One of the great pleasures of JBP is getting to work with artists in several different capacities. Today we were pleased to release Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Florida, a contemplative and beautifully quiet photograph by 2009 First Edition Hot Shot Daniel Cheek over on 20x200. The image comes from his series Where We Go, a collection of works about "where people go to enjoy nature, and how we rarely have an unadulterated experience of it." He offers quiet commentary on the places we visit to simulate the experience of the wild, without its true harshness.

In today's newsletter, Associate Director of JBP, Sara Distin describes the visceral experience of running in a snowstorm and how the experience of really feeling the impact of the wind, snow and cold on her face made her understand Daniel's sentiments even more.

She writes:

In the midst of this visceral experience of Brooklyn, albeit abated by concrete, buildings, and bridge, I was keenly aware of Daniel's sense of our separation from it all and realized that he was right and that that might not be such a bad thing. There is value in creating space to look and think from a distance and more so, in highlighting that this is what we're doing. Like the chairs that dot horizons in paintings by Hopper, the empty rockers at Rookery Bay serve to remind us that in these endeavors, we shouldn't separate ourselves from each other, too. In other words, if you're in the snowbound East like we are, rustle up your nearest and dearest and go make some snowmen.

As we mentioned last week, Daniel's work is also currently on view in America Now at the Montserrat College of Art Gallery in Beverly, MA, alongside images by Ben Huff, Shane Lavalette, Laura McPhee, Alec Soth and Zoe Strauss.

Pony Express Trail, outside Austin, Nevada 2006, The West by Daniel Cheek

Now here's a photographic lineup with a star-studded marquis: Daniel Cheek, Ben Huff, Shane Lavalette, Laura McPhee, Alec Soth and Zoe Strauss are all included in America Now, a group show that is a " visual commentary on regional identity within the context of the increased globalization of culture." The work spans across the entire continental U.S., including Alaska, and each of the artist's investment in photographing these regional "portraits" has occurred over a sustained amount of time.

From the press release:

Curators Leonie Bradbury and Shana Dumont sought artists who create counterpoints to both the proliferation of cheap, quick images in popular culture and the fashionable photographs that depict the homogeneous nature of American culture. The selected images document cultural and geographic diversity with photographic landscapes, both urban and scenic, and portraiture...Whether the image depicts a fisherman in Alaska, the Teuton mountain range in Idaho, or street vendors in Philadelphia, the works define American cultural geography in a manner that opposes homogeneity of settings, such as the standard highway system, big-box stores and restaurants labeled with recognizable neon signs.

Daniel Cheek is a 2009 First Edition Hot Shot, and was born and raised in the Midwest. He chose to move to California as an adult, and the images in America Now are from his series The West. His images of expansive Western landscapes are imbued with both heart and cheek (sorry, no pun intended...well, maybe a little), and Daniel often trains his ground glass upon things that most tourists to these places try to avoid in their vacation photos: fences, gates and railways; cars and industrial trucks intersecting otherwise pristine vistas and signposts that have long since lost their signage (and thus capacity to inform or instruct).

Both Zoe Strauss and Alec Soth are intrepidly known in photography-loving circles, and both of them have had work that has graced the gallery walls of Jen Bekman Gallery.

Strauss's contributions to the America Now show will be, she writes, a pushpin installation of images from her America series, which fits in perfectly with her grittily accessible annual installations of her I-95 work from the past decade, which can be seen one day a year in an I-95 underpass in Philadelphia (this year will be the last year it's shown, so plan ahead on attending!).

Alec Soth will be exhibiting images from his Sleeping on the Mississippi series. If you've yet to lay eyes on anything from this body of work, the pronouncement from critic John Wood of Soth's "wonderful and terrifying eye" should give you some indication of what you're in for. Soth is nearly as well known for his writerly musings as his terrific eye, and can be found regularly blogging at the idiosyncratic and quite wonderful writer's circle Little Brown Mushroom.

Some of the most thoughtfully curated and surprising shows that I've ever come across have been at private or public college or university galleries. America Now will be on view at the Montserrat College of Art Gallery, 23 Essex Street, Beverly, MA from February 5 - April 10, 2010.

There will also be a conversation with Zoe Strauss, Daniel Cheek and Montserrat Photography Faculty Ron DiRitoonight tonight, Friday, February 5th from 7 - 9 p.m.

Rincon Artificial Island and Pipeline, Ventura, California by Ian Baguskas

Hope it's not too early to say, Happy New Year everybody! There are only eight days* in the new year to take in Mixtape at Jen Bekman Gallery, which runs through January 9th, 2010. Mixtape is a delirious, kaleidoscopic show, but one reason we're so excited about it is that nearly every photographer included, going back half a decade to our first round in 2005, has held the rank of Hot Shot.

On-screen reproduction just does not do this work justice, but for those of you who can't make it to the gallery, I've taken the liberty of linking up the following list to each photographer's piece in the show so that you can click through and get a peek at the work:

Jessica Eaton—2009 Second Edition
Mike Sinclair—2009 First Edition
Michelle Arcila—2009 First Edition
Colleen Plumb—2008 First Edition
Yijun (Pixy) Liao—2008 Second Edition
Gregory Krum—Summer 2007 Edition
Scott Eiden—Fall 2007 Edition
Kate Bingaman-Burt—Summer 2006 Edition
Ian Baguskas—Spring 2006 Edition
Joseph O. Holmes—Fall 2006 & Fall 2005
Matthew Tischler—Spring 2005 Edition

Another thing to note is that many of the prints in the show are genuine 20x200 editions. If you see something you like at the show, it may be more affordable than you think! Make sure to check the Mixtape page on 20x200 to see what's available for collecting. Stay tuned for news about out 2009 Second Edition Hey, Hot Shot! Showcase which is set to open in early March 2010.

