Results matching “sinclair”

You might be celebrating (or mourning) the end of summer this weekend—but either way, here's something you can cheer about: it's 20x200's third birthday! We're not ones to celebrate alone so we're offering an uncommon deal to all of you out there:

$3 FLAT RATE shipping on 8"x10" + 11"x14" prints NOW till Monday at midnight EDT!*

Consider this a stock up sale! You'll be saving lots by picking up scores of 8"x10" and 11"x14" prints. (Usually shipping starts at $8.50.) You can put as many prints in these two sizes as you'd like and it's still just $3. One detail to keep in mind: the $3 shipping and handling fee is applied per size, so if you're mixing things up with both 8"x10" and 11"x14" prints, the absolute most you'll pay is $6—still a steal.

Be sure to peruse all the fabulous photography available on the site. Here's a taste of Hot Shots editions that bid adieu to summer and ring in the fall to whet your palate:

sinclair-midway-590.jpgMidway, Neshoba County Fair, Philadelphia, Mississippi by Mike Sinclair

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deavin-golf-590.jpgGolf Driving Range by James Deavin

baguskas-rincon-590.jpgRincon Artificial Island and Pipeline, Ventura, California by Ian Baguskas

reed-norristown-590.jpgNorristown, Pennsylvania by Justin James Reed

krolick-ashland-590.jpgDriveway, Ashland, Oregon by Jeffrey Krolick

* Rate is applied per size. Special rate can only be applied to orders within the U.S. and does not apply to international orders.

Talking with Hot Shot Mike Sinclair

MikeSinclairUntitledCityBeautiful.jpgUntitled from City Beautiful

Earlier this month, 2009 Hot Shot + Ultra Mike Sinclair, one of the newest artists added to the gallery's roster, came to visit New York from his hometown of Kansas City. He stopped by JBP HQ and the gallery, and a few of us were fortunate to have the chance to talk to him about his practice and see prints of images he's made over the last several decades. At the gallery, he chatted with Associate Director Jeffrey Teuton about his experience becoming a Hot Shot, releasing editions on 20x200 and how these experiences made an impact on his career.

MikeSinclairIndependence.jpegFourth of July #2, Independence, Missouri by Mike Sinclair

Mike: I think, like a lot of photographers, I entered HHS! not thinking that I might succeed, but more motivated by the chance to get my work in front of the several judges whose opinions I respected.

Jeffrey: How did you choose what to send in?

Mike: When I finally made the decision to submit to HHS!, it was difficult then deciding what to send in, because I've been at it a while and have quite a lot of work. I had just finished spending about a year photographing Kansas City's parks and boulevards system, and that was the work that I was very involved in. [see image above]

GladstoneCommunityCenterGouldEvans.jpgGladstone Community Center, Gould Evans from Architecture: Public portfolio

Jeffrey: And how has it been over the years, transitioning from commercial photography into fine art, and walking that line? [an image from Mike's commercial portfolio is pictured above]
 
Mike: Well, in college I studied as a fine arts photographer and then - instead of teaching - I decided I'd prefer to be a commercial photographer and I've made my living as an architectural photographer for many years. I've always done personal work, but it's only been recently that I've started showing that work. I'm in a lucky situation in Kansas City where I have some great architectural firms that use me, and they're also very interested in what I do in the fine art world. If something has changed, it's that the two bodies of work have started to grow together, and that's great.

Jeffrey: How did becoming a Hot Shot impact your career?
Mike: Well, to find out that I was one of the finalists was amazing, and immediately all kinds of things started happening. You know, congratulations from people who had gone to see my work for the first time, and I got a call from Time magazine to go photograph in Detroit—The Detroit Symphony Orchestra—which was an amazing job. And things continue to happen! While I was here in New York this week, Penguin Books emailed me about using one of my photographs for a book cover. The experience continues to help get my work in front of people.

Check out more of Mike's work on his website, and follow in his footsteps by entering HHS! before August 31st, 2010!

