HOVERING GROCERY SHOPPING ASSISTANT WITH LEATHER HAND LEAD, 2009
by Patrick Strattner

Part satire on mass consumerism, part would-be shopping catalogue—and entirely amusing—Contender Patrick Strattner's series PROTOTYPES features absurdist inventions for the commercially obsessed. Need a portable armpit dryer? A battery-operated toothbrush that brushes all your teeth at once? Strattner's got you covered. Inspired by in-flight publication SkyMall, Strattner conceived of, designed, created and photographed an array of inventions intended to make life "easier and, thus, more enjoyable."

ZIPPERED OUTER APPAREL WITH ATTACHABLE VELCRO ACCESSORIES, 2009
by Patrick Strattner

The creations are a testament to the artist's understanding of and insight into products that a public would, essentially, want to buy. By highlighting the gadgetry and components necessary to make the products work, however, Strattner is putting on display the seeming impracticableness inherent in satiating our immediate-gratification-consumerist nature. The photographs themselves—bright, colorful and funny—have a deliberate advertising appeal. In Strattner's comical world, what you want, you've got, no matter how cumbersome or outlandish.

BATTERY OPERATED BACK HAIR 2IN1 SHAVING AND GROOMING SYSTEM, 2010
by Patrick Strattner

In his artist statement, Strattner adds:

Like SkyMall products, my PROTOTYPES series encourages the audience to fantasize about a better life, a life made easier, and thus more enjoyable, through the possession of one or more of my inventions... However, like many items found in the SkyMall publication, the fantasy usually proves more gratifying than the actual product. My chosen medium of photography is essential in perpetuating that fantasy. Through photography, the prototype looks full of possibility and promise. The audience can embrace the concept of using this invention to improve their quality of life.

The Berlin-based photographer counts Adidas and Monocle among his clients; you can view more of his work here. However, those of you wanting to purchase any of his inventions are out of luck: The artist dismantles the prototypes after photographing them because "the fantasy exists more in the two-dimensional image and, as a result, the audience can allow themselves to indulge in the fantasy more readily and through that process find hope in possibility."

the other landscape 02, 2010 by Laura Garcia Serventi

Memorial Day weekend is upon us. While some of us will duly fire up the grill, open a couple of cold beers and enjoy a warm and lazy weekend at home, there is no doubt that many Americans will spend the holiday in the great outdoors, welcoming summer by enjoying and celebrating the beauty of nature—likely many people in the northern hemisphere will be doing the same in the coming months. Contender Laura Garcia Serventi's images of seemingly stunning landscapes, then, will give us all something to look forward to while heading out the door.

the other landscape 03, 2010 by Laura Garcia Serventi

From afar, the images in this series look like they were taken at different national parks. As the eerily beautiful images draw you in, however, a painterly quality presents itself, making you second-guess whether they are actually photographs. Well, paintings they are not. Serventi's the other landscape series was shot entirely at various Museums of Natural History, with each image showing just one small detail from a diorama. The confusion these images cause is precisely what Serventi is going after:

My work develops around the theatricality of the photographic medium, its relationship between truth and simulation and the concept of "mise en scène." My images are often created from this oscillation and develops around the concepts of "the natural" against "the artificial," "the real" against "the fake," and the ambiguous relationship that exists between them. The natural world is always present; sometimes it's the center of the image, sometimes it's just a backdrop, but it's always a nature that has been appropriated in some way. It's a nature at human scale, never wild, always under control, harmless. Whether it's a painted representation, or a diorama, or a collage made out of photographs taken at a botanical garden, there's always the intrusion of a human hand and the intention of creating an illusion. The landscape becomes a scenography and the photograph translates into a mise-en-scène. Contrary to the Romantic conception of nature, this natural universe has been intervened [with] and altered to human scale, [has] become submissive and completely still.

the other landscape 04, 2010 by Laura Garcia Serventi

Serventi was in fact trained in painting in her native Argentina, before discovering her love for photography and moving to Italy to study it. Now calling New York home, Serventi's work ranges from traditional photography to paper and tridimensional collage.