* The gallery is closed on January 1st but will reopen from 12–6 on the 2nd

One of the things that makes Flak Photo one of our favorite photography sites is their excellently curated and generously sized daily photo. Not to mention that Flak's online gallery has been known to feature the work of several Hot Shots, including Colleen Plumb, Brad Moore, and Alison Grippo.

This week Flak Photo started a 25-day showcase featuring the winners of this year's Photography.Book.Now, the photography book competition launched last year by Blurb. Among them will be 2009 First Edition Hot Shot Kurt Tong, who took home two prizes, including first place in the Editorial category.

Several months ago on a Tribeca rooftop, Darius Himes—Hey, Hot Shot! panelist and lead judge of Blurb's Photography.Book.Now competition—gave a speech about the future of photography books and the possibilities self-publishing affords.

Darius said,

Books are ancient vehicles for the dissemination of ideas and resonate with us as objects even today. Photography, by contrast, is no more developed than a toddler in the scope of human history. It is a gift of modernity and it is changing rapidly before our eyes...and all of that is as exciting as anything I can think of.

The Photography.Book.Now contest was not just another "photography" contest. This was a photography-book contest—and specifically, one that celebrates print-on-demand technology. Many thanks and shout-outs to all the photographers who submitted, attended the party and decided to participate in something fresh and exciting, without really knowing where we're all headed.

You can read the rest of the speech over at Darius' blog, and don't forget to check in with Flak to see the great books that they'll be featuring through mid-December.

2009 First Edition Hot Shot Parsley Steinweiss sent us exciting news that two exhibits featuring her work are both opening this week. The first, Derived, Borrowed, and Stolen, curated by Basak Malone and Sara Wight, runs October 1st–15th at Broadway Gallery (473 Broadway, 7th Floor) in New York. The opening is tonight, October 1st from 6:00–8:00 p.m and also includes work by Sarah Sharpe, Katie St. Claire, Sara Wight and Jordan Tate.

Frome the press release,

Derived, Borrowed, and Stolen brings together artists whose work addresses the nature of originality and its complicated relationship with the visual arts. The central theme and title is inspired by the well-known quote, "talent borrows, genius steals," which is said by some to have come from none other than Picasso (rumor has it that it might also have been Morrissey's, of the rock band Smiths, or even Oscar Wilde's). The uncertainty surrounding the origins of the quote is ironically apt. Linked by this common thread, the works in this show raise questions about what constitutes creativity in today's world, one in which the Internet has rendered copying and plagiarizing in the visual arts easier and more socially acceptable.

For those of you out in Colorado, Parsley's work is also on view at the 2009 International Exhibition of Fine Art Photography juried by Andy Adams (of Flak Photo), at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO. The opening reception is tomorrow, Friday, October 2nd from 6:00–9:00 p.m and will also feature images by 2008 Hot Shot Yijun (Pixy) Liao and Jen Bekman Gallery artist Brad Moore.

The Center for Fine Art Photography also has two open calls for juried exhibitions with deadlines on October 20th and October 27th. The first, New Visions will be juried by Michael Itkoff, founder of Daylight Magazine and offers the opportunity for cash prizes and being featured in various online galleries. The second, Portfolio Showcase, Volume 4 has an open theme and will select fifteen photographers for an exhibition, with the image from the winning portfolio to be used as the cover for the Volume 4 publication. Click on the above exhibition titles for more information about submissions and prizes!

And, last but not least: our 2nd Edition 2009 Hey, Hot Shot! competition closes in just a few, short weeks! The deadline is 8:00 p.m EST on Friday, October 23rd. Enter here!

Gosling Lake by Kurt Tong

RAF Vulcan XL-361 by Kurt Tong

See two new editions by 2009 First Edition Hot Shot, Kurt Tong on 20x200 today. Gosling Lake and RAF Vulcan XL-361 both come from Kurt's series Farewell in Labrador, which recently garnered him the Editorial Prize in Blurb's Photography.Book.Now competition.

And remember, the HHS! 2009 First Edition Exhibition at The Gallery closes this Saturday, September 19th, so make sure to stop over before then!

Thanks to all who came out to the gallery last night to see the work of our five newest Hot Shots. We're excited to have their work on our walls and hope you'll stop by while the exhibit is up through Saturday, September 19th.

One of the prints it seemed everyone was gushing over was Kurt Tong's Guangzhou Zoo II, part of the People's Park series which we found out this morning won Kurt the editorial category of the Photography.Book.Now competition. And if that alone doesn't impress you, Kurt also received second runner-up honors in the category for his submission, In Case It Rains In Heaven.

Congratulations, Kurt!

Darius Himes, lead judge of the competition, wrote of Tong,

The fact that two of [Tong's] books were chosen as winners really speaks to the quality of his photographic vision and the strength of the projects themselves...The judges were really pleased to be able to support him.

We also extend hearty applause to the other winners of the competition, including the recipient of the Grand Prize, Rafal Milach for Black Sea of Concrete, Joshua Deaner in the art category for I Sell Fish, and Dennis Kleiman for Volume One in the commercial category.