Mike also has four editions available on 20x200: Midway, Neshoba County Fair, Philadelphia, Mississippi, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 2000, Rodeo Stars, Strong City, Kansas and Fourth of July #2, Independence, Missouri

Blurb LogoWe're thrilled to announce that our friends at Blurb have jumped in at this eleventh hour to offer each of this year's Hot Shots a $1,000 Book Prize to go toward the creation of their own photography publication! In addition, Jen Bekman will select one of the five Hot Shots for the opportunity to work with a professional photo book editor and designer to create a printed masterpiece.

Blurb's tools already make it easy for photographers to design and sell their own books—from 20 up to 440 pages—and with this generous book credit each of the Hot Shots will be able to create books and print copies to keep, share, or give as gifts.

If you peruse Blurb, you'll find nearly forty titles created by Hot Shots over the past few years. We've got a bunch of these books on our shelves at JBP HQ, by the likes of Alison Grippo, Kurt Tong and Mike Sinclair (among others) and—to the credit of the photographers and Blurb—I'm always surprised to find that they were self-published. There's something truly wonderful about holding a bound and printed book of photographs in your hands.

20x200-farewell-tong.jpg Two pages from Farewell in Labrador by Kurt Tong on Blurb

By teaming up with Blurb we hope to empower even more photographers to self-publish books of their work. As an office full of photographers and bibliophiles, we look forward to seeing the books to come from this year's Hot Shots.

We'll have more details (and a Hot Shot bookshop) for you to peruse soon, but in the meantime, take a look at Blurb, then get your five best photos in before our final deadline for entries of the year: Sunday, August 22nd at 8:00 p.m. (EDT)

Week in Review: July 13, 2010

sinclair_fairgrounds.jpgUntitled, from the series Fairgrounds by Mike Sinclair


Happy hot and steamy July! And welcome back to our regularly-scheduled Week In Review, a short-and-sweet round-up of the week's best photo links and stories. We can hardly believe we're in month four of competition, which means you've got just a little time left—till July 29th—to submit your entry and be considered for our 4th Curator's Choice Award! Tod Lippy, editor-in-chief of the fabulous Esopus, will review all entries that come in by the 29th, and one photographer will receive a lifetime subscription to the magazine! Make sure to take a peek at their archives to see the tremendous range of essays, artifacts, portfolios and artist projects they've featured over the years.


Recent Contenders

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Left to right: Kate Stone, Sarah Szwajkos, Kathleen R. Robbins, Mary Kathleen Shafer, Selena Salfen .

We're featuring one contender daily on our blog; read about the work of some of our entrants from the 2010 competition and apply today, for a chance to be featured.


Photography News

+ Jen Bekman has joined the Advisory Board for 25 for 25, AOL's new grant program, which will award $25,000 to 25 of "tomorrow's ground breakers and visionaries." Entries will be accepted from July 27th - September 1, 2010, and you can submit your information here to request application materials.

+ Speaking of great opportunities, the Aperture Portfolio Prize deadline is only a day away, on July 14th! They are looking specifically for work that hasn't been widely seen or published elsewhere, and for images that have been made within the last five years. The winner will receive a $5,000 prize and an exhibition in Aperture's gallery.

+ Interesting reading material: Now on Imprint: Why the photography book is thriving, in defiance of all available conventional wisdom.

+ Over on the 20x200 blog this week, we wrote about photographer Zoe Strauss's new project On the Beach, a documentary concerning the fallout of the BP Gulf oil disaster in affected coastal states. Take a look at her project and consider making a donation so that she can extend her time in the Gulf.

+ We recently released a beautiful, haunting edition on 20x200 by photographer Roger Ballen, to much enthusiasm and excitement. Collectors have begun to receive their editions, and photographer Matt Neibur had a moment of aesthetic communion with his postman (also a 20x200 fan) when he was delivered the print. We love these kinds of moments of synchronicity!

+ Congratulations to Mickey Smith, whose multi-paneled Collocation (Nature), a permanent glass installation she created for the University of Florida, was selected as one of the 40 best public artworks of 2009. An edition of two of the panels of the work (available as partner prints) is also available on 20x200.

