We're thrilled to announce that our friends at Blurb have jumped in at this eleventh hour to offer each of this year's Hot Shots a $1,000 Book Prize to go toward the creation of their own photography publication! In addition, Jen Bekman will select one of the five Hot Shots for the opportunity to work with a professional photo book editor and designer to create a printed masterpiece.

Blurb's tools already make it easy for photographers to design and sell their own books—from 20 up to 440 pages—and with this generous book credit each of the Hot Shots will be able to create books and print copies to keep, share, or give as gifts.

If you peruse Blurb, you'll find nearly forty titles created by Hot Shots over the past few years. We've got a bunch of these books on our shelves at JBP HQ, by the likes of Alison Grippo, Kurt Tong and Mike Sinclair (among others) and—to the credit of the photographers and Blurb—I'm always surprised to find that they were self-published. There's something truly wonderful about holding a bound and printed book of photographs in your hands.

Two pages from Farewell in Labrador by Kurt Tong on Blurb

By teaming up with Blurb we hope to empower even more photographers to self-publish books of their work. As an office full of photographers and bibliophiles, we look forward to seeing the books to come from this year's Hot Shots.

We'll have more details (and a Hot Shot bookshop) for you to peruse soon, but in the meantime, take a look at Blurb, then get your five best photos in before our final deadline for entries of the year: Sunday, August 22nd at 8:00 p.m. (EDT)

When we first decided to announce this year's Curator's Choice Awards we thought long and hard about what this would mean for all our contending photographers. What it does mean is there are yet another pair of discerning and experienced eyes reviewing your work. And, it's a chance for you to learn a bit more about a few of our affiliate organizations—and why we love them. And, it's another chance at a bit more exposure, constructive critique...and prizes!

So, we are extremely excited to announce that Darius Himes, a founding editor of Radius Books and also a HHS! panelist, will be the guest curator for the first month of competition! Radius Books is a non-profit art book publishing company based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico. But, beyond producing an exquisite collection of books, Radius also encourages an ongoing and challenging dialogue in the arts.

All submissions made before April 22nd, 2010 are automatically eligible to win a generous gift bag from Radius, including these three outstanding monographs:

Those three books were all selected by members on the Hey, Hot Shot! team ('cause they're near and dear to us) and we're thrilled that Radius is enabling us to offer them as a prize. The photographer Darius selects will be notified by email and featured here on the blog and in the newsletter in late April, so stay tuned, and make sure to get your submissions in!

JBP's Youngna Park

Over the past five years, our incredible community of Hot Shots has been featured in countless shows, won prestigious awards, and — most importantly — continued to create really amazing work. This year we're making exciting changes to the competition to, as founder and panelist Jen Bekman put it, "expand the opportunities for artists, even as we make the competition more fierce."

We're almost ready to talk about all the details of Hey, Hot Shot! 2010, but before we begin, we want to announce that Summer 2005 Hot Shot and Associate Producer of Jen Bekman Projects, Youngna Park, will be taking the lead on this year's competition. I recently chatted with Jen about why Youngna is a great fit for Hey, Hot Shot! and here's what she had to say:

"Youngna was one of the very first Hot Shots and since then she's been embedded in the organization so Hey, Hot Shot! is in her DNA. Youngna was also a PHOTOBLOGGER and no one even remembers what those are. I mean that's the thing, we share a common love for photography and the internet; and are part of a community of like-minded folks which includes Raul, David Yee and many other people involved in the smoking hot NYC startup scene, like Eliot Shepard who's at Curbed and Jake Dobkin from Gothamist. But also, I love that photography is just one lens for YP--so to speak--she also is a writer, and a cook and an urban explorer and a country mouse too, she's a well-rounded individual that one is!"

To learn more about Youngna, you can read her 20x200 bio, browse her eponymous photoblog, and check out her photography portfolio.

In our conversation, Jen also talked a little bit about why she's so excited for Hey, Hot Shot! 2010 and gave a few hints about the details of the upcoming round, which will be announced on Monday:

"Hey, Hot Shot! keeps us connected with the photography community—we have such a good sense of what's going on in photo because we get to see so much work from all over the world. On our part, we're working on growing our community of the best and brightest photographers and it'll be that much easier to integrate the competition into all of our programs with someone who's full time at JBP taking the lead."

"I'm excited about about Hey, Hot Shot! 2010 because 5 is my favorite number (I am a spazz but I totally mean it!) and also because we get to offer greater opportunities than ever before. There's the chance at a gallery show, 20x200 editions, and being featured on the blog as contenders. This year we're also introducing new aspects, like an increased honorarium, curators' choice prizes, and a new panel format inspired by my turn as a juror for this year's American Photography, AP-25, which was chaired by Kathy Ryan. Our jurors pay close attention but this new format will allow them to participate in a group review AND also drill down and curate based upon their particular point of view."

We can't wait to unveil all the details! Make sure to get on the mailing list if you aren't already to hear the news as soon as it breaks.

A photograph tells a story. But contender Deron Bauman goes a step further, by taking something overheard on the shoot and making it the title caption. The results are inviting, strange, and sometimes comical. By tightly binding words and images together, the narrative aspect of the picture is reinforced. While not as extreme as a jeering episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, this approach suggests some in-built viewer commentary as well.