All of the winners' books are for sale via blurb, and we hope you'll stop by and see Kurt's work in-person at the gallery as part of the Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition Exhibition.

Untitled, 2007 by Carrie Chalmers

Ithaca-based photographer Carrie Chalmers' series In November is awash with the even, gray light of an early winter's day. Snow dusts signs, yards, and rooftops and landscapes are dominated by hues of white and gray. This work was created on Thanksgiving Day 2007, when Chalmers traveled from Ithaca to Niagara Falls (on the Canadian side), and found herself intrigued by the semi-urban landscapes several blocks away from the main tourist strip. It is left to question whether these spaces are void of people because it is a holiday, or, as the language on signs and visions of vacant lots suggest, that this is a community in greater decline. Either way, a lingering sadness hangs heavy in the images' color palette and one can imagine Chalmers with her camera as the lone soul who was walking around on this day.

She writes,

The gaudy strip along Victoria Avenue and Clifton Hill seemed dull in the grey light despite the flashing signs of nearly empty attractions. But a few blocks away in the residential and commercial districts I found the sublime and paradoxical in structures and landscapes. The photographs express a struggle between expectations and disappointment, the present and absent, the possible and impossible, the familiar and foreign, loneliness and connection.

Chalmers' series brings to mind several of the images in Alec Soth's well-known project, Niagara, like Balloon (above), which also captures the feeling of abandon and an affronting loneliness in this supposed tourists' paradise. Large, blank building and motel facades at night create a discomforting portrait of a place when juxtaposed with hopeful newlyweds and out-of-towners. Combined, the images make up a uniquely American and unusually uncertain destination.

Visit Carrie's website to see additional projects and more work from In November.

Last but not least in our Q&As with the latest round of Hot Shots is NYC native, Parsley Steinweiss. Parsley is no stranger to HHS! We first saw her work way back in 2006 and even though the subject matter in her entries was entirely different, the revelation was in the details.

Parsely pays close attention to whatever it is that she's photographing, insects, layers of organic matter or stacks of magazines and contact sheets. Her work simply and elegantly reveals patterns in the world we inhabit, which makes sense: once steeped in the chaos of the city, the thing to do seems to be to seek order. And Steinweiss makes order look pretty good. See more of her work on her website.

From:
Born and raised in New York City.

Formal and/or informal education and training:
I received my B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in photography and painting. After Sarah Lawrence, I got a job at Exhibition Prints, a fine art printing lab in New York City. It was there that I learned everything about printing professionally. After a few years, I decided to go back to school and get my MFA from SUNY Purchase.

How you pay the bills:
I work as a photographer/creative director for a fine jewelry company. I also do freelance photography and teaching.

Best advice received (as a photographer and/or human):
One of my teachers in grad school gave this letter from Sol Lewitt to Eva Hesse to the class when we were all stressing out about our thesis work. I read it whenever I think I've reached my brink:

You seem the same as always, and being you hate every minute of it. Don't! Learn to say "F**k You" to the world once in a while. You have every right to. Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder, wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, gasping, confusing, itching, scratching, mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling, rumbling, rambling, gambling, tumbling, scumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching, moaning, groaning, honing, boning, horse-shitting, hair-splitting, nit-picking, piss-tricking, nose-sticking, ass-gouging, eyeball-poking, finger-pointing, alleyway-sneaking, long waiting, small stepping, evil-eyeing, back-scratching, searching, perching, besmirching, grinding grinding grinding away at yourself. Stop it and just DO... Don't worry about cool, make your own uncool. Make your own, your own world... You must practice being stupid, dumb, unthinking, empty. Then you will be able to DO! I have much confidence in YOU and even though you are tormenting yourself, the work you do is very good. Try to do some BAD work. The worst you think of and see what happens but mainly relax and let everything go to hell.

Top 3 Favorite Artists:
These are 3 in a rotating top 20: Vik Muniz, Bernd and Hilla Becher and Ernst Haeckel.

Photograph (or other work of art) that you can't get out of your head, ever:

Photographers/artists you are looking at right now:
Nicki Stager
Talia Chetrit
John Chiara
Sharon Core
Nina Katchadourian

Reading now:
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Top 3 photo blogs/websites:
I Heart Photograph
Flak Photo
Humble Arts Foundation

Top 3 non-photo blogs/websites:
Tasting Table
Bibliodyssey
Topographic Maps — so cool, you can get topographic maps for anywhere in the US. A great resource.

In case you missed it, we released this gorgeous edition by 2009 First Edition Hot Shot Mike Sinclair on 20x200 earlier this week. It is the first edition from this season's Hot Shots and there's more to come—keep your eyes out! If you'd like to be automatically emailed whenever we release a new edition, sign up for Jen's newsletter.

Mike's statement is a genial narrative of the summer holiday in the heart of the midwest.

This Fourth of July celebration took place on the lawn of the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri.

July nights are slow to get dark enough to set off fireworks and I remember this evening included some speeches, introductions of prominent citizens and a band concert that included a few numbers with a children's choir. I think the Declaration of Independence was read aloud. The lawn was full of people--some picnicking, some just there for the fireworks. A group of Civil War enactors had set up camp at the far edge of the lawn.

Towards dusk, a few vendors started moving through the crowd selling multi-colored plastic circles, like mini hula-hoops, that when activated, glowed in the dark. They were irresistible to kids bored with waiting so long for the main event and each vendor had a trail of children following him. Soon the lawn was spotted with the glowing necklaces.

