a portfolio review this year and some spaces are still available.

What Is SlowExposures?

During the past couple of weeks I have heard this question. Many people want to know what kind of photos should they enter, what type of work is usually in the show, just what 'is' SlowExposures?

SlowExposures began in 2003 as a way to showcase the rural south -- as it is and as it is perceived. The show is fulled with diverse fine art photography submitted by photographers from many states. Some of those photographers live in the rural south, others simply love to visit. As a show SlowExpsoures is evolving, just as photographers' work evolves. This year the entry procedure is completely online making it easier for everyone to get their entries in before the deadline. We have heard many stories of photographers rushing to the post office at the last minute to make it in before the cut off postmark date passes.

Another change for 2010 is the combination of the categories. In the past, there was a separate category for photographs taken in the West Central Georgia geographic area. Now SlowExposures has one category -- the southeast. No more dragging a map out to see if your photo fits the WCG area!

Back to the question of what photos should one enter. That is always such a personal choice for the photographer. Usually it is nice to view a show -- just to see what is there. Depending on the juror, visions can be slightly different; but the overall feel of the show remains. If you are interested in getting that entry in -- remember the deadline is June 15 at midnight -- and you have not been to the exhibit before, you can preview the 2009 showbook at blurb by clicking this link. The SlowExposures website has a gallery of images from last year's events and the winning images.

The exhibit returns to the newly renovated R.F. Strickland Building in Concord this year. Make plans to attend the show and events. It is going to be a great year!

Brett M. Levine, Slow Exposures 2010 Juror

Brett M. Levine is the director of the Visual Arts Gallery of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He is the former Team Leader, Collection Programs, at the Dowse Art Museum, Wellington, New Zealand. Over the past decade, he has curated photography exhibitions by Jane Hammond, Joyce Tenneson, and John Waters among others. He has written for numerous publications, including Art Papers, Object, Art New Zealand, the New Zealand Journal of Photography and Ubris, he has presented at the Society of Photographic Educator's annual conference. His curatorial interests include photography of the moving object, as well as digital and time-based media.

Jack Spencer, Slow Exposures 2010 Juror

Jack Spencer was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi and raised in Louisiana. He is a self-taught American photographer whose first monograph, Native Soil, explored the people and landscapes of his native South.

His work includes "Apariciones" based on three years in Mexico, and the Lost Boys series which examined the lived of the young men displaced from the Sudan who relocated to the Nashville area. Jack was instrumental in establishing the Lost Boys of Sudan Foundation that is committed to the reunification and living enhancement of these young men.

Recognized as an accomplished photographer, Jack is also known as a prolific traveler who avoids interstate highways and does his best to get lost on back country roads. He is represented by leading contemporary photography galleries in the United States and his work hangs in collections throughout the country and abroad.

Hands in Harmony - Tim Barnwell

Hands in Harmony is a photographic exploration of the makers of Appalachian folk music and traditional handcrafts by photographer Tim Barnwell. The exhibition includes approximately 30 black-and-white photographic portraits of well-known figures in the Appalachian music and crafts communities and images of some who are not as well known.

The images are drawn from Barnwell's three decades in photography. They speak to the beauty and uniqueness of handmade objects and their creators as well as the musical heritage carried on by the traditional musicians of the region.

Barnwell (1955 - ) was born in Franklin, North Carolina. He started taking photographs at age 10, when he bought a camera from his uncle. He served as Executive Director of the Appalachian Photographic Workshops based in Asheville, NC from 1980 to 1988. Barnwell's background is photojournalism: he has had over 60 articles and 1,000 photographs published to date. Barnwell was the juror for Slow Exposures in 2009 as well as presenting a workshop during the show.

Barnwell's work has been widely exhibited and is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asheville Art Museum, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Greenville County Museum of Art, Western Carolina University, Mars Hill College and R.J. Reynolds Industries. His book, Hands in Harmony: Traditional Crafts and Music in Appalachia was published by W.W. Norton Books in fall 2009 and is available in the Museum Shop.

This exhibition was organized and curated by the Asheville Art Museum. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Asheville Eye Associates, John and Joan Dickson, the Judy Appleton Memorial Fund, f/32 Photography Group, Suzanne and Stephen Jones, Ann and Ted Oliver, and Ms. Sally Kennedy. Image credit: Tim Barnwell, Rowena Bradley Making Double Weave Rivercane Baskets, 1991, black and white silver gelatin print, 14 x 11 inches. 2009 Art Nouveaux Purchase. Asheville Art Museum Collection.

Southern Memory Part I Inside and Out

John Bennette presents a special exhibition at the Whiskey Bonding Barn during the Slow Exposures exhibit.

Are most contemporary photographers of the south haunted by Christenberry, Evans, and McLaughlin or is something else at work? The land itself is a character that overwhelms and seems always ready for its moment. You cannot get away from history. Memories are soaked into the land and the people who dwell on that land.

It is easy to fall into dreams and reverie. Looking at southern light and shadows summon shifting memories; sight exposes you to voices from the past. Photography has one of its many definitions as fixing a shadow. Southern Memories Inside and Out is an essay about my memories as a son of the South who has left but still returns.

