Each + Every MFA Thesis Show Invite

It's an arguable assertion that there are two kinds of people who go to grad school: those who aspire to find out who they are and what they want to do, and those that already know the answers to those questions and instead are charting a finessed roadmap for what they want to be doing and how they want to do it. Michael Itkoff definitely appears to be in the latter camp: his resume is an exhaustive catalog of someone who has already accomplished so very much, and I can only imagine he'll double his accolades in the coming years.

Untitled from the Each + Every series by Michael Itkoff

Looking at the breadth and sophistication of the various bodies of work on Itkoff's website, I am struck by his photographic sensibilities and capacity to identify and follow through a series of aesthetic questions. Often in art programs one is taught to settle on a particular project from the outset, and to let this define most of the work that you will ever come to do. Itkoff shows us that he can command many different project hats, as it were, without ever separating us from the particularities of his eye, or his probing and substantive mode of investigation with the camera. Whether it's his completely engaging and full-frontal-context Street Portraits series, or the much lauded work from Overgrowth, Itkoff's work is carefully edited and pretty fully realized stuff. It's unlikely you would hear anyone complaining about "student work" while standing in front of his prints.

Perch on ice, Lake Wallenpaupak, Pennsylvania from Between Two Lakes by Michael Itkoff

A Spring 2006 Hot Shot, and co-founder of the print and online photographic publishing venture Daylight Magazine, Itkoff is graduating from the ICP/Bard MFA program this spring. You'd be an enterprising collector to show up and familiarize yourself with his prints.

Michael Itkoff: Each + Every
Opening Reception Friday Feb. 26th, 6-10 p.m.
On View Saturday Feb. 27th 12-5 p.m.
24-20 Jackson Avenue, 3rd Floor
Long Island CIty, Queens, NYC

We released the luscious photograph above, Rincon Artificial Island and Pipeline, Ventura, California by 2006 Hot Shot Ian Baguskas on 20x200 today. The edition's been a long time coming. We were all taken by the photograph way back when Ian exhibited his series Sweet Water at Jen Bekman Gallery after becoming a HHS! Ne Plus Ultra and earning representation. The photo made its second appearance at 6 Spring Street recently as part of the winter group show, Mixtape.

Even after spending many hours with the photograph, over the course of a couple years, I didn't place the image with one of my favorites by Robert Adams (below) until writing about the work today.

Adams' books top my list of most-oft-thumbed-through reads. This morning I reached for Beauty in Photography: Essays in Defense of Traditional Values and pulled this: "The job of the photographer, in my view, is not to catalogue indisputable fact but to try to be coherent about intuition and hope."

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Aperture Foundation is teaming up with the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund to support five emerging photographers—including Fall 2006 Hot Shot and 20x200 artist Shen Wei—in documenting New York City's green carts. Focusing on these mobile produce stand, located on street corners all over the city, the photographers have been asked to apply their own style of portraiture, landscapes, and street photography to this project. Photographers LaToya Ruby Frazier, Thomas Holton, Gabriele Stabile, and Will Steacy have also been selected to participate and we are thrilled to see these fine emerging artists have the opportunity the embark on a project unifying their individual artistic visions with a project embracing these historical and timely landmarks of New York City streets.

artdaily.org writes,

The photographers will capture the Green Carts in designated neighborhoods in all five boroughs over the next eighteen months, photographing not only the carts themselves, but also the stories of the vendors, customers, and communities around them. The photographers are: LaToya Ruby Frazier, Thomas Holton, Gabriele Stabile, Will Steacy, and Shen Wei. The overall goal is to raise awareness about the geography of healthy food options and its relationship to a community's health, and to document the challenges and opportunities of starting a new business. Each of the five professional photographers brings a unique artistic vision and point of view to this effort.

Aperture will exhibit the works created in September 2011 as well as publish images throughout the project in their quarterly, Aperture Magazine. Congratulations to all of the photographers; we look forward to seeing the images you create!

A few weeks ago, we got an email from our 2006 Ultra and 20x200 edition-maker, Alison Grippo, letting us know that she had just self-published her first book: CHASING: The Friday Night Fights NYC using Blurb.com. Intrigued, we sent Alison a few questions about her self-publishing process:

Tell me about your book.
It's a documentary about the fighters from The Friday Night Fights NYC. It's funny, I was looking through it and it actually does not have any photos of people hitting each other. I heard about the fights from a friend a few years ago and I thought, "Wow, men fighting in the basement of a church...who doesn't want to photograph that?"

I was completely in the dark about the sport, about this particular group, all of it; I just thought, "Holy spectacle." After the first fight, I realized that I had happened upon something that was easy to judge but not so easy to understand. At that point, I just wanted to keep photographing the fights, and the man who runs the show, Justin, was kind enough to let me come a few times. By the third fight, I knew that I wanted to do something bigger than just a few photos. I had proclaimed, "I'm going to do a book about this!" without really knowing what it means to create a book, a body of work, etc.