At dark, the fireworks began. The haze in the picture is a combination of Missouri's humid summer weather, fireworks, and smoke from Civil War-era cannons fired while Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture played.

BBQ-ing, camping, watching the fireworks, listening to music + dancing, whatever you're doing, have a great weekend!

One of the crazy/great things about HHS! is seeing all of the things that these photographers have been up to in addition to some pretty amazing artistic projects. First Edition 2009 Hot Shot Kurt Tong is no exception. He came to photography via a career as a health visitor and founded a charitable home for disabled and disadvantaged children in Chennai, South India. His NGO work led him to start shooting and eventually he was working full-time as a photographer. His projects have since ranged from the documentary to the very personal. Most recently, he's been working on a series that explores his daughter's memories as they are growing up — as visions and experiences are witnessed and archived. There is a sneak preview on his blog that's definitely worth checking out. His as-of-late interest in abstract landscape painters is clearly evident. See more of his work on his website.

From:
I was born in Hong Kong but have lived in London, UK for the last 20 years.

Formal and/or informal education and training:
I was actually trained as a health visitor at The University of Liverpool when I went to college. I got into photography when I was working for various NGOs in India. I was getting enough work so I gave it a shot and became a full time photographer. After a few years, I found myself almost on autopilot when I was shooting and I wanted to expand my knowledge of photography beyond what I was familiar with. So I did an MA in documentary photography at the London College of Communications in 2006. I also did a week-long workshop with Peter Bialobrzeski in 2007, right before I set off on my first trip to shoot People's Park. It definitely influenced how I approached the project.

How you pay the bills:
When I was shooting editorial and working for NGOs, I was having a great time but was barely paying the bills. I now shoot reportage weddings for 6 months a year, which pays my mortgage, my 2 kids, my personal projects (which I shoot in the 6 months I am not shooting weddings) and have enough to spare for the occasional hot dinner.

I still do the occasional NGOs job if it's interesting and I have been selling quite a few prints lately.

Best advice received (as a photographer and/or human):
I am still waiting for it.

Top 3 Favorite Artists:
Clint Eastwood, Joel Sternfeld and Hayao Miyazaki

Photograph (or other work of art) that you can't get out of your head, ever:
Guernica by Picasso, for all its hidden images and symbolism.

Photographers/artists you are looking at right now:
I have been looking at a lot of abstract landscape painters and photographers at the moment for my current project:
Michael Porter
Susan Derges
A bit less abstract but still good:
Peter Bialobrzeski

Reading now:
I have a 2 year-old and a 3 month-old, so I don't really get much time to read, but I am reading Toddler Taming at the moment.

Top 3 photo blogs/websites:
Flak Photo
Lens Culture
Foto8

Top 3 non-photo blogs/websites:
Teamtalk
It's a bit obvious but I couldn't live without Google and Wikipedia.

For as long as I can remember, I've been following Michelle's stream of photos on flickr, in awe and envy of the simultaneous intimacy and intricacy of moments that seem to fill her life. Whether capturing a portrait, a rumpled bed, or the crooked wall of photos inside a home, Michelle's images are nuanced studies rife in texture and pattern that embrace light and layers. She takes cues from her Costa Rican heritage, but also appears to venture out into nature to capture its tiniest vignettes.

We are honored to include Michelle amongst our most recent Hot Shots and look forward to seeing her images on the gallery walls. Keep reading for a short Q&A with Hot Shot Michelle Arcila and look forward for more news and info about the HHS! show and Michelle's work to come:

From:
Long Island, NY. However, I was always back and forth between NY and Costa Rica with my mom.

Formal and/or informal education and training:
I started to get really obsessed with photography so I decided to take a photo class when I was 14 in high school. Thankfully I went to a high school that offered photography for the entire four years I was there. I then attended the School of Visual Arts where I graduated with a B.F.A in photography.

How you pay the bills:
I work full time as a personal assistant. And I try and get freelance photo jobs here and there on nights and weekends.

Best advice received (as a photographer and/or human):
To never underestimate the power of wishful thinking.

Top 3 Favorite Artists:
Frida Kahlo, Vermeer, William Eggleston

Photograph that you can't get out of your head, ever:
I am so sorry that I can not pick just one because I have to say that the William Eggleston exhibition Democratic Camera in its entirety is something I can not get out of my mind. I am not kidding when I say that I cried walking through it. I just thought it was such a pure sincere form of art that is rarely seen in the art world.

I also have to add that there is one more photograph I can't get out of my head and it's Andreas Gursky's Schiphol. I think that if I ever came into lots and lots of money that would be the first thing I would buy. I have Andreas Gursky's book and I try to keep it always open to page 99. Schiphol's page.

Photographers/artists you are looking at right now:
Roni Horn is literally making my mind expand so much. I love how she can bring personal experience to any object and she does it in this way that is both warm and cold at once.

I've also gone back to looking at Paula Rego's work, the narratives that she creates in her paintings are truly remarkable to me.

Reading now:
Report on Myself by Grégoire Bouillier

Top 3 photo blogs/websites:
I really like looking at Dazed Digital. Good bits on music, art, fashion and photography. hei Astrid is really lovely. Lastly Young Photographers United is great and I am lucky to be a part of that site.

