Resting on a Bush, by Yijun (Pixy) Liao

Photographers, the end of the competition is fast approaching. Even faster: The entry fee will once again rise on Saturday, November 12th at midnight, EDT (to $80). That means you have a little over a week to start your entry. You'll have until the deadline, November 14th at 11:59 p.m. EDT to complete it, but start your entry now to lock in the $70 fee.

+ Congrats to Hot Shots Laurie Kang (First Edition 2011), Jessica Eaton (Second Edition 2009), Kurt Tong (First Edition 2009), Yijun (Pixy) Liao (Second Edition 2008) and Justin James Reed (Spring 2007), who'll be part of the Flash Forward 2011 Emerging Photographers exhibition and book launch, which kicks off Wednesday, November 9th, from 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. in Toronto's AirShip 37.

+ Lens Culture FotoFest Paris 2011 is taking place from November 7th through the 9th. Our own Sara Distin will be representing JBP and reviewing portfolios. Be sure to say hi if you're there.

+ Also in Paris: Magnum Foundation and 20x200 will be presenting their latest collaboration, a pair of limited-edition prints by renowned photographer Inge Morath, to benefit Magnum Foundation's Legacy Program. Stop by Magnum Gallery on Friday, November 11th, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. to see the prints, and/or just say hi to Jen, Sara, President of Magnum Susan Meiselas and Director of the Legacy Program John Jacob.

+ And be sure to sign up for the 20x200 newsletter to get first dibs on the special, never-before-published pair of prints by Inge Morath, which will first be revealed on November 10th to newsletter subscribers.

+ In London: American photography critic A. D. Coleman will be leading a discussion titled "Dinosaur Bones: The End (and ends) of Photo Criticism." Set for Tuesday, November 8th, at 6:30 p.m., the panel and discussion will take place at Hotshoe Gallery.

Untitled from the series The Infinitesimal Residual Vibration of an Unknown Sound, by Kaho Yu

The first thing you are likely to notice about Contender Kaho Yu's submission is its title, The Infinitesimal Residual Vibration of an Unknown Sound. It's one of those titles that makes you pause, re-read and then reflect for a moment. It touches a part of your brain that you didn't know existed, cracking the door to a whole new level of awareness, like that film with an equally verbose title did.

The meaning behind the title comes from the notion that air has memories. According to Yu, Charles Babbage, a 19th-century scientist widely considered to be the "father of the computer," opined that "every voice and sound, once imparted on the air particles, does not dissipate but remains in the diffused movements of all the particles in the atmosphere." Following this logic, one day there might come a sound seeker, who'll capture the infinitesimal vibrations and trace them back to their ultimate source. (Be sure to watch this beautiful animation from Yu about said sound seeker.)

Untitled from the series The Infinitesimal Residual Vibration of an Unknown Sound, by Kaho Yu

So how does this relate to photography? To Yu, "taking a long exposure, letting the light slowly accumulate an image on the celluloid surface, is not unlike a sound seeker searching the air particles for the tiny residual movements that have been conveyed through the history of mankind, from the beginning of time." Thus, Yu's a light capturer, if you will.

Untitled from the series The Infinitesimal Residual Vibration of an Unknown Sound, by Kaho Yu

Despite its lengthiness, the title itself and the story behind it both hint at something very minimal and sparse. Yu's minimalist approach removes much of the emotions and injects a heavy dose of silence into the landscapes and objects in his images. Perhaps that's what it takes to capture boredom:

The photographs in this series were taken during a period when I was feeling existentially bored. Instead of distracting myself with activities and accumulating new sensations, I decided to "look" at boredom, to study and perhaps to understand it. The most natural strategy was to observe the immediate environments where my daily activities take place—train stations, cubicles, copy machines room, etc. I carried a medium-format camera on a tripod and spent the odd hours wandering alone through those familiar spaces. My "study" did not lead me to any revelation or answer. Instead, I found myself spending a lot of time waiting in a long silence, between the opening and the closing of the camera shutter.

Untitled, by Kaho Yu

Yu received a BE in computer engineering from the University of New South Wales in 1993 and an MFA in computer art from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2002. He splits his time between feature animated film productions and personal projects in photography and short films, several of which have been screened in international film festivals. Kaho Yu currently lives and works in Hong Kong.

Monolith, 2010 by Beau Comeaux

On Halloween, it's only appropriate to show a contender whose dark, moody photography has an almost graveyard quality. HHS! Contender Beau Comeaux brings the spooky with his night series of dilapidated architecture and natural decay. Small signs of new life—sprouting weeds or a background of greenery—sprinkle the otherwise cold, stone buildings. But instead of the typical browns and grays of old construction, Comeaux's images—shot with a Canon 7D—are colorful; shades of pink, turquoise and yellow saturate the solitary scenes.

