Black Friday

details HERE.

do it.

CM09: Our Book Award Finalists!

Congratulations to our Book Award Finalists!

Jody Ake


Carl Bower


Alejandro Cartagena


Toni Greaves


Birthe Piontek


Christopher Sims

Each of these artists will be asked to submit a proposal and from those, two books will be selected for publication by photolucida. Once those books are published, they'll be sent to each and every person involved with Critical Mass 2009. Well done! Thanks to all!

AND THE DRUMROLL PLEASE...

Congratulations to this year's Critical Mass Top 50!

in alphabetical order:


Jenn Ackerman
Jody Ake
Leslie Alsheimer
Jane Fulton Alt
Carl Bower
Andrea Camuto
Manuel Capurso
Alejandro Cartagena
Pelle Cass
Edmund Clark
Victor Cobo
Caleb Cole
Scott Dalton
Dorothee Deiss
Mitch Dobrowner
Jade Doskow
Ed Freeman
Lucia Ganieva
Judy Gelles
N W Gibbons
Toni Greaves
Alexander Gronsky
Jessica Todd Harper
Jessica Ingram
Samar Jodha
Mary Shannon Johnstone
Jimmy Lam
Laurie Lambrecht
David Leventi
Larry Louie
Benjamin Lowy
Simone Lueck
David Maisel
Sarah Malakoff
Rania Matar
Tim Matsui
Mark Menjivar
Brad Moore
Kate Orne
Ara Oshagan
Rachel Papo
Bradley Peters
Alexis Pike
Birthe Piontek
Ellen Rennard
Betsy Schneider
Peter Sibbald
Christopher Sims
David Taylor
Phillip Toledano
Will Steacy
Serkan Taycan



FAQ:

• I'm afraid there's been a mistake. You seem to have lost my name somewhere in the cut & paste process. Will you check again?

Sorry, but I've checked and my technical incompetence isn't at fault in this case (though it happened last year- sorry again, you know who). However, for a little perspective, check the post below.

• How does the voting work?

Well, all the jurors look at all the work and it's presented in a random fashion to ensure consistent voting. A pre-screening committee, a trusted group of true photo warriors, plowed through the initial field of 593 entries to narrow it down to the Finalists. The full jury then viewed & voted on the 175 Finalists (+ the 6 recipients of our International Award). In both the pre-screening and Finalist screening stages, each juror is given four options for voting and made aware of the numerical value assigned to each:

NO (= 0): "Someone may be interested in this work, but it's not me."
YES (= 1): "I’m glad that I've seen this."
YES + (= 3): "Strong work, but not quite wowed by it."
WOW (= 7): "Amazing - I can't wait to show this to someone."

When the voting is complete, the scores are tallied, averaged, and ranked, resulting in the list above.

• My name is on the list! How much money do I get?

Yeah, right.

• My name is on the list! When do you make my book?

The Book Award Finalists will be announced shortly. These Finalists will be asked to submit a proposal and from those, two books will be produced (some years it's three). Once these books are finished, they'll be sent to everyone involved with the process- all 599 participants and every single juror.

• Why's Critical Mass so expensive?

See the question above. But also keep in mind that photolucida is a non-profit organization. Believe me, what comes in, goes out.

• Hey wait a minute, why are there 52 names on this list?

Really, you counted? That's because of a statistical tie. This solution seemed better than having them duke it out.

• How do I take part next year?

The best way to keep informed about Critical Mass, our Reviews, or anything else we may be cooking up, is to sign up for our mailing list at the bottom of our web site.


And again, from all of us at photolucida, thank you. This is a really great program that wouldn't exist without all of you.

Critical Mass 2009: a little perspective

Later today, we're going to announce this year's Critical Mass Top 50. Tomorrow, I think, we'll announce the Book Award Finalists. The Book Award Finalists will be asked to submit a proposal and from those, two books will be selected for publication. Everyone involved, all 200+ Jurors and 593 photographers who entered, will receive those books once they're produced. You have all come together to make this happen.

It's always a little disconcerting when it comes down to these announcements, because it makes the whole thing feel a little too much like a competition. In all honesty, the results are secondary to the process. The list and the books are the cherry on top. That is, what photolucida strives to do is put good photography in front of people who use good photography; with the primary goal of letting photographers from anywhere in the world get their work in front of curators, editors, publishers, etc. who may find work for their own needs. The ultimate goal isn't this list, or the books that we'll put out, but the shows, publications, and good old-fashioned word of mouth and inspiration that comes out of this truly unique program.

Before the results are announced, we want to remind you about how this process works. This year, 593 photographers submitted work. An initial pre-screening took place with a jury of 20+ members to narrow the field down to 175 Finalists. In addition, 6 photographers from Italy were given "scholarships" to submit at no cost, based on the referrals of curators in the region. That makes 181 Finalists and over 200 jurors.

I stress all this because when the results are announced, there's always that initial glee or disappointment that comes along with the inevitable inclusion or exclusion. But just so we're all clear on this… when the scores are all tallied up and averaged out, do you know what the difference is between the lowest score on the list and the highest one that didn't make the cut?

.01314411684

Now, I'm no mathematician, but I can tell you that this number is small enough that out of 200+ jurors, that means that maybe one juror liked one project just enough more to put it over the line. Just because a Finalist's name isn't on the list of the Top 50, doesn't mean that their work hasn't been appreciated by some of the world's best curators, collectors, publishers, fellow photographers, etc. It simply means that when it comes down to the numbers, group consensus liked it a little less. In one case, .01314411684 less.

Within the next few weeks, we'll gather up and send out any written comments left for photographers from jurors. All jurors are given the opportunity to leave written feedback. While the recipients of these comments are obviously confidential, I'm going to go through and pick and choose a few comments that were left for participants who aren't among the Top 50, but as you can tell, still found some fans.

An amazing body of work… this is career making work.

Gorgeous palette and lighting.

Some of the best work being shown today.

I like these, in fact I may have a client for them.

Charming.

hi! I am going to be in touch with you this week about showing in December.

I would definitely be interested in speaking with you further about your project.

Truly some of the most refreshing work I have seen in a long time.

Lovely, sensitive series. Thanks!

Beautiful, and occasionally stunning.

Please send me more info and jpgs about this series. it is really beautiful. haunting.

Absolutely am in love with this stunning body of work. Thank you for sharing this!

I like this work a lot. I'm working on a project currently titled "_____________" in which I'm thinking about _________________________. I've definitely bookmarked your work for this.

Exceptional work. Great subject and well presented. I think you are missing a zero from your pricing.

very cool project. definitely will try to do something with this.

Interested in this for _____________.

Glad you submitted. Portfolio looks terrific. Keep me on your mailing list please.

Seriously, I just chose names at random. Let's keep it all in perspective… results later in the day.

Random Google Image Search results for "Excited"

The results of Critical Mass 2009 will be announced soon... by the end of the week for sure.

Erica Allen at Melanie Flood Projects!

the title kind of says it all, doesn't it? But I don't think I can link in a title.

Nov 2 through Dec 2

Erica Allen

Melanie Flood Projects