Brighton artist creates exhibition about vaginismus
Photography
Photographs By John Doble Will Be On View At Gallery On Main
“A Cape Codder’s Perspective,” photography by John Doble, will be on view at The Gallery on Main in Falmouth from May 1 through 16. An opening reception for the show is planned for Friday, May 3, from 4 to 6 PM.
Mr. Doble is a lifelong resident of Cape Cod, recently retired from the Bourne Police Department after spending 35 years as a police officer. Since his retirement he has been able to devote time to photographing the beauty of the Cape.
Faces and Places Astro Photographer
Lehigh Valley Photography Club: FOCUS Annual Exhibition at the Allentown Art Museum
Review by: Joe Scrizzi
When you hear the word “artist” what comes to mind?
At a young age, I would think of a painter or sculptor as that is what I have been exposed to for quite some time. Lots of artists out in the world perfecting their crafts. Whether you are a painter, sculptor, musician, writer, chef, welder, crafter, even a photographer….they are all artists in their own way!
A couple of weeks ago, I learned of several friends that had submitted photos to the Lehigh Valley Photography Club: FOCUS Annual Exhibition at the Allentown Art Museum. I stopped by this past Sunday to check it out. It’s located on the lower level and all of the submissions are on the walls for all to see! Several received awards, such as friend Barry McMickle: Best in Abstract (Dreamscape). Other names I recognized were:
Shelly B. Carson – Hanging on the Wire
Cynthia Karchner – Morning Stretch
Joan Dooley – Beach Vibes
This collection will be available for viewing until May 4th. Check their website for more information about this showing and other events. I ventured through all the floors, reading up on other exhibits, where I lost track of time being engulfed in so much! Take the time, check it out, explore all the areas and absorb the knowledge within these walls!
The Allentown Art Museum has so much to offer, a true gem in Downtown Allentown!
Allentown Art Museum | Discover Art in the Lehigh Valley
May Pang shares her story of life with John Lennon in photography exhibit
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A woman’s candid pictures are a documentation of rock history and the time she lived it. Right now, she’s visiting Nashville with her pictures on display at Bennett Galleries. An event is sharing what she captured all those years ago.
The photographer took the pictures in the mid-70s, not realizing at the time the interest the world would have in them.
“These photos have been under my bed in a storage thing for all these years,” smiled May Pang, the woman behind the pictures.
In one of the pictures, you see May during the 18-month relationship she shared with John Lennon.
“When I took these, it was just to have candid photos,” May said. “John would look at them and go, ‘lemme see what it looks like.’ He didn’t like photos that were staged.”
“Oh, the social commentary,” she smiled, looking at a picture of John with his tongue stuck out. “He doesn’t like something, he’ll be sticking his tongue out at you!”
May’s story is part of rock history. On John’s 1974 album Walls and Bridges, May’s voice can be heard on #9 Dream while Surprise, Surpise (Sweet Bird of Paradox) is about her.
“He didn’t get upset with the crowd at Disney World!” May said, showing a picture of John at the park. “People were trying to get to the next ride, they didn’t notice it was John in the crowd.”
In her time with John, May captured his friends. A picture of George Harrison is titled My Sweet George. In spring 1974, she took one of the last pictures of John and Paul McCartney together.
“It was that famous, horrible jam session,” she laughed. “It was not meant for the public. It was for them to have fun. It was not meant for everybody else.”
Another photo is of the papers being signed, signaling the dissolution of the Beatles.
“[John] said, ‘May, where’s your camera? C’mon! Take a couple.’ I said, ‘oh, okay,'” May remembered. “John was the last person to sign this contract. It was dark, so I didn’t even think it was going to come out. People don’t realize, it freed everybody up. This was not the end of them as friends.”
Recently, John’s son Julian Lennon used one of May’s pictures for the cover of his album, Jude.
“The fact Julian wanted to use my photo, I was very happy about that,” May said. “I’m very honored it made the cover.”
It’s now been 50 years since May’s relationship with John and 43 years after his death.
May said there’s a reason she wants to tour these pictures across the country and show them at a free three-day exhibition at Bennett Galleries.
“This is John Lennon, the way I saw him,” May said. “This is not John Lennon, the Beatle. It’s John at home. The majority have said, ‘I’ve never seen him look like this or even smile!’ They say, ‘he looks happy.’ I say he was! It brings back good memories, wonderful times that we had together. You could see it on his face. I had something good that I shared with him, and it shows in all these photos.”