Words supplement the image to create a second reading, an alternative documentation for the same story, activating the invisible. We become interested in what he isn't showing us, a world beyond the edges of the photograph. Deron points, shoots, and laughs at the limits of photography, while at the same time expanding its boundaries a little further into our imagination.

My mom said I could be anything I wanted. Except a cheerleader. I wonder if Rebecca Greenfield's mom told her the same. These photos document the tryouts for NFL cheerleading teams and showcase Rebecca's obsession with artifice and beauty.

At fifteen, when I first began to photograph, I made pictures of friends emulating what I saw in the glossy magazines that I studied and devoured. Later, I became less concerned with fashion but ever more interested in gender and its construct. As a result, I have been repeatedly drawn to photographing all stripes of young women as they begin to define themselves and who they are in the world.

Rebecca's obsession with the social constructs of feminity have lead her to this arena of overt sexual exploitation. Though her photos peer behind-the-scenes into a bizarre world of constructed femininity, they remain impressively unbiased. The innocent moments of worried facial expressions, captured in-between the poised glitter and sex, give life to what was solely a mindless body. Rebecca's camera obliterates the fantasy.

There's also something unexpectedly appropriate about the American flag hanging in the background of this photo. Together the cheerleader and the flag have connected as icons. In this identifiable role, these women are no longer human, but objects to be celebrated and upheld as a common dream by our society. Looking at these photos, I can't help wondering if all girls aspire to dance provocatively on the sidelines. However, this series is ultimately not about cheerleading at all, but questioning today's culture of American femininity. It connotes the imagery and stories behind photographer Lauren Greenfield's series Girl Culture, which investigates and interprets self-esteem in American women today in order to break down the media's illusion. Rebecca leaves it to the viewer to determine what part of this American dream is real and what is a construct of imaginary and traditionally justified stereotypes.

Driving At Night by Kevin Van Aelst

A quick glance at Kevin Van Aelst's photos will probably not do you much good. His subtle images bring inanimate objects to life in a far more sophisticated manner than their commercial applications would suggest. Kevin creates simple tableaux that reveal his witty disposition toward everyday things in space.

Like the surrealist artist Méret Oppenheim and her furry teacup, Kevin uses his objects to hint toward their fantastic possibilities. As Kevin puts it:

The images aim to examine the distance between the 'big picture' and the 'little things' in life—the banalities of our daily lives, and the sublime notions of identity and existence.

While some say Kevin plays with visual accuracy and our perception of truth, perhaps he is actually revealing the intrinsic natures of this minutiae. In this photographic reconsideration, these objects are simultaneously themselves as well as another object that exists within. This is why crumpled laundry can form a heart, and gummy worms can organize themselves as a genome. He makes it clear for viewers to recognize the endless possibilities of everything around us. In a way, Kevin's work points toward the dizzy philosophy of I Heart Huckabees and its existential mantra that if you look close enough you can't tell where my nose ends and space begins.

Good news! We're extending the deadline for Hey, Hot Shot!'s last round of competition in 2009 to next Tuesday, October 27th at 11:00 p.m. (EDT).

This week has been an exciting one for Jen Bekman Projects, as you may have heard. We've closed a first round of funding which will allow us to offer even more opportunities and exposure to the artists we work with.

This announcement has introduced Hey, Hot Shot! to an entirely new audience, and we've fielded numerous requests about the competition. We want to give everyone some extra time to enter, as this is the last chance to submit work in 2009.

So if you haven't gotten around to applying yet, now's your chance! The opportunities and exposure for Hot Shots, honorable mentions and contenders are better than ever.

The deadline for submissions is now Tuesday, October 27th at 11:00 p.m. (EDT).

Questions? Check out our informative FAQ, follow us on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

bright black sky by Julia Galdo

Hot Shot contender Julia Galdo has submitted a series of self-portraits that offer fragmentary narratives full of tension and curiosity. Julia writes, "What I learned while making [this] work is how to project emotions, problems, anxieties through the interaction of an environment. . . . It's my hope that they connect with the person in that frame in a sympathetic way."

Photographers who explore desire and female identity now constitute a distinct category of the modern canon, inclusive of Francesca Woodman, Cindy Sherman and Anna Gaskell. Galdo's work shares these qualities, yet possesses its own sense of isolation and everyday surrealism.

See more of Julia's photographs on her website.

For those of you in New York, please join us tonight, Wednesday, September 9th (9/9/09!), from 6-8 p.m., Jen Bekman Gallery for the opening of the Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 First Edition Group Exhibition!

Come see photographs by Michelle Arcila, Daniel Cheek, Mike Sinclair, Parsley Steinweiss and Kurt Tong.

Work by some of our Hot Shots is already on 20x200 including Mike Sinclair's Fourth of July #2, Independence, Missouri and forthcoming today, two new editions from Michelle Arcila.

We hope to see you at the gallery this evening! Please say hi, and the Hot Shots above will also be mingling about.

Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street
(between Elizabeth + Bowery)
New York, New York 10012

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday - Saturday | Noon - 6pm
Opening Reception: Wednesday, September 9th, 6pm - 8pm
On View: September 10 through September 19, 2009

Jen Bekman Projects is now accepting entries for the Hey, Hot Shot! 2009 Second Edition Competition. The entry deadline is Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. EDT

Upload your photos today!

