Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2008
Went to the 
at the National Portrait Gallery (it's easier to drag the logo over than type it out :) last Sunday. Actually went to see the Leibowitz exhibition but it was sold out. I didn't really feel like paying ten pounds to see some photographs anyways - i mean we are deluged with amazing imagery all day, so why pay for it? (the Costanza force in me is strong).
So instead of the photographer who has 20 assistants and charges money for her work I saw a bunch of works by young artists competing for the prize. A few works were really good (below is #1) but most were fairly mediocre. Sometimes I wondered - how is this not a snap? But in the case of the good ones I immediately thought - wow, I wonder how she did it (camera/lights/exposure, etc).
A bit of ironic coincidence. A year ago I went to Kazan for a conference (pictures here: http://vicrad.smugmug.com/gallery/4483735_kRhwX/1/263758961_nm6n9). It took place in a new Western-style shopping mall. Of course they had a food court. There they had this great fast food that served Russian food - called CCCP. I really liked it since I don't get to eat that type of food often. Anyways, imagine my surprise when I see a picture of that place at this exhibition! Apparently the guy found it very "ironic" (get it - soviet fast food in a western-type mall in the middle of russia) and decided to submit his snap of it. To me it was just hillarious since I have eaten at that very place (i mean, what are the odds!) and found it to be great.
at the National Portrait Gallery (it's easier to drag the logo over than type it out :) last Sunday. Actually went to see the Leibowitz exhibition but it was sold out. I didn't really feel like paying ten pounds to see some photographs anyways - i mean we are deluged with amazing imagery all day, so why pay for it? (the Costanza force in me is strong).
So instead of the photographer who has 20 assistants and charges money for her work I saw a bunch of works by young artists competing for the prize. A few works were really good (below is #1) but most were fairly mediocre. Sometimes I wondered - how is this not a snap? But in the case of the good ones I immediately thought - wow, I wonder how she did it (camera/lights/exposure, etc).
A bit of ironic coincidence. A year ago I went to Kazan for a conference (pictures here: http://vicrad.smugmug.com/gallery/4483735_kRhwX/1/263758961_nm6n9). It took place in a new Western-style shopping mall. Of course they had a food court. There they had this great fast food that served Russian food - called CCCP. I really liked it since I don't get to eat that type of food often. Anyways, imagine my surprise when I see a picture of that place at this exhibition! Apparently the guy found it very "ironic" (get it - soviet fast food in a western-type mall in the middle of russia) and decided to submit his snap of it. To me it was just hillarious since I have eaten at that very place (i mean, what are the odds!) and found it to be great.