07.09.07
Posted in Photography at 9:57 am by Michelle
I can’t remember how it started, but I’ve been teaching workshops on playing with Holga cameras for almost 10 years at the Photographic Center NW. I’ve also worked with several other places to get workshops going over the years. But now, with the book out, things are really taking off, and I’m thrilled to be teaching around the country!
My connections with Los Angeles keep growing, thanks to the fabulous folks at Freestyle. At my show opening in February, they introduced me to Julia Dean, who runs a fabulous series of workshops out of Venice Beach. I happened to be around for the opening of their new space as well, and a partnership was born! I’ll be teaching Toying with Creativity, a weekend workshop there September 8th & 9th, and hopefully in San Francisco in the new year.
In October, I’ll be in New York, teaching in the hallowed halls of the International Center of Photography (ICP). This is a two-weekend workshop, and I’m very excited to have lots of time with the students, and the great facilities to explore shooting in the studio, printing in the darkroom, and playing with pixels in the digital lab.
And, next March (2008), I’ll be close to St Louis, at the Foundry Arts Centre. We’re putting on a national juried exhibition (I’m the juror!) with work based around plastic camera images, but not limited to just 2-D photography. I’ll post the call for entries when it’s out. The show opening is March 28th, and that weekend I’ll be teaching a workshop at this beautiful space. Sometime in there, we’ll have a book signing as well.
I’m really looking forward to these workshops, traveling and meeting people around the country. And I’m definitely working on setting up more, with several of the great folks I met at Photolucida (look for me in Colorado, San Francisco, Minneapolis and other places…). If you are interested in having me come teach in a city near you, let me know, and we’ll see what we can work out!
~Michelle
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06.29.07
Posted in Photography at 7:14 pm by Michelle
It’s not really an obvious outlet for a photographer, but here it is, I’m going to be a featured guest on Photo Talk Radio from 8-9 am (PDT) on Saturday, July 7th. We’ll be talking about the book, toy cameras, photography, and whatever else comes up. In fact, you can even call in and ask me questions! The phone number is 888-613-1612. Love to hear from you!
If you miss it, listen on the website at www.phototalkradio.com/ptr070707.html.
While we’re on the audio waves, I’m featured on the great photo website Lens Culture, with an article, 24 photos, and a long audio interview with me talking about the toys. Strangely enough, even I enjoyed listening to it, and I usually hate hearing the sound of my own voice! But I had such a great time chatting with Jim Casper, and playing off of his enthusiasm, that it really shines through in the interview. It was taped at Photolucida, in Portland in April.
Enjoy!
~Michelle
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05.08.07
Posted in Photography at 1:04 pm by Michelle
Talk, talk, talk. Look at photographs. Talk some more.
Photolucida is a delerious delight if you like to eat, breathe and talk photography for days. It’s one of the growing number of portfolio review events around the world, which bring together photographers and those who deal with photography – gallery owners, museum curators, book and magazine publishers, collectors, and more. The core of the event is the meetings: photographers and reviewers get 20-minute-long sessions to show and look at work. The photogs get 4-5 or these a day, adding up to about 20 over the event. But outside of the formal reviews, lots and lots of informal sharing and networking happens between the photographers and the reviewers. It’s a great, intense event!
Photolucida is in Portland, OR (a nice short hop from Seattle). Other events include the biggie, Fotofest, in Houston and Review Santa Fe (which is juried), and ones in Brimingham, England, Arles, France, and Prague. A slew of them are collected on the Festival of Light site.
I met with lots of interesting folks from around the country. The most fun stuff to happen was bring interviewed by Jim Casper to be featured on his website, Lens Culture, later this month, and being invited to speak at SF Camerawork this fall. I spoke to several regional photo centers about teaching as well – I’m starting to spread the Holga love around the country, but more on that in another post. And I met lots of wonderful photographers who were showing their work. It’s a great event for making connections with people who love photography at all levels.
~Michelle
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04.06.07
Posted in Photography at 3:53 pm by Michelle
Back again! This time from the trek across the country to Miami for the national conference of the Society for Photographic Education. Mostly, this organization serves photography professors and teachers and students, but it’s a fun group of social photographers that is also very open to folks like me, who teach occasionally. This conference (my 3rd national) was a blast. My interactions with people were consistently interesting: I got many slightly confused looks by people who couldn’t figure out where they knew me from, and then smiles of recognition when someone mentioned the Freestyle catalog (that one with me on the cover – scroll down to see it), which was out and about at the conference. Others recognized my name from the book, or saw the book I was usually toting around (yay for the snappy yellow cover!). Just to break the ice with anyone else, I had on me, either in my hand or around my neck, my ridiculously cute Rollei MiniDigi, which is was like an adorable puppy; absolutely irresistable to all the photographers in the room.