I am more than my face:), 2010 by Mitsuko Nagone

As many of you might have heard, the most expensive photograph in the world is currently a self-portrait. Cindy Sherman's Untitled 96, a conceptual portrait of herself from 1981, recently sold for $3.89 million at a Christie's auction in New York. Though best known for photographing herself in a range of makeup and costumes, Ms. Sherman has famously said that she didn't consider her photographs as self-portraits, as she never saw herself in them and she felt anonymous in her work. On the contrary, Contender Mitsuko Nagone's self-portraits are all about herself.

As the most identifiable feature on the human body, the face is usually a key part of any portrait work. Yet in Nagone's I Am More Than My Face:) series, every photograph is faceless. Nagone hopes to take a fresh look at how we define ourselves, and how we identify other people, by eliminating the face:

With this project, I intend to create myself, instead of finding my identity. People often ask themselves, "Who am I?" However, this may take them away from the truth. The definition of who they are could limit their own possibilities and the infinity of their essences. I believe that the self should be created, instead of being found. The self-portraits explore this idea, since the face is obscured. The human face seems to emphasize "who" a person is and gives insight about the individual. This may misinform the audience. I would like to challenge the viewers' misconceptions and stereotypes.

I am more than my face:), 2010 by Mitsuko Nagone

Nagone sets both head and heart aside in her exploration of these "essences."
It was Jacques Lacan who shook the world with his theories on human emotional development, including what he referred to as "the mirror stage." In his seminal essay "Some Reflections on the Ego," he wrote:

"The mirror stage is a phenomenon to which I assign a twofold value. In the first place, it has historical value as it marks a decisive turning-point in the mental development of the child. In the second place, it typifies an essential libidinal relationship with the body image."

According to Lacan, this moment of recognition often comes before the baby's body is fully coordinated, thus leading to a "fragmented" self-image. In seeing his/her own face, the child becomes utterly confused and so by seeing his or herself, actually becomes alienated from his or herself. Whew!

I am more than my face:), 2010 by Mitsuko Nagone

Nagone's work plays off of Lacan's theory, hiding the human face in order to seek truth and wholeness. What results from the process, however, is a series of images that appear more confusing and fragmented to the viewer than would a standard portrait. In the second image, the manner in which she has positioned both her sweatshirt and her body trick the eye. At first look, it is difficult to tell whether she is facing the right or the left. The human form (missing face aside) looks disfigured, but it is unclear as to why.

Nagone's images are at once playful and challenging—as fellow humans we seek recognition; we want, need to see her face, but over and over again she obscures it from our view.

Additional writing by Qian Ma

Untitled, 2011 by Kyla Medina

Every photograph ever captured is tied in some way to the human psyche—whether that tie exists in the artist's intent or only in the viewer's individual perception of that image. Contender Kyla Medina directly relates her images to her background in the study of human psychology, using her subjects to illustrate feelings of self-doubt or the struggle with self-identity, which Medina, especially, can relate to.

"I began a search through my own experiences, as well as for common themes in the experiences of others," she writes in her artist statement. She then staged scenes that would produce "metaphorical images." Images that, according to Medina, "reflect moments of guarded insecurity and self-evaluation of identity."

In this respect, I consider them autobiographical images even though I ask another to act in my place.

The Space Between, 2010 by Kyla Medina

This "near-obsessive awareness of identity" that Medina refers to shines through in her offset portraits, capturing her subjects in moments when they are most vulnerable—falling from a merry-go-round; covering their blemishes and pruning themselves before a mirror; subjecting themselves to ridicule by acting in an unusual manner in a public space.

Untitled, 2011 by Kyla Medina

An undergraduate psychology major and photography minor at the University of Iowa, Medina merges the two disciplines, producing self-effacing photographs that speak to the vulnerability of our species resulting from any and all attacks on our strong sense of self-pride.

Abigail Feels Lost, 2010 by Guia Besana

Consider bedtime stories, video games and animated films featuring talking and singing animals—it seems as though children these days are often immersed in a world of fiction from the very get-go. But what about their mothers? In the spirit of threading together a fictional narrative through images of mothers, both pregnant and experienced, Hey, Hot Shot! Contender and Italian photographer Guia Besana explores the role of mother in her ongoing project BABY BLUES. In describing her efforts, Besana writes:

I try to define the role of the mother, decribing the conflictual world women experience during pregnancy and motherhood, capturing a moment in daily life in which the woman's identity is questioned, with the purpose of preserving the emotional experience that becoming a mother entails.