The exhibition is called The Lost Weekend – The Photography of May Pang. May’s photos will be on sale, and you can meet her there. It runs at Bennett Galleries Friday, April 26 from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m., Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday, April 28 from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The event coincides with the digital release of the documentary on May and John’s relationship “The Lost Weekend – A Love Story.”
Rhori recommends:
Show gives people with intellectual disabilities chance to take spotlight
“Here’s another example of a small non-profit doing so much good in our community! Forrest Sanders highlights the group Friends Life Community, which provides adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities a chance to express themselves through art. In this case, original stage performances! Registered drama therapist Sarah Edwards guides the performers, including Mary Margaret, as they express themselves through written words and dance movements. The original show is touring and have a date set this September at TPAC!”
-Rhori Johnston
IN PHOTOS | CML Encampment, April 25, 2024 – The Cornell Daily Sun
10 a.m., April 25 | “First Look”
The encampment site is set up on the Arts Quad at dawn on April 25. (Ming DeMers/Sun Senior Photographer)
10:41 a.m., April 25 | “Administration Arrives”
Vice President of Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi and Dean of Students Marla Love arrive on the Arts Quad and express disapproval over the nature of the encampment. (Ming DeMers/Sun Senior Photographer)
11:41 a.m., April 25 | “Onlookers”
Cornell University Police Officers watch nearby as protestors call for a rally in support of their demands. (Jason Wu/Sun Senior Photographer)
12:02 p.m, April 25 | “Liberation is a Mindset”
Speakers, including Prof. Russell Rickford, engage the crowd in a rally during which they explained the protesters’ demands. (Nina Davis/Sun Photography Editor)
12:21 p.m., April 25 | “The People’s Microphone”
Christopher Cowen, executive vice president and chief financial officer, tells organizers that the tents violate the University’s policies. Because Cowen declines to use a megaphone, the organizers repeat Cowen’s words to the crowd. (Ming DeMers/Sun Senior Photographer)
12:30 p.m., April 25 | “At a Distance”
As the crowd around the encampment grows, some students express their disagreement with the protest. (Jason Wu/Sun Senior Photographer)
1:07 p.m., April 25 | “The Liberated Zone”
Administrators move conversations into a private space in McGraw Hall, despite demonstrators requesting public negotiations. Demonstrators call the encampment space a “liberated zone.” (Nina Davis/Sun Photography Editor)
2:25 p.m., April 25 | “Demand #1”
Participants of the encampment hold signs that state their eight demands. Among them include restitution for Indigenous communities, transparency in current finances and divestment from “morally reprehensible activities.” (Ming DeMers/Sun Senior Photographer)
3:03 p.m., April 25 | “Agree to Disagree”
Organizers explain their demands and views to students arguing about the value of the encampment. (Nina Davis/Sun Photography Editor)
3:20 p.m., April 25 | “Dancing for Justice”
Students join arms and dance among spectators on the arts quad. (Nina Davis/Sun Photography Editor)
3:27 p.m., April 25 | “A Space to Chat”
Protestors discuss the purpose and nature of the encampment, just outside the fence. (Nina Davis/Sun Photography Editor)
The Coffee Shop Sessions With Kai Eason
Saturday mornings, for most people, are about errands or relaxation. But for photographer Kai Eason, Saturday mornings are spent at local coffee shops, photographing a film photography portrait series known as “The Coffee Shop Sessions.”
Kai Eason is an avid film photographer based in Richmond, Virginia. I’ve been following his work for a while because he is constantly experimenting with new cameras, lenses, and processing techniques. I’m always curious about what his next photo will look like. He is a photographer who doesn’t get stuck in his ways and is always experimenting and trying new things.
Recently, a series of film portraits known as “The Coffee Shop Sessions” that he has been developing caught my attention. It’s a series of 100 film portraits that Kai has been working on for a little over a year, all photographed at local coffee shops.
For Kai, though, this series isn’t just about the photos. As he puts it, “We live in a world where a lot of our interaction is done over social media, and it’s nice to get up and have a real conversation with somebody. The photos are important, but it’s not the most important part of the whole thing. It’s about getting to know someone, having a conversation, and creating a connection that transcends photography.”
Kai wanted to develop a series of portrait images and found inspiration in coffee shops as being a source of connection, community, and gathering. The first Coffee Shop Session took place on a whim in January 2023. He wasn’t expecting much to come of it, but word started to spread, and interest started to build. People wanted to be a part of it, proving Kai’s initial intent for the project to be true – we are all desperately craving connection and want to feel a part of something.