Top 3 non-photo blogs/websites:
1. Boomkat -- I can spend hours on their website discovering new music.
2. YouTube for obvious reasons.
3. I enjoy NY Mag throughout my days.

When reviewing Daniel Cheek's HHS! entry, panelists had to take a closer look. It was one of only a handful black and white entries, so it stood out. But the images are subtle, taking their cues from the likes of Robert Adams and before that, Timothy O'Sullivan. On the periphery of the vast American West, Cheek documents our small attempts to stake boundaries and order on the wilderness. Figures and other signs of human intervention are often miniscule, barely visible and almost trite in the face of forests, oceans and mountains.

After studying his work, it came as no surprise to learn that Cheek works at Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco and spends his days, at work and at home, surrounded by photographs from Adams, Misrach, Nixon, Evans, Frank and Friedlander. Fraenkel's recent book Edward Hopper & Company: Hopper's Influence on Photography is also an apt reference. Hopper's vision is evident in the works of many of these photographers, Cheek no exception. The first image in Where We Go on Cheek's website is of 8 straight-backed rocking chairs facing out floor-to-ceiling windows — a cross of People in the Sun and many EH interiors. It's just the intro to many nice works, see for yourself, then move on to a few words from Daniel himself, below.

From:
I like to say I'm from Detroit, but honestly my parents moved us away when I was in kindergarten, so my real claim has to be Grand Rapids, Michigan, which just isn't as tough. I was born in the same hospital as Jackie Wilson, Sam Raimi and Jack White, though. I have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 10 years, which similarly to saying I'm from Detroit, I claim Oakland pride, but live in Alameda...

Formal and/or informal education and training:
I started photography in high school, which had a great darkroom and enthusiastic art teacher. She even got me out of phys ed to help teach the new art teacher how to develop film. I attended the Community College in Grand Rapids which luckily has a phenomenal photography program thanks to a true master, Jonathan Russell. I think we were the only students coming out of a community college all shooting large format, processing with pyro, and printing with platinum. I went on to get my BFA at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, which is more of an applied arts school, but did me well in furthering my technical prowess. After all that, I do think my biggest education in photography has come from my time at Fraenkel Gallery. There's no substitute for having casual conversations with the greatest photographers of the last 40 years.

How you pay the bills:
I handle the rights and reproductions at Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco. Weekly conversations with Robert Adams, Nick Nixon, Richard Misrach, and Lee Friedlander isn't a bad way to wile away the days.

Best advice received (as a photographer and/or human):
Richard Misrach told me I had to stop shooting with that dinky 4x5 and move to a real camera. (I am, of course, paraphrasing, Richard is much more eloquent than I.)

Top 3 Favorite Artists:
Robert Adams sets the standard for elegance, beauty, and thoughtfulness in his photography, writings and way he lives his life.

Nicholas Nixon does things with a camera that are completely unbelievable, I dream of one day being that comfortable and one with my tools.

Garry Winogrand is just plain rad. Some people can only see the funniness, or meanness, or cleverness, but many of his pictures are also very tender and thoughtful.

Photograph (or other work of art) that you can't get out of your head, ever:
Jeez, just one is practically impossible, so, here are several that I have based most of my own pictures off of... I keep these in a catalog in the back of my head and feel lucky when I can come close to making my own. I am also lucky enough to live with prints of each of these in my home.

Photographers/artists you are looking at right now:
Unfortunately, I don't get out to look at art beyond at work. As my first year as a father, time devoted to finding new art has been devoted to crawling on my belly and making a fool of myself for my son's enjoyment.

With that said, I did get Mark Ruwedel's new book, Westward the Course of Empire, which is full of pictures I wish I would have made and a project I wish I would have thought of.

Also, at the gallery we received a batch of vintage not well known Nicholas Nixon pictures which are astounding.

Reading now:
I finally got around to reading The Grapes of Wrath. My wife is from Oklahoma and her grandmother was one of the brave who did not try to move. We go to visit her farm a few times a year where she's lived since the 1930s, she's got truly amazing stories of the dust bowl.

They just don't write books like that anymore, I can honestly say I had to stop reading a few times to stop sobbing.

Top 3 photo blogs/websites:
Like everyone else in this biz, I love James Danziger's blog, although his music picks are generally terrible. He should just stick to photos...

I am a fan of the one and only Hey, Hot Shot! judge Darius Himes' blog, although he needs to start posting more.

I love reading the posts on photo.net. Now, there is a bunch of guys truly devoted to the craft of photography! I'll never have that much energy just in the technical side of it, but it's interesting to read the passionate posts on the virtues of Azo or what-have-you.

Top 3 non-photo blogs/websites:
I am an avid fan of music blogs. So much useless music trivia about totally obscure bands to waste your days. My favorites are:
It's Great Shakes
El Diablo Tun Tun — more vintage obscure country and blues than you'll ever have time for.
Uncle Gil's Rockin' Archives
I used to love Chocoreve but no posts since November, I do hope they come back.
I also check this site more times than is probably safe for my mental state: Recent Earthquakes in California and Nevada
And I have to throw a shout-out to my niece's incredible flickr site, her creativity, imagination and energy puts most of us to shame: Jessika Rosalind

Since we announced our 2009 First Edition Hot Shots a week and a half ago, we've been busy getting to know the photographers behind the images that will grace the gallery walls at a yet-to-be-determined date. Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be bringing you interviews to introduce you to this season's Hot Shots.