Mrs. Robinson's Stretching Session, 2010 by Guia Besana

Using a large-format camera and artificial light, Besana stages admittedly fictional representations of moments teased out of an imagined mother's daily life.

Untitled from the series Remote Control, by Guia Besana

In another series, Besana alters her approach and instead captures very real moments of children and adults alike playing on the popular gaming system Nintendo Wii. What may, at first glance, appear to be standard photos of likewise standard families, positioned in front of the television in their living rooms, are actually very telling photographs in their own right. Each image in Remote Control proffers a window into the worlds of these people, these families. Every detail, from the clothes they are wearing down to their couch and carpet selection, lends itself to the telling of their own story.

Untitled from the series Remote Control, by Guia Besana

Untitled from the series Remote Control, by Guia Besana

By taking candid images of families at play in their homes, Besana packs several novels worth of narrative into just one series of modest and non-presumptuous—it is the viewer who makes presumptions based on the visual evidence—photographs of people at play.

Defender #2, 2010 by Sean M. Eno

There's something inherently frightening and uneasy about the world Contender Sean M. Eno created in his series Defenders. The massive, stationary watch posts immediately convey a foreboding sense of militaristic authoritarianism, and the viewer's first questions are likely: What are those things? And what is their purpose? Big Brother is watching you, indeed.

The futuristic structures are intimidating both in their architecture—seemingly impenetrable fortresses—and in their positioning—above you, over you, looking down on you at all times.

Defender #1, 2010 by Sean M. Eno

Scarier still is the unspecified reasoning behind their presence. What led the government to create these "sentinels," as Eno calls them? What kind of societal upheaval or life-altering event prompted their necessity?

Defender #3, 2010 by Sean M. Eno

In his artist statement, Eno explains:

We see the great city in the sky at a distance, across the water. A safe distance? Certain structures, when observed through a telephoto lens and isolated against the Rococo sky, take on the characteristics of enormous spacecraft, hovering. What are these craft? Who built them? Is there anyone inside? This project imagines a series of dormant sentinels, all that remain of a long-dead civilization. Once menacing agents of intimidation and control, they remain among us as dormant guardians of a vanished empire.

Seems like a fitting contender post, given recent fascinations with the apocalypse: zombie, rapture or otherwise. It's a distinctly human pastime, the preoccupation with all things end-of-the-world. In this series, Eno has tapped into one of the plot lines in doomsday scenarios, wherein abuse of power and crowd control manifest themselves as an imposing, menacing armada in the skies.

Untitled. Barents Sea, Norway. 2010 by Andres Gonzalez

"Traveling, it makes you lonely, then gives you a friend; it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller; it gives you a home in a thousand strange places, then leaves you a stranger in your own land." Ibn Battuta, the great 14th-century Moroccan scholar and traveler, said these words about traveling. 700 years later, despite the vast social changes and technological advancements, traveling, at least the essence of it, remains much the same to us. Unlike 700 years ago, however, the invention of the camera has completely changed the documentation of traveling. It was far away from his Californian hometown, out in the Namibian desert, where contender Andres Gonzalez found his love for photography over a decade ago.

Untitled. Tsagaan Nuur, Mongolia. 2010 by Andres Gonzalez

Many trips and photographs later, Gonzalez has been named one of PDN's 30 to watch, was granted a Fulbright Fellowship, was shortlisted for a New York Photo Award and has shot for publications such as Newsweek, Monocle, W and Wallpaper. Although he now calls the incredibly multicultural Istanbul home, the fascination with traveling to far away places and the desire to hit the road have not faded for Gonzalez, as evident in his statement for the series Somewhere:

The passenger steps onto the overcast deck and remembers a line. "Soft was the sun." The wind to his back, he is facing the stern and an endless trail of thoughts drifting away from him towards the horizon. He wants no words, only to enjoy the delicate anticipation of a moment waiting to reveal itself. What are the limits of language? This is the mind, felt, not spoken. He makes a photograph of a seagull, and does not resist the emotion that brings. There is a town passing by on the starboard side of the ship, the mind-boggling, awe-inspiring, crazy-making, world of people. He is happy for the distance, but knows that any idea of separation is only an illusion. Everything exists according to the laws of nature. There is a core, it seems. The sea turns grey for a moment, the lights from the town slowly dimming, overtaken by fog. He makes another photograph of the fading light, the soft presence of time. The ship begins to slow, ahead a port, and another journey.