That seems to be how I operate though, I go way in above my head and then push to figure it out and make it happen because I said I would do it. Also, in working with everyone, from the trainers to the boxers, it became more of a requirement than a goal. Here were people that were working hard for something with the same odds as the lottery—how could they go unknown?

Why did you want to put together a book?
For boxing at least, it's a narrative. I lean more towards documentary work probably because I'm a nosy little brat...

I feel that all the photos [in the book] are required to get the story across, they work together, they share the overall point. There are some photos I have which I think capture a particular portion of what I wanted to say, but only when coupled with the rest is the story really told...

The point of the book (once I figured out the point) is not to show the dirt or the primal aspect of fighting that people immediately assume, it was to show the nobility of it, the beauty of the fighters and the scene, the character it takes to really be a fighter and stand up in a ring with another man who you respect and admire with the idea that you are there to best him. Part of why it's a book is because I can't explain it in words but I think I can explain it in photos. I hope I did—certainly the people involved deserve that.

How is putting together a book of photography different from putting together an exhibition?
Volume for sure. I couldn't do a show of 70 images just about boxing. Maybe I could but I don't think it would be as effective. In the end, I want people to own the whole collection even if there are some photos which don't resonate for them because it is meant to be seen as a whole.

As an exhibition, I think I'd have to do a lot a more of telling the tale behind some of the images because they could be out of context. Then again, I've had the luck of seeing some of the images at 20"x30" and the impact is completely different.

Did you look at other options? Why did you end up choosing Blurb?
I had a few options, some small places were genuinely interested in releasing the book and some independent publishers too but photo books are a rough business. I don't think you do it to make a living, unless of course you're a collective like Magnum, or you're Annie Leibovitz or Vanity Fair.

I didn't want to do a book that was a limited edition and super expensive. That did not fit with the topic, the purpose or the spirit of what I was doing. Most of those interested in working with the book wanted to do very selective, limited releases. I didn't spend the last 2+ years shooting this because I wanted 500 people to own it, I wanted people to know who these boxers were, I wanted people to see what I saw. I had already invested so much of myself in the project that the idea of not making this as available as possible was counter-intuitive. Then there is the fact that I'm not exactly Annie Leibovitz and there won't be a hoard of people rushing to grab my retrospective on boxing.

I chose Blurb for a couple of reasons. If I did it through Blurb, then I had to really own it and finish it. I had to edit it and take that last step in the process of creating this story. I like that I can I say it's 100% what I wanted; of course, if it sucks, I prefer people leave me to my own delusions. I'm sure if I had worked with a publisher, issues like how much it costs to print, how many photos I could have, the theme, etc. would have been up for more debate. I didn't want to debate that. I will see how this does as I think it's still pretty costly. I will probably release a less expensive version (smaller, maybe softcover) later on if the interest is there. Again, this is about people learning about boxers like Damon Rowe, or Jamel Spencer, and the more who can, the better.

The other reason is that Blurb runs Photography.Book.Now which gave me a deadline. I need deadlines. I was really motivated by the jury who was looking at the work, and that Beth Dow won last year (and I just love her work, all of it). I'm looking now at all the submissions and another freaky portion of publishing a book online is that you see everyone's everything...

What was the process like? What took the longest?
I made about five versions, so the process was exhausting. The multiple versions came from having to own up to what I wanted to say. One version was about the glory, which was wrong. Another was about the environment, which was totally wrong. Each was a topic that alluded to what I wanted to say but never actually said it because I was afraid. When I finally sucked it up and said to myself, "This is what you're going to focus on," it became easier.

Editing is an amazing learning experience, I've edited words but not photos as much. I've done a few articles and other short pieces with my photography so I'm not totally new to the editing process but taking on something that personal and that large was daunting. At one point, I actually stopped working on the book and started shooting again to avoid having to go through the photos and give myself more to procrastinate with. Going through your own work is brutal, often I just sat there saying, "Wow, wow I'm really horrible, these are awful, what was I thinking?" There was a great deal of self-flagellation, there still is. I gave up a few times. It's like anything else very personal, you're your own worst critic so you have to fight with yourself to just keep going. Wow, that sounds like a self-help platitude.

The longest part was accepting what I was going to be talking about or showing. I have a personal relationship with a lot of people in the book, some very close, and I was very unsure of how they might feel towards me if I did a book that was not the glory tale. This isn't a book about winning, it's about losing. It's about what it means to endure for a dream you will probably not achieve and how phenomenal of a person you become through the process of trying. I didn't want to judge but I had a point of view.

From a purely technical standpoint, having to actually lay it out, pick photos, beg people who I trust to look at it and tell me, "That's a really bad idea," so I could do better was painful. There are a few folks out there who I owe a lot to but want to choke to death for making me delete photos, change the order or rewrite the intro over and over and over again.

