Not too late for PhotoNOLA

Not too late to head for PhotoNOLA, the Big Easy's annual photography festival, now on through December 13th, 2009. PhotoNOLA is the third of the three major photography festivals held each fall in the southeast, beginning with ACP in October, Foto Week DC in November, and PhotoNOLA in December.

Events always include portfolio reviews, special exhibitions, lectures, and, often, an appearance by Mary Virginia Swanson (who always seems to be on the road -- does she live out of her portfolio?), as well as lots of opportunities to see new work and talk photography.

Works on exhibit this year include a showcase of work by eight members of the New Orleans Photo Alliance up at the Crescent City Brewhouse, 527 Decatur Street, in New Orleans. Exhibitors include Michelle Icahn, David Rae Morris, Owen Murphy, Jennifer Shaw, Jenn Ocken, Antonio Henriquez, Jennifer Zdon, and Renee Aille, whose image (above) looks like Christmas in New Orleans to me. 

Susan Raab in Mississippi

Washington, DC based photographer Susan Raab has some strong work on her website made in Mississippi, including a portfolio about William Faulkner's house Roan Oak and another one documenting life at the Oxford, MS Sonic Drive-in.

Mark Steinmetz Photographs the South

Athens, Georgia-based photographer Mark Steinmetz has just published Greater Atlanta (2009), a companion volume to two other books of photographs of the South, South East (2008) and South Central (2007) by Steinmetz.

In this work, Steinmetz continues in the grand tradition of B+W fine art photography, emphasizing street photography and natural-light portraits. The images in South Central were chiefly made in and around Knoxville, Tennessee; those in South East were made in Athens and the Atlanta area. The work in Greater Atlanta was made in, well, of course, greater Atlanta.

The images in these books involve the South in transition from rural to urban and from old to new, exploring the tensions, distractions, and dislocations that are part of that experience. For comments by Mark on this body of work, see the interview he did with Joerg Colberg of the Conscientious blog, HERE. My thanks, as always, to Joerg for his fine work.

Sarah Wilson at PhotoNOLA 2009

Sarah Wilson,  a Louisiana photographer now based in Austin, Texas, was the winner of the 2008 PhotoNOLA Review Prize for her portfolio, “Blind Prom,” images of the prom at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Her work is featured at this year's PhotoNOLA, on display at the New Orleans Photo Alliance, 1111 St. Mary Street, in New Orleans, from Nov 27th, 2009 – January 20th, 2010.

Luceo Images

Luceo Images is a collective of 6 photographers, all but two of whom are based in the South. They include David Banks and Kendrick Brinson, based in Atlanta; Matt Eich, based in Norfolk; and Tim Lytvinenko, based in Raleigh. Strong work here -- well worth checking out.