I had the pleasure of first meeting Darius a couple years ago at the Winter 2007 panel review, held in Jen's cozy and art-filled apartment. In spite of the casual atmosphere, it was an intimidating room to be in: some of the smartest and most insightful individuals working in the fine art photography world were hunkered down, ready to look at hundreds of Hot Shot entries and determine the fortunes of the top ten (now it's five, but then it was ten Hot Shots). Darius was one of the first to crack a joke and seemed to be having a good time during what can be a really grueling process.

His enthusiasm for contemporary photography was evident. I'm guessing that kind of energy also spills into his other projects, which most recently include Radius Books. Radius, a non-profit, publishes gorgeous books (I am a delighted owner of Michael Lundgren's Transfigurations) and as part of their mission, donates at least 300 copies of every title to libraries and schools, because as they put it, "the arts--all arts--are vital to our nation and our culture's future." To learn more about Radius and to be notified about new editions, sign up for their mailing list. It's good to be in the know as limited editions sell quickly, like the signed and slipcased Lee Friedlander: New Mexico, which is almost gone.

Here to stay, thankfully, is Hey, Hot Shot! panelist Darius Himes, founding editor of photo-eye Booklist, current independent curator, writer, consultant, and co-founder of Radius Books.

SD: How did you come to be a panelist for Hey, Hot Shot!?

DH: Jen and I met at Review Santa Fe a few years ago. There was a really great group of reviewers and photographers that year, and we've all stayed in touch. It was right around then that Jen launched 20x200. I like to think that she and I have similar eccentric tastes in photography and share a similar enthusiasm for the field. She asked me shortly thereafter to be a panelist. (At least that's my version of how it all happened! Jen's may be different...)

SD: What's most interesting/engaging for you in seeing so much work from emerging photographers?

DH: That's a really good question. You know, as an adult, I've come to see that one of my core personality traits and strengths is being what I call an "encourager." That may sound weird, but I honestly feel that, by definition, there are multitudes of voices out there in the art and photography world, and new voices are joining the "discussion" of contemporary art discourse, as it were, on a yearly basis. Watching and "listening" to that conversation and that dialogue is very important to me. Contests, like HHS and Critical Mass, as well as events like photo LA, Review Santa Fe, the Arles festival--all of that is interesting and engaging to me because first, I like to see new work, but secondly, I really want to encourage both the work and the artists that I respond to, as well as support the mechanism that allows new work and new voices to be heard. HHS is one of those great venues.

SD: What keeps you engaged in the world of emerging photographers and/or contemporary photography?

DH: I can't emphasize enough how the field of photography is constantly shifting beneath one's feet. As I mentioned, I personally attend and see new work at review events like Review Santa Fe, photolucida [Critical Mass] , Fotofest as well as the various art fairs, such as photo LA, Art Basel/Miami, AIPAD and the Armory Show in New York. But then there are blogs and magazines and friends that I stay in touch with in order to really see what's happening. The field of photography is a little bit like the field of music now, in the sense that it is extremely fractured and diverse beyond belief. There are so many various ways that we all find out about new music, but how many times have you been talking with friends and someone mentions a band that they are head-over-heels about and yet you've never even heard of them? (All the time, is the answer.) So, talking with people and being out and about is the best way.

Let me just say that the mission of Radius Books, of which I'm just one of four founders, is to really contribute to and encourage this sense of dialogue in the art world. We assist artists to contribute to this dialogue by publishing books on artists and of bodies of work that we feel have lasting importance. That's our goal, of course, and really only time will tell if we are successful. But the criteria we use when evaluating work is really from a sincere, heartfelt position of true engagement with the work. We have published some huge names as well as some rather unknown names, and I'm very proud of that fact.

SD: When you only see three images from a Hot Shot contender, what makes you want to see more of their work?

DH: If the work doesn't really look like something I've already seen, then that is going to make me want to see more. Obviously, so much of one's response to visual work is on a non-quantifiable level; it's really even on an indescribable level. I have to have a gut reaction to the work, and sometimes it is difficult to sort out, is this just an emotional or sentimental response I'm having, or is there a strong idea or concept behind the work? But that's the joy of digging deeper into the work.

SD: Any advice you'd like to give contenders for future entries?

DH: I would advise photographers, particularly ones right out of school, to be in this for the long-haul. Being a working photographer or artist is a lot of work and you can't complain about how tough it is. Be upbeat, be confident, be persistent, and above all make work that is important to you. That may sound way cheesy, but be self-reflective, ultimately. Take account of yourself each day and be thoughtful about what you are doing in your life, what type of work you're making. Ask yourself, how does this serve the broader society, how does this contribute to an ongoing dialogue? In 100 years, would this work still be interesting to oneself? I don't know.... Be an artist and be serious and be so hard-working that you want to cry. And be happy for the chance to produce something beautiful for this world. Those qualities shine through and speak volumes...

And thank you for letting me look at so much great work. I'm very happy to have been part of the team that chose the work in this round. It totally rocks.

SD: Thank you Darius!

If you're still curious about Darius and his work, a couple other bloggers have published some excellent interviews: his friend and former co-worker Melanie McWhorter gets personal and A Photo Editor Rob Haggart gets the dirt on publishing.