What is your biggest problem with self-publishing? How long did it take to make?
The printing. The printing is not exact, so you can print at home and it looks great, then you get the proof and you want to cry. Then you get another proof and even though you've done nothing to the photos, for some reason, they are all green. Black and white printing is no one's specialty, I think. The first proof I received, the cover was bubbly and the blacks on the photo didn't match the black on the book.

I've done a few test prints with Blurb to try and calibrate and I've gotten pretty good at telling what will print well and what won't, but (sorry Blurb 'cause I love you) it's still a bit of a crap shoot. My photos are very high contrast, I like my blacks to be black and my whites super white, sometimes the tones just don't come out through the printing process there. But I haven't seen anyone do it better than Blurb (and I've tested a lot of self-publishers). The premium paper helps exponentially but I'd love it if there was more consistency between what I print and what they print. Such is life.

Who is your audience?
My mom. Oh, who is it intended for, not who do I think is actually going to read it and tell me I'm special? My bad. You know, I didn't think about it. I just thought, someone needs to see this, someone needs to know how hard these men work.

Do you plan to self-publish in the future?
Not a clue. If I can come up with an idea that merits a book, maybe. Right now the idea of doing another book on the heels of just finishing one seems masochistic :)

What's your favorite photo book?
Ack. No idea. I've been searching for an out of print Gilles Peress book which might be my favorite, if I find it. I just went to look at what photo books I own and I can't pick a favorite.

What things are important to consider when creating your own photo book?
Have a point of view, stick to it, and edit edit edit. If you have a great photo that doesn't work with story you're trying to tell, then it isn't right for the book.

What's next for you? What are you working on now?
Right now, sleep is on my radar. I need to just clear my head for a while I think and see what happens next. I haven't taken a photo in a while but I'm going to start carrying the camera around again. I received a great piece of advice once from a super fancy photographer during a portfolio review; he said, "Just when you think you're done, throw it all out and start again, bust it all wide open." That's where I'm at, I need to throw it all out, start again, and see what happens.

Good luck and thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, Alison!
So there you have it! Make sure to check out the preview of Alison's book, CHASING, and then buy a copy or five. Tune in same time next week for an interview with JBG artist, 20x200 edition-maker, self-publisher, and winner of last year's PBN Grand Prize: Beth Dow!

Slideluck Potshow XIII, the slideshow + potluck event brought to you by Spring 2006 Hot Shot Casey Kelbaugh, will host it's 8th gathering tomorrow evening—Thursday, August 6th at Canoe Studios (601 West 26th St., Suite 1465) in Chelsea.

This newest installment of Slideluck Potshow, which begins with the potluck component at 6:30 p.m., will feature 2009 First Edition Hot Shot Parsley Steinweiss, Spring 2007 Hot Shot and Summer Reading artist Kelly Shimoda, JBG favorite Brian Ulrich, and many others. Swing by with your best home-cooked specialty and see some great presentations featuring the following artists:

Myriam Abdelaziz, Kyohei Abe, Christopher Anderson/Magnum, Rob Ball, Yasmina Belkacem, Eric Cheng, Carlos Ciccelli , Gregory Crewdson/Luhring Augustine, Alinka Echeverria, Shepard Fairey, Tim Hetherington, Edith Maybin, Peter Mullaney, Christoph Niemann, Claudio Papapietro, Paolo Pellegrin/Magnum, Platon, Alex Prager/Yancey Richardson, Jing Quek/Josette Lata, Kim Reierson, Benjamin Rusnak, Jonah Samson, Emily Schiffer, Kelly Shimoda, Pete Souza, Parsley Steinweiss, Phillip Toledano, Brian Ulrich, D.A. Wagner, Erin Wigger, Robin F. Williams, Kristiina Wilson, Lisa Wiseman, Michael Wolf/Aperture, James Worrel, Robert Wright

We also want to congratulate Casey and the Slideluck Potshow team on receiving official non-profit status a few weeks ago, and for being named as one of the "most rule-breaking, model-changing ideas" in New York as featured on All Day Buffet.

A couple weeks ago, we quietly released four print editions on 20x200 by Spring 2006 Hot Shot Raul Gutierrez. Okay, maybe not so quietly, I might have been shouting the news to just about anyone who would listen.

And, it turns out, we're not the only fans of his work. Xeni from Boing Boing posted a lovely note about his work. If you're not familiar with Boing Boing, you should be, it's the best directory of wonderful things there is.

In the wee hours of mornings, Raul's been putting the polish on his new portfolio site. It's also a pretty wonderful thing for browsing. See for yourself.

The curated multimedia slideshow and potluck dinner known as Slideluck Potshow is back in New York for its thirteenth event at Canoe Studios at 7 p.m. on August 6th. Organized by Spring 2006 Hot Shot Casey Kelbaugh, the brand new Canoe Studios is located on the 14th floor of the historic Starrett-Lehigh building at 601 West 26th St., Suite 1462. Previous events have been held at renowned photo studios and events spaces all over New York, and all over the world.