Trench, 2009 by Beau Comeaux

"Each image is composed of multiple captures of sections of the scene before me, blended together seamlessly to subtly reconfigure the space depicted," Comeaux says of the work. "Being an extremely curious and explorative person, the night becomes my photographic playground; a quiet and solitary space in which to operate."

Exit, 2011 by Beau Comeaux

Comeaux was originally a graphic design major at Louisiana State University (from where he graduated in 2000), but would often skip class to spend time in the darkroom. He eventually got his MFA in photography from University of North Texas in 2006 and now shoots completely digitally. Based in Troy, NY, Comeaux's work has shown in various exhibitions in Texas, Colorado and Louisiana; he is a visiting professor at Sage College of Albany.

Filter Samples, by Jessica Eaton

Hey, Hot Shot! Second Edition 2011 is in full swing, and entries from talented photographers far and wide are coming in. But your chance to enter for $60 is slipping away. This Monday, October 31st, the entry fee will increase to $70, and will rise again incrementally throughout the remainder of the competition. With the deadline set at November 14th, the earlier you submit, the better. Consider this fair warning and don't delay—get your entry started today.

+ First Edition 2008 Hot Shot and 20x200 artist Colleen Plumb will be holding a book signing for her monograph, Animals Are Outside Today, this Saturday, October 29th, at Radius Books in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

+ If you're in New York, don't miss the recently-launched solo show Life Near Windows, by Jen Bekman Projects VIP Youngna Park (Summer 2005 Hot Shot, 20x200 edition-maker and HHS! 2010 fearless leader and writer). The exhibit is in Brooklyn's Saffron, and is on view through January 7th, 2012.

+ Also in NYC, Second Edition 2009 Hot Shot and fellow 20x200 artist Jessica Eaton has a new solo show, Cubes for Albers and LeWitt, beginning November 3rd at Higher Pictures gallery, on view through December 17th.

+ In 20x200 news, photographer Taj Forer will be having a book launch for his monograph, Stone by Stone, in NYC's Bubble Lounge. The party is this Friday, October 28th, from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m.

+ Speaking of parties, renowned photographer Jessica Craig-Martin has teamed up with 20x200 to release a pair of limited-edition prints. Known for her irreverent shots of the well-heeled, well-to-do crowd, Jessica's all-access pass to glittering galas and fashionable fetes provide the best vantage point from which to take her subversive candids. Get in on the revelry and snap up Let's Party and Cougar Friends before they're gone.

Dashiki, 2010 by Joann Biondi

Anyone who has ever owned or remotely dealt with a cat knows that the fickle animals like very few things: a filet o' fish, a scratch behind the ears, a string to swat and a room of one's own. Well, photographer and HHS! Contender Joann Biondi challenges these judgements with her portrait series of one special feline, Lorenzo.

Beach Bum Chic, 2008 by Joann Biondi

In Biondi's entry, Lorenzo is outfitted in various scenes: a Hawaiian shirt in Beach Bum Chic, a cozy, woolen poncho in Wisdom and a cut-off denim jacket in Classic Denim.

Classic Denim, 2009 by Joann Biondi

"Like Charles Darwin, I believe the difference between humans and animals is a matter of degree rather than kind, and that sometimes, that difference is indecipherable," says Biondi, who shot the series with a Sony DSLR. "My photography challenges preconceived notions of what a cat will or will not do, and delivers a new perspective on the cliché of cats being stubborn and aloof. It is the juxtaposition of human clothing on a cat's body that renders them startling, and at the same time, compelling."

Wisdom, 2011 by Joann Biondi

Biondi, a journalist, adopted Lorenzo in 2008, and after noticing he liked to wear clothes, started photographing him in different ensembles. Since then, her photos have been exhibited at the Cornell Museum of Art and American Culture in Delray Beach, FL; the Nave Gallery in Somerville, MA; and Aperture Studios in Miami, FL; The series has also been reviewed and featured in publications including the Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Boston Globe and Seattle Times, plus ABC News, MSNBC, Huffington Post, YAHOO! News and the Times of India.

Untitled from the series Afronauts, by Cristina De Middel

Contender Cristina De Middel's series, Afronauts—comprising retro, sci-fi portraits and muted-color landscapes—recalls a different era, when space travel was new and every country wanted in on the action.