Untitled. Khovsgol, Mongolia. 2010 by Andres Gonzalez

The images in the series are just as poetic as Gonzalez's words. Like Gonzalez's partner Carolyn Drake said about the "Boy with Axe" image, the mystery in these images is captivating. As with all mysteries, there is something very interpretive about Gonzalez's images. At the same time, there is a very quiet quality to them, as if each image is a secret that is being whispered into the viewer's ears, and no exchange of words is necessary.

Keep up with Gonzalez on his blog, where he posts news and his latest photos.

Response to Print of Egret Rookery, Louisiana, 2010 by Laura Plageman

Contender Laura Plageman's landscapes are constructed creations where lush, verdant lands and surreal, white skies buckle, bend, tear and fold. The resulting dreamworld she's created is at times stark and isolated, but imbued with wonderment and resplendency. To create the work, Plageman re-photographs enlarged prints with a large-format camera, manipulating and interacting with the original. A fold in the print, when re-photographed, serves as a tool to deflect and distribute light, for instance. The crisp details accentuate and enhance the evident artist's touches.

Response to Print of Kudzu, Texas, 2010 by Laura Plageman

Taken from her Response series, the images, like Plageman, "explore the relationships between the process of image making, photographic truth and distortion and the representation of landscape." From her artist statement:

In this series I am responding to photographs both as representations and tangible objects... I create works that oscillate between image and object, photography and sculpture, landscape and still life. While they may appear illusory, the resulting pictures are documents of actual events and are thus as authentic as the original representational images contained within. My process unfolds through observation and experimentation—I let the image and its materiality dictate its direction. Playing with paper and with light in unplanned and organic ways, I look for new ways to perceive the space, form and context of my subjects.

Response to Print of Green Hill, Washington, 2010 by Laura Plageman

The images in Plageman's series touch upon nature and "the hand of man" in both a literal and figurative sense, while simultaneously making the elements within the picture—the documented, the fabricated, the manipulated—meld and interact with one another to create an entirely new landscape, an entirely new creation.

Liquor and Lotto, 2009 by Baldomero Fernandez

Middle America: the backdrop of Contender Baldomero Fernandez's Middletown series. "I portray the situations and objects that I encounter in my travels through middle America honestly and the viewer is left to endow them with a much deeper meaning," writes Fernandez in his artist statement. But, where is middle America exactly, then? Interestingly, Wikipedia lists it as an American region and a societal class. In strict geographical terms, it's an area known as the Midwest. However, in the context of Middletown, defining the precise boundaries of "Mid-America" is almost pointless, as Fernandez's work is simply about the part of America that's often overlooked and ignored.

Burning Down the House, 2009 by Baldomero Fernandez

To some, the places and people that appear in Fernandez's images might very well be familiar territories; to others, they probably fall in the "familiar yet strange" category. We have all been there: the small towns, towns you pass by (probably on your way to somewhere bigger), towns you might have spent some time in, but left for somewhere "better" years ago. They are places you rarely take any interest in because, on the surface, they are just unexciting, uninteresting; depressing, even. Yet, just like the boring, sad or unremarkable moments that make up the empty spaces in an album full of happy and exciting photos, these places and their people are not to be ignored or forgotten. They live in the vast land between the more bustling cities and towns of America that most of us are so familiar with. Fernandez explains his interest:

I am tied up in a love-hate relationship with the American landscape and civilization. Middletown represents a country where Wal-mart is the institution that best symbolizes its identity. Middletown is the coal-dusted faces, which are smoking cigarettes as they look at me and ask if I work for the government as they burn down their house so they don't have to pay taxes on it any longer. Middletown is the Grandma who puts the delicate imported Ecuadorian rose in the fridge next to the half and half so it lasts just a few days longer. Middletown is small town America under the cold florescent tubes of the box store that keeps the myth of the five and dime alive while at the same time co-opting it. Middletown is sweet and it is sour. This work is a mix of melancholy and desperate hope. The work aims to capture an abstraction in close proximity to a reality... Middletown is a continuation of my exploration into the cracks on the surface of the American dream.

