Educator, documentary photographer and longtime RMSP instructor Lynn Hoffman-Brouse, alongside her fellow DPF Board Members, created a unique non-profit organization recently called the Documentary Project Fund, whose mission it is to support still documentary photography and its creators who are committed to improving local communities.  Since we first introduced the DPF here on our blog they have awarded prizes to two photographers to use in pursuit of their own specific projects. The first award went to Jenn Ackerman who plans to document Minneapolis’ Somali community, in particular the women living in Riverside Plaza, known locally as ‘little Somalia’. The second award went to Ukrainian photojournalist Arthur Bondar who plans to explore the towns along the Dneiper River, one of the largest in Eastern Europe.

The next recipient?

You!

If you have a project in mind and are interested in finding a funding source to make it happen, the DPF has announced that their next Call for Entries is happening from May 15 – June 15, 2013. To find out what is involved in the application process, visit the DPF site. This could be a fantastic opportunity for you to give your potential project the traction necessary to get off the ground. And of course, once you’ve applied – or even won the next award – keep in touch. We would love to highlight you and your project here on our blog.

Good luck!

We are happy to announce the 2011-2012 Free Evening Lecture Series, which kicks off tomorrow night with a special lecture by Neil Chaput de Saintonge at the Missoula Art Museum.  The lecture, titled Ansel Adams: The Making of a Photograph, is an opportunity not to be missed. With keen and personal insight into Ansel’s work and technique, Neil will discuss how Ansel made many of his now legendary photographs. As visual aides, Neil will reference the 130+ original prints on display in the gallery.  The lecture is from 7 – 9 p.m.

For a complete list of lectures, instructors, dates, times and directions you can visit the Free Evening Lecture page on our website or click on the image below.  Aside from the lecture at the MAM tomorrow, each lecture will be held at RMSP in The Quarry.

If you have any questions in regards to a lecture or topic, we encourage comments below.

P: How did you get started working with/publishing photography books?

D: After grad school I was working with Photo Eye Books which is based in Santa Fe and is really like North America’s best photography book store. We started a quarterly magazine, the Photo Eye Book List, that was just about fine art photography books. I was the editor of that publication for several years.

I always had a desire to publish books myself so in 2007, after Photo Eye, I started a company called Radius Books with several colleagues. We published books on the visual arts, not just photography specifically, but the full range of the arts. Through all those associations I became involved with photography books.

P: You‘ve worked with quite a few established and emerging photographers during their process of  publishing photography books. Do you have a project that you would consider your most exciting project?

D: It’s always hard to name favorites but several of the books that we’ve done at Radius in the last year are just fantastic. Colleen Plumb’s book,  Animals Are Outside Today, is a great project because it’s her first monograph. Janelle Lynch’s book titled Los Jardines de Mexico, which is also her first monograph. I really like the first monograph projects because it’s so exciting for the photographer and so exciting to help them bring about their first work. David Taylor’s book, Working the Line, is about the US/Mexico Border and it also an amazing project.

A project that I wrote an essay for was Paula McCartney’s book Bird Watching. I loved her project, I still love it. It was also great to write for a project that was being published by someone else. She has done all sorts of really interesting artist books over the years and this is the first one that has turned into a trade publication.

P: Between your involvement in Blurb’s Photography Book Now contest, your book with Mary Virgina Swanson, Publish Your Own Photography Book, and your blog, you are quite passionate about helping people self-publish. Is this because it’s a great time for people to take the reigns on publishing their own books or because you were getting so many questions and requests about how to do this? This is sort of a chicken and the egg question.

D: The book that I coauthored with Swani came out of all of the questions that both of us would get about how to get a book published. The book was written to answer that and it’s about working with both the traditional publishing model as well as self-publishing. We really just wanted to explain how to think about publishing a book.

But I do think that right now with self-publishing there is a really exciting movement because there are so many tools available and photographers are being really creative. Whether it’s using print on demand or whether it’s approaching local newspaper printers or whatever, they are doing really interesting things and I think that is just exciting.

P: You’ve been involved in The Photography Book Now competition as the Lead Judge for four years, what is your favorite aspect of this particular competition?

D: Initially, it’s great to reach out and ask people if they would like to be a judge because I get to call up all of my own heroes in photography and ask them to be involved. I have to say it’s also always fun to bring all of the judges together in New York. Obviously when everyone is in New York and it’s the judges and the books themselves, it’s always great to see stand out projects and to see everyone respond to them on their own timeline.

P: Do you have any advice for people who are entering Photography Book Now?

D: On the Photography Book Now website we made a video where I talk about what the judges are looking for–what we are looking for overall and how to think about the criteria and the categories. It’s definitely not just a photography contest. Over the years we’ve seen some amazing bodies of work in terms of the photographs, but the books themselves, the books that the photographers put together just looked so amateur. Those immediately get passed by.

It’s that sense of really looking at what makes a book as opposed to a portfolio box of photographs. Thinking through things like, what does the cover look like. Consider little things that many photographers forget to think about like half title pages, title pages, front page pieces, moving you gently into the book. This is where looking at other photography books is so important. What are the first ten pages in that book and trying to mimic that in a way, not because it’s a formula but because it’s effective and relevant to your book. Really think about why or why not to do something similar.

P: I understand you are also a photographer. What are you drawn to in your own images?

D: I’m interested in things like shadow and points of attraction. That’s sort of abstract, I know. I don’t come out of any documentary school or anything. I’m interested in how a photograph transforms the reality of something, or can open your eyes to something, whatever that is.

P: Sort of the same way you look at books.

D: Yes.

• I love books, especially photo books.
• The books submitted are always very diverse in terms of content.
• The jurors they choose are very talented and inspiring photographers.
• You don’t have to be a design wiz to create a well laid out book thanks to Blurb’s Book Smart software.
• The grand prize is $25,000. Not too shabby.

The categories for photography book submissions are Fine Art, Documentary, Travel and Student. Now is your chance to throw your work into the ring–well at least until the deadline, Thursday, July 14th at 3 p.m.  PDT.

Canon Photography in the Park

If you are spending anytime in our National Parks this summer consider submitting your best images to Canon’s Photography in the Park contest. One of our instructors, Darrell Gulin, is a judge along with Lewis Kemper and Joel Saferstein.

Deadline: September 30th

PDN’s World in Focus Contest

This another fantastic photography contest that has several categories for entries:

• Travel Portrait Photos of local residents at work, at play, and celebrating.
• Outdoor Scenes, landscapes, aerials, wildlife, waterscapes.
• Sense of Place Scenes in cities, towns, and villages that convey a strong feeling of place.
• Spontaneous Moments Photos that capture fun, quirky, surprising, and unrehearsed moments.
• Photo Essay, up to six images that suggest a story around a particular travel theme.

Select winners will be displayed at the World in Focus Gallery exhibit at the PDN PhotoPlus Expo in New York October 28-30, 2010. Additionally, winners will receive a one-year subscription to Photo District News magazine (PDN)

Deadline: August 23rd.

The Vermont Photography Workplace has a monthly juried competition and each month has a different theme and juror.