In 1964, Zambia had just gained independence from the United Kingdom. What better way to celebrate than to start a space program itself? (True story.) The (unofficial) Director-General of the Zambia National Academy of Space Research guaranteed the country could put the first Africans on the moon, and on a rapid timeline, to boot. Unfortunately, a financial aid request (to the tune of $700 million from the United Nations) er, fell short, and one of the astronauts, a 17-year-old girl, became pregnant and had to return to her village. The Zambian government distanced itself from the project, as his request and methods weren't taken seriously. In Afronauts, De Middel revisits this un-photographed course of events as she imagines it to have looked.

Untitled from the series Afronauts, by Cristina De Middel

"As a photojournalist I have always been attracted by the eccentric lines of storytelling, avoiding the same old subjects told in the same old ways," says Spanish-born De Middel, who is now a freelance photographer based in London. "Afronauts is based on the documentation of an impossible dream that only lives in the pictures. I start from a real fact that took place 50 years ago and rebuild the documents, adapting them to my personal imagery."

Untitled from the series Afronauts, by Cristina De Middel

De Middel's personal and professional work for newspapers and NGOs has been recognized by the National Photojournalism Prize Juan Cancelo (2009), Fnac Photographic Talent (2009) and the Humble Arts Women in Photography Project Grant (2011). She has an MA in fine arts from University of Valencia, Spain (2001), an MA in photography from University of Oklahoma (2000) and a postgraduate degree in photojournalism from Universitat Politécnica de Barcelona, Spain (2002).

Ablution, 2010 by Brendan George Ko

Dreams, imaginations and memories from long ago. What they have in common is that, while they are all so very visual in their presentation, we can't actually see them with our eyes. They are merely formless mental sensations, synapses firing in our brains. However, that's not to say we can't actually "see" them. In fact, sometimes we probably see them better than anything that's in front of our eyes. What we "see" without our eyes is consciousness in its rawest state, stripped of layers of distractions and no longer needing interpretations. Fear, joy, anger, hope and love—emotions are often not seen by eyes.

Sometimes, the lines become blurry—you see something so clearly and vividly, for so long, that you no longer know if it was once real, if you've actually seen it or if you just wished it were real. These eerily stunning photos constructed by Contender Brendan George Ko are just that—images you see when you close your eyes.

Barking Wall, 2011 by Brendan George Ko

Ko describes this ongoing project, The Barking Wall, in his own words:

I remember as a kid I used to cover my face with my hands, and peek at the world through my fingers. I could see the world, but the world couldn't see me. Nowadays, I find myself assimilating with the hybrid, a creature I share a betwixt nature with, for we are both between two worlds—having multiple origins—and demand our own realm, such as a Gothic castle, a tomb or limbo to serve as a haven. I seek to create a peace with a conflict of belonging. The Barking Wall serves as a vault; a collection of visual memories that cross-pollinate with lived experience and extended history (of past generations, oral tradition and cinema), and spawn new hybrid moments. Applied layer after layer, these confused memories let go of specific places and time and drift like phantoms, roaming free through the fields of imagination, meeting the visitor half-way, and letting one create their own narrative.

Aquarius, 2011 by Brendan George Ko

From living amongst "the yuccas and coyotes of New Mexico" to surfing with "the craziest sons of guns" he has ever met in Texas, Toronto-based Brendan George Ko has spent half of his life moving throughout America, taking endless road trips and meeting countless people along the way. He received his BFA in photography from The Ontario College of Art and Design, and he is currently represented by Angell Gallery.

Untitled from the series In the woods, 2011 by Ansel Olson

In Contender Ansel Olson's world, an antique rabbit statuette playing steel drums is more than just a trinket in the back of an estate sale. Olson has carefully curated the type of relics most often found in your grandfather's tool shed and given them weight in sunny spots of the Virginia woods. Shot in medium format with a Mamiya C330 TLR, a timeworn wooden rocking chair or 19th-century magnifying glass has new meaning on a bed of dirt and needles.

Untitled from the series In the woods, 2011 by Ansel Olson

For Olson, a Richmond, Virginia-based photographer and designer, the idea of the woods is somewhat sacred. He explains:

Around the age of four, I lost a toy squirrel in the woods near our home. I searched for it day after day for what seemed like weeks before I finally gave up. I will never know what happened to it—maybe I never found my way back to the exact spot, or maybe a dog picked it up, or maybe something more magical happened. This is a project about man and nature, wonder and nostalgia. It is a series about objects [that] have lost their way in the forest.

Untitled from the series In the woods, 2011 by Ansel Olson

Olson melds his architectural design experience with photography that focuses on found objects and fine art. He earned an MFA in Visual Communication Design in 1999 after obtaining a BFA in Interior Design, in 1996, from Virginia Commonwealth University.