With Kai’s Coffee Shop Sessions, connection and conversation are the first priority, and photos are second. Each session begins by walking into a local coffee shop, sitting down with a cup of coffee, and talking.
The importance of the photos to me is creating an authentic environment and authentic photos. You don’t have to be perfect. I’d much rather you not show up overly made up and dressed. I really want to photograph you. I want to capture who you are, and I want you to be relaxed.
With authenticity being the primary goal, the photoshoot only happens after an hour or so of solid conversation.
We’ll talk about what’s going on in our lives or what we’ve experienced. A lot of times you find these commonalities of stuff we’ve been through, stuff we’re going through, or stuff that we are going to have to go through.
For Kai, it’s just as important for him to make himself vulnerable within these moments of connection as it is for his subject. Kai’s belief is that once you get on a level with someone like that, it creates a sense of comfort and allows people to actually relax and be themselves in front of the camera.
I found this to be true from my own personal experience. My interview with Kai, of course, took place at a local coffee shop. My two-hour interview with Kai ranged from talking specifically about his Coffee Shop Sessions to discussing upcoming travel plans to our unique philosophies about what photography means to us, as well as touching on deeper personal subjects like grief and an impending loss I knew I was about to experience.
Kai is right. We are all going through the same things, and we can find comfort and connection in that. Even though I typically hate being in front of the camera, when it was time for my photoshoot to take place, I felt comfortable and at ease. When I saw the finished photos, I felt like I was meeting myself for the first time. There was a vulnerability to the images that I usually try to hide. Like I mentioned, at the time these were taken, I knew I would be experiencing the loss of someone close to me soon, and I can see a glimpse of that sadness on my face in these images. There is an honesty and a depth to them.
These Coffee Shop Sessions grew into something that Kai looked forward to every week. With a goal of shooting 100 Coffee Shop Sessions, he is now only 5 or 6 away from making that a reality, with a portrait of himself serving as the 100th and final image in the series. His hope is to turn this series into a book or a gallery show at some point in the future.
Kai photographs these sessions using a mix of cameras. The majority of the photos are shot on black and white film using a Rolleicord III from 1953. His go-to black and white film stocks are Kodak Tri-X 400, Kodak T-Max 400, and Rollei Superpan 200.
For his color film photos, he uses a Pentax 67 with Fuji Pro 400H or Kodak Aerocolor 100. And then he always mixes in a few digital images as well.
He shoots more black and white film than color and processes all of the film himself because of the week or two delay that usually comes with sending your film out to be processed. He prefers to shoot something and develop the film while his settings and techniques of the shoot are still fresh in his mind so he can analyze and adjust for future shoots.
Kai has a unique system for processing his film. Instead of using a developing chart to develop his black and white film, he uses a technique called stand development. Stand development is a method of developing photographic film that involves using a highly diluted developer solution and an extended development time. In stand development, the film is left to soak in the developer solution for an extended period, often without agitation or with minimal agitation. Kai uses stand development because it requires less hands-on attention and allows him to develop multiple rolls of black and white film at once of different film stocks. To Kai, scanning and developing film is the reward for putting the effort in.
Watch the YouTube video for the full interview with Kai and to see more work from his Coffee Shop Series, give him a follow at @kai_analog.
Images used with permission of Kai Eason.
Agriculture Week celebrates with youth photography contest
What does Agriculture mean to you? Agriculture is the foundation of our country. It’s made possible by the hard work of America’s farms and farm families. These individuals have been essential for many years.
Farmers continue to work hard to provide us with the food we have on our tables, the clothes we wear, and the many other things we use & enjoy on a daily basis.
On Tuesday, March 19, we recognized National Ag Day – a day to celebrate the less than two percent of the population who provide food, fiber, and fuel to all of us. Agriculture is no doubt our most important industry and National Ag Day is a chance for us to recognize and show our appreciation for all farmers do.
In celebration of National Agriculture Week (March 17th -23rd, 2024), the Johnson County Farm Bureau Women held a photo contest encouraging local students in 4th-12th grades to enter photos with the subject being “What does Agriculture mean to you?” The Farm Bureau women would like to recognize the following students and their winning photos.
