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The New Orleans Photo Alliance (NOPA) will begin accepting applications January 1, 2011 for the second annual grant of the Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary Photography (MPS Fund). Through the MPS Fund, established in honor of legendary New Orleans photographer Michael P. Smith, NOPA awards one $5,000 grant annually to a Gulf Coast photographer whose work combines artistic excellence and a sustained commitment to a long-term cultural documentary project. Both emerging and established photographers residing in the Gulf Coast states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are eligible to apply. The subject matter for the proposed project, however, is not limited to the Gulf Coast region. Applications will be accepted from January 1, 2011 to February 28, 2011. The jurors for the 2011 MPS Fund grant include Tom Rankin, the Director of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University; Stella Kramer, independent editor, editor of Fraction J; Gina Martin, Photographer Representative, National Geographic Image Collection; and Kevin Miller, Director of the Southeast Museum of Photography. More information and submission guidelines may be found at http://www.neworleansphotoalliance.org/grants/MPS_Fund/index.php

NEW YORK, December 6 , 2010 – Pace/MacGill Gallery is pleased to present Hai Bo, an exhibition featuring 9 large-scale photographs from the artist’s recent work (2007-2009). This marks Hai Bo’s first exhibition at the gallery.

Hai Bo will be on view from January 20 through February 26, 2011. An opening reception with the artist will be held from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 20, 2011.

Since I have moved to Madrid, I have been tring to get a sense of what the photography community is like here. It is in this attempt that I came upon the work of Rafa Alcacer the internet collective he belongs to, Strange.rs.

First, Tell me a little about yourself

I'm married and the father of a 6 year old girl. I don't make a living out of photography.

Tell me what you think about photography on the internet and where it might be going

The internet is a great source of information and interaction with other photographers,but if you're interested in really learning photography you have to turn off your computer and go to art galleries and buy some photography books (as much as you can).

Would you say that you are a documentary photographer? How would you define “documentary” photography?

The first question depends on how you answer the second one. I couldn't give a proper definition of documentary photography (specially in english!), but I think that the term has a broader sense that the classic event-documentalism.  An example:  the election of Martin Parr as member of Magnum created an enormous controversy inside the agency becsause a lot of the members thought that he did do the type of documentalism that Magnum represented. Is documentalism what Parr does? No doubt.  In the broadest sense of the term, I think that people like Alessandra Sanguinetti, Doug Dubois with All the Days and Nights or Alec Soth make documentary photography. So, am I a documentary photographer? (Btw: let me say I don't feel comfortable talking about myself as a photographer after mentioning those names) Well, I guess some of my work consists in documenting my family life...

Tell me a little about Strange.rs and what the goal is.

Strange.rs is a good example of the benefits that internet can have for photographers, being a collective of - If I count right- 28 photographers that met through flickr and that mos of them have never met in "real" life.  The main idea, I guess, is in fact getting the best of that particular situation: trying to make a bunch of strangers work as a collective. It is true that most of ther features so far have been of individuals, but there are a couple of projects that will, hopefully, make us all work together with a common idea/theme. 

What do you think about the photographs and photographers in western Europe as compared to photographers from the US? Is there any difference?

  I don't really see any substantial difference between both sides of the Atlantic ocean. I would say there's no such thing as an european style of photography, or an american way of seing. Then again,  I can't help to have this (more intuitive than rationalized) preconception of the european photography being more "conceptual" and the american photography more "spontaneous" and related to terms like "snapshot" or "roadtrip." The Bechers or Gursky or Canddida Höffer or (despite being canadian) Jeff Wall would be "europeans", and Walker Evans or Stephen Shore or William Eggleston or Alec Soth would be "americans"......

Next week, on Wednesday, December 9, Taryn Simon will sign copies of her latest book, Contraband, at Dashwood Books (33 Bond Street, New York, NY) from 6 to 8 pm. Read more about the project and reserve a signed copy of the book by clicking HERE.

Tóxico is an independent cultural project based in Mexico City that organizes workshops, lectures, film screenings, exhibitions and collective art projects, many focused on photography. They have worked with many world-renowned artists, filmmakers, photographers, designers, writers and organizations at the fore-front of contemporary culture. Through different projects and across diverse disciplines, it has earned various international awards and grants, including a TED Fellowship in 2009 and a TED Senior Fellowship for 2010-2013. Recent projects include a workshop for emerging photographers led by Juliana Beasley and Tema Stauffer; the inauguration of Tóxico: Lab, a series of dialogue platforms especially geared towards (and given by) talented emerging artists (inaugurated by Laurel Ptak of iheartphotograph.com); and an upcoming mentorship and research program for talented students and young professionals of various disciplines. More at http://toxicocultura.com/