Those selected present a maximum of 5 minutes with 15-40 images and an accompanying sound piece. All submissions are required to have accompanying sound, whether it be music, spoken word, or another form of noise. Submissions to Slideluck Potshow XIII will be accepted through next Monday, July 13th Tuesday, July 21st; there is a $15 handling fee for all entries.

Visit the website for more details regarding entry format and the schedule and organization of the night itself. The potluck dinner starts at 7 p.m. and is followed by the slideshow that starts at 9 p.m. We look forward to seeing you there!

Update!: The submission period has been extended to next Tuesday, July 21st.

Words and images have a natural need for one another. Ms. Jen Bekman has a vast visual and poetic memory which she uses to pair the two superbly on her blog, Personism. A beautiful example follows with an image from Spring 2006 Hot Shot and 20x200 artist, Ian Baguskas.

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

- William Carlos Williams

You can easily spend half of your morning looking, reading and dreaming through all of Jen's thoughtful pairings. I entreat you to start here.

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

Spring 2006 Hot Shot Casey Kelbaugh is the brains behind Slideluck Potshow, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a slideshow + potluck. SLPS has been bringing people together to share good art and good food for a couple years now and has brought that same sense of community to the web. It be be a little bit of the chicken before the egg, or the egg before the chicken, maybe? SLPS made a name for itself by bringing people together the old fashioned way, in actual physical space, before really establishing their virtual community. Regardless, the SLPS network is in full swing and it's a good site to to browse for info on upcoming SLPS events as well as other opportunities and events for photographers and artists.

Upcoming Events:

Slideluck Youth Initiative Event | March 20 | 6:30pm | LES | Please bring food & drinks | RSVP: network.slideluckpotshow.com
SLPS Los Angeles VI | April 11 | 7 - 11:30 pm | Location TBA
SLPS Portland III | April 25 | 7 - 11:30 pm | Sandbox Studio

Spring 2006 Hot Shot Ian Baguskas will be showing work from his series, Sansaram, (Mountain People) at the Camera Club of New York as part of the exhibition In Search of the Miraculous. Ian was a runner-up for the Aperture Foundation Portfolio Prize in 2007 for this body of work. The series

depict[s] the intersection of recreation and spiritual communion with nature... [and] combines landscape views with documentary portraits of native visitors to the Sobaek mountains, encountered on hiking trails. The popularity of this activity can be attributed to the indigenous religion, which is centered on the worship of nature and mountain spirits, and has come to be fused with Buddhism.

The opening is tomorrow, Saturday, February 21st, from 5-8 p.m. at the Camera Club of New York.

Ian's NYC solo debut was the exhibition Sweetwater, at Jen Bekman Gallery, in March of 2008.
You can also find his work, Kamping Kabins, on 20x200.

A new feature. I found this on Flickr. What a nice, quiet update from Spring '06 Hot Shot Alison Grippo. She tagged this one: New York, fog, film, medium format, mamiya, and bw and captioned it, "This is a foggy day trying to look across the east river, in theory the UN building is back there."

In New York City, it is hot. In Ultra Ian Baguskas's Kamping Kabins it looks nice and cold. You don't have an air conditioner, eh? Buy a print from 20x200 and dream. There are still some prints, in all three sizes, left of this great work.

Baguskas writes:

Kamping Kabins is from my project, Search For The American Landscape, which looks at the relationship humans have with nature; specifically, the conflict between our inherent love of nature and our desire to alter it and need to take from it.

These images were inspired by photographic surveyors such as Timothy O'Sullivan and Carlton Watkins who explored and documented the land and settlements in the old West by photographing landscapes not only for their beauty but also as a record of places that few people had seen before. My photographs, however, are of landscapes that have experienced human exploration and the subsequent impact from the growing demand for convenience and natural resources.

Ian Baguskas's Rincon Artificial Island and Pipeline, Ventura, California, 2007 40x51" C-print

Peggy Roalf reviews Sweet Water, Spring '06 Hot Shot Ian Baguskas' current show at Jen Bekman Gallery, in Design Arts Daily.

She writes:

"In the last several years, photographers around the globe have taken up the plight of the earth, further endangered today through climate change, deforestation, and drought. The landscape, with human activities accepted as a 'natural' aspect of the view for better or worse, provides the raw material, from both a visual and philosophical standpoint. One of the most beguiling exhibitions on view in New York is 'Sweet Water,' photographs by Ian Baguskas, at Jen Bekman Gallery."

Baguskas' Sweet Water is up until May 3, 2008.

Painted Palms, California City, by Ian Baguskas, 2007 30x37.5" C-print

Ian Baguskas was a Spring '06 Hot Shot, a 2007 Ultra, and his "Kamping Kabins" is available now at 20x200.