Conversation, 2009 by Baldomero Fernandez

Fernandez's photographs give those of us who are outsiders an insight into the daily lives in "Middletown." Exclusively black and white, the subtle contrast takes a layer of drama away from the images. At the same time, the mellowness draws the viewers into each image, inviting them to discover and imagine the stories hidden beneath the surface. Fernandez was a finalist in the 2011 Center Awards Project Competition for Middletown. He has worked on projects in different corners of the world, and his commercial photographs have appeared in magazines such as Vanity Fair, W and The New Yorker. Check out his website for more of his work.

Day 47, 2009 by Jennifer Wilkey

Cold. Sterile. Isolating. For many, a stay in a hospital can be a trying experience, a constant memento mori: the routine blood draws; the IV drip; the confining cots; the intrusive X-rays and medical tests. For Contender Jennifer Wilkey, whose mother and brother have long been affected by illness, visiting hospitals has been an inextricable part of her life. In her series of images, the photographer examines illness from the perspectives of the patient, the visitor, the doctor, the hospital and the treatments.

Take Two, Three Times Daily, 2009 by Jennifer Wilkey

Though the subject of this series is likely the artist's mother, Wilkey doesn't focus on the disease but, rather, the longevity of illness and of the necessary hospital stay, and the emotional and psychological toll it takes. Wilkey, in her artist statement, explains:

Long-term illness is diagnosed through the medical institution, but it is also interpreted in the personal and emotional realms. While enclosed in a hospital room, life in the outside world continues and, in a sense, passes the patient by. Time becomes an element of duality; one that exists in slow motion within the hospital, while it simultaneously hurries by beyond the hospital doors.

Redline, 2009 by Jennifer Wilkey

The resulting body of work is a personal statement on long-term illness and healing, and humanizes the otherwise staid experience by adding the artist's creative touch. Hospital robes and medical receipt paper become tools with which the photographer further weaves a story: fashioning blue pills out of former robes, knitting vital signs onto paper with with red wool or embroidering floral patterns onto an IV bag all serve to indicate a personal acceptance of sorts, while providing a distinct relief from the mundane and often monochromatic setting. "Through the use of monotony, repetition and duration," Wilkey adds, "unusual narratives are constructed that walk a space between reality and the surreal." For more of the artist's multidisciplinary works—including a study on scars and stitches constructed from fabric, wax and thread—head to her site.

Untitled, 2011 by Lydia Anne McCarthy

Like a fading or obstructed memory as it bubbles to the surface, the images in Contender Lydia Anne McCarthy's series Shadows and Reflections are murky and a little mysterious. Important details disappear into the void, replaced by the sensation of the event or memory. Awash with the glow of refracted light, these haunting portraits are moments frozen in time awaiting each viewer's own interpretation, and are symbolic of the photographer's inclination to meander between the real and the imagined, the actual and the remembered.

Untitled, 2011 by Lydia Anne McCarthy

The artist is most concerned with—as her statement and Website reiterate—her "intense longing to experience a reality" that is not her own. Using a reconstructed 8x10 camera with the lens replaced by a fresnel, these portraits take on a blurred, abstracted quality. "The resulting images," she explains on her site, "are impressions of refracted light, with the highlights rendered as spectrum and the darker areas as undefined lines and shapes." The viewer is unable to see clearly the identifying trademarks and characteristics of the subject and is, instead, asked to project their own perceptions unto them:

I find myself obsessed with how we perceive and experience reality. These photographs are visions, flashes and hallucinations of moments from the past. Each image vibrates with the thin traces of memory and attempts to gain access to the archive of the unconscious. The lens of this camera has the ability to simultaneously mutate and beautify; it creates a flickering vortex of darkness and light. I am asking both the viewer and myself: What do you at once desire and fear? And how does this alter your perception of the world?

Untitled, 2011 by Lydia Anne McCarthy

Fans of her work will also be pleased to know she'll be exhibiting at Daniel Cooney in July 2011.

