For this month's issue, Light Leaked invited artists to to submit photographs that have a strong sense of narrative within an each individual frame. This included any interpretation from physically constructed and manipulated photographs to staged scenes to documentary imagery.

​Jurors: 
Dana Stirling and Yoav Friedlander are the co-founders and editors of Float Photo Magazine, a virtual space that showcases young artist from all over the world, from portfolio features to Instagram takeovers and online exhibitions. Float brings together well-known photographers and young artists to share, learn, and offer opportunities for exposure and community. Float aims to establish a place of creativity and inspiration.
 
Dana Stirling is a still life and fine art photographer born in Jerusalem, Israel 1989, and based in Queens, NY. Dana received her MFA From the School of Visual Arts in Photography, Video and Related Media and has a BA from Hadassah College Jerusalem in Photographic Communications (2013). Dana’s work has been showcased internationally and published in numerous publications around the world.
 
Yoav Friedlander is a fine art photographer who specializes in both scale models and landscape photography. Born 1985 Israel and based in Queens, NY. He earned his B.A in Photography from Hadassah College Jerusalem (2011), and his MFA from the School of Visual Arts (2014). Friedländer has exhibited his work internationally at Belfast Photo Festival, Dusseldorf Photo Weekend, Eretz Israel Museum and at the Bronx Museum of the Art. 

Artist Included: Kelly Ciurej​, ​Aaron Wax, Aline Smithson, Alexander Diaz, Mariah Karson, ​Amy Friend, ​Alessandro Ciccarelli, Heidi Clapp - Temple, Sam Marie, ​Alec Kaus, ​Poli Blum, ​Rachel Jump, ​Mélanie Desriaux, ​Donna Cooper Hurt, ​Jennifer Garza-Cuen, ​Susan Keiser, Maryanne Gobble, Lily Mayfield, Conner Gordon, Chloe Meynier, ​Jeanette May, ​Anna Eveslage, Angelina Kidd, ​Kelly Magee, Teresa Meier, ​Kumi Oguro, ​Shannon Smith, ​Pavel Romaniko, ​Jason Tannen, ​Ashley Parker Owens, ​Hiro Tanaka, ​Zhiyuan Yang

LOOSENART PRESENTS 

A SURREAL VISION 
Mostra Collettiva Fotografica - Grafica

OPENING 1 Giugno 2017 ore 19:00 presso Millepiani
Via Nicolò Odero, 13 Roma
INGRESSO LIBERO
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A SURREAL VISION
Photo - Graphic Collective Exhibition

OPENING 1st jUNE 2017 - 7:00 pm 
Millepiani - Via Nicolò Odero, 13 Rome. Italy
FREE ENTRY

WWW.LOOSENART.COM
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This exhibition will expose a "Surreal Vision" of today's society, on Surreal avant-garde inspiration and an interpretation of today's reality increasingly influenced by new media and technologies.
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Artists: 
1 / 9 June - Agota Kranacs, Alex Apt, Amy Parrish, Anna Alpatieva, Christoph Hofbauer, Daniel Mariotti, Kathleen Rogers, Kristina S.Myaso, Lenka Rayn H.,Lynette Miller, Marta Wapiennik, Merve Ayparlar, Nicole Campanello, Pawel Maruszak, Peter Ydeen, Pictoria Newhouse, Ralph Klewitz, Samye Asher, Sena Cakiroglu, Tamira Boogaard, Teresa Meier, Urizen Freaza

12 / 20 June - Alex Valone, Anastasia, Anett Udud, Benjamin Haskins, Charlotte Berndsen, Chystal Olivero, Daniel Keys, Diana N. Jeon, Elena Grossi, Elizabeth Rovit, Erika Morillo, Guilherme Bergamini, Jorge Barbosa, Kid Bazzle, Ljubica Denkovic, Mara Foley, Michael V. Manalo, Natalia Mansano, Po CHeng Liao, Samara Sallam, Stephan GroB, Tania B. Olaibi.

