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...

Laugaras Iceland by Hot Shot Bob O'Connor, from 20x200

There are only a few left! Merely a handful remain of Winter '06 Hot Shot Bob O'Connor's 20x200 edition that went on sale just this morning.

O'Connor lives in the suburbs outside of Boston with his two Australian Shepherd dogs. His commercial work has appeared in a variety of publications including The New York Times Magazine, Fast Company, Technology Review, Dwell, and London Telegraph magazines. O'Connor's work has also been shown at Jen Bekman Gallery (Hey, Hot Shot! Winter 2006), The Photographic Resource Center, and The Griffin Museum of Photography. He was named one of "30 Emerging Photographers to Watch" by PDN in 2006.

Bob writes:

"The rural landscape of Iceland is full of horses that are allowed to run wild for most of the year. Unfortunately, this also means that the horses aren't that interested in seeing people with cameras. Everytime I got out of the car to attempt a photograph the horses would turn and run away. On the last day of the trip, after two weeks of trying, I found some horses that were cooperative and let me photograph them. It took a bribe, in the form of some green apples and grass, but I think we all won out in the end. I got my photograph and they got a tasty snack."

Photo by Winter '06 Hot Shot Rebecca Smeyne

Winter '06 Hot Shot Rebecca Smeyne can be found frequently in the music pages of The Village Voice. See an array of concert photos she shot here, including a just-posted look at Santogold, Diplo, and A-Track in Central Park.