We've announced this season's round of Hot Shots but things are still clipping along over here, for us, and for the Hot Shots, new and old. The freshest crop of Hot Shots will be working with Jen and and Jeffrey Teuton, the JB Gallery's Associate Director, to cull work for their upcoming exhibition, opening so soon, on Friday, January 30th, 2009. And, previous Hot Shots are popping up all over the place with new work, including the above photograph from Fall 2007 Hot Shot Scott Eiden, Hank Williams' Bed, Georgiana, Alabama. Scott paired up with his identical twin brother Steve Eiden, who shot Leonard's Bed, Niland, California, in this 20x200 edition. I had the pleasure of introducing the work to 20x200 collectors in yesterday's newsletter:

This fresh crop of Hot Shots will join ranks with Scott who was a Hot Shot in the fall of 2007. In every round of Hey, Hot Shot! competition, we see more than a few photographs of beds. They're an oft shot subject, so much so that they're named in Geoff Dyer's list of common subjects in the history of photography, along with road signs, benches, and hats (if you want to brush up on your photo knowledge, Dyer's The Ongoing Moment, is a good book to pick up, read, and pass on to a good friend, photographer or not).

That being said, some photographs of beds are better than others and these two are among those that are better. Scott's photo of Hank's reminds me of Walker Evan's Bed, Tennant Farmhouse, Hale County, Alabama. It's a humble accommodation for certain, for a farmer, or a future radio singer. Leonard's bed and a comparison of the two, make me think of a whole slew of beds (and the photographs of them) and what is above and below them and what that says about their respective sleepers. In Leonard's bed, there's not much separating him from the sky above and the sand below. Again, a pretty humble, but grand (if you ask me), way to sleep. And appropriately so, Leonard is the most devoted at Salvation Mountain, making a tribute to love and faith his life's work.

The prints are gorgeous - if you haven't checked them out already, you should. The brothers both shoot 8"x10" negatives and print traditional c-prints. So, the smallest edition size, at 8"x10," consists of contact prints. I'm certainly a fan of archival ink-jets and digital c-prints but am still a nostalgic sucker for anything that comes out of the darkroom.

I'm working to line up some more updates from all of our Hot Shots, including some more details about the latest lot of 'em, as well as from our superstar panelists. So, stay tuned... and have a good weekend!