Sorry For My Absence, Here's Some Reading Material

I apologize for my absence from here. The month of July was filled with school work and full-time hours at work. It's hard to believe it's already August. I'm coming off of a weeks vacation which was a great time.
Now I'm faced with the stress of transfering to a new school as a full-time student while maintaining my full-time hours at work and managing what will prove to be a long term relationship (for the most part, he's only like 200-ish miles away).

In spirit of the 2016 Olympic games, there is a photograph of Jamaica's Usain Bolt that has gone viral. The photograph shows Bolt looking over his left shoulder as he's leading the pack of sprinters and this grin just falls across his face. The link below is to an article that contains an interview with the photographer that captured that photograph.

How An Olympics Photographer Captured Usain Bolt's 'Cheeky Grin'

Remembering Bill Cunningham

Bill Cunningham was a fashion photographer for The New York Times, best known for his candid, street photography. Cunningham recently passed away on June 25th. He worked for the Times from 1978-2016; his column was On the Street and Evening Hours. The link below is a series of videos that Cunningham did on fashion for The New York Times.

Bill Cunningham Videos

The following link is to a Refinery29 article. 

14 Fashion Insiders Remember The Late, Great Bill Cunningham

Can Photo Prints Really Last A Lifetime?

This article from PDN discusses the different levels of how long a given print will resist fading. The article has a few technical terms, so I have taken the time to look a few of them up for you all.

Can Photo Prints Really Last A Lifetime?

LEVEL ONE:

Pigment Inks vs Dye Inks

WIR Display Permanence Ratings Website

LEVEL TWO:

Silver-Halide Prints

LEVEL THREE:

ChromaLuxe

LEVEL FOUR:

Pigment Inks vs Dye Inks

Exposed 2016

A few days ago,  the College of DuPage held a photography showcase for all of the advanced and graduating photography students. It was a night that gives the students a chance to show their portfolios to the public and fellow photographers to help gain a client base or even a potential job offering.

A successful night for all participants. Below is a list of participants, feel free to check out their work.

Chris Beach - https://websurfingbeach.smugmug.com/
Linda Buckingham- ljbouldinphotography.com
Ethan Chivari- http://www.ethanchivariphotography.com/
Meghan Daly- http://www.megelisephoto.com/
Robbie Dembowski & Ryan Ocasio- http://www.robbieandryan.com/
Uwe Gsedl- oova.photo
Jennifer Guitian- https://www.instagram.com/jenguitianphoto/
Syed Hossain- https://www.flickr.com/photos/smhstudio
Helena Jorgenrud- http://helenajorgenrud.com/
Lauren Laws- http://laurenlaws.com/
Adam Lee- https://adamphotogrphx.wordpress.com/
Matt Levins- http://mattlevins7.wix.com/mattlevinsphoto
Martina Magnusson- http://www.martinamagnusson.com/
Mike McPherson- https://a1000words.me/
Lorae Mundt- http://www.furryexpressionsphotography.com/
Amanda Pomplin- http://pomplinportraitphotography.com/
Elizabeth Salgado- http://elizabethsalgado.myportfolio.com/
Mike Smith- http://mikesphototreks.com/
Karen Wade- http://www.karenwadephotos.com/
Kathi Wood- http://www.kathiwood.com/

And as always, my website is: http://www.brittanymikelphotography.com/

Having Trouble Writing Your Artist Statement?

Writing an artist statement can be a difficult task for some people, myself included. I always asked the question, why do I need to write about my photographs? If I wanted to write I would have been a writer, and I'm sure many of you have felt this way too.

This semester I have been asked to write an artist statement about my recipe book. The dreaded artist statement, where do I even begin.?

Well, I finally received a "template" for an artist statement which consists of four (4) questions. The answers to these questions form your artist statement.

1. Describe what the final piece will look like, being as literal as possible. For example, you might start by saying "This is a photograph of my family on Thanksgiving. My mom, sister, and I are sitting around the table. The image is printed as a cyanotype and placed into a hand-constructed book."

2. Using the above description, elaborate on how the elements in your photographs come together to communicate your idea. For example, you might say, "Thanksgiving is a family ritual that has deep meaning and significance in American culture. My images examine the contemporary American family, abundance at the dinner table or domesticity. I have constructed my book to look like a family photo album to reflect the tradition of preserving memories from significant family events."

3.What is the relationship between the materials, tools, and processes that you are using and the meaning of your work? (This question is optional depending on the technique that you use. You may want to use this if your technique/process is not very popular.)

4. How do the ideas within your work relate to broader cultural concerns or human experiences?

If these questions are answered in complete sentences, you have a pretty good start to your artist statement.

A HUGE thank you to Lily Mayfield who supplied me with this "template".
Check out Lily's work here.

For more tips on writing an artist statement, click here.

Making the Most of Your Opening Reception

Tomorrow, I will be attending an artist reception for a group gallery show that I am in. It is my first gallery show, therefore my first opening reception. I went looking for ways that I can prepare myself for tomorrow night and found a very helpful link online.

Making the Most of Your Opening Reception

Museum of Contemporary Photography

Recently I took a trip to the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago with my class. It was by far the best exhibition I have seen there. It was an exhibition celebrating the museum's 40th anniversary, showcasing everyone's work that has been shown there from the past 40 years. Some names included Joel Meyerowitz, Sally Mann, and Dorothea Lange. Being that close to works by famous photographers was what felt like an honor. This exhibit is up until April 10th. If you are in the area, I highly suggest you go see it.

Museum of Contemporary Photography at 40