"As a designer I am interested in the way we use things like watches, cars, purses and power saws for far more [than] their functional purpose," he says. "We use them to signify things about our discernment and station in life...to validate our personal narrative and distinguish ourselves from others. We give them a sense of power and wonder and urgency that they simply cannot possess on their own."

Untitled from the series In the woods, 2011 by Ansel Olson

Contender Andrew Zimmermann brings hyper-detailed intrigue, a slightly eerie sensibility and a still beauty to American suburbia, exploring and capturing the suburban landscape (within one mile of his own home in Virginia) for his submission to the competition. Otherwise overlooked yards and vantage points become settings for Zimmermann's mysteriously beautiful narrative. Titled Common Place—which alludes to both a banal, everyday environment and the shared attributes of neighborhood homes—each photograph highlights a balance between nature and the manmade, and forces the viewer to re-engage with and re-think the suburbia-as-subject we've come to know. The photographs were created with a 1970s Calumet C1 8x10 and are gelatin silver prints, which the photographer then manually adjusts in his darkroom. For more on his process, click here.

Common Place #1, 2011 by Andrew Zimmermann

Of the series, Zimmermann explains:

I grew up in suburban Arlington, Virginia. When I was young, the place seemed so familiar to me as to be practically invisible. Only later, when my pursuit of photography introduced me to the visible world, did I begin to notice the beauty and strangeness of the suburban landscape. Common Place explores this sense of strangeness within a strictly limited area—the entire series was photographed within one mile of my home in Arlington. I work with a large-format, 8x10 camera and then contact print the negatives in order to capture the supposedly ordinary spaces that surround us with the greatest attention and care. I hope to address something I see as a negative force in the world today: a feeling of aesthetic disinterest in one's own environment, which seems endemic within the American suburbs. Many artists and intellectuals see the suburbs as debased, a sort of flawed hybrid between the "industry and culture" of the city and the "purity" of the countryside. For me, though, it's that feeling of hybridization, of disparate natural and human elements combined together, that fascinates me. The poet William Carlos Williams wrote that "It is difficult/ to get the news from poems/ yet men die miserably every day/ for lack/ of what is found there." I view photography as having a similar potential—the potential to disassemble our dejection and show the beauty and mystery that permeate the commonest things and the commonest places.

Common Place #5, 2011 by Andrew Zimmermann

Born in Washington, D.C., Andrew Zimmermann became interested in photography after moving to Arizona in 1998, where he made the acquaintance of various artists connected with the photographer Frederick Sommer. Exposure to Sommer's photographs and to the works of his contemporaries and predecessors played a major role in developing his understanding of photography and of visual art in general. Zimmermann then earned a degree from Bennington College in 2002, having continued his work in photography. For the last several years, his work has focused on exploring elements of landscape that go unnoticed, either because they are surrounded by more traditionally picturesque scenery, or are simply considered too banal to be worthy of attention. Zimmermann frequently exhibits his work in the D.C. area and sporadically throughout the United States.

Common Place #4, 2011 by Andrew Zimmermann

Now that the First Edition 2011 Hot Shots have been announced, and we've opened the Second Edition 2011 round of competition, we're looking forward to the new crop of Contenders that we'll be writing about. But in honor of the 70+ Contenders we featured last round, here's a look back at some of the highlights from the First Edition 2011 Contenders. Which one was your favorite?

Hole, 2009 by Walker Pickering

Untitled, 2011 by Lydia Anne McCarthy

Day 47, 2009 by Jennifer Wilkey

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

Untitled. Khovsgol, Mongolia. 2010 by Andres Gonzalez

Defender #2, 2010 by Sean M. Eno

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

the other landscape 02, 2010 by Laura Garcia Serventi

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

Julie, by Kristin Skees

Ruin, 2011 by Tamas Dezso

Hardy Dam, Newaygo, MI, United States (1998-2011) by Jay Van Dam

Untitled , 2010 by Thomas Forbes

Untitled 4, from the series A Thousand Little Suns, 2011 by Martina Lindqvist

Meeting on The Shore, 2011 by Barbara Parmet

Stick Figure, 2011 from the series Kallima by Alex Kisilevich

Cara, 2011 by Shelley Calton

Plastic Totem, 2010 by David Welch

In Transit #25, by Diego Kuffer

Accidental Rothko v2.0, 2010 by Chip Litherland

Laundromat, 2010 by Christopher Ernst

Brazil/Vaqueiros. The Vaqueiros wear the handmade leather uniform of protecting clothing necessary to their work of roping cows, amidst lethal thorns throughout the bush caatinga, 2010 by Luis Fabini