Sweet Water, Baguskas' debut solo exhibition in New York City, is comprised of thirteen color photographs of failed oases of the American West. Please join us for the show's opening tomorrow, Friday, March 21, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Sweet Water will remain on view at Jen Bekman Gallery through Saturday, April 26, 2008.

Baguskas is skilled at juxtaposing the refuse of habitats of modern aspirations with the vast land and otherwise open skies that those constructs interrupt. His images are quiet and still, non-snarky meditations on man's remaking of nature. In Sweet Water, he captures development (and attempts at development) of the land, and also the subsequent decay of much of that development.

He says, "...This lifestyle was only temporary, ending when the aquifers were depleted and the water ran out." He explores a dyed lake in Antelope Valley, 80,000 acres of desert known as the would-be Los Angeles of California City, Rincon Artificial Island and Pipeline in Ventura, and a tiny green driving range at the Silver Saddle River "resort."

Ian Baguskas was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1977 and moved to New York to attend The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, where he received his BFA in 2000. Recently named a PDN 30, Baguskas was a nominee for the 2008 KLM Paul Huf Award. His Search for the American Landscape series was shown earlier this year in a three-person show at The Ice Box in Philadelphia, PA.

Sweet Water at Jen Bekman Gallery, 6 Spring Street.
March 21 - April 26, 2008
Hours: Wednesday -- Saturday, Noon - 6pm or by private appointment.

ATTENTION READERS!

Alison Grippo, a member of the jb family and Spring '06 Hey, Hot Shot! winner, has participated in the whirlwind Master-Disaster Photography Duel, which is a timed photography competition between teams of photographers and stylists.

We think her photos rock and you should think so too. And when you do think so, you can click here, and then here, and finally here, and vote for Alison's photos! Each of those links should bring you to a page showing 5 photos competing in each category, so click on the photo you want to vote for and a vote button will appear at the bottom of the list. So, check it out!

Assignment One: Character
Assignment Two: Dialogue
Assignment Three: Inspiration

Voting ends Monday, August 6th, so vote now and let's wish the best of luck to Alison!

Max, Recarpeting, Lena's House, Nampa, Idaho 2005 by HS Shawn Records

Fall 2005 Hot Shot Shawn Records has come back for round two. This edition he submitted work from his family-based series La Playa. A little over a year ago we attempted to fill you in on the happenings and accomplishments of Mr. Records––the list was long and it continues to grow.

And Shawn is not the only one, Hey, Hot Shot! has done quite a bit of growing itself. Not only have fifty amazing artists graced the walls of our little Spring Street space, but the competition has turned into a major, one of a kind opportunity with loads of excitement and support making it, as we like to say, the best thing going for emerging photographers.

Last month I missed this opportunity, but today our dear blog is officially one year and one month old. In April 2006, former Hot Shot guide Anna Wolfgang kicked things off, setting the bar high for what has been a non-stop bloggin' blast. We've brought you news of the endless array of amazement that is the jb. Our panel has reached superstar status, we had our first Ultra solo show, and we put together the very first of its kind HHS! Yearbook––the New Photographers Annual. The list goes on. Now we're on the brink of Ms. Bekman's mega-exciting-we-absolutely can't-wait-venture, 20x200. The future is looking brighter than ever.

With the deadline for the Spring 2007 edition upon us, take tonight and/or tomorrow as an opportunity to not just enter, but to browse the blog's archives, take a peek at our family history, and mark your calendars for one month from today for what we know will be another stellar showcase.

Cruisin' by Casey Kelbaugh

Check out the current issue of Photo District News to see Spring 2006 Hot Shot Casey Kelbaugh's favorited photograph Cruisin'. Casey's image, featured in all of its full-page glory, won the Best of Category for Snapshots in PDN's World in Focus: the ultimate travel photography contest. The shot, taken in Belize, also won an Altpick award last year.

See Casey's image and the other selected photographs in the online gallery here.

At this very moment Casey, camera in hand, is in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti capturing more potential award-winning shots. We wish him luck. Our Hot Shot Alums continue to make us proud. What fun and excitement will the Winter 2007 group bring? We expect nothing but the best.

Black Friday Frenzy at Macy's in Herald Square from Hot Shot! Casey Kelbaugh

Our very own Spring 2006 Hot Shot, Casey Kelbaugh, has a terrific, yet frightening photograph on the front page of today's New York Times. I don't know about you, but I've been trying my very, very best to stop being the good little consumer that I am and participate in Adbusters' Buy Nothing Day. This has proven far more difficult than I had hoped; I have a million and one excuses up my sleeves and 12 hours still remain. Luckily, I wasn't one of the thousands waiting in line outside of a department store at 4 a.m. on a freezing November morning; that takes some serious goals. Full of admiration, we are proud of our brave Hot Shot, shooting at risk of shoppers' stampede.

See the featured photograph and read the article here. Or even better be a rebellious rebel and get yourself a good ol' hard copy.