Flora 026 by David Axelbank

HHS! contender David Axelbank's entry instantly reminded me of a show I saw at the Guggenheim three years ago, "Spanish Paintings From El Greco to Picasso." No, his photographs do not recall El Greco or Picasso, but brought to mind lesser-known still-life painters Zurbar and Juan Sánchez Cotán. I was then, as I am now when looking at David's work, impressed by the depth of the darkness that the three artists employ in their compositions.

From his statement, David writes:

The flower forms emerge out of the dark, their distinct personalities condensed against the black background. Simple and raw in their presentation, these compositions nevertheless maintain a formality typical in floral photography, their night time setting serving to heighten their sensual beauty and the sensory experience for the viewer.

View more of David's work on his site.

Just Before the Moment of Overwhelming Awareness, 2008 by Mario David Correa

Contender Mario David Correa's series, The Window Seat, is inspired by Russian Constructivism photomontages. Although the work is not politically driven, Correa finds enchantment in collaging together a "combination of unrelated subjects, locations, times and events" on an overhead projector. Once the new composition is arranged, Correa rephotographs the image to create a new narrative landscape.

See more of Correa's work on his site.

Speedboat & Hearse by Chris Hoare

London based Hey, Hot Shot! contender Chris Hoare left his job as a graphic designer and picked up a Wista Field camera to aid him in "capturing the enivronments in which people live and regularly come into contact with, but remain largely unnoticed".

See more of Chris's work on his site.

Two Mantles, 2009 by Jacqueline Bates

Contender Jacqueline Bates makes work about identity. More specifically, she makes work that examines her own vulnerability as an Italian American woman. With her series of diptychs, La Vita Americana, Bates provokes a conversation about past and present conceptions of Italian feminine identity.

From her statement about her work she writes:

I am interested in the position of a woman in a family, what her roles are, how they transform from generation to generation, and how isolating they can be. I examine rites of passage and family traditions which, although far removed from their socio-spiritual origins, continue to be a central part of Italian-American cultural identity. To contrast the color suburban photographs, I present three types of black-and-white imagery: film stills from Michelangelo Antonioni's classic 1960 film L'avventura; snapshots of my parents at the time of their marriage; and my own fictional film stills.

View more of Jacqueline's work on her site.

Slaughterhouse 1, 2007 by Axel Dupeux

The bloody reds of Axel Dupeux's series about slaughterhouses are affronting and catch you off-guard. Animal parts are strewn in the drain of a sink, and blood runs thick like a river. One feels exposed to information about their food-source that perhaps was really not meant to be seen and the slaughterhouses, devoid of human presence, seem like a fresh crime scene left-behind.

Dupeux writes,

On one hand, I thought the texture of blood had an inner violence and a certain beauty at the same time. The Slaughter of the beef by Rembrandt was one of the main images I had in mind. On the other hand, I always find some ambiguity in the way infrastructures are built to deal with serial production; in this particular case, I was torn between a contradictory feeling of seeing the perfect mechanism of the slaughtering process, yet I couldn't help thinking it was also a somewhat terrifying illustration of the level of development Humankind reached.

Dupeaux's series brings to mind Erika Larsen's series about hunting, The Hunt. Here, speckles of blood in the snow and bloodied fingers and animals are also present, but there is also a sense of community and comradeship that motivates the actions of the hunters. Their connection to nature—the long walks through the woods and late nights under bright stars—also complete the hunting experience. On the contrary, Dupeux's images depict a de-humanized killing factory, where the killing the animal is purely for profit, rather than experiential in itself. It renders his exposè of food-production far more brutal and--literally--difficult to swallow.

See more of Dupeux's work on his website, including additional images from his slaughterhouse series. [Warning: some readers may find the images from this project to be disturbing]

Enlightenment by Alex Leme

We all love books over here at JBP. Really, we seriously LOVE books. Have you noticed? In case you missed it, the JB Gallery's summer show is full of novel works, perfect for Summer Reading. So, call him smart, call him strategic, but Alex Leme submitted work from his series Literary Ghosts, that would surely catch our attention over here.

In his statement, Alex writes:

I have always found libraries to be accommodating, peaceful and welcoming spaces brimming with fascinating people, mysterious aisles and compelling stories. Literary Ghosts is a photo essay that intends to depict the elusive, poetic and haunting qualities of those places. This is much more a character study than a mere portrayal of their content, and physical characteristics. I want to dig deeper and explore the ghosts, mysteries, secrets, victories and tragedies surrounding libraries.

The mood, lighting, angles and compositions that Alex utilizes in his photographs of libraries are similar to those in Eric Percher's Work, which could also be described as an investigation into "ghosts, mysteries, secrets, victories and tragedies." Percher's images focus instead on office spaces and high-stress work environments, but likewise, elevate the drama of untold stories that might otherwise be considered mundane.

Leme's photos are also related, somewhat, to that of Winter '07 Hot Shot Mickey Smith. In her series Volume, Smith photographs stacks of books in libraries, as she finds them, relying on the books themselves to relay both the stories of library-goers and librarians and the role that books and magazines play as valuable objects in our lives.

See more of Leme's libraries on his website.

In-between Double #1, 2009 by Hye-Ryoung Min

HHS! Contender Hye-Ryoung Min's photographs are dreamy, to say the least. Her series of merged images, In-between, reminds me of when I forget to advance my Yashica and end up with a double exposure that is never as perfect or poetic as what Hye-Ryoung Min offers.