It combines images from a number of sources, from local to international artists who at some time came to the south and felled under its spell. There are dualities to this exhibition. Artists in the exhibit will include:

• William Chambers
• Brenda Fayard
• Rob Hann
• Jessica Hines
• Jane Robbins Kerr
• Joanna Knox
• Donna Rosser
• Anderson Scott
• Jerry Siegel
• Jo Lynn Still
• Hai Zhang
• and others....

John Bennette hails from Alabama and began collecting photography, with a remarkedly good eye, 30 years ago while living and working in New York City where he still resides. Today his collection of 350 photographs is the evny of many a curator and museum. When not browsing for his next acquisition, Mr. Bennette teaches a course in collecting at the New School in New York City, travels the world lecturing at institutions, and advises up-and-coming photographers on their portfolios. Slow Exposures was honored to have Mr. Bennette as a juror for the 2005 show and a workshop instructor in 2007 and 2009.

Peter Essick at Serenbe Photography Center

This Friday night National Geographic photographer, Peter Essick, speaks on the challenging environmental issues of our time. You will hear about his experiences and see photos he took to convey the impact of events on our environment. After the presentation, have dinner with Essick and discuss photography with other Serenbe Photography Center photographers.

On Saturday, Essick takes you on a full-day assignment to prime locations along the endangered Flint River. Beginning in Thomaston you will have the chance to photograph the place where palmettos, Spanish moss, and rare spider lilies meet mountain laurel and azalea -- illustrating the transition from piedmont to coastal plain. You will also photograph a farm that will be impacted by the proposed dam on the river.

Use the links to view complete details on both events. Also check out the complete workshop and event schedule for the Serenbe Photography Center.

Spicy Gumbo Photo Workshop

Debbie Fleming Caffery has announced a photography workshop based out of her family home in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. This workshop is for the intermediate to advanced photographer looking to immerse themselves in the art of storytelling with traditional photography and creative audio narrative. Under the guidance of master photographers Debbie Caffery and Carlan Tapp, participants will work in the heart of Louisiana's Cajun Country -- home to Debbie.

Debbie is a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute and highly regarded for her fine art and documentary work. She has received many awards and published a book, Carry Me Home, documenting the Louisiana sugar industry. Her photos are in many public collections including The Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Bibliotecque Nationale in Paris.

Carlan Tapp is a photojournalist and educator dedicated to documenting social and environmental issues that define our time. He studied photography at Art Center College of Design. Carlan has worked with the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service to document social impact on public lands. His photographs have been published in various newspapers and magazines. He teaches workshops with the Santa Fe Workshops and National Geographic Expeditions. Carlan's photographs are in collections in the U.S., China, Australia, and Spain.

It's Almost May....

...do you know what you will enter?

When a call for entries for a photo show goes out -- one that you are interested in -- it is a task to weed through the many photos you have in various folders on your computer and/or external hard drives. We have heard from some photographers about their tips on weeding through.

• keep a folder on your computer to stash "maybes" as you take them for future competitions and exhibits that you know and are familiar with
• create a folder for each exhibit of interest, only place photos for that show's theme in it
• if you have not entered a show before, check the website for past show photos and compare your subject matter to this, see if the show has a theme
• make prints of your selections, what can look great on a computer sometimes does not look so hot printed -- and vice versa
• enter what you love

Don't let the deadline sneak up on you -- start weeding through your photos and take advantage of the online entry process.

Slow Nature

Nature Undisturbed is a juried photography exhibit ending April 25. Above is a photo of many volunteers for Slow Exposures at the opening reception for Nature Undisturbed. Front row (l to r) Malgorzata Florkowska, Andrea Noel, Linda Best. Back row (l to r) Joe McKaughan, Nancy McCrary, Paul Conlan, Chris Curry, Cynthia Pavey, Donna Rosser, and Harriet Moultrie.

There is a lot of interest in photography and the arts in the southern crescent area of Atlanta. Many of the photographers featured in Nature Undisturbed are new to this type of show. They are very interested in entering their work in Slow Exposures as well. Visit the new Slow Exposures website to read about the 2010 show and to submit your entry online.

Coming up on the blog is information on the jurors and events for Slow Exposures 2010. Deadline for entries is June 15.

Call for Entries

The call for entries to submit work for our eighth annual photography exhibition in Pike County, Georgia is out. Slow Exposures invites photographers to submit up to 6 images. Deadline to enter is midnight, June 15, 2010.

As always, SlowExposures features images of the rural South.

We are pleased to welcome photographer Jack Spencer from Nashville, Tennessee and Brett Levine, Director of the Visual Arts Gallery, University of Alabama, Birmingham as our 2010 jurors.

For the first time, our entry process is completely electronic and can be accessed by going to the website. Click this link to go directly to our new website. Click on "Call For Entry" at the bottom to submit photos for the show. Please take some time to look over the website; check out the other events. This year Slow Exposures is adding a portfolio review.

Bookmark this blog and check back often to read about the show, the people involved, and all things Slow Exposures.