Holly Lynton | Solid Ground : Hymenoptera

This isn't specifically Hey, Hot Shot! related, but it is fabulous gallery-related news! The excellent Vince Aletti writes about Holly Lynton's exhibition Solid Ground in this week's edition of The New Yorker.

HOLLY LYNTON

Exploring the possibilities for fantasy in her own back yard, Lynton turns it into a wild kingdom for a series of color photographs that assume the point of view of a playful and inquisitive child. Lynton's nearly naked little girl and a bare-chested friend take on a fairy-tale presence in a landscape rendered mysterious by worm's-eye-view closeups. He's a giant seen through a scrim of leaves; she's a sprite, crouching to catch a sprinkler's spray in her mouth. But some of the most intriguing images are unpopulated: a tunnel in the snow; a bird caught behind the netting on a raspberry bush; leaves, petals, dead bees, and dry ice floating in a plastic pool. Through Oct. 28. (Bekman, 6 Spring St. 212-219-0166.)

Space is very limited, so please RSVP: rsvp AT jenbekman DOT com. The show remains on view through Saturday October 28, and the gallery is open Wednesday - Sunday from noon - 6pm or by appointment.

Lydia on Her Bike by Nick Meyer

Nick Meyer knows how to have fun and luckily the camera gets to play part in it. On a cold and windy New York City night his green grass, good times, and hip friends are looking rather enticing. In his words...

They are photographs that toe the line between formal portraits and simple snapshots. They are between city and country. The images are between joyous and brooding. These are all things I believe to be true about my work, but in the end I have a group of friends that like to relax, go swimming, drink beer and be with one another, just like you do.

Joe as Jack by Siri Kaur

Perhaps it is just because Halloween is right around the corner or that I am a Jack fan just as Joe... But of this image, I am quite the fan. Siri Kaur loves strangers and, even more, working with them to get that perfectly odd portrait.

I do not objectively record a situation; rather, I subjectively create an alternate universe unique to each photograph. These images are my fantasies about the lives of people who willingly invite me into their homes. My strangers are eager participants in the fantasy we create together.

Keep it up, Siri! Check back from now until the quickly approaching deadline for my aspiring HHS pick of the day. Get your entries in, I want to see what you've got.

He's the hand that guides so many of us through the quickly condensing photographic-web, the man who consistently brings us new artists to ogle and old favorites to rehash. He's the one we can depend on for genuine thoughts and opinions, the one who brings us outstanding interviews and always keeps us entertained. He's a photographer, a thinker, a writer, a blogger, and an astrophysicist. He's a staple for us all, the photography/life/art/culture blogger of bloggers, and the mind behind Conscientious—Joerg Colberg, our Special Guest Panelist for Hey, Hot Shot! Fall 2006.

In his own words...

I was born on 15 February 1968 in what was then West Germany. I wish I could write that my interest in photography started when I found an old camera as a little boy. But alas, that didn't happen. Instead of using it I took it apart when it didn't work. In this spirit of wanting to know how things work - instead of being creative - I went to school and university. Eventually I ended up with a Ph.D. in theoretical astrophysics, a degree that doesn't have all that many applications in one's daily life (but, hey, it's quite interesting). In a sense I could write that I turned to photography after I had learned how - literally - the Universe worked, except that that's also just partly true (but it sounds good). In any case, I picked up photography at around the age of 30, again by chance. This time I had to buy a camera, because apparently there are only so many free cameras in one's life time. In parallel to learning how to take photos (by making each and every mistake that one could possibly make) I started compiling a weblog about contemporary photography, Conscientious. I guess it would have been harder to pick up theoretical astrophysics at the age of 30, so I'm not complaining.

We are thrilled to have Joerg on board and along for the Hey, Hot Shot! ride. This November he joins our amazing group of panelists in looking at your work. We are four weeks away from deadline, so get it in and let Joerg be the judge!

So October has arrived, the chilly weather is here to stay, and less than one month remains to submit your work to the Fall and final edition of Hey, Hot Shot! 2006. Many a masterpiece is made when the weather is warm; we want to see what you've been up to.

Get it in, get it out there, get it seen.
Deadline: November 7, 2006

Apply Now!

