Fire by contender Kora Manheimer

Ms. Wells is busy with her thesis project, so I'm going to pinch hit over here for a few days and post contenders. I'm also posting like, totally deep thoughts daily over on my other blog, Personism.

In case you haven't heard: we're now accepting entries for the Spring Edition of Hey, Hot Shot!. I'm always impressed by people who get their entries in early. I'm an incorrigible procrastinator, in spite of repeated attempts otherwise. The thing is, being early produces good results - keeps the blood pressure down, allows you to sleep at night, and in the case of HHS! it greatly increases your chances of appearing in this here Contenders category, and I'm hearing more and more that that alone can be a pretty big deal for a photographer who's looking to get some attention for their work. I'm just sayin'!

Ms. Kora Manheimer is one of our early birds. She seems to make a habit of this sort of thing. How else would she have been able to grab the plum domain name kora.com? Sweet! (I have a thing about geeky things like domain names...)

Kora's photo above is a slightly reminiscent of the classic Sternfeld house on fire shot, except for there are no pumpkins. And the fire's bigger. But you know, I see a house on fire in a photo and I think of that shot from American Prospects. Can't help it. Kora herself is also all about the American milieu. Says she:

Somehow pictures becomes a description of things we’ve already seen, an America you recognize whether you’ve experienced it firsthand or not, because that is the nature of living in the world. To have an opinion about it is futile; to ask questions about it inevitable. It is a treasure hunt with no prize.

Unlike Kora's futile treasure hunt, Hey, Hot Shot! has all kinds of prizes: a gallery show, getting published in a book (or maybe two) and cool stuff from Crumpler too. So, don't delay: be an early bird like Kora and Enter today!