A few highlights of the conference: Signing my books at a table next to Henry Horenstein, whose books I’ve had forever, and Tony Mendoza, whose work is gorgeous. Meeting Kent Nunamaker, who wrote the first review of my book on Amazon.com, and his wife. Kent made a series of beautiful pinhole cameras and collects toy cameras used for advertising. They were wonderful! Also, had a great moment when Mary Virginia Swanson was shown the next Freestyle catalog – with her on the cover! I’ll throw up a photo of us – the two cover girls – when I get it.
I met lots of great people, including Angela Faris, who’s working on a book for my publisher, Focal Press, Dennie Eagleson, a professor at Antioch, and Jane Alden Stevens, a professor at the Univeristy of Cincinatti. It was great spending some time with great photographers, teachers, and accomplished women. I also got to hang out with Mary Ann Lynch, the Diana Queen, who was an incredible help in shaping up my book, and Robert Blake, another plastic camera afficianado, who runs the General Studies Program at ICP.
There was a lot of excitement by all the teachers and students about my book, which was very gratifying. Hopefully they’ll spread the word and keep the good ole book selling.
~Michelle
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03.01.07
Posted in Photography at 1:26 pm by Michelle
So, all the hard work paid off, and Los Angeles was a blast! The exhibition looks fabulous; Freestyle really went to town on it!
The opening was a little slow – believe it or not, it *rained* that evening, which apparently freaks Los Angelinos out. But many folks came and enjoyed the work, bought books, and introduced themselves. Fun!
The talk on Saturday was just perfect. 46 people had signed up (including a long waiting list), and the crowd was standing room only. It was a really great captive audience, who watched and listened to my presentation, asked great questions, and had me sign books.
I also lucked out to be in town for the opening party of the Julia Dean Workshops‘ new space, right on the beach in Venice, and am talking with them about teaching for their next session.
While I was in LA, had to play tourist just a little; went to the La Brea Tar Pits (I remember that from when I was young…) and the Getty, trotted down Rodeo Drive (which was much easier to swallow at night, when all the stores were closed and the ridiculously expensive jewelry gone from the windows), and experienced hellish LA traffic. The best part was the spectacular view from the Getty; I’ve never seen LA from up high before.
Next, gearing up for the Society for Photographic Education conference in Miami in a couple of weeks.
This is about 1/2 of the show, at the Creative Center for Photography, at Freestyle’s Hollywood store.
This view greets visitors as they enter the store.
Me signing books after the talk. Lensbaby photo by Jer.
~Michelle
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02.16.07
Posted in Photography at 10:32 pm by Michelle
Now that the prints – 28 of them! – are off in Fedex-land, I can start spreading the word.
My exhibition at Freestyle Photographic’s Creative Center for Photography opens this Thursday, Feb 22nd, from 6-8pm. Please stop by if you’re in the Hollywood neighborhood (5124 Sunset Blvd, to be exact)! The show will be up through April 22nd, which gives plenty of time to peruse the show (and shop in the store while you’re there!). I’m also giving a talk on Feb 24th, but it’s already full with a waiting list – how exciting!
Info about the show is at Freestyle’s website, and I have postcards as well.
The images are from two series: the first is kind of a “greatest hits” – the light-hearted goofy Holga pix that got me noticed. Second, and the bulk of the show, is more recent work featuring images that focus on those corners of cities where nature keeps on rolling, over, through and around the concrete jungle. Here are a couple of preivews, and there are many brand-new images as well!
~Michelle
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02.06.07
Posted in Photography at 11:07 am by Michelle
I’m a social being, and I like social events that have to do with photography. So when I found myself in San Francisco when Photo LA was going to be happening, I decided to take a little side trip to La-La land to see what’s going on in the photo gallery world.
I’ve been to photo education conferences, trade shows, and portfolio reviews, but never one of the gallery shows. Definitely a different angle on the world of photography, and a valuable one. Here, galleries that specialize in photography from around the world set up booths with their best work on the walls, catering to collectors. You can see stunning prints by contemporary photographers and vintage prints from all eras. My favorites were big Sebastiao Salgado prints of penguins and icebergs (from his Genesis series), a series of images from Lucien Clergue and some old contact prints of products made in the midwest in the 1950s (who knew a paint can could look so beautiful?).
I took a workshop give by Center called “Center Thyself.” It featured several people in the gallery world talking about how to create your work and get it out in the world. My favorite presenter was Mark Pinsukanjana, who gave 16 great tips, including “Master your tools, Be open to whatever comes your way, Share what you know and learn from others, and Fix whatever you complain about the most.” There were several more great ones as well, and I was inspired by the last one to finally clean my office, where I am happily typing away, and not worrying about tripping over things.
I ran into a few people I know, including Mary Virginia Swanson, and got a copy of her new book, “The Business of Photography: Principles and Practice”, which is a must have for any photographer interested in the world of fine art photography. She knows it all, and is very generous in her sharing of knowledge; see her blog for all the latest photo contests and events.
