Edited by Rafa Alcacer

“ESTRAGON: What’s wrong with you?
VLADIMIR: Nothing.
ESTRAGON: I’m going.
VLADIMIR: So am I.
ESTRAGON: Was I long asleep?
VLADIMIR: I don’t know. (Silence).
ESTRAGON: Where shall we go?
VLADIMIR: Not far.
ESTRAGON: Oh yes, let’s go far away from here.
VLADIMIR: We can’t.
ESTRAGON: Why not?
VLADIMIR: We have to come back tomorrow.
ESTRAGON: What for?
VLADIMIR: To wait for Godot.
ESTRAGON: Ah! (Silence.) He didn’t come?
VLADIMIR: No.
ESTRAGON: And now it’s too late.
VLADIMIR: Yes, now it’s night”

“Waiting for Godot” – Samuel Beckett

Submissions via Flickr or email – editors at lapuravidagallery.com

Edited by James Turnley

peripheral – adj – relating to, or situated on the edge of an area or object.

This month’s theme is called “peripheral”. Lately I’ve been reading over and over Charles Harbutt’s essay entitled “I don’t take pictures, pictures take me.” I encourage anyone to read it if they haven’t already.

I’ve been fascinated about how he describes great photographs are made.

“This sense of quickness, of being alive on this earth, of simple orgasmic sense of perception, is the point at which great photographs are made. Photographs come from that moment in the process of cognition before the mind has analyzed meaning or the eyes design and at which the experience and the person experiencing are fully, intuitively, existentially there…”

“…there is a tremendous sense of stopped time, of the blinking shutter, of being alive and still there, of discovery(rather than analysis), of chance, not design, of quick emotion from an uncertain cause.”

“…but for me it has flowed from the realization that I don’t take pictures, pictures take me. I can do nothing except have film in the camera and be alert. My adversary, a photograph, stalks the world like a roaring lion. Pictures happen. One can only trust one’s sensitivity, the bounty of the world and the chemistry of Kodak. This is the photographic method.”

——————————————————————–

What chain of events cause us to press the shutter. Is it our peripheral vision? Where in the corner of our eye we only see light, color and shapes which causes us move our gaze into focus? It may be…or maybe not. Either way it’s the starting point to how we frame photographs.

Continuing..I have also thought about Blake Andrew’s post about edges…or the peripherals and how important they are to making photographs. What stops short many photographs from being “great” is their inability to use the entire frame…they don’t let our eyes wander which ultimately leads to their failure.

With these readings I ask you to send me your selected few photographs that represent the truest, most simple observations you’ve made through photographs. The one’s where you’ve been aware of your own feelings, preconceptions and biases, but have not let them dictate the frame. As Winogrand puts it, “I photograph, to see how things look photographed.” Send me your best, this narrative is not for near-misses.

I know I don’t have lyrics, a story or a word that gives you much to go on…but let me worry about that. As I start to accept photographs into the gallery use that as a tool to know what I am after.

Submissions via Flickr or email – editors at lapuravidagallery.com

Edited by Bryan Formhals

Time has dubbed it ‘A Decade from Hell.‘  And there’s no question it’s be a decade of immense change in the way we view, consume and experience photography.  Today, more than ever people have easy access to thousands of photographers from all over the world working in different styles and incorporating a variety of aesthetics.  How has the turmoil of the decade and changes in photography impacted your work? Do you have photographs that you believe will be easily identifiable as coming from the first decade of the 21st Century?  As with most themes, we’ll leave it a bit open ended for you to interpret.  And unlike most months, we’ll keep the Flickr Pool closed, so you’ll be working blind on this one.

Submissions via Flickr or email – editors at lapuravidagallery.com

Theme – “Four walls and adobe slabs”

Curated by Olivier Marcel.

Submissions via Flickr or email – editors at lapuravidagallery.com

We want to remind you that the deadline to apply to Jen Bekman Projects’ international photography competition, Hey, Hot Shot! is upcoming on Friday, October 23rd @ 8 p.m (EDT).

Hey, Hot Shot! offers photographers at all stages of their careers unrivaled opportunities for exposure and advancement. All entrants have their work reviewed by top-shelf panelists and enjoy the potential to be promoted online, selected for 20×200, and exhibited in our New York gallery. Now in its fifth year, the competition has been acclaimed by curators, critics, educators and journalists alike.

The guidelines are simple: contenders submit three photographs from a single body of work using an online upload tool, with an entry fee of $60.

Incomparable Exposure:

Our panel will select five Hot Shots for inclusion in a two-week group show at Jen Bekman Gallery in New York City. In conjunction with the exhibition, editions of each photographer’s work will be released on 20×200, Jen Bekman Projects’ acclaimed online endeavor, which offers limited edition prints at affordable prices.

Additional Benefits:

Each Hot Shot is awarded a $500 honorarium.

At year’s end, two Ultras will be selected from 2009’s ten Hot Shots. The Ultras are represented by Jen Bekman Gallery and slated for solo exhibitions.

All entrants are reviewed for participation in 20×200; entering the competition is the only opportunity for photographers to have their work considered. In addition, as always, our writers will select contenders to feature daily on the Hey, Hot Shot! blogthroughout the entry period.

Apply now:

We only accept submissions online, via this website.

The deadline for entries is Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 8 p.m (EDT).

Hot Shots will be announced on Monday, November 30, 2009.

There is a $60 handling fee for your entry.

Submissions are open to everyone, from anywhere in the world!

Questions?:

Check out our informative FAQ, follow us on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

Interested in seeing work from previous Hot Shots? Check out the index for all previous Hot Shots, visit the Hey, Hot Shot! blog or look at our photo sets on Flickr.

Apply Now!