Untitled by Raul Gutierrez

Our Spring '06 Hot Shot, Raul Gutierrez, has an amazing solo show opening next week at the Nelson Hancock Gallery in Brooklyn. The show will display his series entitled Travels Without Maps and documents the people and places he encountered in the territories on both sides of China's Western borders. These photographs document worlds that are slowly being erased by modernity and Raul has spent years traveling into these regions to learn more about the people who live there.

Travels Without Maps: Images from China's Western Frontiers
The Nelson Hancock Gallery, September 14 - October 28, 2006

Reception for the Artist:
Thursday, September 14, 2006
6-8 p.m.

Go to this show, I'm sure it will be incredible!

Spring '06 Hot Shot, Andrea Chu, Jeff Liao, and former Hot Shot Honorable Mention Erica Shires in The Daily News

The Daily News recently wrote an article about three Pratt alumni, all graduated within the past five years, who have been named by Photo District News as among the Top 30 Photographers to Watch this year. Spring 2006 Hot Shot, Andrea Chu is among the three named in the article and said she looked up to the emerging 30 when she was in school. She felt extremely humbled to be selected.

PDN has an amazing selection is a great source of inspiration and motivation for young photographers! Surely, it has to be bookmarked!

The showcase for the Summer edition of Hey, Hot Shot is coming up soon. Mark your dates for Wednesday, September 6, 2006 for the opening reception!

Your name:
Casey Kelbaugh

Age(optional):
32 years inside this head.

Where are you from?
First Princeton, NJ, and then Seattle, WA.

Where do you live now?
East Village, Manhattan

What's your day job?
I am a part-time shepherd.

Which artists inspire you? (Doesn't need to be photographers necessarily)
Leonard Cohen, Sabra Field, Sebastao Salgado, John Currin, Bob Dylan, Greg Lundgren, Andy Goldsworthy, Joseph Campbell, Elinor Carucci, Edward Gorey, Kenneth Josephson, Keith Haring, W. Somerset Maugham, etc.

Describe that moment when you knew for sure that photography was something you wanted to pursue seriously:
I was into drawing and later, painting. One day in 1997, while studying sumi-e ink painting in Tokyo, I began to feel the frustrations with the medium as well as my own limitations. I took a look at the snapshots I had taken in years previous and the paintings I was making at the time and realized that the photographs were stronger. Once I came to terms with that, my approach to painting was: "What's the point?" Sometimes I think your medium chooses you.

What kind of camera do you use?
The tool changes frequently and gets knocked around pretty good, but at the moment it's a Nikon D200.

What's your favorite film?
An Inconvenient Truth

What's your Favorite Museum?
Manhattan

Who is your hero?
My father

Who's your favorite musical artist/group?
Lou Reed

What are you reading now?
I read all the time and I still can never keep up. Most of my time is spent with periodicals (which is probably a curse,) New York Magazine and News Photographer being some of my favorites.

Favorite color?
Um.

Name at least three websites you visit everyday:
slideluckpotshow.com
lightstalkers.org
worldpicturenews.com

What are your favorite foods?
I cook almost all of my meals and I eat like a king. I guess that means my favorite meals are big bowls of cereal, well-designed sandwiches, pasta dishes, egg scrambles, curries, salads, quesadillas, and barbecue.

Do you have an interesting/obscure hobby? If so, tell us about it.
One hobby I have is a guestbook I have for my apartment. I am determined to make it the most dynamic and memorable of its kind, and to do so, I am hosting some pretty interesting people. If only I could get them to sign the book.

If you could be any animal, what would you be?
Astrologically I am a Taurus with a Leo rising, and by the Chinese calendar, I am a Tiger. So I guess that makes me part-Tiger, part-Lion, part-Bull and part-Man.

Do you do any artsy stuff besides photography?
I cook in a pretty spontaneous and intuitive way. I date in a similar fashion.

Have you exhibited your work in any other shows? If so, which ones?
I have contributed work to every Slideluck Potshow (http://www.slideluckpotshow.com) since I founded it in Seattle in 2000" which is over 26 slideshows. I have been a part of other shows as well, but Slideluck has been my focus. What better way is there to look at photography than in a slideshow with a room full of people, anyway?

Your name:
Sarah Small

Age(optional):
27 years old

Where are you from?
Washington DC

Where do you live now?
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

What's your day job?
Freelance photographer. So I sit at my computer and edit shoots, build my portfolios, upkeep contact list, and write a never-ending slew of e-mails to magazines' accounting departments for invoices left unpaid for months. :)

Which artists inspire you?
My friend Shara Worden inspires me a lot. She is the singer for a band called "My Brightest Diamond." I think most of my photographic motivation and inspiration comes from friend's musical sparks and successes. Maybe because both of my parents are musicians.

