Break Away From Technology: Discovering the Creative Potential of Low-Fi Cameras with Susan Bowen, an APA Webinar: April 25, 2023, 7pm EST

Webinar on Zoom, Tuesday 4/25/2023, 7pm EST.

I gave a webinar sponsored by the New York chapter of APA (American Photographic Artists) on Tuesday, April 25 at 7pm EST (New York time). I will be showing my best “holgaramas” (overlapping multiple exposures, long in format, shot with a Holga camera). For newbies… the Holga is a plastic film camera with no controls (1 f-stop, 1shutter speed) that has a cult following. So as well as showing my work, I will be explaining the overlapping technique, give you some tips, and tell you where to buy stuff.

DOWNLOAD THIS FILE:

To get the document referred to in the webinar click on the download button above.

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Finalist for Critical Mass 2015

I am happy to announce I have been selected as a finalist for Critical Mass 2015, an international competition organized by Photolucida. The 200 jurors will select the top 50 this month. Awards are a possibility, but the main benefit is exposure. Wish me luck!

Update: I wasn’t selected for the final 50, but it was an honor to have been a finalist.

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Public Art Finalist: Kansas City Art in Transit
January 2010

Finalist (1 of 6), Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Kansas City, MO. Art in Transit project, artwork on glass of bus shelters, 18′ x 21″ total per shelter. Graphic interlayer laminated safety glass. Proposal to shoot imagery from the neighborhoods along the transit route. January, 2010. Budget: $90,000.

Presentation Boards


From the Proposal

I am proposing the application of transparent photographic imagery to the walls of the bus shelters for the proposed sites. The imagery chosen would ideally come from the immediate environs of that station and help give an identity to that location. I visited Kansas City in December and shot generic pictures of the city as well as wandered the streets around the three designated sites along Troost Ave. The images presented could be the final artwork, or more visits to the city could be made and additional imagery created for final design selection.

My primary site of interest is the 31st Street station. What spoke to me most about this location is the existing piece of public art occupying the wall to the rear of the proposed site. It became clear to me that this mural has to be a beloved neighborhood treasure and that whatever artwork we now propose should honor this painting and treat it respectfully. So I began to photograph this mural and then the other Alexander Austin murals around the city. These murals have already begun to decay (hopefully there will be restoration efforts), and my pictures could in part act as a record of what these murals looked like should circumstances cause them to further crumble or even disappear. I would want to credit Mr. Austin on any plaque included at the site. In addition to the 31st Street mural, I photographed the Martin Luther King mural one block away on Linwood Boulevard and the other large one near 18th and Vine. I also learned about the Disney connection to the site and included images of his old studio around the corner.

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January 2010

Holga Inspire: Online Featured Artist
International Traveling Exhibit: 2010 to 2013

I am honored to be included as a featured artist on the Holga Inspire (now defunct) website… a promotional site by the manufacturers of the Holga camera. The site and associated traveling exhibition is organized and promoted by the effervescent Christine So. Thank you Christine!

From the website: Holga Inspire is an initiative of Holga Limited, a company of the Universal Electronics Industries group co-founded by Mr. T.M. Lee, who invented and continues to manufacture and develop the Holga range of cameras. The mission of Holga Inspire is to support creative artists and professional photographers who use the Holga as their medium of creative expression. We seek to connect professionals throughout the arts, media, and academia through exhibitions, events and educational programs. We want to reinvigorate classic photography and inspire creative originality. Holga Inspire strives to demonstrate the extraordinary artistic potential and the wide range of creative expression that can be realized with a Holga camera.”

From 2010 – 2013 the Holga Inspire, an International Exhibit of 10 Holga Masters was been shown at these galleries (many now sadly closed):

Umbrella Arts Gallery, 317 E. 9th St., NYC. 12/9-1/16/2010
Hallmark Institute of Photography, 85 Avenue A, Turner Falls, MA. 5/7-6/6/2010
Brooks Institute, Gallery 27, 27 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara, CA. 9/2-10/1/2010
Icon Gallery, 5450 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 3/5-4/1/2011
Center for Fine Art Photography, 400 N. College Ave., Fort Collins, CO. 9/30-1/14/2011
Soho Photo Gallery, 15 White Street, NYC. 3/7-3/31/2012
Open Shutter Gallery, 735 Main Ave., Durango, CO. 6/8-7/17/2012
Photobooth, 1193 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA. 8/30-9/27/2012
Chicago Photography Center, 3301 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL. 10/12-10/28/2012
Interlochen Center for the Arts, 4000 Highway M-137, Interlochen, MI. 11/30-1/11/2012
Arts Eye Gallery, 3550 E Grant Rd, Tucson, AZ, 8/20-10/31/2013

Holga Inspire Website


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International Traveling Exhibit: 2010 to 2013

Public Art Finalist: NYC Department of Education
Fall 2007

Finalist (1 of 3), Sunset Park High School mural, Brooklyn, NY. Commissioned by NYC Department of Education Public Art in Public Schools Program and the NYC Percent for Art Program. Proposal to shoot imagery over a period of a year in the ethnically diverse neighborhood of Sunset Park. One large-scale porcelain enamel mural (4′ x 74′), a pair of murals composed of porcelain tiles (6′ x 12′), and bands of porcelain tiles. Fall 2007. Budget: $175,000.

Presentation Board

From the Proposal

I am proposing photographic-based murals for the first floor lobby and corridors of the new Sunset Park High School. I am presenting a primary proposal and an alternate one, the difference being in the materials used. These materials vary greatly in price and therefore in what can be done for the same budget.

The primary proposal includes three items. The dominant piece is one large mural to be done in porcelain enamel on steel. This would be a 4′ x 74′ mural (composed of ten 48″x74″ panels) to be mounted on the wall of the primary art site, the long 78′-2″ wall that faces 35th Street and is visible through the ground floor windows. Second are two side-by-side 6′ square pieces that would be mounted on the wall between the two auditorium entrances. These face the public entrance to the school and are composed of 6″ square tiles (each a grid 12 tiles by 12 tiles). Lastly this proposal uses the residual budget to run a 6″ high band across the neighboring walls, estimated to transverse 8 walls and be about 166 running feet of tile. This band is composed of the same porcelain tiles as the second mural. These tiles are produced by the same fabricator as the porcelain enamel and have the same durability.

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Fall 2007
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