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Contrario Collective and the Sum of its Parts

March 26, 2015 By Caroline Space

"Pearls" by Emma McAlary
“Pearls” by Emma McAlary

The art world has a reputation of being a competitive place, but often here, in the nation’s capital, we see camaraderie bloom between artists. The new photography group, Contrario Collective, has a mission to unite photographers to inspire each other and create collectively. They opened an exhibit featuring work by their members last Thursday, so I stopped by to see the display and talk to the photographers about what their goal is for the collective.

"Out" by Victoria Milko
“Out” by Victoria Milko

Victoria Milko says she felt the need to assemble a collective in D.C. that is a “constructive place where a bunch of us can get together, take photos, and critique each other’s work with no pretense of being competitive.” In the art community, she says, “there are two sides to the spectrum: you can share your information and learn from each other or, you can be really competitive and not talk about what you’re doing.” Milko describes her friend, Emma McAlary as easy-going, kind, and creative, making her the perfect partner to help organize a collective. The two women share the same values and ideas about photography today, especially in Washington, D.C. McAlary says, “Victoria and I got together one day and we were just talking about the landscape of the D.C. art scene—photography specifically—and we thought there isn’t quite a place for us. And we want to go against the grain—hence the name—Contrario.” They wanted to enlist more like-minded photographers to create a collective based on what Milko describes as an “idea that isn’t typically found in the photography scene.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Artist Spotlight, Exposed Interview, Review Tagged With: Candid Moments, Contrario Collective, Emma McAlary, Farrah Skeiky, Katie Fielding, Motorcycle Photography, music photography, Noe Todorovich, OUT Riders Women's Motorcycle Club, photojournalism, SCID, Sensory Images, The Perlan Theater Group, Victoria Milko

In Frame: December 11, 2014

December 11, 2014 By James Calder

protest by washingtonydc
protest by washingtonydc

Photographer washingtonydc adds visual interest to an already unusual scene, a “die-in” protest at the intersection of 7th and H streets NW, by placing the camera near ground level, in parallel with the image’s primary subjects.

Filed Under: In Frame Tagged With: in frame, photojournalism, washingtonydc

Exposed Interview: Brendan Smialowski, Photojournalist

July 31, 2014 By Ben Keller

When I joined Agence France-Presse (AFP) in April 2007 as a computer technician and budding photojournalist, I asked the chief editor for names of photographers to keep an eye on. Some of the agency’s key players were a given, but she mentioned then-stringer Brendan Smialowski and stopped, as if there were nothing more to talk about. I asked why she’d name a stringer in such a crowded market as Washington, D.C., and not back her argument with an explanation. She simply replied, “Just go look at his stuff.”

AFP Photo/Brendan SMIALOWSKI
Patrons listen to performers at the Marvin Bar and Restaurant April 2, 2014 in Washington, DC during the 7th annual Marvin Gaye Day celebration.
AFP Photo/Brendan SMIALOWSKI

A cursory Google image search of Smialowski’s work will leave you wondering. The pictures returned are simple D.C. photojournalism fodder of dreary politicos and pundits. They don’t even follow the trusty photojournalism formula of “establisher, medium, action, reaction, reverse, close-up, and closing.” I was thoroughly confused. Not until I visited AFP’s ImageForum (or Getty Images for distribution in the USA) did I get his full story.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Exposed Interview Tagged With: AFP, Brendan Smialowski, freelance, interview, photojournalism, photojournalist

Following the 2014 Winter Olympics in Photos

February 11, 2014 By Meaghan Gay

Ice Skates by Noe Todorovich
Ice Skates by Noe Todorovich

If your evening dose of Bob Costas or 3 a.m. livestreaming isn’t satisfying your Olympics fix, there are plenty of other ways to keep track of the Games. Many photographers and athletes in Sochi posting to social media, so we decided to put together a compilation of lists we have found.

Photographer Melissa Lyttle created a Twitter list of photographers at the Games.

Huffington Post Canada compiled a list of Canadian athletes posting to Instagram.

Buzzfeed has their own list of athletes sharing on Instagram.

The New York Times has a list of Russian journalists covering the games and posting to Instagram. It also has a stream of Olympics photos they’re calling the Sochi Photo Firehose; since they disappear after a few moments, it’s like a steady flow of (safe-for-work) Snapchats.

Olympians on Instagram, as compiled by Gizmodo.

And finally, People Magazine published a list of athletes and journalists to follow on Twitter, with a few bonus Instagram-ers.

Filed Under: News & Opinion Tagged With: 2014, Instagram, Olympics, photojournalism, sochi, Sports, twitter, winter

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