Anne_Wedding_590.jpgAnne's Wedding, 2000 by Mike Sinclair

Guangzhou_zoo_II_590.jpg Guangzhou Zoo II, 2007 by Kurt Tong

We are pleased to announce photographers Mike Sinclair and Kurt Tong as the newest Ne Plus Ultras. Selected from 2009's ten talented Hot Shots, Sinclair and Tong have earned representation from Jen Bekman Gallery, and will be preparing for solo exhibitions and participating in art fairs over the next two years. Congratulations to Kurt, Mike and all of the 2009 Hot Shots!

We would also like to recognize each and every one of the 2009 Hot Shots for their talent and dedication. All of these photographers participated in group exhibitions at Jen Bekman Gallery—Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition and Second Edition—and many have limited-edition prints featured on 20x200. You can expect to see lots more from all of them soon.

All ten Hot Shots were chosen from an extremely competitive group of photographers who thoroughly impressed our esteemed panel: Jen Bekman, Christine Collins, Dana Faconti, Caterina Fake, Stephen Frailey, Raul Gutierrez, Darius Himes, Jenni Holder, Julia Leach, Nion McEvoy, Lesley A. Martin, Alan Rapp, Kent Rogowski, Stefan Ruiz and Jeffrey Teuton. We'd also like to extend our thanks to every member of the 2009 panel for their time and commitment to Hey, Hot Shot!

2009 First Edition Hot Shots:
Michelle Arcila
Daniel Cheek
Mike Sinclair
Parsley Steinweiss
Kurt Tong

2009 Second Edition Hot Shots:
Marisa Aragona
Leah Tepper Byrne
Alejandro Cartagena
Jessica Eaton
Justin James King

It was difficult to select just two photographers from the talented group of Hot Shots, but Kurt and Mike emerged as the best fits for the gallery's roster. We look forward to continuing to work closely with both artists across all of the Jen Bekman Projects. Please join us in congratulating them.

Meet our newest Ultras:

Kurt Tong has worked and traveled extensively across Europe, the Americas and Asia. In 1999, Kurt co-founded Prema Vasam, a charitable home for disabled and disadvantaged children in Chennai, South India before becoming a full-time photographer in 2003.

Tong received a Masters in documentary photography from London College of Communications in 2006. He has since been chosen as a winner in the first Lens Culture - Rhubarb Photo Book Award, the Blurb Photography Book Now competition and the prestigious Jerwood Photography Award.

Kurt's photographs have been widely exhibited around the world at venues including: Jen Bekman Gallery in New York, Impressions Gallery in Bradford, The Royal Academy in London, La Casa Encendida in Madrid, Abbaye de Neumunster in Luxembourg and the CPA Exhibition in Chengdu, China. This summer and fall, several of Kurt's projects will be on view in the UK and France.

Mike Sinclair is an architectural and fine art photographer living in Kansas City, Missouri. His photographs are frequently published in the architectural press and elsewhere, including The New York Times, Metropolis, Architectural Record and Interior Design. His work is in several public and private collections, including The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, also in Kansas City.

In addition to the the Hey, Hot Shot! group exhibition, Sinclair has participated in Mixtape at Jen Bekman Gallery.

Hey, Hot Shot! 2010:

The 2010 competition is currently open for entries and we look forward to seeing your submissions. Follow competition news and updates on Twitter and Facebook, and read about featured contenders daily on our blog. The deadline for submissions is August 22, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. (EDT). Apply now!

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It's that time of year again and the 20% More Ridiculous Sale is back at 20x200! That means: 20% off your entire order (minimum $50), including these fabulous editions by Hot Shots.

Below are editions from just a few of our many Hot Shots. Many more are available!

alstrup-swamp2.jpgUntitled, Swamp #2 by Dorthe Alstrup

arcila-eivind.jpgEivind by Michelle Arcila

baguskas-rincon.jpgRincon Artificial Island and Pipeline, Ventura, California by Ian Baguskas

bruah-untitled46.jpgUntitled #46 from "Stories" by Jessica Bruah

holmes-west43rd.jpgWest Forty-third Street (Yellow Cabs) by Joseph O. Holmes

krum-paris.jpgParis by Gregory Krum

Moore-DutchClub.jpgDutch Club, Anaheim, California by Brad Moore

park_umandong.jpgUman by Hosang Park

park-flags.jpgWinter Flags (East Village, New York) by Youngna Park

sinclair-lasvegas.jpgLas Vegas, Nevada, November 2000 by Mike Sinclair

tischler-no9.jpgUntitled #9 by Matthew Tischler

Get them before they're going, going, gone; you've got till Sunday, June 27th at 12:00 noon EST!