Dust_1 Gallery, 2010 by Ujin Lee

Untitled from the series Fight Journal, 2009 by Adam Smith

South Minneapolis, MN, 2007 by Tom Wik

Stepfather, 2011 by Cyrus Karimipour

Wave #3, 2011 by Ryan Rickett

Padre Danzinger, 2011 by Erin Riley

2008.10.13-114, 2008 by Anton Young

Abbatoir #1, 2011 by Moya McAllister

Table, 2010 by Patrick Hogan

Untitled from the series Crashes, by Diego Levy

Catching Fire I, 2011 by Maria Theresa Moerman Ib

Funeral home interior with matching yellow sofas and patterned wallpaper; Montpelier, Vermont, 2010 by Corey Hendrickson

Photographers, polish those portfolios.

Last week we announced the five winning First Edition 2011 Hot Shots. This week, we're opening the Second Edition 2011 round of competition. It's your turn to gain unparalleled recognition and support (not to mention: cash!) for your work. Submit your photos now. All entries must be received by November 14, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

The $60 fee will increase incrementally throughout the competition, so the earlier you submit, the more you save. All entries must be completed by the deadline: November 14, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Apply now.

Our esteemed panel will select five Second Edition 2011 Hot Shots. They will join the five First Edition 2011 Hot Shots—Robert Grimm, Laurie Kang, Kevin Kunishi, Laura Plageman and Uygur Yilmaz—in the running to win the Grand Prize.

One winning photographer, the Ultra, will win the Grand Prize:

+ A $10,000 honorarium
+ A solo exhibition in NYC's Jen Bekman Gallery
+ Two years of gallery representation by Jen Bekman Gallery

All Hot Shots will be awarded with:

+ A $500 honorarium
+ Participation in the Hey, Hot Shot! group show in NYC's Jen Bekman Gallery (January 2012)
+ Consideration for the Grand Prize

The opportunity for exposure doesn't end there. All entrants are reviewed for even more opportunities, including:

+ Participation in 20x200
+ Daily Contender posts, which are shared with our broad photography community via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr

The time's finally come! Join us in heartily congratulating the First Edition 2011 Hot Shots:

Robert Grimm
Laurie Kang
Kevin Kunishi
Laura Plageman
Uygur Yilmaz

The winning photographers each win a $500 honorarium, participation in the Hey, Hot Shot! group show at Jen Bekman Gallery (in January 2012) and are now in the running to win the Grand Prize:

+ A $10,000 honorarium
+ A solo show at Jen Bekman Gallery
+ Two years of gallery representation from Jen Bekman Gallery

We had an amazing array of incredible submissions this round, and narrowing the list down was quite the task. Thankfully, our panel of exceptionally talented professionals, together with our curatorial team, dedicated their time, energy and critical eye in selecting our first Hot Shots of 2011.

We'd like to also congratulate all of the Contenders and Honorable Mentions for having submitted exceptional work and raising the bar, making it challenging (but oh, so worth it) to select this first round of Hot Shots.

The Honorable Mentions are:

Luis Fabini
Baldomero Fernandez
Meggan Gould
Matt Gunther
Yuji Hamada
Yojiro Imasaka
Alex Kisilevich
Rubi Lebovitch
Martina Lindqvist
Lydia Anne McCarthy
Michelle Marie Murphy
Walker Pickering
Georgina Reskala
Ralph Schulz
Julia Staples
David Welch
Philip Welding

If you want your chance at the support, exposure and cash prizes, stay tuned: The Second Edition 2011 round of competition will be opening very soon.

Untitled, from the series Counter-Act, 2011 by Uygur Yilmaz

Untitled, from the series Counter-Act, 2011 by Uygur Yilmaz

Untitled, from the series Missing Parts, 2008 by Uygur Yilmaz

Untitled, from the series Missing Parts, 2008 by Uygur Yilmaz

Untitled, from the series Missing Parts, 2007 by Uygur Yilmaz

Uygur Yilmaz

Website: http://www.uyguryilmaz.com

Bio:
Uygur Yılmaz (Mersin, 1975) is a self-taught photography artist, living and working in Istanbul. Most of his work focuses on the tension between abstract and reality, the banal and poetic, applying a detached and reductive photographic language. He also published two poetry books of short and experimental pieces. He is represented by Galeri NON, Istanbul.

Artist Statements:
Counter-Act: It's a true story and a false promise. It's a series of questions designed for the camera. It's an ongoing work. It's a childish reaction. It's counter-painting. It's executed on my kitchen counter.