Like our previous contender, Annick Rosenfield, Hye-Ryoung Min is also a graduate of SVA. In her statement about her work, Min reveals her approach:

My process begins by capturing a first image of the main character, and then finding and layering a secondary image that provides emotional texture. Beyond that, I rely on the geometries of the urban landscape to convey the essential solitude of city life. I also work with elements that contrast stillness and motion, and round shapes that imply circularity and evoke the cycle of life. Finally, the process of photographing, finding, connecting, eliminating, and blending is completed by the addition of a unifying color layer that integrates all other layers into a single narrative thread. I assemble these images to make visible what is hidden, ultimately revealing a third language which breaches the gap between world and artist. It is in fact a world of images where subjects are dreaming my own language.

See more of Hye-Ryoung Min's work on her site.

Amy and Miles by Katie Shapiro

Our very first contenders post of the season! We opened the 2009 Second Edition of Hey, Hot Shot! yesterday and already the entries are coming in. We're excited.

L.A.-based photographer Katie Shapiro had the right idea and submitted her work right away while our eyes are fresh and hungry. I recognized Katie's work immediately; she's a previous HHS! entrant and more recently, I saw this image on fellow L.A. photographer Aline Smithson's blog, Lenscratch. As Aline wrote, "the old adage is good things come in pairs" and that's just what Katie's after showing. She photographs couples, examining relationships, physically and visually linking her subjects. In this sweet, sunny image, Amy and Miles are joined by Amy's braid which curves up and echoes the arc in the window coverings, creating more than one visual relationship, that between Amy and Miles and that between the couple and their surroundings.

To see and study more duos, visit Katie's blog Only Diptychs. To see more work from this round's contenders, stay tuned here. And don't forget to enter Hey, Hot Shot! early and often! Kidding, just send us your work soon, we can't wait to see it.

This has been a huge week at JBP HQ for Hey, Hot Shot! We announced the 2008 Ne Plus Ultras on Monday (congratulations again to Hosang + Colleen!) and the 2009 First Edition Hot Shots today.

Through it all, we've been looking at a lot of amazing work, from photographers we consider friends and family as well as from many we hadn't yet had the pleasure of knowing via their entries and websites. It was overwhelming; I can only imagine the burden felt by Ms. Jen Bee and her slew of stellar panelists to make the final calls.

The only thing possibly as exciting and rewarding as working alongside this crew as they culled the best of the best? Looking back on *all* of the Hot Shots named over the last few years and working with many of them to create some pretty excellent 20x200 editions — and knowing that there's more to come!

In celebration of this week's announcements, we pulled together all of the 20x200 editions produced by Hot Shots. Thanks to all-star intern, Kika Gilbert, you can see them right here:

Dorthe Alstrup
Ian Baguskas
Nina Berman
Kate Bingaman-Burt
Colin Blakely
Dan Boardman
Jessica Bruah
James Deavin
Scott Eiden
Juliane Eirich
Todd R. Forsgren
Alison Grippo
Shuli Hallak
Brandon Herman
Joseph O. Holmes
Karolina Karlic
Robert Knight
Jeffrey Krolick
Gregory Krum
Pixy Liao
Brad Moore
Chad Muthard
Bob O'Connor
Hosang Park
Youngna Park
Kirby Pilcher
Birthe Piontek
Colleen Plumb
James Rajotte
Justin James Reed
Kelly Shimoda
Mickey Smith
Rachel Sussman
Matthew Tischler
Carlo Van de Roer
Donald Weber
Shen Wei

I am happy to report that I have more than a few works by these photographers in my collection. Now's the time to pick up prints of your own (if you haven't already or even if you have). It's a great (um, read: affordable) way to have a little art in your home and support fellow artists. Enjoy!

Cage by Ania Gozdz

Polish-born RISD student Ania Gozdz's photographs resonate with the sort of existentialism that is central to a lot of Eastern European literature. But philosophical wonderings about the nature of our existence in words is one thing, representing them with images is another.

She writes:

Slipping in and out through the surface of representation, my work aims to highlight the symbiotic relationship between life and death and explore the failings of memory and materiality despite their perceived stability... I'm also intrigued by how flux and memory shape the distressed, porous narratives of our lives, and by how the ruptures in the understanding of ourselves can be the richest well of learning and reflection to draw from.

Gozdz's works walk the line between representation and abstraction, see more on her website.

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.

The New York Photo Festival '09 kicks off this evening and gets into full swing tomorrow. Exhibitions, satellite shows, panels + talks, and award ceremonies continue through Sunday, May 17th for four seriously jam-packed days in DUMBO. It's a lot of ground to cover, so here's a rundown on the comings and goings of some JBP-related peeps:

Exhibitions:
HHS! panelist + 20x200 artist, photographer Stefan Ruiz is included in Chris Boot's main exhibition, Gay Men Play. He'll be showing portraits of gay men taken during party weekends in Berlin and San Francisco.

Portfolio Reviews:
Jeffrey Teuton, Associate Director of Jen Bekman Gallery and myself, Sara Distin, Associate Director of Jen Bekman Projects, Inc. | 20x200 + Hey, Hot Shot! will be reviewing portfolios in the review pavilion.
I'll be there Saturday + Sunday afternoon from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Jeffrey will be there Friday morning from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and Sunday afternoon from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Sign-ups for morning sessions begin at 8:00 a.m. and at 1:00 p.m. for afternoon sessions. You can opt for a slew of reviews or for just one.