And remember: every contender who enters the competition is considered for an edition on 20x200, so get some prints, then send us your best photos!

See Hot Shots in Mixtape through 1/9/2010

ian_baguskas_rincon_artificial_island_and_pipeline.jpg Rincon Artificial Island and Pipeline, Ventura, California by Ian Baguskas

Hope it's not too early to say, Happy New Year everybody! There are only eight days* in the new year to take in Mixtape at Jen Bekman Gallery, which runs through January 9th, 2010. Mixtape is a delirious, kaleidoscopic show, but one reason we're so excited about it is that nearly every photographer included, going back half a decade to our first round in 2005, has held the rank of Hot Shot.

On-screen reproduction just does not do this work justice, but for those of you who can't make it to the gallery, I've taken the liberty of linking up the following list to each photographer's piece in the show so that you can click through and get a peek at the work:

Jessica Eaton—2009 Second Edition
Mike Sinclair—2009 First Edition
Michelle Arcila—2009 First Edition
Colleen Plumb—2008 First Edition
Yijun (Pixy) Liao—2008 Second Edition
Gregory Krum—Summer 2007 Edition
Scott Eiden—Fall 2007 Edition
Kate Bingaman-Burt—Summer 2006 Edition
Ian Baguskas—Spring 2006 Edition
Joseph O. Holmes—Fall 2006 & Fall 2005
Matthew Tischler—Spring 2005 Edition

Another thing to note is that many of the prints in the show are genuine 20x200 editions. If you see something you like at the show, it may be more affordable than you think! Make sure to check the Mixtape page on 20x200 to see what's available for collecting. Stay tuned for news about out 2009 Second Edition Hey, Hot Shot! Showcase which is set to open in early March 2010.

* The gallery is closed on January 1st but will reopen from 12–6 on the 2nd

Mixtape at JBG Opens Tonight, 11/20!

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Random Tapes by Tommy Perman and Roel Knappstein

Mixtape opens at Jen Bekman Gallery tonight, Friday, November 20th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The group show features forty-five original works and limited-edition prints by thirty-six artists including Hot Shots: Michelle Arcila, Ian Baguskas, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Scott Eiden, Joseph O. Holmes, Gregory Krum, Yijun (Pixy) Liao, Colleen Plumb, , Mike Sinclair and Matthew Tischler, as well as many other 20x200 artists. In the spirit of what Geoffrey O'Brien declared the "most widely practiced American art form," Mixtape brings the studio soundtrack to the gallery walls.

If you're in NYC, we hope to see you at the gallery tonight! If not, please visit the Mixtape exhibition page here, which features the full list of artists and works included in the show.

Mixtape
Opening Reception: Friday, November 20th, 2009, 6 to 8 p.m.
Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street
(between Elizabeth + Bowery)
NY, New York 10012

The show will remain on view November 21st–January 9th, 2010.

Hey, Hot Shot! Contender: Sarina N. Finkelstein

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Sparky walking along "Nugget Alley," East Fork of the San Gabriel River, Angeles National Forest, CA, 2009 by Sarina N. Finkelstein


Photographs with magical light always capture my heart. This obsession with luminous qualities began with the intensive lighting in the work of Philip Lorca DiCorcia, was solidified by the 2006 exhibition Twilight: Photography in the Magic Hour at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and extends to the unearthly glows found in the photographs of 2009 Hot Shot Mike Sinclair. The misty haze found in Contender Sarina N. Finkelstein's work just reinforces my swooning. Golden sunshine is just, well, sunny, and instantly implies the endless summer of the West Coast. It is surprising, then, to see this light fall on sobering and increasingly all-too-familiar subject matter (as we've also observed in the entries from other Hey, Hot Shot! Contenders this year): the effects of the recession.