Missing Parts is a photographic series limited to the Susanoglu Beach and its off seasons, in terms of space and time. The project has been realized through returning to Susanoglu many times, working repeatedly on the subject, and has intensified, gaining a sharper focus since 2004. Social and political issues inevitably come into frame of this series immediately, as the area has been rapidly urbanized since the '80s. Limiting the study to the off season might be an attempt to question the flipside of leisure culture—investigating the pain to understand the pleasure better. The tourism boom, and its utterly devastating effects, are still at work today. But the transformation and its social or cultural implications are not the core issues of this project. Far from claiming to be an objective photographic documentary, the artist defines Missing Parts as a series about documenting the euphoria of a raised awareness and is a personal project. Commonplace things become the visual material of an extraordinary experience; the banal reveals its poetic aspect. Worn out things become brand new questions and are rehandled, emphasizing their simplicity and formal elements, foregrounding their subtle palettes with painterly concerns. The fact that the location has a significant importance in the artist's memories since the early days of his childhood also deepens the emphasis on the personal nature of the project.

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

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

Response to Print of Vulture Roost, Texas, 2010 by Laura Plageman

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

Response to Print of Through the Trees, Oakland, 2011 by Laura Plageman

Laura Plageman

Website: http://www.photolp.com

Bio:
Laura Plageman is an artist and educator who lives and works in Oakland, CA. Her images explore the relationships between the process of image making, photographic truth and distortion, and the representation of landscape. She is interested in making pictures that examine the natural world as a scene of mystery, beauty and constant change—transformed both by human presence and by its own design. Plageman has exhibited her work in San Francisco, New York, Portland and Galway, Ireland. She earned a BA at Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT) and an MFA from the California College of the Arts (San Francisco, CA).

Artist Statement:
Response series: In this series I am responding to photographs both as representations and tangible objects. Through physically altering enlarged prints and then re-photographing the results, 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. In some works, large pieces of the original image are torn out, while in others, smaller parts are more subtly altered. I use a large-format view camera throughout my process so I can control perspective and record as much detail as possible. Whether focused on a ripped paper edge or a nesting bird, I hope to reach a place where picture elements interact and merge in unpredictable and expressive ways.

Nelita, 2010 by Kevin Kunishi

Quilali, 2010 by Kevin Kunishi

Museo de los martyres, 2010 by Kevin Kunishi

Mario's grenade, 2010 by Kevin Kunishi

Mario Zelaya, 2010 by Kevin Kunishi

Kevin Kunishi

Website: http://www.kevinkunishi.com

Bio:
Kevin Kunishi has an MFA in photography from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He has been based in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2004, where he continues work on numerous projects, both at home and around the globe. His work has been recognized by American Photo, PDN, CMYK Magazine, Photographer's Forum, the New York Photo Festival, Blue Earth Alliance, Review Santa Fe and Prix de la Photographie, Paris (PX3).

Artist Statement:
After receiving my undergraduate degree with an emphasis on U.S. foreign policy in Central America, I wanted to move beyond the broad recital of policy and ideology within textbooks and explore the personal experiences of individuals directly affected by those policies. This body of work was created between the years 2009 and 2011, during a prolonged stay in the highlands of Northern Nicaragua. These photographs are from a larger series consisting of portraits of Sandinistas and their opposing Contra veterans, as well as artifacts and landscapes significant to the civil war that took place in Nicaragua during the 1980s. In 1979, after over a decade of struggle, the socialist Sandinista movement in Nicaragua overthrew the dictator, Anastasio Somoza. The Sandinistas quickly began the work of applying their social and ideological values in the hopes of creating a better Nicaragua. Unfortunately, the United States government had other plans. In the cold war environment of the 1980s, the prospect of a socialist/communist government gaining a foothold in Central America was deemed unacceptable. The CIA began financing, arming and training a clandestine rebel insurgency to destabilize the government. These anti-Sandinista guerrillas became known as Contras. Between 1980 and 1990, Nicaragua became the battleground of conflicting political ideologies; the promise of a bright future was lost as the nation descended into civil war. Although these two sides held polarized political philosophies, their survivors are united by the burden of a war-torn history. As political ideology evolves, dilutes or disappears, the horrors of war endure.