Panels:
On Friday, May 15th, two talks that are definitely going to be worth listening to include: at 10:00 a.m. "Blogging in the Photography Community," a panel lead by Joerg Colberg with Cara Phillips, Laurel Ptak, Andrew Hetherington, and Brian Ulrich and at 5:00 p.m. "The Edge of Vision, Abstraction in Contemporary Photography" presented by Aperture with Lyle Rexer, Jack Sal, Silvio Wolf and Penelope Umbrico. *

Books + Magazines:
NYPH'09's Book Soup is Thursday, May 14th from 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. The event includes a talk, "The Death of the Photo Book," lead by powerHouse Books CEO Daniel Power and followed by book signings. 20x200 artist Rachel Papo and HHS! panelist + 20x200 artist Kent Rogowski have both published books with powerHouse.
HHS! panelist Stephen Frailey serves as Editor in Chief of DEAR DAVE, magazine. Visit the Media Lounge of St. Ann's Warehouse to be the lucky recipient of a limited number of Issue #4 that will be handed out for free!

Photo Awards:
Many congratulations are due to Bob O'Connor, Kevin Miyazaki, Daniel Traub, Juliane Eirich,** Brad Moore, Yijun Liao and Shen Wei.*** Among hundreds of nominees, these seven are up for New York Photo Awards this year. Come out to cheer them on when the Winners and Honorable Mentions are announced (and their work presented) at the Gala Ceremony for the New York Photo Awards 2009 on Friday, May 15th at 8pm in the St. Ann's Warehouse Auditorium.

Hope to see you down under the bridge this weekend!

Bummed you won't be in Brooklyn? We have some 20x200 photo greatness to lift your spirits:

* TOMORROW! 20x200 presents a special edition by Penelope Umbrico to benefit Aperture. Be sure to get your hands on a print by signing up for the mailing list.
** See new work from Juliane Eirich at 2:00 p.m. today on 20x200.
*** Sign up for Jen's newsletter to be among the first to see Shen Wei's 20x200 editions this summer.

Terrain Vague #2 by Christian Vium

Christian Vium's HHS! entry "explores the fringes of Nouakchott, the windblown capital of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, where [Vium is] currently conducting long-term research on climate change, water scarcity, human adaptation and vulnerability." While his stated purpose is clearly documentary, the photographs remind me a bit of the surreal work by former documentary photographer Roger Ballen. Discarded bits of scattered trash become stage props — a fire burning low and skeletons of ships at sea. Unlike Ballen's work, human presence is marked only by their absence and what they've left behind:

In effect, the objects seemingly scattered in the open space are the traces of nomad encampments, the former residents now most likely inhabitants of the vast slum areas closer to the city, where an estimated 65 percent of the city's population lives. The particular beige light is a result of the constantly blowing winds, which hurls sand particles into the air, blurring the boundary between heaven and earth.

Vium is a photographer and anthropologist currently employed as a Ph.D. Fellow at the Institute of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. See more of his photography on his 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.

Settlement 1 by Corinne Silva

Plastic doesn't leave us, it's become ubiquitous. We're slowly training ourselves to not use it and reuse it when we have to but we're a little late in the game. We've all seen Chris Jordan's Running the Numbers and Plastic Bags, 2007 which depicts 60,000 plastic bags, the number used in the US every five seconds. But, the plastic habit is not particular to Americans, it's all over the world, and as photographer Corinne Silva points out, it's all over the desert region of Almeria in southeast Spain. Working as part landscape photographer, part documentary photographer, Silva's work examines the many ways plastic is utilized in this arid, isolated, and rapidly developing region and all of the things its use has come to mean.

She writes:

Here on the periphery of Europe, the northern and southern hemispheres meet, as do migrants from both compass points. Historically a contested border territory, Almeria still bears the traces of past empires: crumbling watchtowers guard the coastline and Moorish castles compete for space with ancient Catholic churches.... Increasingly visible in the landscape is plastic, innovatively used and reused. Plastic simultaneously coats and reveals. I focus on the use of plastic and what it represents to examine the physical effects of exclusion, desire and exploitation.

See the rest of the series on her website.

The Shipwreck by Yann le Coroller

Hey, Hot Shot! contender Yann le Coroller sites Americans Gregory Crewdson and Philip Lorca diCorcia and Canadian Jeff Wall as influences on his work but it was seeing the photography of Masashi Asada in Japan that sparked his series about Alonso Quixano. Adopted from and inspired by Don Quixote, le Coroller composes and photographs the lighthearted and surreal adventures of a man "a little bit lost in [his fantasies]."

While the filmic parallels between le Coroller's work and that of his influences are evident, his series is a little less Lynch and Hitchcock and little more Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Juenet's Amelie seems a likely female counterpart to le Coroller's Alonso. Unlike Amelie, Alonso's adventures occur outside of France, in Vietnam instead, exaggerating his stereotypically French appearance.

The photographs comprise a book but each image contains its own story, leaving lots of opportunity to invent your own narratives. Daydream a little on Yann le Coroller's website.

untitled 2 paperbacks by Mary Ellen Bartley

I, like everyone at HHS! HQ, am a lover of the book, so I was excited (beyond words!) to see a submission from contender Mary Ellen Bartley, whose paperbacks series challenges us not to judge a book by the cover, the title, or the spine. Bartley stacks books in towers and rows, exposing us to pages available in myriad shades of white, and asks us to consider the book-as-object, and that object as emotional, even without knowing its interior contents.