Describe that moment when you knew for sure that photography was something you wanted to pursue seriously:
When I french-kissed my hot heavy-metal pre-teen boyfriend in a film-loading darkroom after 7th grade at my sleep-away arts camp, Buck's Rock.

What kind of camera do you use?
Canon 5D

What's your favorite film?
Living in Oblivion, Edward Scissors, American Beauty and Pee Wee's Big Adventure

What's your Favorite Museum?
Junk Yards
Friends and Lovers' closets and under-the-bed shoe-boxes
NY Subway

Who is your hero?
Michael Jackson

Who's your favorite musical artist/group?
Nirvana and NIN of course. oooo... and Philip Glass and Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares, and :)

What are you reading now?
A Path with Heart, by Jack Kornfield

Favorite color?
To wear: black, gray, beige, brown, and pink
To see in a rock I found at the beach or something: jade and sea-foam green and wine red, purple, and sunny orange.

Name at least three web sites you visit everyday:
www.google.com
www.sarahsmall.com

What are your favorite foods?
Steak, oysters, avocado, stinky stinky stinky cheese, not-too-sweet but very moist chocolate cake, fresh tomato, mozzarella, basil, carrot/beat/ginger/apple juice, complex cabernet/shiraz blends- not to sweet, but a little berry-ful and not to tannin-y

Do you have an interesting/obscure hobby? If so, tell us about it.
I sing in an 8-woman Brooklyn-based Bulgarian Choir, Yasna Voices. We perform lots and practice on Sundays and will be traveling to Bulgaria this summer to study in a small village with Kremena Stancheva and work on all sorts of traditional vocal ornamentations.

If you could be any animal, what would you be?
oooo.... some exotic bird that flys real high and sees awesome views all the time or a dolphin maybe to check out the sea all the time. I love underwater, but scuba diving feels so so unnatural to me, but yet I always go back for more. Or, maybe a big black bear with a whole bunch of adorable cubs to protect and a bear husband to hang out with to protect me in the woods at night.

Do you do any artsy stuff besides photography?
I sing with Yasna Voices as mentioned above. I also make my own music at home on Logic.
I take a Polaroid a Day every day for 8 years and plan to continue for life.

Have you exhibited your work in any other shows? If so, which ones?
Yep, lots. I love showing work. :))
Check here:
http://www.sarahsmall.com/index.php?a=3&b=3#4

Your name:
Andrea Chu

Age (optional):
31

Where are you from?
Palo Alto, CA

Where do you live now?
Brooklyn, NY

What's your day job?
Watching the ice cream trucks go by my apartment with my nephew.

Which artists inspire you?
Terri Wefienbach, William Eggelston, and Wong Kar Wei.

Describe that moment when you knew for sure that photography was
something you wanted to pursue seriously:
When my friend Ken corrupted me with stolen film from the photo supply
store we worked at.

What kind of camera do you use?
Mamiya 645 Afd, Hasselblad, and Polaroids (Land Camera and SX-70)

What's your favorite film?
Classic: Umbrellas of Cherborg
Contemporary: Chungking Express

Who is your hero?
My dad

What are your favorite foods?
Rice and soup, Gummi Bears (Haribo-Gold), and my sister-in-law's pasta dishes

What are you reading right now?
Accordion Crimes by Annie Proulx

Who's your favorite musical artist/group?
The Jam

Your name:
Raul A. Gutierrez

Age:
39

Where are you from?
I was born in Monterrey, Mexico. Suffered through a childhood in Lufkin, Texas.

Where do you live now?
Brooklyn

What's your day job?
Media & Design Consultant

Which artists inspire you?
Paul Klee, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Kurt Schwitters, Garry Winogrand etc...

Describe that moment when you knew for sure that photography was something you wanted to pursue seriously:
Literally since I got back my first roll of film which happened when I was around 8.

What kind of camera do you use?
Nikon FM3 and a Maymiya 7 (amongst others).

What's your favorite film?
Classic: Toss up between The Third Man and Wages of Fear
Contemporary: Toss up between Broadway Danny Rose and The Heroic Trio

What's your Favorite Museum?
Museo Picasso

Who is your hero?
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Who's your favorite musical artist/group?
That's sort of an impossible question.

What are you reading now?
Best American Short Stories 2005.

Favorite color?
I like the deep blue the sky turns just before it goes black.

Name at least three web sites you visit everyday:
bbc
boingboing
wfmu blog
kirchersociety

What are your favorite foods?
I can't resist the traditional foods of Northern Mexico: Cabrito, carne asada, barbacoa... grilled meat basically.

Do you have an interesting/obscure hobby? If so, tell us about it.
I collect taxidermy (although less since my marriage) and Mexican ex-votos.

Do you do any artsy stuff besides photography?
I'm a big fan of the illustrated letter.

Your name:
Donna Alberico

Age:
32

Where are you from?
Merrick, Long Island

Where do you live now?
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

What's your day job?
Worrying where my next freelance photo job is coming from.