Sarina documents the surprising resurgence of gold miners in the mountains of Northern California and their struggles. Says Sarina of the project,

This body of work focuses on five California gold prospecting communities. The miners here--victims of recent layoffs, veterans, ex-convicts, and freelancers in between gigs--are dependent on the income from their claims to feed their families. Selling an ounce of gold at $1000/oz provides them with hope for survival. The New '49ers arrive in Winnebagos and pickups, having sold their homes and farms for subsistence. They create the same semi-permanent Hoovervilles along the edge of the river canyon as their predecessors.

This image strikes me because it documents a pregnant moment: a young man casually strolling down a riverside, a family in the far distance. At first glance it seems idyllic. However, the context casts the image in a darker light; this is a place of hardship, where people take on unknown odds in unlikely ways to survive in the worst economic climate in generations. But it is also full of promise; accidental but tight-knit communities emerge as they face the same hardships and an uncertain future together.

Sarina Finkelstein received her BFA in Photography and Art History from Washington University in Saint Louis, and then completed her MFA in Photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has been a guest speaker for the Professional Women Photographers (PWP) and a featured photographer in PWP Magazine, as well as a speaker and award recipient at the 2004 Society for Photographic Education National Conference.

Hey, Hot Shot! Contender: Matthew Dallos

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Untitled by Matt Dallos

Contender Matt Dallos returns to us in this round of competition with work from his series, I Want The Red One. The images, taken at a carnival-like scene full of burly men examining muddy fields full of tractors, pays homage to one of America's most trusted pieces of machinery. The tractors here are the reason for celebration; they are being examined, fixed, rode upon and raced, with swaths of onlookers concentrating on the vehicles. On the neighboring fairgrounds families en masse gather to watch fireworks, sparklers, and nighttime tractor riders creating an aura reminiscent of some of 2009 First Edition Hot Shot Mike Sinclair's large-scale portraits of fairgrounds, rodeos, and carnivals.
These large-scale celebrations bring about the opportunity to observe both individuals, and individuals as a dynamic group, who are often focused on a specific spectacle—in this case, it is the tractors.

This work is a departure from Dallos' previously submitted series of triptychs, which examined intersections of man and nature on the South Island of New Zealand, but both are entrenched in the connection of humans to the land. Of his work, Matt writes,

I constantly immerse myself in topics such as our relationship with the land, the idea of human scale, agri-business, the dichotomy of wild and civilized. But in my life I am unable to separate these abstract ideas from the reality of topography, geology, ecology. In the end I am bound to the rock, to the pavement, to the trees, to the land.

See more from I Want The Red One and other series on Matt's website.

p.s. You can see more photos from our first-ever Hey, Hot Shot! Confab + Print Trade on flickr!

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Las Vegas, Nevada, November, 2000 by Mike Sinclair

For those of you in New York, please join us tonight, Wednesday, September 9th (9/9/09!), from 6-8 p.m., Jen Bekman Gallery for the opening of the Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition Group Exhibition!

Come see photographs by Michelle Arcila, Daniel Cheek, Mike Sinclair, Parsley Steinweiss and Kurt Tong.

Work by some of our Hot Shots is already on 20x200 including Mike Sinclair's Fourth of July #2, Independence, Missouri and forthcoming today, two new editions from Michelle Arcila.

We hope to see you at the gallery this evening! Please say hi, and the Hot Shots above will also be mingling about.

Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street
(between Elizabeth + Bowery)
New York, New York 10012

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday - Saturday | Noon - 6pm
Opening Reception: Wednesday, September 9th, 6pm - 8pm
On View: September 10 through September 19, 2009

Jen Bekman Projects is now accepting entries for the Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 Second Edition Competition. The entry deadline is Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. EDT

Upload your photos today!

xmas tree, Mojave, California X-mas tree, Mojave, California by Stephen Antonopoulos

Australian photographer Stephen Antonopoulos writes, "I try to examine bonds formed amongst people and the places they inhabit. " In the case of the photo featured above, the absence of people illustrates their relationship with the Mojave and the harshness of its climate. The scalding light and withered state of the tree and surrounding "live" plants also make clear the unforgiving nature of the desert.

