Farewell!

on track to the future © Rona Chang

We are very proud of NYMPHOTO and what the collective has accomplished and stands for.
Over the years we have done it all: exhibits, charity auctions, competitions, lectures, events, meet ups, books, blogs, and interviews. We have met and worked with some amazing people and the collective has been an unrivaled experience.
What's next?
Well, we have decided to take a break.
For how long? We don't know. It might be a permanent vacation.
Why? There are many reasons, all of them positive and having to do with our members living life to the fullest.
Thank you for your support and readership. We are grateful.

So long & see you around!

The NYMPHOTO Collective

PS: The blog will stay up as an archive and we encourage you to check in on our personal blogs and websites (find them on the sidebar) to stay in touch.

Another Conversation with Emily Shur

© Emily Shur

Emily Shur, much like Tema Stauffer has been involved or connected to every Nymphoto project. Emily early on participated in our conversation series. It is nice to come full circle. And thus today we present another conversation with Emily Shur - catching up on what has happend since our last conversation and discussing her assignment and her personal work.



© Emily Shur

NP: Can you fill us in a little to what has been going with you since our last interview?

ES: Well, I just looked up the date of our original conversation which was July 8, 2008, so it’s been quite a while. Lots of things have changed, but also lots of things are the same. 2008 and 2009 were very difficult years for me, professionally and financially. I was not making any money, which I’m sort of used to, but it reached a critical point towards the end of 2009, and I was forced to take a hard look at what was going on in my career. The industry was (and still is) shifting away from all of the things I had become comfortable with. I made a living shooting for magazines for almost 10 years, and continuing that has become impossible at this stage in the game. It’s unfortunate because I still love shooting for magazines, reading magazines, browsing at newsstands, etc., but it was time to accept what was happening and make the necessary adjustments. Towards the end of last year, I made a few major professional changes. I changed agents and did a full re-design of my website.


© Emily Shur

Another good thing that came out of this professional slump was that it re-connected me with my personal work. Because of nothing but sheer frustration with what was happening in my work life, I forced myself to shoot things and subject matter that I enjoyed and brought me pleasure. I was worried that my unhappiness with my career was going to spill over into my overall feelings about photography. I always want photography to be enjoyable, fulfilling, and some sort of refuge for me. I was beginning to feel mostly negative feelings about it and needed to stop that before it got any worse. I had lots of free time, so I began to put most of my energy towards shooting and editing my personal work. I applied to reviews and submitted my work to lots of contests and websites. It has been a very enlightening and positive experience, and it’s brought my attitude towards picture taking back around from the dark side.


© Emily Shur

NP: We like the re-design of your site. Particularly that we get to see more of what you call your personal work? Has your focus been shifting? And does your personal work inform your assignment work or vice versa?

ES: Thanks! It was important to me to incorporate more of my personal work into my site re-design. Right now, I’m not yet at the point where my personal work and assignment work are intertwined or derivative of each other. Part of the thought behind incorporating so much of my personal work into the new site was that hopefully I would be looked at in a different light as a photographer. I want art directors and photo editors to know that I can do more than take portraits of famous people. I want them to better understand my overall point of view, and I think that showing my personal work definitely adds an element to my body of work. I would love to get assignment work based off of my personal work, or be asked to use my personal work as inspiration in my assignment work. Showing all of my work together on one site is still kind of new, so I realize it might take a while for people to see me as someone who does quiet landscapes as well as celebrity portraits.



© Emily Shur

NP: In our last conversation you said you weren’t sure what drives your personal work. Do you still feel that way?

ES: I still am not a very project oriented photographer which I half want to change and half don’t care to change. Like I said in my answer to the first question, a lot of my personal work is pretty selfish in nature. Simply stated, it’s how I most enjoy photography. It’s how I remind myself why I love photography, and it’s where I feel most free as a photographer. The only pressure involved is pressure I put on myself. The only person I need to please is myself. So, I guess it really is driven by the hedonist in me.


© Emily Shur

NP: Your blog is popular! And it also has a new look and a new address. Can you tell us how the blog fits into your world?

ES: It is? It does have a new look and new address (www.emilyshur.com/blog). I got nerdy over Christmas break last year and taught myself how to design in Wordpress. The blog is a bit all over the place – one part photography, one part self promotion, one part love letter to The Baroness (our dog), and one part utterly and completely random. The blog is, I think, important to one’s photographic career right now although not everyone needs or wants one. It’s sort of public, so I can understand that not everyone wants to share their inner most thoughts on the internet. My blog is a place where I can get outside opinions on new work, promote upcoming events, and give people a bit more insight into what kind of stuff inspires or interests me. I’ve ‘met’ lots of other photographers and creative people all over the world because of my blog which is pretty cool. Sometimes the blog is stressful for me...I can’t think of things to write about, I censor my real thoughts because I realize that people in a position to hire me might be reading, and I feel a sense of obligation to keep it interesting and updated. So all in all, it’s not this complete zone of freedom and awesomeness, but I do enjoy it, and it makes me happy to think that people all over the world know how cute The Baroness is.