Today we start with Mike Sinclair, a Midwestern photographer we've had our eye on for a long while. He takes large ephemeral portraits of crowds at sun-soaked fairgrounds, beaches, and baseball games capturing a sense of nostalgic Americana that many of us get lost in, but hardly look at with any distance. Crowds gather around the rodeo and the smoke of fireworks stirs up a halcyon haze over a grassy field -- all eyes are fixed in a stare at the spectacle before them, while Sinclair is focused on the people doing the staring. Sinclair composes his photographs as a quiet observer who has snuck his way into the hullabaloo of American celebrations and rituals: a street parade, day at the beach, a backyard barbecue. We invite you to peak at more of Mike's work, read the interview below, and stay tuned for more Hot Shot news.

Without further ado, a Q&A with Mike Sinclair:

From:
Kansas City, Missouri

Formal and/or informal education and training:
In High School I worked with my father selling men's clothing. Learning to sell clothes was a great experience for a shy teenager. On his business card was written "See Sinclair for style". I've always wanted to put that on mine.

I got my undergraduate degree at Southern Illinois University. I was lucky enough to study with Chuck Swedlund, a teacher and photographer whose passion for photography is a big reason why I'm a photographer today.

I also spent one Year in the MFA program at University of Illinois.

How you pay the bills:
Primarily Architectural photography but I also do editorial work and teach occasionally.

Best advice received (as a photographer and/or human):
From my wife: "You don't know what you don't know."

From Ezra Stoller, the foremost photographer of modern architecture, when asked at a workshop I attended what was his most important piece of equipment, his answer: "a good pair of shoes."

Top 3 Favorite Artists:
Louis Armstrong, Fairfield Porter and Walker Evans

Photograph (or other work of art) that you can't get out of your head, ever:

Family, Times Square by Louis Faurer, 1948

Photographers/artists you are looking at right now:
Rackstraw Downes
Art Sinsabaugh
David Goldblatt

Reading now:
Under the Gowanus and Razor-Wire Journal: The making of two paintings by Rackstraw Downes. This is Downes' almost-daily journal describing the process and problems of working on location from inaccurate weather forecasts, cars parked in front of your subject, to finding a public restroom and kids throwing rocks at you.

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan. This is a sensitive and at-times comic novella about the last 12 hours at a failing Red Lobster. It changed how I experience eating in a chain restaurant.

Top 3 photo blogs/websites:
1. T.A., Timothy Archibald's blog—It's interesting following someone whose work, both commercial and personal, is so different than mine.
2. The Year in Pictures
3. 5b4—I don't know how he finds the time to look at and post about so many books.

Top 3 non-photo blogs/websites:
1.Reference Library
2. Design Observer
3. Bitten Blog

Jen Bekman Projects congratulates the 2009 First Edition Hot Shots!

After much deliberation and careful consideration, we are pleased to announce the five Hot Shots selected from the 2009 First Edition competition:

Michelle Arcila
Daniel Cheek
Mike Sinclair
Parsley Steinweiss
Kurt Tong

These five outstanding photographers will each be awarded a $500 honorarium and participate in a group show at Jen Bekman Gallery. The 2009 First Edition Hey, Hot Shot! opening reception and exhibition dates are to be announced.

The show marks just the beginning of new opportunities for these photographers. They will automatically be considered for Ne Plus Ultra status, along with the next five Hot Shots in the 2009 Second Edition, to possibly join ranks with recently announced Ultras, Hosang Park and Colleen Plumb, as JBG represented artists. We're looking forward to many collaborations and projects with these photographers at the gallery and 20x200.

We've said it once, but we'll say it again: this edition's contenders were all so strong that choosing only five photographers was an incredibly daunting task. It couldn't have been done without the dedication of our brilliant panelists: Jen Bekman, Christine Collins, Dana Faconti, Caterina Fake, Stephen Frailey, Raul Gutierrez, Darius Himes, Jenni Holder, Julia Leach, Nion McEvoy, Lesley A. Martin, Kent Rogowski, Stefan Ruiz and Jeffrey Teuton.

We'd also like to note some honorable mentions; all of these photographers are creating exceptional work and we're honored they entered Hey, Hot Shot!

Noah Addis
Mary Ellen Bartley
Marion Belanger
Joerg Brueggemann
Nelson Chan
Philip Cheung
Victor Cobo
Maury Gortemiller
Nicholas Johnson
Liz Kuball
Shane Lavalette
Jonathan Levitt
Patrick Lyn
Areca S. Roe
Bryan Schutmaat
Anne Schwalbe
Kimberly Sikora
Corinne Silva
Ryan Steele
Chris Taylor
Lacey Terrell

While only the five Hot Shots will exhibit at the gallery, look for work from these photographers and several other contenders in upcoming 20x200 editions. We'll also post about a few more photographers that we didn't have a chance to write about in the last few weeks right here. Keep an eye on us on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter for more great work, notes and news about the next round of competition!

Guangzhou Zoo II by Kurt Tong

Kurt Tong

Website:www.kurttong.co.uk

Artist Statement:
People's Park
Looking through my family photographs, apart from the customary family portraits in front of the same Christmas trees and behind birthday cakes, most of the photos taken of my brother, sisters and I were during our daytrips out at various parks.

I have just a few memories of these pictures being taken. However, I still have such vivid memories of all the parks we used to go to. The penguin bins, the bumper cars, the trains and the ice cream stalls are all so clear in my mind, little snippets of memories that make up my childhood. Inspired by these family snapshots, these images are taken from a project that explores recreational spaces found in China.