The 1st place photo titled, “Can I Have a Kiss”, was entered by Ava Taylor, a 5th grade student from Laurel Elementary. The 2nd place photo, titled “Rooftop Rooster”, was entered by Christian Harris, a 5th grade homeschool student. The 3rd place photo, titled “Doing What I Love”, was entered by Julia Crews, a 10th grade student from Johnson County High School. Photos earning Honorable Mention were Skylar Mason, a 6th grader from Laurel Elementary School, Tanner Miller, a 5th-grade Homeschool Student, and Sophia Perez, a 6th grader from Laurel Elementary School.
Students who also entered photos into this year’s contest were Joseph Ketola, a 5th-grade homeschooler; Wilson Harris, a 6th-grade Homeschooler; John Ketola, a 6th-grade Homeschooler; Jesse Ketola, an 8th-grade Homeschooler; and Katie Timbs, a 10th-grade student from Johnson County High School.
The Farm Bureau Women were pleased with this year’s participation and would like to congratulate these students for sharing what agriculture means to them.
It is very important that we appreciate the farmer, not only during National Agriculture Week, but all throughout the year. They work hard year-round to provide us with the best quality products possible. Remember, without farmers- there is no food! Thank a Farmer today.
East Bay Street Photographers Want You to Take ‘Notice’
Najee Tobin, whose art will also be showing, is part of the East Bay Photo Collective’s gallery team. A Vallejo-raised artist who focuses on portrait photography with elements of fine art, Tobin says the group’s work is an important part of the landscape for local photographers.
“It’s an easygoing, supportive space where you’re allowed to experiment,” Tobin says of the collective, pointing out the frequent barriers to entry — financial or otherwise — when it comes to doing photography in academia or the world of fine art. ” They just want to see the work, that’s what’s important to me.”
The East Bay Photo Collective hosts workshops on specific photography topics throughout the year. The group also holds an annual gear sale, where cameras and accessories are donated, cleaned up and sold for a low price to aspiring photographers.
Earlier this month the collective held a closing reception for an exhibition that featured photos from the archives of Raymond Cooper, the late Oakland photographer whose images of the Town during the ’70s and ’80s were rescued from a trash can in 2021.
“I see a lot of my friends and fellow photographers in his archives,” says Tobin, reflecting on the event and Cooper’s work. “It was nice to see somebody celebrated for doing what we do.”
‘NOTICE,’ a show highlighting the work of the Oakland Street Photography Collective, takes place on Friday, May 3, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Oakland Photo Workshop (312 8th Street, Oakland).
This Camera Is an Absolute Beast for Video (and an Excellent Still
Whether you’re shooting video, stills, or some combination, there’s a camera that offers incredible levels of excellence in both, and at a price point that’s hard to ignore. Watch it get put through its paces in a 4-week trip to South America, and see how it stacks up against the competition.
The demand for cameras that can satisfy the exacting needs of hybrid shooters has never been higher. Videographers, photographers, and content creators of all stripes routinely work with a blend of still and moving images. The ability to create all of these media types using a single device offers incredible convenience, as well as potentially significant savings in time, money, and effort. Just think about the overhead of going on a trip like the one shown in this video, and having to cart along separate cameras for video and still photography, along with all of their separate sets of batteries, lenses, accessories etc.
One of the issues commonly encountered by hybrid shooters is that plenty of cameras do a bit of both, but are typically much better at one than the other. For example, when using an excellent still photography camera that also shoots video, it can often feel like the video features were something of an afterthought for the manufacturer.
However, this problem seems to be increasingly receding in the rearview mirror as the technology improves and becomes more cost effective. More and more manufacturers are starting to produce cameras that can absolutely hold their own in both video and still photography. The Panasonic Lumix S5IIX is a prime example of this.
In the video presented here, filmmaker Matthias Dangl takes his Lumix S5IIX on a 4-week trip to South America to put it through its paces and to see how it stacks up against the competition – specifically another popular hybrid shooter camera, the Sony a7S III. This video definitely focuses more on the videography aspects of the S5IIX than its use as a still camera, but I can personally vouch for its abilities in still photography, having used one myself. There are some great clips in the video that showcase just what the S5IIX is capable of, and the results are truly impressive. In the course of his discussion, Matthias covers several of the features that will be at the top of the list of must-haves for videographers, including autofocus, stabilization, and color management.
I would also add that this video came out before the major firmware upgrade that Panasonic recently released, which featured significant enhancements to features like autofocus and image stabilization. Based upon the glowing reviews that these upgrades have received from the Lumix community, it seems likely that Matthias would have found even more to like in the performance of the S5IIX on his trip to South America, had these new firmware upgrades already been available at that time.