21 / 30 June - Beata Podwysocka, Berta Martirosyan, Boris Marinin, Brandon Halley, Christine Miess, Emanuele Amighetti, Hana Sackler, Heather Ross, Ja Turla, Joshua Sarinana, Mar Kaczmarek, Maryna Makarenko, Natalia Lucia, Nhawfal Juma'at, Paola Cerroni, Rebecca Eskilsson, Rene Maurin, Steven Bowers, TOÛA TOÛA, Veronica Liuzzi, Weronika Jedrzejczak

Check out my showcase on page 83 of the March/April Communication Arts Interactive Annual 23. 

The showcase features images from the Witness Within series, my thesis project for my MFA in fine art photography from the Academy of Art University.  

Artist Statement:

“You have to understand, my dears, that the shortest distance between a truth and a human being is a story.”

~ Anthony de Mello, One Minute Wisdom

Being born the youngest, particularly among seven children, affords you the distinct advantage of going unnoticed. You get to watch lives and stories unfold. You are too young to understand, so you become an unknowing confidant, an idle listener with an uncomprehending gaze. You witness it all. Through the telescope of time, stories and lives are seen and comprehension slowly dawns. Memories are repetitiously analyzed, carefully handled and examined like an old photograph, causing truths to mutate, crack, fade and elude you. So you pursue them like Alice chasing her white rabbit down his hole, only to find yourself, like Alice, back at the beginning with only yourself. Only now, you are awake. 

In the words of Frida Kahlo, these images are the most honest expression of myself that I can show you. They represent all the things that I saw, all that I witnessed and experienced, disassembled, analyzed, and meticulously rebuilt into my own personal mythology. I sought out landscapes I’d ventured through, mimicked the unnerving symmetry of the suburban neighborhoods from my childhood, remembered my constant cat companion, and realized that vivid pink skies will always signify home to me. I carried around a box of family photos that as a child I had spent hours poring over, trying to make all the pieces of family fit together into some kind of whole.  I thought about the religion and father that damned me before I was born. I packed it all up, carried it with me, and let each place tell a piece of the story as I came to know it—slowly, in bits and pieces, out of time, and from many different points of view.

I seduce viewers with rich, fantastical colors and landscapes, hoping to open their minds and hearts and send them on a journey to discover their own personal narratives, bringing them back to themselves and their truths.

The images are best printed and viewed 48”x72”

The Belly is currently on exhibit at Ube Gallery in Berkeley, California.

The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology 2017 workshop catalog is here! A lot of awesome classes with a host of fantastic instructors happening at Sitka this summer.

Join me for an amazing and relaxing weekend in the beautiful nature reserve at Cascade Head for my workshop on Making Meaningful Photographs! If you're looking to add more substance and depth to your craft this class is for you. You will leave this 2-day course more attentive and aware of your photographic voice and how to use it. 

Check out the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology 2017 workshop catalog and please do contact me with any questions.

Complete Sitka catalog available on Isuu.

Creatures: real and imagined II

Exhibition Dates: February 3 - April 1, 2017

Opening Reception: Friday February 3, 6-9PM

Featured Artwork: The Belly

To view the other featured Artists visit the online gallery at Ube Gallery:

Denise Tarantino, Laura Castellanos, Tali Grinshpan, Janeane Sanborn, Karen Bondarchuk, Luke Schutzman, Lindsey Heiden, Jocelyn Young, Kathryn Reichert, Jaime Stagg, Dale Lerner, Lena  Thomas, Teresa Meier, Sarah Buzzard, Alison Ye, Carmen Tibbets, Jessica Teckemeyer, Brian Weaver, Jillian Nalty, Tyler Quintin, Susan Sterling, Christopher Brown, Susan Press, Daria Lvovsky, Elisabetta Martignetti, Kazuma Sambe, Bernell Loeb, Kristine Synowka, John Hilton, Rebecca Hamlin Green, Brad Blair, Mark Dierker, Tom Gibbons, and Danny Taylor

Creatures Real and Imagined II online gallery

So Excited to be apart of the Road Trip show and have my work on the fridge! Thanks Yorgos and Aline!

The Curated Fridge goes to Photoville!