Untitled, from the series Party Alone, 2010 by Laurie Kang

Untitled, from the series Party Alone, 2010 by Laurie Kang

Untitled, from the series Party Alone, 2010 by Laurie Kang

Untitled, from the series Party Alone, 2010 by Laurie Kang

Untitled, from the series Party Alone, 2010 by Laurie Kang

Laurie Kang

Website: http://www.lauriekang.com

Bio:
Laurie Kang is a Toronto-based artist working in film photography, collage and sculpture. She received her BFA from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. Examining the medium of photography, she explores abstraction, drawing from both fictions and realities to create ambiguous, new sur-realities. Her strong imagination and keen sense of color and shape entices viewers to re-examine their relationships to, and within, familiar spaces. Kang's artwork has been exhibited widely at galleries within Canada, including Tinku Gallery (Toronto, ON); Roberts Street Social Centre (Halifax, NS); Lowercase Gallery (Vancouver, BC); Art Mur (Montreal); and most recently at Gallery 44 (Toronto, ON). Her work has been published in print in Canada, the U.S. and U.K. Still early in her career, Kang has already worked with such prominent artists as German artist Candice Breitz. Kang was a participant in Breitz' Factum Kang/Same Same art project at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto (2009). She was also commissioned by Breitz to create a collaborative video work entitled Face to Face (2009) with artist Hanna Hur. In 2011, she was selected by the Magenta Foundation as an emerging Canadian photographer for their annual Flash Forward competition. She is the recipient of 2nd Prize from the prestigious John B. Aird Gallery's annual juried photo exhibition, Photo-Op (2011). Most recently, she received a grant from the Ontario Arts Council to extend her practice and career to Berlin.

Artist Statement:
My practice is based in film photography, collage, sculpture and installation. I employ the photographic image's ability to capture an image and present it as an apparently true document in time and history. Using both created and found images and objects, I merge fact with fiction, distorting and challenging perceptions of reality, dimension and space. Combining 2D with 3D--photography, collage, sculpture and installation, I explore a staged abstraction using the camera, paper and found and created objects to make images that focus on symbolism, composition, color and shape. Following elementary rules of design, more complex questions of space and reality are formed in contrast. The resulting images evoke tensions between fact and fiction, ultimately blurring their distinctions as they become sur-realities with ambiguous open narratives. This series, Party Alone, is the result of creating images that consist of both 2D and 3D collages, sculptures and installations. It's an exploration of abstraction, and a conceptual exploration of the medium of photography; the images express a 3-dimensionality but are rendered 2-dimensional through the final product of a flat print. Undertones of the fantastical and strange in the banal, as well as boredom, loneliness and depression, are also expressed.

Candy #3, 2010 by Robert Grimm

Candy #14, 2010 by Robert Grimm

Candy #10, 2010 by Robert Grimm

Candy #2, 2010 by Robert Grimm

Candy #21, 2010 by Robert Grimm

Robert Grimm

Website: http://www.apparebit.com

Bio:
Robert Grimm was born in Germany in 1968 and moved to the United States in 1991. He lives and works in New York City. When not creating art, he conducts research in computer science.

Artist Statement:
The photographs in the series Candy are taken off a computer's screen showing video streams with male strippers. The video streams are transmitted live, in real time across the internet, and are accessible through several websites, without registration, for free. Payment is only necessary for private one-on-one time with a stripper. In addition to the video streams, the websites support mutual text messaging between strippers and viewers. Strippers are advertised as amateurs. However, repeated visits to the websites show the same strippers appearing in different rooms and different strippers appearing in the same rooms. This suggests a degree of organization inconsistent with strippers being amateurs. Judging by the language of text messages, many strippers are located in Latin America or Eastern Europe. Each image is filtered through two digital cameras. A stripper's webcam captures the original, continuous stream of images. It also tends towards coarse pixelation and color shifts. The artist's still camera then recaptures individual frames. It also reproduces the structure of the computer screen that is displaying the video stream. As a result, it underlays each image with a fine grid of light and shadow.

Is there a true memory? Childhood homes are often remembered as having been larger, more expansive. Certain sounds and smells can trigger emotionally-laden memories unique to the individual. And, as is usually the case, seminal events are often remembered distinctly and differently by each of the experiencers present.

In Contender Kristina Williamson's submission, the artist explores memory and the digital age, weaving a photographic journey that calls to mind both memory as a recollection and—through her use of pixelation—memory as a computational means of storing sequences of information or data.

Crystal Gait, 2011 by Kristina Williamson

Of the work, she says, "...The more you recall something, the more you forget it. Each time we revel in something from our past, it mixes with the present experience and becomes less of what it was and more of a mash-up with what currently is. My work addresses memory and the act of recalling."

Conjure, 2011 by Kristina Williamson

Survivor's Guilt, 2011 by Kristina Williamson

Williamson goes to explain:

[The work] explores the relationship between painting and photography, marrying the reproductive elements of photography with the physical act of drawing and mark making. This series of prints was created through a process of transferring layers of printer ink onto paper by hand. Each layer becomes a fragment mimicking a flash of memory. For me, it is a return to the physical process of photography that existed in the traditional B+W darkroom. Small sections of the image are laid down at a time as the digital photograph slowly begins to reveal itself on paper, like a print in a developing bath. At the same time, the fragmentation of the layering process nods to ideas of compression and pixelation of digital imagery. The rectilinear segments that make up these transfers reference the pixel as a unit and the building blocks of our memories. Today, our experiences are pixelated both literally through digitalization as well as figuratively through the process of remembering and forgetting. Almost nothing happens without being digitized in our camera phones and posted on Facebook. This act in itself is an anticipatory tool for recalling our memories in the future.

