Pacific New Media Foundation Exhibition

I got lucky again and was able to get a photo into the PNM Foundation photography exhibition at Marks Garage. It's the best photography exhibit in Hawaii all year and it's the hardest to get into. They receive about 500 photos and this year they selected 50. Some years it's less than that. The photos must be taken within the last two years but I always submit photos taken within the last 12 months. The five photos below were taken from a much larger group that I put together. It's impossible to know what a juror might be looking for, so I tried to come up with a variety of things that might appeal to him.

The first photo is the one he selected for the show. I took the photo in April at the Iolani Fair. I've taken many photos of these swings at different carnivals on Oahu so I decided to get down on my knees and see if I could get a different angle on them by shooting from the ground. Right away I could see I had two problems: people kept walking in front of me and the railing was taking up too much space in the shot. I took a couple of shots anyway and started to see the possibilities of including passersby in the shot. I began timing my shots to include them on the edges, but the railing was still too prominent. I moved to a different side of the ride where the railing had been pushed over for some reason and was almost horizontal. That's why it looks so wonky in the photo. I took 20 to 30 photos on my knees and a few of them were interesting, but this was the best of the bunch. The sky is dark so it contrasts well with the lights but it still has some color and isn't completely black. I should also point out that this photo represents what I'm looking for in many of my images by being both complex and coherent. I tried to take into account at least five things when shooting this image: the gaudy center of the swings, the riders on the swings, the rail, the sky, and the passersby.

The reception is tonight, August 2, and the exhibit will run through the end of the month. If you're on Oahu and have a chance to visit the exhibit, the gallery will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 12 to 5. I'll take photos tonight so you can see what the reception was like.