In 1958, at the beginning of The Great Leap Forward, when private ownership was banned, many existing parks were renovated and new parks were built all across China for the people, many were renamed People's Parks. Over the years, they became main focal points of the cities, where families have their outings and couples meet. China is changing at a staggering pace, the economic miracle means that the Chinese are enjoying a much more affluent lifestyle. Shopping and Internet have replaced bumper cars and Ferris wheels. Many of these parks have fallen to disarray. Millions of older Chinese would have grown up with these parks and have memories of time spent in them. Just like the parks, their memories are slowly fading away with time.

Bio:
I was born in Hong Kong in 1977 and have lived in the UK since 1990. I was originally trained as a health visitor at the University of Liverpool and have worked and traveled extensively across Europe, America and Asia. In 1999, I co-founded Prema Vasam, a charitable home for disabled and disadvantaged children in Chennai, South India.

Untitled by Michelle Arcila

Michelle Arcila

Websites: www.michellearcila.net and www.flickr.com/photos/notheories

Artist Statement:
My work lives in an illusive world. It's a world where questions are never fully answered and ghosts wander each room only offering us a glimpse into what their lives may have been. So much of my photography is an homage to the history and stories of my family in Costa Rica. I have collected so many experiences from them that I find myself approaching my camera and subjects, no matter where I may be, with the same hint of mystery and magic I grew up surrounded with. Magical realism is often used to describe Latin American fiction, I use it to describe what it felt like to grow up in a family where the dead were just as present as the living.

Bio:
Michelle Arcila was born in New York in 1980. Graduated SVA in 2002 with a B.F.A in photography. She is currently living and working in NYC.

Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, Berkeley, California by Daniel Cheek

Daniel Cheek

Website: www.danielwcheek.com

Artist Statement:
My photography explores the relationship between people and their relationship with the land. I believe that very few people in the modern age have experienced unadulterated nature. I know I have not. The places we go to experience nature are built-on in order for us to experience it as safely and conveniently as possible. True nature would be too frightening or difficult to access for the majority of us.

Bio:
I was born in Detroit Michigan in 1978. My family moved to Grand Rapids Michigan when I was 6 years old. I moved to San Francisco, California when I was 21. I am 31 years old. I photograph with an 8x10 camera and black and white film. I have worked at Fraenkel Gallery as Rights and Reproductions manager for six years. I am married and have a son.

Artforum by Parsley Steinweiss

Parsley Steinweiss

Website: www.parsleysteinweiss.com

Artist Statement:
I have always found it natural to look at things from a close perspective. Some of my earliest memories are of watching the dust in the light and wondering what it was made of and where it came from. In high school I discovered the macro lens and the ability to study subjects that I could not see with my eyes alone. I realized that by cropping my subjects closely I was not only becoming initimate with them, I was also abstracting them. By this treatment, familiar subjects became unrecognizable and required new investigation. The shape-shifting ambiguity made possible by the photographic lens resonated with my general sense of a world unseen by the naked eye, a world of possibilities. As a general theme I am interested in patterns of growth. Recently, I have been especially interested in artists that deal with ideas reagrding repetition and organic forms such as sculptors Tara Donovan and Phoebe Washburn. I am also influenced by photographers such as Thomas Demand and Jeff Wall, artists who create elaborate illusions for the camera. Over the past couple of months I have been stacking things and taking photographs of the various accumulations. The photographs catalog documents that surround me: books, papers, magazines, journals, sketchpads and photographs. In Contact Sheets I have stacked hundreds of photographic contact sheets that I have created over the past ten years. The result is a series of lines, each representing a print that I have made, a sedimentary record of creative growth.

Bio:
I was born in New York City in 1979, and have spent all the years from then until now in various neighborhoods of the city. I received my B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in photography, where I studied with Joel Sternfeld and where I beagn my development as a serious artist. After Sarah Lawrence I continued my education at SUNY Purchase where I recieved my MFA and was honored with the Dean's Recognition Award. I have appeared in a number of exhibitions in New York and L.A., including shows at Supreme Trading in Brooklyn, New York, Robert Berman Gallery in Los Angeles, California and most recently the Hartford Art Space in Connecticut. I am also featured in the exciting new publication by Humble Arts Foundation, The Collectors Guide to Emerging Art Photography. I currently live and work in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Mike Sinclair

Website: mikesinclair.com

Artist Statement:
The subject of the pictures is Kansas City's park and boulevard system. Begun in the 1890's, it was an attempt to bind together geographically and communally a city overcrowded with "immorality and vice."

Bio:
I am an architectural and fine art photographer living in Kansas City Missouri. My photographs are frequently published in the architectural press and elsewhere, including the New York Times, Metropolis, Architectural Record and Interior Design. My fine art photographs are in several public and private collections, including The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, also in Kansas City.

Thanksgiving by Aya Brackett

Hot Shot contender Aya Brackett writes of her upbringing in a traditional Japanese house in the mountains of Northern California. Having spent some time in Northern California myself observing the bounty of this region's land, I can see why Brackett turns her camera's eye to creating images of food, with aesthetics and arrangement inspired by still life painting.

She writes,

The Between Meals project is constantly ongoing simply because I am continually interested in how food still lifes suggest a greater context and a narrative of human life outside the camera frame. These are not really food shots per se, but compositions that happen to employ food; the inspiration derives from the objects humans consume and use in their everyday lives. I am moved by how these mundane objects can be evocative cues of domestic life, but are still aesthetically exciting.

