Over its 30-year history, FotoFest’s Portfolio Review has been a launching pad for the careers of hundreds of photographic artists. Many artists have been discovered by this program and many reviewers have found new talent to exhibit, publish, collect, and represent. In 2016, FotoFest brings 165 international, professional reviewers to meet one-on-one with registered artists. They include museum curators, editors, publishers, gallerists, collectors, and photo agency representatives to review the work of 450 registered artists.
I was honored to be one of the reviewers for the 1st of 4 sessions for FotoFest’s Meeting Place Portfolio Review. This is a daily record of the 15 or so photographers work I viewed. Whether they were looking for practical results for a completed body of work, or feedback on work in progress, the Meeting Place Reviews offered the opportunity to present their portfolio to a wide range of photography professionals who could assist in their future career development.
Sarah Butler shoots with a 5X7 view camera. She writes, “it’s great as it slows me down. I love every step of the process, seeing that thing that for some reason grabs you. Shooting, unloading the film, waiting for it to be developed getting the surprise, the negatives and contact sheets, in the mail. Then in time maybe months, maybe years, something new comes to life.” Martin Holmes is a self taught photographer. After serving 4 years in the Army as a Paratrooper in the 82d Airborne, he rekindled his work with the camera in 2010. He works digitally now and he is actively creating his art-based portfolios around people and urban settings in downtown Houston. Daisy Kwan divides her time between painting and photography. Her work focus’ on color and texture and she is passionate about flowers. Tatyana Bessmertnaya arrived in the USA from Russia with two suitcases and her camera. She studied English through photography textbooks. Her work was very imaginitive. Victoria Piersig tells a contemporary tale of shipping and the perils of the sea as they exist along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Mabry Campbell is a fine art photographer from Houston, Texas. He works in black & white fused with very long exposures to create images of an altered reality shaped both by his vision and his desire to impress an initial moment of confusion upon the viewer. Vanessa Marsh “explores the intersections of man made, natural and cosmological power through a mixed media process based in photography.” Julie Mardin series features souvenir dolls from all over the world within neighborhoods of New York City. They suggest a sense of dislocation and search for one’s space, exploring the idea of the foreigner and the exotic. Check out her hand-made snow globes also. Rose Marie Cromwell, an award-winning photographer and videographer, is based between New York City, Panama, and Cuba. Yuri Boyko took up photography in early childhood with a simple Lomo camera. His work has now been shown in the US, Ukraine, and Russia. Jungkeun Park’s series is on Haenyo, women divers on Jeju Island in South Korea. They’ve been diving for their livelihoods for hundreds of years in order to survive in barren environment. Patricia Morgan photographed her series “ICE: a fragile force,” near the top of the earth in Greenland and further south in the Antarctic. Erin Malone works primarily with film, vintage, plastic and lensless cameras and in historic and alternative processes,the final print process as an extension of the intent of the imagery. Jen Barrows project explores the community where she grew up in central Maine; an area that has been hard hit by the economic downturn that continues to affect the prosperity of year round residents.
Websites:
http://sarahcbutler.com
http://www.mholmesphoto.com
http://daisykwan.com
http://www.besstphoto.com
http://www.victoriapiersig.com
http://mabrycampbell.photoshelter.com
http://www.vanessamarshfineart.com
http://www.juliemardin.com
http://www.rosemariecromwell.com
http://www.yuriboyko.com
http://www.patriciacarrmorgan.com/ice
http://www.erinmalone.com
http://jenbarrows.com/#/homestead