As for me, allow me to introduce myself. I am Alice, the newest edition to the uber-cool, intelligent, bad ass, and beautiful Jen Bekman pack. And I will be your guide through the Hey, Hot Shot! excitement. Stay tuned for daily updates, pictures, fun facts, and other tidbits I decide to throw your way as we get closer and closer to the deadline.

Looking forward to it all.

If ever a question, comment, an ache or a pain, just email yours truly @ alice AT jenbekman DOT com

Untitled by Rebecca Smeyne

All you photobloggers and readers out there, the Apple store in SoHo will be hosting NYC Photobloggers 8 starting at 6:30pm tomorrow followed by an after party. Some of the speakers include Winter '06 Hot Shot, Rebecca Smeyne, and Summer '06 Hot Shot, Kara Canal. Many of our own Hot Shots have been invited to speak in past events at the Apple store. Get there early because I'm sure the place will be packed!

Installation View from the Summer '06 Edition of Hey, Hot Shot! Check out the whole set.

It's that time again: we're now accepting entries for the Fall Edition of Hey, Hot Shot!. This is your last chance to enter this year - in mid-December we'll be announcing this year's Ne Plus Ultra winners. Here are all the important dates for the Fall Edition:

Entry Deadline: Tuesday November 7, 2006. Fall Edition Finalists Announced: Monday November 20, 2006. Fall Showcase Opening Reception: Wednesday December 6, 2006. Fall Showcase Dates: December 7, 8, 9 + 10, 2006.

Check out Hey, Hot Shot! homepage for more details, or Apply Now!

Untitled by Alison Grippo

Our Spring '06 Hot Shot, Alison Grippo was awarded with a Honorable Mention from the LUCIE Awards, from the International Photographer of the Year Competition. She received honorable mention in two categories, Fine Art: Other, and People: Lifestyle. Congrats to Alison!

Alison has a great portfolio website that displays her photographic series using Flash with music incorporated. The photograph above is also featured in her photo book, Uninterrupted, which is on sale now at Lulu.com.

Sidenote: Tomorrow is the last day to view this Summer's Hey, Hot Shot showcase! So hop on a train and see the show!

Untitled by Sara Macel

T-minus 3 hours until the Summer edition of Hey, Hot Shot opening reception! The reception will be from 6-8 p.m. and refreshments will be provided by the awesome people over at Crumpler.

The showcase will be on view until September 10, 2006 so be sure to come on by and support these great photographers.

Untitled by Raul Gutierrez

Our Spring '06 Hot Shot, Raul Gutierrez, has an amazing solo show opening next week at the Nelson Hancock Gallery in Brooklyn. The show will display his series entitled Travels Without Maps and documents the people and places he encountered in the territories on both sides of China's Western borders. These photographs document worlds that are slowly being erased by modernity and Raul has spent years traveling into these regions to learn more about the people who live there.

Travels Without Maps: Images from China's Western Frontiers
The Nelson Hancock Gallery, September 14 - October 28, 2006

Reception for the Artist:
Thursday, September 14, 2006
6-8 p.m.

Go to this show, I'm sure it will be incredible!

Summer '05 Hot Shot, Noah Kalina, has been taking a picture of himself everyday since January 11, 2000. He recently compiled a video to put together a time lapse of the past 6 years. You can see the subtle changes of the background and the changes of his sometimes wild hair. Here is the video posted by Noah on Vimeo, a great personal video sharing website.

Everyday on Vimeo

The video has been circulating throughout the internet along with another video, of the same concept but different execution by Ahree Lee.

Spring '06 Hot Shot, Andrea Chu, Jeff Liao, and former Hot Shot Honorable Mention Erica Shires in The Daily News

The Daily News recently wrote an article about three Pratt alumni, all graduated within the past five years, who have been named by Photo District News as among the Top 30 Photographers to Watch this year. Spring 2006 Hot Shot, Andrea Chu is among the three named in the article and said she looked up to the emerging 30 when she was in school. She felt extremely humbled to be selected.

PDN has an amazing selection is a great source of inspiration and motivation for young photographers! Surely, it has to be bookmarked!

The showcase for the Summer edition of Hey, Hot Shot is coming up soon. Mark your dates for Wednesday, September 6, 2006 for the opening reception!