Which artists inspire you?:
Eugene Richards, Nick Waplington, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, Sebastiao Salgado

Describe that moment when you knew for sure that photography was something you wanted to pursue seriously:
My first day of b/w photo class in 10th grade

What kind of camera do you use:
Mamiya 7, can't seem to stop shooting film and now a canon 20D (just started shooting digitally)

What are you reading now?
My travel guide to Southeast Asia (going in October for a month to shoot and explore)

Favorite color?
Blue

Name at least three web sites you visit everyday:
nytimes.com
weather.com
google.com

What are your favorite foods?
Chocolate, mango, bagels

Do you do any artsy stuff besides photography?
Knitting, and writing in my journal if that's considered artsy

Have you exhibited your work in any other shows? If so, which ones?
Yes, at Momenta Gallery and Rotunda Gallery (both in Brooklyn)

Your name:
Michael Itkoff

Age:
25

Where are you from?
Philadelphia

Where do you live now?
NYC (East Harlem)

What's your day job? (if you have one)
Founding Editor, Daylight Magazine

Which artists inspire you?:
Sternfeld, Soth, Southam, Struffsky, Riebesehl, Evans, Frank, Christenberry, Eggleston, Misrach.

What kind of camera do you use?
Mamiya 7

What's your Favorite Museum?
Please Touch Museum

What are you reading now?
New Yorker / Transparent Things (Nabakov)

Favorite color?
Charcoal violet

If you could be any animal, what would you be?
Wolf

We interviewed the 10 Hot Shot winners via email, so that our readers could know a little more about them. The first response we received was from Stefan Simikich. Here are our questions and his answers:

Your name:
Stefan Simikich

Age (optional):
30

Where are you from:
West coast, top to bottom

Where do you live now:
San Francisco, CA

What's your day job?
Contractor

Which artists inspire you?
The ones that do shit rather than talk shit.

Describe that moment when you knew for sure that photography was something you wanted to pursue seriously:
It all started when I crashed real bad on my bike and almost busted my head open cause I didn't want to break my camera. I thought, "This thing is really important to me, I almost died to save it."

What kind of camera do you use:
Nikon and Contax. FILM

What's your favorite film?
Classic: Weekend at Bernies
Contemporary: Weekend at Bernies 2

What's your Favorite Museum?
Dave Schubert's house

Who is your hero?
People with disabilities winning at life.

Who's your favorite musical artist/group?
Iron Maiden

What are you reading now?
Your questions on the computer. (Is this a trick question?)

Favorite color?
Blackish

Name at least three websites you visit everyday:
anewyorkthing.com (the glob there is the best)
fecalface.com
tinyvices.com
epiclylaterd.com
cryptozoology.com

What are your favorite foods?
Sandwiches

Do you have an interesting/obscure hobby? If so, tell us about it.
Cryptozoology

If you could be any animal, what would you be?
Bigfoot

Do you do any artsy stuff besides photography?
Television

Have you exhibited your work in any other shows? If so, which ones?
That's all in the past. Let's just say lots!

Chip's Drawing of a Robot from Outer Space, 2005

It's that time again - We're very excited to announce the finalists for the Spring '06 Edition of Hey, Hot Shot!.

The Spring Edition Showcase will open with a reception for the artists on the evening of Wednesday June 7, 2006, from 6-8pm. The showcase will be on view Thursday, June 8 from noon - 8pm and Friday June 9 - Sunday June 11 from noon - 6pm.

Without further ado, we present to you the Spring 2006 Hot Shots:

Donna Alberico
Ian Baguskas
Andrea Chu
Alison Grippo
Raul Gutierrez
Michael Itkoff
Casey Kelbaugh
Andrea Longacre-White
Stefan Simikich
Sarah Small

Special thanks go to our awesome, fabulous and excellent panel for their insight, humor and hard work. And the other people who help make it happen: Jesse Chan-Norris and Jeff Kirsch for their technical prowess, Antony Van Couvering for hosting our panel meetings, Lauren Cerand for PR support, and also just for being her amazing self and last but not least the Spring intern crew: Anna Wolfgang, chief Hey, Hot Shot! blog editor, Christine Dillion (editor of the Jen Bekman Gallery News Blog), as well as recent arrivals Sophie Lvoff + Jane Tam.

It's always tough to narrow it down to the final ten, so we're also happy to include a list of great photographers in our honorable mentions category: Keliy Anderson-Staley, Dave Barry, Michelle Bruzzese, Sylvie Buchler, Samantha Casolari, Jessika Creedon, Eric Ray Davidson, Amy Eckert, Bethany Fancher, Rachel Hawthorn, Brandon Herman, Simone Lueck, Sara Macel, Jeremy Mazzenga, Liz Nielsen, Leah Oates, Pascal Shirley, Don Simon, Joanna Simpson, Michelle Westmark, Jen Williams and Shiigeki Yoshida