For those of you still looking for an activity to fill your weekend (according to the latest iPhone weather forecast, it's going to rain both Saturday and Sunday, so you might as well be indoors), head over to DUMBO in Brooklyn to visit the various galleries participating in the 2011 New York Photo Festival. This year's festival is curated by Enrico Bossan and Elisabeth Biondi under the umbrella theme Photography NOW: engaged, personal and vital, and the two main exhibitions feature artists like Alejandro Chaskielberg, Stefano De Luigi, Carolyn Drake, A Yin, Olivia Arthur and Matt Eich.

In addition to the exhibitions, the photo festival encompasses a number of really exciting events, including Aperture Presents, a series of interactive talks given by Aperture-published artists, including 20x200 edition-maker Penelope Umbrico.

The details:
Saturday, May 14th, 2:00 p.m.
St Ann's Warehouse
37 Main Street
Brooklyn, New York

Other highlights include the Indie Photobook Library, which will be present at NYPH throughout the weekend. According to the iPL, "The entire catalogued collection of the Indie Photobook Library will be on display, plus the Blurb Photography Book Now winners and honorable mentions from 2009 and 2010!"

The details:
Thursday, Friday 12:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday 11:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Sunday 11:00 to 6:00 p.m.
@1 Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY

But there are plenty of other special events and featured exhibitions that you should check out, including the Slideluck Potshow (giant potluck dinner + photography...um, awesome!), just to throw an example out there.

Town and Country Days, 2010 by Aaron Blum

Appalachia. A mysterious, mountainous pocket of the United States widely known for its Trail, its legendary feuds and its coal, thanks to countless historical fiction novels and, of course, Hollywood. But fewer of us actually know what it is to reside in this sliver of land, sidled up to either side of the mountain chain that stretches from southern New York state to northern Alabama and Mississippi. Contender Aaron Blum, however, knows it well.

A West Virginia native, Blum grew up in the heart of Appalachia, privy to a world that is rarely captured accurately in books and on the screen. "Outsiders have long since fictionalized the narrative surrounding Appalachia," he writes in the introduction to his series, Born and Raised: Reflections of a World Set Aside. He continues:

As a resident of West Virginia I have always been aware of the views others hold of my home, and they have guided me to create my own version of life in the hills. My Appalachia is a granulated depiction based on the false impressions of others, my idealizations and personal experiences.

Through his play with light and with subjects loosely based around his family and friends, Blum creates a window into a slightly exaggerated, slightly fictionalized version of his homeland. But for Blum, it has become difficult to tease apart the "real" Appalachia from the imagined. Perhaps, his images seem to suggest, in this very rare case, the dream has actually informed reality, rather than the other way around.

Living Room, 2010 by Aaron Blum

Blum's images, with their thoughtful use of light and setting, infuse both the hilly landscapes and modest living rooms of Appalachia with an almost enchanted quality. County fairs become glowing, elvish cities hidden deep among the trees, and what are initially unassuming parlors become the eerie backdrops of science-fiction thrillers upon second glance.

Since we announced Chikara Umihara as our 2010 Ne Plus Ultra about two weeks ago, he has almost taken over this space with his images, and he himself has been quite the superstar here at the office - everyone who has met him has been eager to share their favorite Chikara moments. So, where is he now and what is he up to? With the First Edition 2011 competition now open, we thought it would be a good time to catch up with Chikara and share our conversation with all of our friends, both old and new.

It's been a little while since we last saw you in New York. First of all, congratulations on becoming the 2010 Ne Plus Ultra! Do you mind telling us how you'll use the $10,000 grand prize? What's the next step for you? Are you working on anything that you can tell us about right now?

First of all, thank you so much and I'm still very surprised to be named the 2010 Ne Plus Ultra! It is a great honor to be selected from the pool of diverse and exceptional submissions from the 2010 Hey, Hot Shot! finalists. I'm in Bangkok now and started a new project. (I've wanted to start this project for two years.) Also, I'm starting the MFA program in Photography at the Hartford Art School. The grand prize will definitely help keep me moving forward.

You have already participated in the Hot Shots group show in February with the Aggressive Girls series. Any plans for your upcoming solo show at Jen Bekman Gallery?

Aggressive Girls is an ongoing project, and I try to shoot more every time I come to New York. I've just started photographing in Thailand and have another project I want to start this summer. So, I have to see which series would be the strongest body of work to be presented at that time.