Empty Kmart on 27th Street by Kate Bingaman

The time has come to announce the finalists for this Summer edition's Hey, Hot Shot! competition!

The Summer Edition Showcase will open with a reception for the artists on the evening of Wednesday September 6, 2006, from 6-8pm. The showcase will be on view Thursday, September 7th and will remain on view through Sunday, September 10th, 2006.

Without further ado, we present to you the Summer 2006 Hot Shots:
Kate Bingaman
Ernie Button
Kara Canal
Sam Gezari
Brandon Herman
Matthew Kime
Sara Macel
Matthew Nighswander
James Rajotte
Nadia Sablin

We've compiled a Flickr set of all the images submitted by our Hot Shot Winners!

Special thanks go to our awesome, fabulous and excellent panelists for their insight humor and hard work, as well as our special guest panelists Jay DeFoore and Amit Gupta. Finally, thanks to all the other people who helped make it happen: Amani Olu and Jeff Kirsch for their research and technical prowess, Jesse Chan-Norris for hosting our panel meetings, Lauren Cerand for PR support, and also just for being her amazing self and last but not least the fabulous intern, Jane Tam for doing double duty being editor for both the Hey, Hot Shot! blog and Jen Bekman blog.

It's always tough to narrow it down to the final ten, so we're also happy to include a list of great photographers in our honorable mentions category:

Barbara Salinas, Shannon Taggart, Erika Larsen, Marc McAndrews, Juliana Beasley, Don Simon, Orrie King, Nayan Sthankiya, Katie Watson, Michelle Vitiello, Jessica Roberts, Mathew Spolin, Jonathan Feinstein, Brett Bell, Aaron Hraba, Michael Bahler-Rose, Tania Camille Nasser, Travis Huggett, Danelle Manthey, Jay Parkinson, Jason Lazarus, Duane Dugas, Joan Cuenco, Derek Powazek, Beth Fladung, Svetlana Bahchevanova, Sesthasak Boonchai, Maureen Drennan, Jane Noel, Travis Ruse, Liz Danahey, Mikael Kennedy, and Sarah Madsen.

Thank you to all that participated in this competition!

Wedding Dresses, Columbus, Mississippi by Kate Bingaman

Kate Bingaman

Currently residing in: Starkville, MS

Website: http://www.obsessiveconsumption.com

Work Statement:
I take photos of consumption. I started by taking photographs of my trash and other people's trash and then moved to taking photographs of everything that I bought (for 28 months). I take pictures in thrift stores, empty stores, full stores and people in stores. I don't think I will stop.

The photos I am submitting were taken in an empty K-Mart in Lincoln, Nebraska, a shopping cart factory in Plattsmouth, Nebraska and a thrift store in Columbus, Mississippi.

Bio:
I was born in Wisconsin, grew up in Missouri, worked as a graphic designer in Omaha, received my MFA at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in 2004 and am now an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Mississippi State University.

I started taking pictures when my mom gave me a camera when I was eight. I mostly took pictures of Saturday morning cartoons.

Grape Nuts Dune #7 by Ernie Button

Ernie Button

Currently residing in: Phoenix, AZ

Website: http://www.erniebutton.com/

Work Statement:
Photography has undeniably changed the way I see the world; how I look at individuals, places, or objects. When looking through the camera, it allows me to view the world in a completely different way, focusing on form and detail that I wouldn't normally see. Although my subject matter varies, my images focus on the individual nature of objects and the unique qualities that each possesses. My images often examine objects in isolation providing a voice to the quiet, the ignored and the often overlooked.

Regarding this body of work: When I was a child, cereal was a luxury item. A brand name cereal was a rarity as they were consistently more expensive. Something like King Vitamin (a popular 70s cereal) or Cap'n Crunch made for pure breakfast heaven. Looking at the cereal aisle today, it's clear that breakfast cereal has changed. The cereal aisle has become a cornucopia of colors with marshmallows that resemble people and objects and characters from movies. It's apparent that cereal is not just for breakfast anymore; it's playtime. In keeping with the playtime theme, I began to construct landscapes that would utilize the natural earth tones of certain cereals. I placed enlarged photographs of actual Arizona skies (e.g. sunsets or monsoon clouds) in the background of the cereal landscapes giving the final image an odd sense of reality. Other cereals that were more vibrantly colored or made to resemble people and objects were calling out to be the center of attention.