She writes,

I'm exploring the possibility of creating beautiful even emotionally moving images by photographing mundane things in a purely formal way, investigating their visual qualities and relationships without assigning them much meaning or significance. The palette I discovered in the stacks, containing chalky Necco wafer pastels, fog grays and tooth colored whites, creates a calm meditative atmosphere. The quiet colors and the deliberate exclusion of clues to the books' contents serve to mute the narratives, information and ideas the books must contain - implying that the act of simply looking can be enough in a photograph.

Mickey Smith, a 2007 Winter Hot Shot and 20x200 artist, first brought us work from the stacks with her project Volume. She, like Bartley, pays heed to repetition, line, and mass, but also celebrates the Pantone-palette of color one can find in the library with works like Word Study and More Books. Bartley's books suggest a quieter relationship to her library, and I can imagine her stacking books one-by-one, rearranging their white-ness until they look just right. Perhaps it is true in this instance, that what's on the outside is more important, than what is on the inside.

Also! If you haven't yet heard, the deadline for HHS! has been extended to next Tuesday, May 5th @ 11 p.m.. Apply here!

Caravan Storage by Matthew Dallos

Matthew Dallos' multi-panel work presents us with scenes that bridge man and nature. Power lines meet mountain-sides and a trailer park is is crowded, without a soul in sight. Timbered logs lay in a field, now empty of growth, and one feels faintly forlorn about the implied trail of the humans. Photographed on the South Island of New Zealand, the landscape appears at first and second glance, both familiar, yet foreign. Where are the people who tread in these person-less panoramas? And when do they occupy these spaces? The nature of these spaces has been dictated by our intrusion, and we create new lines that change the landscape.

Like the work of David Hilliard, who was also mentioned earlier this week, the multi-panel frame lends to the way one interprets the narrative. The image is partitioned, so reads like a storyboard, even if originally composed as a single frame. Hilliard's images suggest a human narrative, where lights are on in a house and his subjects meandering in foreground and background often experience a passive and mysterious interaction. In contrast, Dallos looks to the lines of the landscape to speak the "story of the place" without human subjects to carry that voice.

See more from this series on Matthew Dallos' website.

Drop Goal by Anthony Georgis

At any level, the practice and dedication to sport is full of emotion and drive, whether a pickup game of backyard soccer or a competitive professional league. In his series, Blood Makes The Grass Grow, Portland-based photographer, Anthony Georgis captures the myriad roles of a young woman as a high school student, teenager, and competitive rugby player. He observes the complex emotions and physical display of these girls' determination on the field, and also focuses on how their game-time mentality gives way to the everyday of school, home, and teenage relationships.

The dichotomy is presented as diptychs, contrasting notions of individual vs. team and player vs. referee. They create the beginnings of a storyline that we look forward to seeing further explored, whether it takes us through the arc of a match, or off the field into these athletes' everyday lives.

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.

Image by Casey Kelbaugh

Casey Kelbaugh, a Spring 2006 Hot Shot, will have work in a benefit show opening tomorrow, Friday, March 27, at Jack the Pelican Presents in Williamsburg. Old School: A Big Show of Accessibly-Priced Little Gems, will be a salon-style showing of work that is priced with sensitivity to our trying financial times.

OLD SCHOOL
A Big Show of Accessibly-Priced Little Gems
Friday, March 27, 7-10pm
Jack the Pelican
487 Driggs Ave, Between N. 9th and N. 10th
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

While news of the Iraq War appears on the front page of international newspapers regularly, the day-to-day lives of Iraqi citizens are rarely explored in depth. The consequence of the war on Iraqis' civil rights, everyday freedoms, and simple safety, are overlooked by many, but for those who are experiencing raids on their homes, have endured torture by the militia, or have lost loved ones, the realities are glaring and enduring.

Lebanon-born photographer, Amro Hamzawi, takes viewers through a painful, but enlightening journey of Iraqi refugees in his series Iraqis Today (Testimonies). Here, he illuminates the struggle of families--showing physical suffering, deteriorated homes, and many who are grasping onto the little they have left. Descriptions of the scenes at hand illuminate that the images are only a taste of the depth of the atrocities; invisible and emotional wounds supplement those we see.

He writes,

It's difficult to give a precise estimate of the number of civilians who perished or were injured as a result of the invasion, but by all accounts the conditions on the ground are a humanitarian disaster with the civilians caught in the line of fire between the occupation forces, the militias that have taken over the country and the various insurgent groups wreaking havoc. With its infrastructure destroyed and its resources pillaged, Iraq has become a shadow of itself....This collection of portraits of Iraqi refugees seeks to bring the human dimension to the forefront and show the ravages of war from personal perspectives.

Spring 2007 Hot Shot and Jen Bekman artist Nina Berman is another photographer who looks at the effects of war on individuals. Her series Purple Hearts focuses on soldiers who have returned from war, injured, and lives forever changed. Both her project and contender Hamzawi's exploration of testimonies and stories of their subjects enable individuals who have experienced the traumatic nature of war to have a voice and share their stories.

See more on Amro Hamzawi's website.

Horizon # 2, 2008 by Christopher Paquette

Philadelphia photographer, Christopher Paquette, has submitted work from his series Collected Horizons. I'm reminded of Mark Rothko and Andreas Gursky, and how their approaches flatten and challenge our way of seeing.