Chasm, 2011 by Kristina Williamson

Every move feels like a move, 2011 by Kristina Williamson

Kristina Williamson (b. 1980) was born and raised in Pen Argyl, PA. In 2003, Williamson graduated from Parson School of Design with a BFA in photography and, in 2004, was awarded a J. William Fulbright grant to pursue a project photographing life on the island of Kythera, Greece. She spent over a year and a half living and photographing on the remote island. Her work has been presented in solo exhibitions in Greece, New York and Washington D.C., as well as in various group exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad. Williamson currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, where she works as a freelance photographer and regularly posts her new creations on her blog.

Funeral homes bear the burden of being at once comforting (if only temporarily) and austere, a balance necessary to convey a sense of being able to mourn the deceased in a home-like environment. As a place of last respects and deep grief, the funeral home becomes an unwanted but ultimately unavoidable experience. In Contender Corey Hendrickson's submission, the photographer used his 35mm Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III to capture the thought-out, reverent and functional staging of funeral homes across Vermont.

Funeral home interior with matching yellow sofas and patterned wallpaper; Montpelier, Vermont, 2010 by Corey Hendrickson

Funeral home interior with silk flowers, life savers and princess phone; Rutland, Vermont, 2011 by Corey Hendrickson

Hendrickson succinctly explains:

Funeral homes are created as [a] sanctuary for grief and loss. I approached these somber environments as an archaeologist, carefully documenting the wallpaper, drawn curtains, antique couches and air fresheners. I am intrigued by the aesthetics of comfort and found beauty in the careful arrangement of everyday objects.

Casket showroom with men's suit, shirt and tie; Chelsea, Vermont, 2011 by Corey Hendrickson

Funeral home interior with Kleenex; Chelsea, Vermont, 2011 by Corey Hendrickson

Born in 1975 in Cambridge, MA, Corey Hendrickson worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado and Alaska before moving to Jackson, Wyoming, and starting a career as a photographer. Corey then received his MFA in photography from the Academy of Art University in 2009. Corey is a 2011 Photolucida Critical Mass finalist for this same body of work, and one of the prints is now in the permanent collection at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado. Corey photographs environmental portraits, architecture, food and travel. He currently lives in central Vermont with his dog, Jake, and works throughout New England.

Untitled, by Corey Hendrickson

Funeral home interior with organ, podium and Rembrandt; Rutland, Vermont, 2011 by Corey Hendrickson

Catching Fire I, 2011 by Maria Theresa Moerman Ib

In her submission, Contender Maria Theresa Moerman Ib captured the remnants of a fire in her pictures of soot-laden cobwebs. Looking similar to peeling skin, unraveling fabric or disintegrating leaves, the photos serve as a testament to the frailty, yet resilience, of ephemeral structures.

Catching Fire II, 2011 by Maria Theresa Moerman Ib

In her statement, the photographer explains:

My work explores borderlands: between the familiar and the unknown; between the poetic and the grotesque; things that are hidden; things we don't notice, or don't want to notice. My aim is always to recreate a mood or memory that urges us to rediscover the world and ourselves one fragment at a time. A recent fire in the basement of my building inspired me to document and subsequently recreate the atmosphere left after the blaze had been put out. Fire is ephemeral, so it is difficult to capture its essence. In nature, fire is both destructive and life-giving. It destroys the old and encourages new life to take form. The black cobwebs thick with soot, collected in situ, serve as a forensic investigation of unseen things lost and gained. Webs are often associated with fear of spiders, dark corners and time passing, but for the spider they are a temporary dwelling place and a means of survival. This time they have caught an element of fire, allowing a memory that is as fragile as themselves to survive.

Catching Fire III, 2011 by Maria Theresa Moerman Ib

Catching Fire IV, 2011 by Maria Theresa Moerman Ib

Born in The Netherlands, photographer Maria Theresa Moerman Ib currently lives and works in Glasgow, U.K. She is currently working towards obtaining a BA (Hons) in fine art photography from the Glasgow School of Art, and has had her work in exhibitions in Europe and the U.S. To view more of her work, visit her site.

Catching Fire V, 2011 by Maria Theresa Moerman Ib