Bio:
I am based in Phoenix, Arizona. Except for a few community college classes in photography, I am self-taught. Highlights of my photography career have included:
HCP Fellowship Grant, honorary mention 2006 (Houston Center for Photography)
Artist Project Grant (Arizona Commission on the Arts)
Artists Career Development Grant (Phoenix Commission on the Arts).

Recent exhibits have included work shown at:
Bentley Projects (Phoenix, Arizona)
George Billis Gallery ( Los Angeles, California)
Houston Center for Photography (Houston, Texas)
SF Camerawork, (San Francisco, California)
Anchorage Museum of History and Art (Anchorage Alaska)

living room, reykjavik, 2006 by Kara Canal

Kara Canal

Currently residing in: Brooklyn, NY

Work Statement:
While vacationing in Iceland this past summer we stayed in the apartment of a friend of a friend named Asta Julia. We were given keys and free reign of the space Asta shared with her two children. It was a week before we met the generous apartment owner. We were left to make up stories of Asta and her children, based on their home—how it was arranged, how it was decorated, and what was left behind in their absence. These images are taken from a larger body of work about being a stranger in a foreign country, and a visitor in someone else's home. The desire to snoop around was irresistible, and narratives of this other stranger frequently preoccupied me as I sat in her kitchen, sipped tea from her mugs, and gazed out her windows.

Bio:
Kara Canal was born in New Jersey, and didn't realize how much she loved photography until she was 21. Kara, now ten years older, has gone on to earn her MFA in Photography, and is busy teaching art to children and working on a collaborative photo project with her puppy during their morning walks.

Untitled (Suzie Hedge), 2006 by Brandon Herman

Brandon Herman

Currently residing in: New York, NY

Website: brandonhermanland.com

Work Statement:
By far, the most powerful characteristic of photography for me is its unbreakable bond with reality. Painting can feign reality without seeing it, explains Roland Barthes, but in Photography I can never deny that the thing has been there. I take photographs to make my fantasies come true. A painter can conjure images from his imagination and place them straight upon his canvas, but in order for a photographer to depict his fantasies, as Barthes points out, he must have them in front of his lens. I used to draw and paint my imaginings, and found no satisfaction in a process that only seemed to confirm the impossibility of their actual realization.

Swimming, climbing trees, playing outside, making out, running, being naked, having sex, jumping, being with friends, bonfires, eating yummy food until I'm so full I'm going to explode, getting drunk, getting out of control, acting like an animal, ejaculating, peeing, lack of inhibitions, no consequences, no rules, being young, being silly, having fun. These are the things I love; the elements of my fantasy world. And when I take pictures they become my reality and the photographs become important mementos, proof that for a few hours at a time I got together with my friends and made my fantasies come true.

Bio:
I was born and raised in a small suburb of San Francisco. I studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. It is my firm belief that true happiness lies in the realization that reality and the imagination can coexist, and in the pursuit of a seamless blend of the two.

King's House Hotel, Scotland by Matthew Kime

Matthew Kime

Currently residing in: Brooklyn, NY

Website: www.mwkphotography.com

Work Statement:
I didn't really pick up a camera until college. With a hectic student schedule, I took pictures to relax and incorporated my camera into relaxing activities. After a long day of lectures, reading, writing, and sitting in a small dorm room, this meant doing something active. I started to go on night walks on a regular basis. It became a method for me to gain control in a new city.

The breakthrough in my work came when I switched to 4x5 and started walking longer distances. Large format freed me from the need to finish all 36 frames on a roll of film - frequently an impossibility. The price of a 4x5 negative convinced me that it was okay to go out with my camera and not shoot if nothing moved me. My NYC work became an exploration of the perimeter of Manhattan, an alternative to the grid of the city.

The three images I'm submitting are from my most recent project, Walking Britain. I walked 550 miles though Wales, Northern England, and Scotland, over 6 weeks with a 4x5 field camera on my back. This took the walking element of my work and pushed it to the boundaries of physical endurance. It was also a cultural experience. Walking tied together many small, out of the way places that foreigners rarely visit. However, the most compelling part of the experience was walking such distances as a form of travel. It lies directly in contrast to the American relationship with cars and how we've built our cities around them.