Christopher writes:

This project consists of a series of minimalist and abstract horizons taken in a variety of locations, both indoors and outdoors. It is a study of layers, textures, depth, and perspective.

View the series here, and visit Christopher's Photography blog here.

Lynn, 2007, by Shen Wei

Flowers in the Backseat, 2007, by Shen Wei

Fall '06 Hot Shot Shen Wei has released a limited edition portfolio of his lush photographs that investigate "the complexity of emotional nakedness".

The unique portfolio book is truly a collectable item. The book is designed as an artist's portfolio, all pages are separated and placed in a custom made box.

Click here to learn more about the book, and here to visit Shen's site.

Chess Game, 2008
by Rachel Hulin

Rachel Hulin was crowned a Hot Shot way back in Spring '05. Since then she has built a blossoming career for herself as a working photographer, photo editor and writer. Her blog, A Photography Blog, is a jovial mix of photo news and insights, rambling thoughts (that somehow always seem relevant), and a lovely dose of idiosyncratic humor.

Perusing her blog today I learned that another Hot Shot (Summer '05), Noah Kalina, will be shooting for I.D. Magazine's annual design issue.

Scanning a little further down, I spotted an image from one of our newest Hot Shots, John Mann.

Seems like Miss Hulin truly has her (trigger) finger on the pulse.

Bookmark A Photography Blog today, and it'll make you smile tomorrow, I promise.

Auditorium
by Hot Shot James Rajotte
Buy one now

Thursday Sara let you know about the 20% More Ridiculous Sale: The Sequel. You might have believed that the sale ended yesterday at midnight, but I'm here to tell you some good news: the sale has been extended to end tonight at midnight! Now you have a little more time to browse and fill your cart with absurdly discounted art (get 20% off your purchase of $50 or more). Just enter coupon code RIDIC when you checkout to claim your savings!

Viva affordable art!

Untitled (Libya), 2007
by John Mann

One of our newest Hot Shots, John Mann, currently has a photograph up for auction on iGavel.

Come see more of John's work at the opening reception for the Hey, Hot Shot! (volume iv, edition ii) Showcase on Friday, January 30th, 2009, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Jen Bekman Gallery.

Edition ii Hot Shots
John Mann
Cara Phillips
Park Ho Sang
Donald Weber
Yijun Liao

Work will be on view through Saturday, February 14th, 2009

Image from Yijun Liao's series Stills From Unseen Films

One of our brand new Hot Shots, Yijun Liao, was interviewed for the NYMPHOTO Blog. Liao's work will be on view at the gallery starting January 30th along with our other newly minted Hot Shots:

John Mann
Cara Phillips
Park Ho Sang
Donald Weber

Hey, Hot Shot! (volume iv, edition ii) Showcase
Opening reception: Friday, January 30th, 2009,
6-8 pm at Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street, NYC.

Work will be on view until Saturday, February 14th, 2009

Untitled 06
Series: The Chinese 'Dust Bowl'
Ink Jet Art Canvas
39 X 58 cm
2007
Hongsibao, Ningxia, China

Félicitations are in high order for 2006 Hey, Hot Shot! winner Benoit Aquin, as he was awarded the 2008 Prix Pictet prize. In case you are in the dark as to how tremendous this news is:

The Prix Pictet is a major new global prize in photography that focuses on perhaps the greatest single issue of the twenty-first century: sustainability. The award is sponsored by Pictet & Cie, in association with the Financial Times.

With a single annual prize of CHF 100,000, the Prix Pictet will reward photographers and the images they use to tell stories of urgent global significance. Each year the Prix Pictet will focus on a distinct sustainability theme. The theme for 2008 is water.

Now you'll never forget. Once you've earned your ranking as a Hot Shot, who know what good fortune will float your way...

SPINE
2006

Mickey Smith's star is rising rapidly, and it is fair to say that Hey, Hot Shot! has opened a door or two. Since her christening as a Winter 2007 Hot Shot, Miss Smith has shown internationally, and is opening her first solo exhibition in NYC this very evening!

MICKEY SMITH | YOU PEOPLE
November 14 - December 21, 2008
Invisible-Exports
14A Orchard Street
Wednesday through Sunday, 11-6:30pm

Mickey's 20x200 edition prints:
WORD STUDY
MORE BOOKS
A 20x200 interview with Mickey
Mickey's site

Picket Fences
2005

I have always been fascinated with model homes. When I was a kid growing up in the sprawling South Jersey suburbs, we used to break in to model homes and just imagine what adult life might be like. Mobile homes also hold a special place of wonder for me, so I naturally feel a connection to the model mobile homes series by Amy Eckert.

Manufacturing Home attempts to understand definitions of "home" and to explore the multi-billion dollar industry selling the idea back to us. The manufactured homes in my pictures are brand-new, having come off the assembly line complete with curtains and wall-to-wall carpeting. Once on the sales lot, they are furnished and propped to present a homey, blank slate for the buyers' dreams. The decor generates a kind of nostalgia which can veer into parody. These display homes are earnest and infused with a sense of potential: the poster fireplaces roar, the flowers stay fresh, and the ice cream never melts.

See more of Amy here

As always, everything reminds me of something else, and in this case, I am reminded of Finnish photographer Esko Männikkö. There is just something about the brilliance of Scandinavian light mixed with the stark simplicity of remote villages...
French photographer Celine Clanet's images of Norwegians living above the Arctic Circle in Máze depict the daily life of people, animals and landscapes of "a reality that will be soon impossible to see due to cultural integration and the global warming disaster in Arctic".