The abandoned Christmas tree is a bit of an emblem of Western culture, even without the tree-stand still attached to its base, the origin of the acutely out-of-place vegetation would be clear. In this photo, a seemingly benign tradition appears to be odd and maybe even sinister—the remains of something that might be stumbled upon in a Coen brothers film.

Take the photo below, from 2009 First Edition Hot Shot Mike Sinclair, as a "before" image to Antonopoulos' "after":

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from the series Popular Attractions by Mike Sinclair

Antonopoulos' image is from his series Mojave. See more of the images on his website.

I know it's early in the year to be talking about the holidays and you may be thinking it's also early in the season to consider submitting your photos to HHS! But, it's not! We'll be seeing turkeys and tinsel before we know it and even before that, this round of HHS! will come to an end.

Happy Independence Day!

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Fourth of July #2, Independence, Missouri by Mike Sinclair


In case you missed it, we released this gorgeous edition by 2009 First Edition Hot Shot Mike Sinclair on 20x200 earlier this week. It is the first edition from this season's Hot Shots and there's more to come—keep your eyes out! If you'd like to be automatically emailed whenever we release a new edition, sign up for Jen's newsletter.

Mike's statement is a genial narrative of the summer holiday in the heart of the midwest.

This Fourth of July celebration took place on the lawn of the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri.


July nights are slow to get dark enough to set off fireworks and I remember this evening included some speeches, introductions of prominent citizens and a band concert that included a few numbers with a children's choir. I think the Declaration of Independence was read aloud. The lawn was full of people--some picnicking, some just there for the fireworks. A group of Civil War enactors had set up camp at the far edge of the lawn.

Towards dusk, a few vendors started moving through the crowd selling multi-colored plastic circles, like mini hula-hoops, that when activated, glowed in the dark. They were irresistible to kids bored with waiting so long for the main event and each vendor had a trail of children following him. Soon the lawn was spotted with the glowing necklaces.

At dark, the fireworks began. The haze in the picture is a combination of Missouri's humid summer weather, fireworks, and smoke from Civil War-era cannons fired while Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture played.

BBQ-ing, camping, watching the fireworks, listening to music + dancing, whatever you're doing, have a great weekend!

Q & A with Hot Shot Mike Sinclair

Since we announced our 2009 First Edition Hot Shots a week and a half ago, we've been busy getting to know the photographers behind the images that will grace the gallery walls at a yet-to-be-determined date. Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be bringing you interviews to introduce you to this season's Hot Shots.

Today we start with Mike Sinclair, a Midwestern photographer we've had our eye on for a long while. He takes large ephemeral portraits of crowds at sun-soaked fairgrounds, beaches, and baseball games capturing a sense of nostalgic Americana that many of us get lost in, but hardly look at with any distance. Crowds gather around the rodeo and the smoke of fireworks stirs up a halcyon haze over a grassy field -- all eyes are fixed in a stare at the spectacle before them, while Sinclair is focused on the people doing the staring. Sinclair composes his photographs as a quiet observer who has snuck his way into the hullabaloo of American celebrations and rituals: a street parade, day at the beach, a backyard barbecue. We invite you to peak at more of Mike's work, read the interview below, and stay tuned for more Hot Shot news.

Without further ado, a Q&A with Mike Sinclair:

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From:
Kansas City, Missouri

Formal and/or informal education and training:
In High School I worked with my father selling men's clothing. Learning to sell clothes was a great experience for a shy teenager. On his business card was written "See Sinclair for style". I've always wanted to put that on mine.

I got my undergraduate degree at Southern Illinois University. I was lucky enough to study with Chuck Swedlund, a teacher and photographer whose passion for photography is a big reason why I'm a photographer today.

I also spent one Year in the MFA program at University of Illinois.

How you pay the bills:
Primarily Architectural photography but I also do editorial work and teach occasionally.

Best advice received (as a photographer and/or human):
From my wife: "You don't know what you don't know."