Bio:
I was born and raised in Appleton, WI and studied photography at New York University. While my interest in the visual arts had grown through high school, I didn't become interested in photography until I took a class freshman year. It was satisfying to make something and a welcome relief from writing papers.

I applied to the photography department with the work from that one semester and was accepted. The application process reassured me - it was a sudden choice but I was also accepted.

I spent the next two years floundering among much more experienced photographers. While I was enjoying the process, I wasn't getting much result. I left many critiques frustrated that not a word had been said about my images.

My work took a dramatic turn just before my senior thesis class. A semester of confusion with large format cameras finally produced a comfort with the awkward device. I started walking further with my camera and taking fewer pictures.

I graduated and received a grant for my New York nightscapes. I spent six months living in London before returning to Wisconsin (where I was shooting), Philadelphia (where I was moving to), and New York (where I had darkroom space).

Since graduating I've kept busy with a series of large photography projects when I'm not working to make a living.

Oak Alley Plantation, Vacherie LA. by Sara Macel

Sara Macel

Currently residing in Brooklyn, NY

Website: http://www.saramacel.com

Work Statement:
I was born and raised in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, surrounded by a community that believed in Jesus, high school football, and the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Within this community I was somewhat of an outsider, though I would put my level of rebellion on par with that of any typical teenager. The only real thing that set me apart from the others was my camera. And once I picked it up, there was really no turning back. My photography stems from my personal life, and therefore the South has always been a favorite subject of mine. In March 2006, I traveled to New Orleans to photograph the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina approximately six months after the storm. As a child of the Gulf Coast region, I felt a sense of duty to bear witness to the ongoing struggle to rebuild and to help in some way. Beyond seeking out photographs of the destruction, I was also able to capture images from the city's the Saint Patrick's Day parade and remnants from Louisiana's plantation era. Living and photographing in the South, I have witnessed the region's familiarity with defeat. From the Civil War to the constant threats of nature and the overwhelming heat, Southerners have an ingrained ability to bear hardship. This stubborn insistence on surviving was never more palpable to me than on this trip.

Bio:
Sara Macel moved from Texas to New York at the age of eighteen. She received a BFA in Photography and Imaging from New York University in 2003, where she received the Tobias Award for her project titled Kiss + Tell. After graduating, she spent two years as the assistant and studio manager to Magnum photographer Bruce Davidson and currently works as a production assistant and freelance photographer. Her work has been included in several group shows in New York, including the Unframed/First Look exhibition for emerging photographers at Sean Kelly Gallery in 2004 and currently at the New Century Artists Gallery. In early 2007, her Kiss + Tell series will be shown at the Center for Photography at Woodstock in a show by the same name.

Chandelier, Chicago by Matthew Nighswander

Matthew Nighswander

Currently residing in Chicago, IL

Website: www.mattnighswander.com

Work Statement:
Project Statement: Chicagoland

When I first moved to Chicago, I was slightly confused by the term "Chicagoland." I heard it used in TV and radio ads when I wasn't quite paying attention and I wondered initially if it might be an amusement park or an enormous mall. I've chosen Chicagoland for the working title of my project not because I am interested in documenting the wide expanse of the Chicago metro region (in fact, the vast majority of these pictures were all shot within Chicago's city limits) but because of the psychological space the word implies to me. The pictures were taken in Chicago, but the best ones seem only loosely tethered to the reality from which they spring. If they are about sprawl and the forlorn spaces of generic architecture it is at least partly because these spaces are where the transformative powers of photography can have the greatest effect; where the photographic image can create a sense of drama and psychological tension that may not have been present in the original scene.

Bio:
I grew up in a large, creaky colonial house in a small town in New Hampshire. Though I was not a photo major, I began shooting seriously in college, inspired primarily by the great "street" photographers: Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, Helen Levitt, etc. After college I lived in New York, where I played in a band you've never heard of for many years and worked at The Associated Press as a photo editor. My photos were mostly kept to myself until I was accepted into an MFA program at Columbia College Chicago. I've just finished the program and though I will be leaving Chicago with some regret, my wife and I are returning to New York where I will begin working as the archivist for VII photos later this summer. I'm 36.