See more from Celine's Máze series here.

I love this image from contender Anna Krachey (yes, it immediately reminds me of Laura Letinsky's work). Krachey seems to be interested in making bittersweet images that capture what we leave behind, and, as her statement declares "this passion for the tangible might not be so possessive, since the pleasure is so widely available, much of it is ephemeral, and some of it is cheap, or free as clouds."

Sigh.

See more of Anna's images here

Image from Sharzad Kamel's Silent Mountains, Lonely Shores series

Hey, Hot Shot! Contender, Shahrzad Kamel, submitted images from her Silent Mountains, Lonely Shores series shot along the borders of the Caspian Sea.

My ancestry is also tied to these regions: my paternal grandparents were originally from Azerbaijan. My maternal grandmother was born in Turkmenistan. Whilst on a personal search for my own roots and selfhood I am also discovering countries still in a transitional period in the post-Soviet world, dealing with issues of their own long suppressed national identities. Iran of course undergoes its own identity crisis in the wake of an Islamic Revolution. The Caspian Sea has become for me a perfect place to investigate my own questions of identity. I aspire to show the beauty in the region, the eccentricities of it, and the splashes of color and life we find in sometimes somber environments. The Caspian Sea has become for me a perfect place to investigate my own questions of identity. I aspire to show the beauty in the region, the eccentricities of it, and the splashes of color and life we find in sometimes somber environments.

As an Iranian American, raised mostly in the UK, Shahrzad uses photography to attempt to connect to a culture and impossible reality of what life might had been like had she been raised in Iran. Her images are rich with an imagined nostalgia and, as the title of the series suggests, deeply lonely.

See more of Shahrzad's dreamy images here.

Congratulations to Birthe Piontek! Birthe will be opening a solo show at Gallery Kominek in Berlin today. The romantic series, Sub Rosa will remain on view through December 13th.

From the press release:

Sub Rosa reminds us of a time, a stage in one's life which could not have been more intimate, and nevertheless exists as a romanticized blur in our mind today. No period in life is so comprehensively enriched with emotions, frustration and high expectations as the stage between our youth and adulthood. Adolescence, the loss of prolonged innocence and the desire to belong and to be different at the same time, seems to be an unconquerable obstacle in the journey of discovering our identity...

Gallery Kominek has also published a book of the exhibition available here.

Birthe's gallery images on JenBekman.com
Birthe's edition print on 20x200
Birthe's website

Documentary photographer Nina Berman (and former Hot Shot! and Ultra) has work up in the gallery as we speak. Nina was generous enough to answer a few questions for the 20x200 blog.

Here's a sneak preview:

How has participating in Hey, Hot Shot! furthered your art career? I had shown my Purple Hearts and Marine Wedding pictures at many venues in the U.S. and Europe, but hadn't had the opportunity to show in a gallery space in New York. Hey, Hot Shot! allowed me to do that very quickly.

Read the full interview here.

I might also add that since becoming a Hot Shot, Miss Berman has received domestic as well as international accolades for her Purple Hearts series.

Image from Luke Cassady-Dorion's series on Ramkamheang University in Bangkok

Did you, dear readers, ever see the UK television The Prisoner? If you have, I bet you'll agree with me that the image above looks very much like a secret room in Number Two's residence in The Village. If you haven't see the series, you needn't rush out to rent it, unless you are a serious sci-fi fan. Suffice to say that the image above captures something familiar and completely uncomfortable, much the same way The Prisoner made me feel. Nothing was quite right, although it seemed like things could be okay...if only...if only.

See more images from Ramkamheang University on Luke's site.

Salutations.

You met Christine the intern a few weeks ago. I'm Anna, and I'm an intern, too. Jen has asked me to edit a new blog that will focus specifically on the quarterly Hey, Hot Shot! photography competition. We recently had an exhibition for the 10 Winter Hot Shot winners, and it received great press. The opening packed the gallery to the gills and was a wonderful success. Stuff about the competition and the artists will be posted regularly, but first I must introduce myself properly.

This may help:

February 22, 2006
Dear Jen Bekman and friends, When I saw your post on NYFA, I was so excited. I discovered your gallery a few years back and have always appreciated the art you exhibit. I received a Bachelor's degree in Art History from Davidson College in May, 2005, where I discovered a passion for Contemporary Art. As an undergraduate, I studied the works of established Contemporary artists. However, I have always been interested in learning about unknown and emerging talent; your gallery appears to be the perfect venue for this.
You're a young gallery doing so much! I am interested in learning about how you operate, from the curatorial and research aspects to your web blog and Hot Shot photography contest (I love that you have this contest!). I believe an internship at your gallery would give me the opportunity to understand how the scholarly world of art and that of commercial art are bridged. I am thrilled at the prospect of helping out with upcoming exhibitions. I also have strong research, writing, and computer skills and am able to do any and all curatorial and handy work around the gallery. Below you will find my resume with additional information including education, experiences, skills, and languages. I would love to meet with you and discuss the position in further detail. Jen Bekman is a fresh gallery where I hope to get my wings!
Thanks in advance for considering me as an intern at your gallery.

Sincerely yours,

Anna Wolfgang

Until very soon, then!

Anna