From Ezra Stoller, the foremost photographer of modern architecture, when asked at a workshop I attended what was his most important piece of equipment, his answer: "a good pair of shoes."

Top 3 Favorite Artists:
Louis Armstrong, Fairfield Porter and Walker Evans

Photograph (or other work of art) that you can't get out of your head, ever:

Family, Times Square.jpg

Family, Times Square by Louis Faurer, 1948

Photographers/artists you are looking at right now:
Rackstraw Downes
Art Sinsabaugh
David Goldblatt

Reading now:
Under the Gowanus and Razor-Wire Journal: The making of two paintings by Rackstraw Downes. This is Downes' almost-daily journal describing the process and problems of working on location from inaccurate weather forecasts, cars parked in front of your subject, to finding a public restroom and kids throwing rocks at you.

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan. This is a sensitive and at-times comic novella about the last 12 hours at a failing Red Lobster. It changed how I experience eating in a chain restaurant.

Top 3 photo blogs/websites:
1. T.A., Timothy Archibald's blog—It's interesting following someone whose work, both commercial and personal, is so different than mine.
2. The Year in Pictures
3. 5b4—I don't know how he finds the time to look at and post about so many books.

Top 3 non-photo blogs/websites:
1.Reference Library
2. Design Observer
3. Bitten Blog

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Jen Bekman Projects congratulates the 2009 First Edition Hot Shots!

After much deliberation and careful consideration, we are pleased to announce the five Hot Shots selected from the 2009 First Edition competition:

Michelle Arcila
Daniel Cheek
Mike Sinclair
Parsley Steinweiss
Kurt Tong

These five outstanding photographers will each be awarded a $500 honorarium and participate in a group show at Jen Bekman Gallery. The 2009 First Edition Hey, Hot Shot! opening reception and exhibition dates are to be announced.

The show marks just the beginning of new opportunities for these photographers. They will automatically be considered for Ne Plus Ultra status, along with the next five Hot Shots in the 2009 Second Edition, to possibly join ranks with recently announced Ultras, Hosang Park and Colleen Plumb, as JBG represented artists. We're looking forward to many collaborations and projects with these photographers at the gallery and 20x200.

We've said it once, but we'll say it again: this edition's contenders were all so strong that choosing only five photographers was an incredibly daunting task. It couldn't have been done without the dedication of our brilliant panelists: Jen Bekman, Christine Collins, Dana Faconti, Caterina Fake, Stephen Frailey, Raul Gutierrez, Darius Himes, Jenni Holder, Julia Leach, Nion McEvoy, Lesley A. Martin, Kent Rogowski, Stefan Ruiz and Jeffrey Teuton.

We'd also like to note some honorable mentions; all of these photographers are creating exceptional work and we're honored they entered Hey, Hot Shot!

Noah Addis
Mary Ellen Bartley
Marion Belanger
Joerg Brueggemann
Nelson Chan
Philip Cheung
Victor Cobo
Maury Gortemiller
Nicholas Johnson
Liz Kuball
Shane Lavalette
Jonathan Levitt
Patrick Lyn
Areca S. Roe
Bryan Schutmaat
Anne Schwalbe
Kimberly Sikora
Corinne Silva
Ryan Steele
Chris Taylor
Lacey Terrell

While only the five Hot Shots will exhibit at the gallery, look for work from these photographers and several other contenders in upcoming 20x200 editions. We'll also post about a few more photographers that we didn't have a chance to write about in the last few weeks right here. Keep an eye on us on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter for more great work, notes and news about the next round of competition!

2009 First Edition Hot Shot: Mike Sinclair

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from City Beautiful by Mike Sinclair


Mike Sinclair

Website: mikesinclair.com

Artist Statement:
The subject of the pictures is Kansas City's park and boulevard system. Begun in the 1890's, it was an attempt to bind together geographically and communally a city overcrowded with "immorality and vice."

Bio:
I am an architectural and fine art photographer living in Kansas City Missouri. My photographs are frequently published in the architectural press and elsewhere, including the New York Times, Metropolis, Architectural Record and Interior Design. My fine art photographs are in several public and private collections, including The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, also in Kansas City.

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