Alan Griffiths had a booth set up to tout his website, Luminous-Lint, which is an enormous site dedicated to cataloguing the history of photogarphy. It’s got the photographers, genres, techniques, etc, all cross-linked. Sometime soon I’ll have an exhibition of Toy Camera Photography up there – I’ll post when it’s ready.
Well, I’m busy getting ready for the Freestyle show that opens on Feb 22nd. Stop by if you’re in the LA area. Next post will be the card and info. Lecture on Saturday the 24th.
~Michelle
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01.10.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:08 am by Michelle
I got a lovely review by Ctein, a photographer I met last spring through my housemate, and also an author for Focal Press, on The Online Photographer blog site. Ctein’s new book, “Digital Restoration” is just hitting stores.
Freestyle Photographic Supply, a wonderful photography dealer, which is also the US distributor for the Holga, has put me on the cover of their new Educator’s Resource catalog. It’s perhaps little more exposure than I was thinking, but pretty fun. I’m on Freestyle’s Advisory Board of Photographic Professionals, and will be having an exhibition at their gallery in Los Angeles in February (opening on the 22nd, with a lecture on the 24th). More details here as I get them.
Cover photograph by Jennifer Loomis, who I also photograph for, and is a brand-new member of the Freestyle Advisory Board herself!
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12.13.06
Posted in Photography at 11:42 am by Michelle
So the last month has been a sort of incubation period; I’ve been recovering from all the parties, and the book has been spreading out into the world. With the enormous number of books out there (and being released every day), it’s a hard thing to get your book facing out and noticed. But things are starting to happen for “Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity.” Here are a few fun links:
First, I was interviewed by Alysha Sideman, who I met at Photo Plus Expo, for the professional photography website Imaging Info. Check out the full article with several photos.
The book is also for sale at Photo-Eye (a great online photo bookstore and gallery based in Santa Fe), which features images of several spreads from the book – BookTease! Looks like it spent a couple of weeks on Photo-Eye’s Bestseller List!
Two websites gave the book glowing recommendations:
Apogee Photo Magazine & Random Photo Blog and it got a nice mention in Communication Arts magazine (the kind on paper) too.
My three Amazon reviews are all 5 stars, and very enthusiastic (and no, I don’t know the reviewers!). Plus I’ve been occasionally showing up on the Amazon best seller list under Art & Photography: Photography: Equipment. Today I was number 99! Amazing the things that make us feel accomplished!
Here’s my favorite Amazon review:
Guide to the world of plastic photography., October 20, 2006
Reviewer: J. Nunamaker “jnsnapdragon” (Miami, Florida United States)
Without a doubt, the best all-around guide to plastic camera photography available. Well written, beautifully illustrated, informative yet entertaining. Michelle Bates has done a great job. If you’re just curious, she will inspire you. If you’re into the plastic fantastic, she’ll motivate you. And if you’ve been doing this stuff for years, she’ll make you feel good about yourself. It’s about time somebody did it, and I don’t think anyone could have done it better.
Kent Nunamaker
I’ve got copies here, and would be happy to send signed, personalized ones out. Just give a shout!
I hope everyone’s enjoying the book!
~Michelle
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11.18.06
Posted in Photography at 6:40 pm by Michelle
The book is now out in the world, with three official parties to send it off in style.
In New York City, Photo Plus was the center of a convergence of photographers for several days. My publisher, Focal Press, had a booth at the show, and on the first day, I parked myself there for a few hours to meet people, see the reactions to the book, and sign copies. The next couple of days was a mish-mosh of more of the same, wandering around the show meeting and catching up with people, always with book in hand, a dinner with several Focal authors and staff, a friend’s book launch party for “Worldchanging: A User’s Guide to the 21st Century”, and, of course, my book party.
After the absurd adventure of shopping and trying to find a table in Manhattan, we gathered at Robin Rice Gallery in Chelsea on Friday night for my New York book launch celebration, and it was great! We had a wonderful mix of folks, including my family, New York and Seattle friends, some folks from the photo world, and 6 contributors to the book! There was much enjoying of drinks and snacks, looking at Gordon Stettinius’ beautiful photos on the walls, talking about photography and other things, and trading of business cards.
The rest of the week included the Lucie Awards (an amazing selection of world-class photographers), seeing my friend Victoria Haas in the film “Approaching Union Square”, meeting up with family, and checking out my book on the shelves at Barnes & Noble and the International Center of Photography bookstore – a dream come true!
From the New York party: 
Contributors Megan Green, Susan Bowen, Pauline St Denis, Gordon Stettinius, me, Mary Ann Lynch, & Nancy Burson. 
Michelle & Teru Kuwayama at his show closing party at Fastback Books.
~love & art,
Michelle
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