Greta, Austin by Summer '07 contender Jennifer Loeber.

Having just read New York Magazine's article on the late fashion icon Isabella Blow, I am really hooked up on glamour, and the above photo by contender Jennifer Loeber strikes me as très glamorous. I grew up under the guidance of a very fashionable mother, the kind who has a different shade of lipstick for each day of the year and has never thrown out an old pair of shoes. Through my mother, who is actually a fashion designer, I became addicted to high quality fashion magazines and, more specifically, fashion photography. Loeber's photograph reminds me of a chic, on-the-go photo shoot--the kind my little girl fantasies have always put me in.

Back to the subject at hand: the Brooklyn-based Loeber began taking pictures after, and I quote, "being forced to wear pink sequined gypsy pants as a stand-in model for a high school photography class" and realizing that the other side of the lens was more appealing. Loeber says that her work is inspired by a wide range of photographers and artists, but explains that her most recent inspirations include "the evocative palette of Evelyn Hofer's portraiture" and "the subtle gestures of Rineke Dijkstra's beach series."

Loeber's photos are images of transitory moments, what she calls "the subtle turning points between past and future." She aims to capture the moment in time in which "a glimpse of an inner narrative or true spirit may be revealed." She continues:

In an increasingly corporate and media dictated world determined to unnaturally separate the human experience into black or white, I prefer to concentrate on the muddied up gray areas of neither grandeur nor debacle that make up the larger portions of most peoples lives and experiences. Although my subjects are varied, the overall focus echoes our daily expectations, our overabundance of choice, and the hidden dangers of the unknown that threaten us profoundly yet internally.

Loeber has a BFA in photography from the Massachusetts College of Art and exhibits her work regularly in Boston and New York. Most recently, she participated in a group show at New Century Artists and her first feature-length documentary Fish Kill Flea premiered at this year's South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Good luck, Jennifer!

You still have time to submit your work to the Summer edition of Hey, Hot Shot! Do it!