© Emily Shur

NP: What’s next?

ES: I’m planning yet another trip to Japan with my husband so that I can continue taking pictures there. I’m preparing my work for this year’s Review Santa Fe which is in June. I also recently had a piece in a group show at THIS Gallery (in conjunction with MOPLA) on April 30th. I’m hoping this year will bring some good assignment and commercial work, and that I can continue making a living doing what I love.

NP: Thank you so much!

Isa Leshko: The Picture Show

Moonie, Age 32 from the series Elderly Animals and Point Pleasant, NJ #1 from the series Thrills and Chills © Isa Leshko
Head over to NPR's The Picture Show for a recent feature Isha Leskho's work in a piece titled A Photographer, A Holga and Roller Coasters by Claire O'Neill. To re-visit our conversation with Isa, please click here.

THE EXHIBITION LAB: MORE NEWS

THE EXHIBITION LAB
PORTFOLIO REVIEW:

Honore Brown, Associate Picture Editor, The New Yorker
Stacey Clarkson, Art Director, Harper's
Kris Graves, Director, Kris Graves Projects
Jackie Ladner, Assistant Photo Editor, New York Magazine
Russell Lord, Fellow, Department of Photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Andrea Meislin, Director, Andrea Meislin Gallery
Tracey Norman, Director, Yancey Richardson Gallery
Amy Stein, Photographer
Sasha Wolf, Director, Sasha Wolf Gallery
Denise Wolff, Editor, Aperture

June 27 / 11:00 - 6:00 / $325

Twice a year The Exhibition Lab will gather a few of the greats in the field to host portfolio reviews for our students. The review will consist of three 20-minute reviews with four of the 10 reviewers listed above. Although we cannot promise, please indicate your top four choices of reviewers and we will take that into consideration.

A "Free Pass Award" based on merit will be given by The Exhibition Lab staff to one applicant which will waive the tuition for the portfolio review. Two "Reviewers' Choice" scholarships will be awarded at the end of the review good for one complimentary Seminar at The Ex Lab.

Stay for the "review after party" where all the artists and reviewers will have the opportunity to meet each other.

To apply, please provide the following materials via info@theexhibitionlab.com

1. A written description of your work, no more than 100 words
2. 10 jpegs sent either in a zip file or attached to an e-mail (jpegs should be 72 dpi and 6 inches at the largest dimension.)

Deadline for submission is June 12th. Artists will be notified of acceptance by June 14th. Payment is due upon acceptance. There is no cost to apply.

THE EXHIBITION LAB: OPEN HOUSE

THE EXHIBITION LAB
548 West 28th Street, 2nd Fl
New York, NY 10001
info@theexhibitionlab.com

Open House
Thursday June 3, 2010
6:30-8:00 PM

Find out more about the Exhibiton Lab at this open house and see a list of all upcoming classes by visiting : www.theexhibitionlab.com.

Upcoming: Michele Abeles & Others @ PS 1 -Greater New York 2010

Greater New York 2010
May 23–October 18

Opening Day Celebration
Sunday, May 23, 12:00–6:00 p.m.

MoMA PS1 and The Museum of Modern Art present the third iteration of the quinquennial exhibition Greater New York, which showcases the work of artists and collectives living and working in the New York metropolitan area. In addition to presenting recent works by some 68 artists, Greater New York includes an active on-site workshop in which participating artists are invited to experiment with new projects and ideas throughout the duration of the exhibition.

A special performance by Terence Koh will take place at 3:00 p.m., followed by a DJ set by Michael Magnan from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.


Please revisit our conversation with Michele by clicking here.

Picture of the Week: Nina Büsing Corvallo

from Chronicle © Nina Büsing Corvallo

Please visit www.ninabuesing.net to see more of Nina's amazing work.

Jane Tam @ Umbrage Gallery

Untitled, 2008 © Jane Tam

Jane Tam & Others
Graphic Intersections & The Portrait As Allegory
Umbrage Gallery
111 Front Street, Suite 208
DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY 11201
- through June 26th, 2010

Patryce Bak

Patryce Bak & Others
Hunter MFA Thesis Exhibition
Hunter College Times Square Gallery
450 West 41st Street New York, NY 10036
Between 9th + 10th Avenues
May 19 to June 19, 2010
Reception: May 19, 6 - 8 pm

Helen Sear @ Klompching

© Helen Sear/courtesy Klompching Gallery

More work by the talented Helen Sear at Klompching Gallery!

Klompching Gallery
111 Front Street
Suite 206.
DUMBO, Brooklyn
-through June 11, 2010