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 2009 by Chikara Umihara

Tell us your most memorable moment while working on the Aggressive Girls series? The hardest part?

There was always surprise and sensation when working with them. It is a world I've never known. If I had to pick one most memorable moment, it would be the first night I stepped into their party. That sensation, I won't forget. I think every time was challenging to me: from the beginning of this project, to getting to know them, to explaining the reason why I wanted to photograph them and, also, to think about what kind of significance or importance I found between our relationship. It took a while before I took my first shot on this project. Some days I'd go meet the person who promised to be photographed, would wait for three hours and she'd never show up. However, that was just part of my whole experience with this project. So, I've learned a lot from this project.

Untitled, from the Aggressive Girls series, by Chikara Umihara

You got into photography at a relatively late age. Do you think that has any influence on your work? Do you think it has brought you any benefits or challenges?

Before, I studied literature while in university. I've been influenced a lot by the various methods and the way photography pursues the truth. I practiced martial arts for over 15 years and found a similar discipline in both martial arts and photography. I started photography late (I think I was 32 then). My family and friends were surprised when I told them I was going to New York to start photography. However, I had my own experiences in my life and trained in literature and martial arts. For me, the devotion and the quality of
practice is important. I've never thought about the advantage or disadvantage of starting late. Yet, surely I have so much to learn and so much work to do. But it is exciting. I love challenges.

What's been the biggest/main obstacle for you as an emerging photographer? What keeps you moving forward?

Like the many emerging photographers I've known, balancing the act of art making and surviving has never been easy. I work different jobs to save enough money to start a project, and sometimes I don't have the time to photograph because of that. But during these times, I read books, study art history and look through photography books, etc. There are so many counter-practices I can use. I'm trying to learn and shape myself from diverse aspects. I want to make unique and original work.

Rainfall, from the Silent Water series, by Chikara Umihara

What's your experience with 20x200 been like? Your latest edition has been selling quite well. Did you expect that?

I love working with the 20x200 staff. They are brilliant, intelligent, very open and supportive to artists. Meeting with them and having editions on 20x200.com made a big shift in my career. It is an innovative place that has introduced a whole new output for the art world. As an image-maker, I want my work to be seen and be shared, and I want to be able to communicate with the audiences. This is one of the most fascinating parts of making work, I think. I hoped, but honestly didn't expect, to sell well. I sincerely thank the people that purchased and took time to look at the edition. And I am most curious about the kind of dialogue happening between the image and the viewer.

You've spent quite some time here in NYC, so I have to ask you - what's your favorite restaurant in Brooklyn?

That's hard. There are plenty of good restaurants in the neighborhood. Well, I choose the party at my friend's place, where we often hang. We cook amazing Japanese food.

Untitled, from the Silent Water series, by Chikara Umihara

Special thanks to Chikara, who did this interview on a weekend while traveling. See more of his photos on his website, and check out his 20x200 editions.

Lerato and Haley, 2010 by Ellen Jacob

Contender Ellen Jacob's series, Substitutes, is about the relationships forged between immigrant nannies and their charges. Rife with possibilities to incite ire or spark controversy—the nation continually clashes over immigration policy; hiring help to raise children still carries a negative stigma—the topic of whether or not to hire immigrant nannies is not universal and not indicative of American culture at large. Rather, these images reflect a slice of life more common with celebrities and the wealthy than with the average American. Still, that hasn't stopped the touchy subject matter from receiving ample media attention and getting the lit treatment.

Rita and Jacob, 2010 by Ellen Jacob

In addition to visual contrast, the images in this series capture the loving bond that often forms between caregivers and the little ones they look after, feed, play with and help raise. Outsiders (much like, arguably, the working parents themselves) are not privy to the intimate, personal nature that exists between nanny and charge—from nap and bath time to emotional support and the minute details inherent in child rearing. Instead, Jacob focuses on the quotidian: Whether taking the kids out to the park or grabbing a bite at kid-favorite McDonald's, these are the immediate scenes most often witnessed throughout New York City.