The work in this series captures moments before and after meals, when ingredients are laid out on a table or counter, or only the last drops of red wine can be seen in the neck of a glass. One sees the rinds and peels of devoured fruit next to cigarette butts and cracked nut shells; the remnants of indulgence and enjoyment and ritual. Brackett captures food without its creators, but their presence can be felt strongly in each of her images.

See additional work on Aya's website.

When We Finally Came to Rest by Cody Bratt

With just hours left to apply to Hey, Hot Shot!, we're tapping our fingers watching the last minute submissions roll in. One submission that came in late last night was the cinematic trio of images from Cody Bratt's series From Home and Back. Shooting stars criss-cross the desert night sky, taking me to an un-specifiable place out West where I half expect to see a cowboy to stumble across the image. In one image, lights are on in a home that sits alone in a great expanse, and a trailer door flaps open in the photo above, but human presence can only be detected through these hints, rather than seen standing in the open.

The blue, cold hue of the scenes captured here feel like movie stills from the Coen Brothers' No Country For Old Men. One can imagine the protagonist, Llewelyn Moss, who finds himself on the lam from a cold-hearted killer after finding a suitcase full of cash, in a setting such as these, hiding out for night in this trailer before taking off on the run again.

For Bratt, these images are about abandonment and discovery, and he writes,

There are likely thousands of stories in each place and, on the face of it, the voices inhabiting them have long since silenced themselves and moved on. But it is precisely this abandonment that makes these photographs about the opposite - discovery. Or put another way, accumulation. Each shot is a discovery and a love letter to the stories people held dear in these places.

The stories here are left to the imagination, and for Bratt, writing a history in found objects and places, is the beginning of a way to grow attached to what he has discovered.

Polar Bear by Arian Camilleri

Believe it or not, Arian Camilleri completed the body of work submitted to Hey, Hot Shot! with a Holga and without digital manipulation. This image certainly gave me cause for a double take. It's a cross between something from Richard Barnes and Lex Thompson and Colleen Plumb.

Arian's compulsion to photograph is all his own, however, making a departure from the commercial world, he's working to embrace photography for its basics: light and time. What better way to work those elements than with a Holga — what else have you got?

See more of his work on his website.

Miss Kitty Litter/Stephen, Brian, & Courtney by Chad Houle

Chad Houle's series, Homodomestic, focuses on gay couples and families in their homes, creating examples of an aesthetic Houle never knew while growing up in Rhode Island. He writes,

As a gay man, I grew up without any real gay examples of a relationship. I never was able to make the connection between being gay and the ability to be in a strong, lasting love. Now, in a long term, committed-and fabulous-relationship, I look back not knowing who I was or how there were so few images of that life I so greatly yearned for. My work is a manner of creating a barrage of examples of gay normality in love and life to infuse the world with what I never saw at a critical point in my life.

His images have a posed formality and take place largely in well-styled, well-furnished, and evenly-lit homes with couples seated at the dinner table, in front of the TV, or in the bathroom brushing their teeth. The "normalcy" is often pronounced through these actions, which can be interpreted as things that normal--or ideal--couples and families have the chance to partake in together.

Several other photographers' work come to mind upon studying Houle's images, which also tug at elements of domesticity and homosexuality. Amy Elkins' Wallflower series posits men against floral wallpapers, a symbol of the domestic interior. The sexuality and male-ness of the men are called into question by the contrast of these "feminine" patterns against the men's bare chests and skin. Whether pale, tan, tattooed, hairless, freckled, or hairy, the men are bared against the backdrop, forced to open up to the camera.

David Hilliard's multi-panel work also examines gay couples at home, or in nature, doing everyday tasks like folding laundry or taking a swim with ambiguous interaction between the men. The two subjects often face the same direction as one another and the viewer is aware of them not making eye contact with each other. Their body language enigmatic and it seems as though their relationship is an open question, both to them and those looking in on the moment.

Lastly, Molly Landreth's Embodiment: A Portrait of Queer Life in America also makes a journey through the queer community, identifying the who and the where of what comprises this community. Her images capture a young generation of lesbian, gay, and transgender individuals and couples, often at home caught in a formal embrace, some partially undressed and looking as though they are trying to find comfort in their own skin.

All of these works evoke questions of normality in relationships, both gay and straight. What a relationship "looks" like has many heterosexual references in everday culture, popular culture, and in art, whereas the aesthetic of the gay relationship is still very much being defined and in flux. All of these artists offer some insight here, and suggest that homosexual home-life and relationships are equally, if not more complicated than heterosexual relationships.

Untitled from the series What Light Remains in the Absence by Adam E Thorman

Writing from a cafe in sunny San Francisco, it seems geographically appropriate to reflect on the work of Bay Area artist, Adam Thorman today. Thorman is heavily influenced by his natural surroundings and the interplay of light on nature, as well as poetry, which he incorporates into his work in collaboration with others.

In the images submitted to Hey, Hot Shot! from the series What Light Remains in the Absence, the play of light off of water, through windows, or as the glimmer of energy in an otherwise dark space, articulate the way that light can define a space or a mood. The time of day is often ambiguous--is this dawn, dusk, or somewhere in between? Even light and strong glows work in interplay, whether off an otherwise ordinary surface, or off a subjects face and body.

See more at Adam Thorman's website.