RefrigeCurator

Aline Smithson

From the Curated Fridge About page:

"Hello everyone! The idea behind this project is to celebrate fine art photography and connect photographers from around the world. There is a guest curator for every show and all the big decisions are made over coffee and cake or wine and tapas, depending on the mood!
All you have to do is send your artwork or promos and you might end up on the fridge. The Fridge Shows run on a quarterly basis. For more info about how to submit check the Call for Entrée.

Don't forget that The Curated Fridge will do its best to promote your work and connect you with a wider audience. If you work was selected to be included in a Fridge Show, you can send your news (shows/publications) and they will be posted on The Curated Fridge Facebook page!
All you have to do is send a jpg (of the participating image), the date, time, location and name of the show, and a link (if any).

Please share The Curated Fridge website with all your friends who love photography. In addition, you can like and share our facebook page and follow us on instagram.

Thank you so much for supporting this project!

The Curated Fridge is the brainchild of Yorgos Efthymiadis. To learn more about him and his work, click here."

See my full feature and interview here.

"Underexposed Magazine is dedicated to showcasing and promoting fine art photography made by women. If you are a female, or female identifying photographer, send us a link to your website, or 10-15 images in low resolution, no larger than 10MB at underexposedphotos@gmail.com"

Curated by Davìda Carta.

1. Where are you from and where are you living right now?

I grew up in Salem, Oregon and I currently live in Deadwood, Oregon on the edge of the Siuslaw National Forest.

2. Does the place you live in affect your art and practice?

Definitely. Growing up in the valley meant constantly being surrounded by lush green, which is a color that is prevalent in much of my work. I’ve spent most of my life outdoors and it’s where I like to make my photographs, in natural light exploring remote landscapes.

3. How does being a female photographer influence your work? Do you encounter any challenges in your practice relate to that?

Apart from a series of nude self-portraits, my work generally does not deal with gender. The nude self-portraits began as an assignment during my MFA to push me out of my comfort zone and work in a genre I ordinarily wouldn’t. As a bit of a tomboy I am not entirely comfortable with my femininity and view my body as physically strong and a tool to take me on my adventures. The project was incredibly cathartic and gave me an unexpected view of myself.

I do think it’s difficult, as  a woman, to break into a field that is dominated by white males, but I don’t let that intimidate me. I founded a program for underprivileged teens that is meant to address this disparity of woman and minorities in the field, by providing the opportunity to learn about the industry and teach a few skills. I believe, building communities and providing support for one another is a powerful thing and a positive way to initiate and inspire change within the field.

4. Do you want to share something about your body of work? What are you working on right now?

I love to adventure, and many of these images are from recent travels. When I curated this particular set of images I was thinking about the sensory experiences of traveling — running your hand through grass, feeling your hair whip across your face in the wind, the heat of a campfire. I’m a very tactile person and these are things I zone in on. I’m currently experimenting with editing these and similar still images, as well as short video clips into video format that further enhances sensory experiences.

5. How do you get inspiration? Who do you admire?

I read a lot and pull much of my inspiration from both non-fiction and fiction novels – I love the works of Neil Gaiman whose way of writing really sparks my imagination. I also look at a lot of painters, particularly the surrealists like Magritte and Kahlo. I also really love studying the complex narrative structures of painter Eric Fischl and photographer Gregory Crewdson. And I love poring over the work of Cig Harvey. Her use of color is mesmerizing and her interpretation of magical realism just gets me.

6. Do you shoot mostly color or black and white? Why?

Color. I’m fascinated by it. I feel like I have so much to learn and explore just in regards to color. It’s so emotional, and I love that. The pink photos that Richard Mosse created for his series in the Congo are so intriguing for that reason. Pink is no less true to reality than black and white, but people had this very visceral reaction to the pink color.

When I have worked in black and white it’s because I wanted to focus on form, and eliminating color made that easier for me.

Follow her work here: http://teresameier.com and here https://www.facebook.com/TeresaMeierPhoto/?pnref=lhc 

All images and texts are protected by Copyright and belong to the Artist.