Lerato and Haley 2, 2010 by Ellen Jacob

As for the title of the series and the issues she's presenting, Jacob cites:

The women in these photographs perform parenting duties. They are substitute parents. This fact leads to questions about how we as a society raise children. Being a nanny is a low-paying job where love between the nanny and child is one of the anticipated but universally unspoken duties. This is an unusual expectation in a financial transaction. For me, the situation raised issues of racism and the exploitation of inexpensive labor. But what I found was something different. I was surprised by the warmth and honesty of both the employed and their employers. Most of the nannies were primarily interested in having a job and paying their bills; most moms had grappled with uncomfortable issues of parenting, race and economics. Most say race doesn't matter. But if race doesn't matter, why these persistent racial divides?

Jacob brings to this project a personal viewpoint: She, too, had an immigrant nanny.
"Substitutes," she says, "is about the indelible impressions these women leave, and the persistent questions they raise."

Motel Bien Venido, 2010 by Walker Pickering

There's something deeply American about the desire to hit the paved road with nothing but good tunes, a camera and enough money to afford the basics: the motels, the fast food joints and ice cold beers. Inherent in this road trip fantasy is the romanticized notion that because you're (likely) traveling alone, it's nothing but you and the road.

Meal, 2009 by Walker Pickering

Contender Walker Pickering's series Nearly West depicts the still, solitary moments that wanderlusters and Kerouacians long for, the instances of communion between the nomad and that which is encountered. Each setting hints at a narrative describing the deeply personal nature of experiencing a new point on a map, whether planned or not. The muted palette therein reflects the worn and weathered atmosphere endemic to the towns most travelers opt to overlook. These seemingly mundane destinations the Texas-based photographer comes upon are interspersed with beautiful, serene discoveries.

Hole, 2009 by Walker Pickering

In a recent interview, Pickering discussed his often nomadic lifestyle and admitted that the naming of the series also hints at the idea of the grass being greener anywhere but where one is. It would seem, then, that Pickering's road trip is an ongoing one.

From his artist statement:

From Dorothea Lange in the Great-Depression 1930s and Robert Frank in the Cold-War 1950s, to Stephen Shore in the Vietnam-era 1970s, Walker Pickering continues the grand tradition of socially engaged photographic road trips across the United States. With his medium-format film camera, he discovers and documents a panoply of American places in square-format photographs that remind us of who we are as individuals and members of a society. Urban parking lots, rural roads, monuments, motel rooms, and roadside attractions receive Pickering's equal, loving attention. Often infused with golden sunlight and blending beauty with apparent ugliness, his landscapes are both physical and psychic spaces.

Learn more about the artist, his other series and his upcoming exhibitions.

Rainbow, 2008 by Walker Pickering

Hey, Hot Shot! Broken Down
Having just kicked off HHS! yesterday, we thought it appropriate to do a quick rundown of the basics of our bi-annual photography competition to inform those who might not be as familiar with it as those of us who return to the site (and blog) year after year in anticipation of great work from emerging artists.

As we move forward, into May and into the heart of submission season, be sure to check back daily to see contender posts featuring YOUR submissions. That's right—each day we'll pick a different contender to highlight from out of our magical submissions inbox (because we don't wait until the end to see what great work you guys are sending us!). The First Edition competition ends on June 22nd, but those who submit early will pay less than our procrastinator friends out there who are already plotting to dawdle. After all, we prefer "the early bird gets the worm" to "good things come to those who wait." Call us impatient—we're just so excited to see what you have to show us! So send us your stuff now...

Rainfall, by Chikara Umihara, the HHS! 2010 Ultra

It's official! The Hey, Hot Shot! First Edition 2011 round of competition is now open and accepting submissions. We are thrilled to kick off the competition because of the many opportunities it has brought—and continues to bring—to the winners. Unprecedented exposure, participation in group shows at Jen Bekman Gallery and, oh yeah, only $10,000 to the overall Grand Prize winner, dubbed a Ne Plus Ultra!

To learn more about the competition, the esteemed panelists we work with and all the prizes, head here for all the pertinent info. As always, we'll be releasing contender posts frequently, so be sure to check back daily to see what type and caliber of work is being submitted (or to see your own photography on the site).

For all the latest, be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Good luck, and show us your hot shots. The First Edition 2011 competition closes June 22, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. (EDT), but don't delay, as the entry fee will increase incrementally throughout the competition.