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September 17-19, 2010
Registration: $145 ($95 for students)
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA FOTO FEST
(Please read the registration notes at the bottom of the page before registering)
Photo contest winners receive framed print of winning
image & option to hang in Bluewood Gallery
Programs from two of the more talented professional
photographers in the country
Superb location in Brevard, NC—the Land of Waterfalls
Photo contest winners published in Views Magazine
An energetic atmosphere of fun and learning!
Historic arts-oriented venue
Door prize drawings
This is NOT your ordinary photography seminar!
VENUE
PHOTO CONTEST
PROGRAM OUTLINE
OTHER COOL STUFF
SPEAKERS & CONTEST JUDGES
VENUE
Home for the Foto Fest is the Brevard Little Theatre in the heart of Brevard, North Carolina. The Theatre traces its origins to 1935 when Beulah Zachary, a young school teacher, organized the first community theater in Brevard. In the decades since, the Theatre has presented countless performances in a variety of venues. Their current venue, the old American Legion Hall building, provides an ideal environment for arts-oriented events. It is a perfect match for the Foto Fest.
2010 Foto Fest General Attendance Information
PHOTO CONTEST
Everybody has a photo contest. Most give a certificate of some sort to the winners. Some contests offer something a little more tangible, but then they charge a fee for entering photos. Bill and Kevin wanted to do something different. They wanted to reward you with something really exciting and to give it to you as a free benefit of attending the WNC Foto Fest.
To realize this goal, they partnered with Bluewood Gallery in Brevard, Bill Hemmer of Views Magazine, and Jeff Miller of Mountain Lens. Bluewood Gallery is among the premier arts galleries in western North Carolina, displaying the work of many well-known artists and photographers. Views Magazine, based in southwestern North Carolina, upstate South Carolina and Georgia, is the kind of publication photographers like to see their images published in—high quality printing, liberal photographic essays, and an editor who is not afraid to print photos BIG. Jeff Miller is among the finest fine-art photography printers in the country, handling the print jobs for dozens of professional photographers.
So what do you get when you combine Bill’s and Kevin’s ambitions with these partners? For starters, the grand prize winner and the first place winners of six separate categories will all have their winning entry printed and framed, with the option of displaying (and selling if desired) their framed print in Bluewood Gallery. And the prints will be printed BIG, with the first place winners at 16" x 24" and the grand prize winner at 24" x 36"! But that’s just the beginning. The seven winning photos will also be prominently reproduced in a special feature of Views Magazine. A free framed print, wall space in an art gallery, and exposure in a premium magazine—WOW!
Categories for the 2010 Foto Fest contest are: Landscape, Water, Wildlife, Closeup, Hand of Man, and Night. There is no restriction on when the photos were taken, but all entries must have been shot in North America. Detailed submission guidelines will be sent to all registrants. Please note that contest entries must be received by August 31.
An independent panel of three judges will choose the contest winners. Judges for the 2010 Foto Fest are Tom Blagden, Kathy Adams Clark, and Tony Sweet. Links to their biographies are at the bottom of the page. The judges will not know the names of the photographers and will cast their votes independently using a point system. 2010 Foto Fest Photo Contest Information & Submission Guidelines
PROGRAM OUTLINE
Listed below are the formal programs that will be presented during the 1st annual Western North Carolina Foto Fest. In addition, short informal sessions on a variety of topics will be sprinkled throughout the weekend. Plus, on Saturday night the attendees are in for a surprise!
Light: The Driving Force (Bill Lea)
Light is the driving force behind Bill’s approach to photography. It dictates WHAT, WHERE and WHEN he photographs. This program takes an in-depth look at the quality and characteristics of light and the practical ways of putting those fundamental features to use in our every day photography. Bill will share how a simple change in philosophy concerning light changed his photography forever. It will be enlightening!
Putting New Life Into Wildlife Photography (Bill Lea)
 Bill has been photographing wildlife for more than thirty years and this program will share personal experiences and much of what he has learned during that time. Field techniques, the motivation for wildlife photography, capturing the subject’s “personality”, and critical items that should be considered when creating wildlife images will be covered. Wild critters from birds to bears will be subject matters in this presentation.
What Works? Composition & More (Bill Lea)
In this program Bill discusses the thought processes he goes through in the field when creating a particular photo, and then the group as a whole will analyze the resulting image. Bill believes close attention to the smallest details cumulatively makes the biggest difference in the final image. The objective of this presentation is to learn to identify the small details that dictate appropriate adjustments in the field, which will ultimately improve your photography!
Falling For Water (Kevin Adams)
A photography seminar in the Land of Waterfalls must include a program on photographing waterfalls, right? And who better to give that program than the person who literally wrote the book on the subject. Kevin will share his unique approach to photographing waterfalls, cascades, and mountains streams—illustrating the discussion with never-before-seen images. What is so unique about photographing waterfalls and creeks? After you've seen Kevin's presentation, you won't be asking that question anymore!
Digital After Dark (Kevin Adams)
Today's digital cameras give us the ability to make images that we could not have dreamed of back in the film days. Nowhere is this truer than with night photography. Now we can literally shoot for the stars! For those who associate night photography only with subjects like fireworks, cityscapes, and street scenes, you're in for a surprise. In this eye-opening presentation, Kevin will share his techniques for photographing a variety of nighttime subjects, from the ordinary to the "Wow, I never would have thought of that!" Attendees are advised to use caution before attending this presentation, however. Once you see all the exciting things you can do with your camera at night, you won't be getting much sleep from then on!
A Closeup View Of Nature (Kevin Adams)
In the past few years, photographers have been inundated with new software and photo gear designed to improve the process of closeup photography. We use a Lensbaby to make things out of focus and Helicon Focus to keep everything in focus. We have software for creating poster-like backgrounds and hardware for shooting macro panoramas. These tools certainly can be useful at times (and Kevin is never one to shy away from using appropriate tools), but for many people closeup photography is confusing enough as it is; all this new stuff just makes it that much more puzzling. In this program, Kevin will share his approach to closeup photography, which relies more on basic principles and MacGyver-like ingenuity, than it does on new software and hardware.
Color from Camera to Canvas (Jeff Miller)
Jeff will guide you through the basics of a color workflow to ensure that you can capture, display, and ultimately create fine art prints that are true to the colors you see in nature. Topics include file formats, white balance, gamuts, calibration, profiling, and media.
Marketing Ideas & Inspiration (Joan VanOrman)
Learn how to create a niche for your images and how to successfully market yourself based on your areas of interest. In this fun and lively session, Joan will show you how to approach art galleries for representation, how to submit images for editorial placement, and she will introduce you to new marketing tools and ideas. With her background in business marketing and her experience as owner of a fine-art gallery, Joan is able to speak from a position most photographers can’t. She knows what the “other” side is like!
Photo Critique (Bill & Kevin)
Participants in past workshops have told Bill and Kevin that one of the things they enjoyed most was the photo critique session. People like the way Bill and Kevin are able to suggest ways of maybe improving a particular image while at the same time highlighting its positive aspects. This sort of approach encourages people to improve their photography rather than cause them to become disillusioned with it.
Bill and Kevin wanted to include a photo critique session in the Foto Fest, but they knew it would difficult to implement a typical critique where all the participants submit images. Such a format could mean the critique might last several hours, cutting into the time for other programs. Plus, there would be no practical way to keep from showing multiple images that all exhibit the same negatives and/or positives. They did not want to have to show a lot of images for which their analysis would be the same.
With this mind, Bill and Kevin came up with a new approach to the critiquing discussion. They will choose the critique images themselves from the photographs submitted for the contest. (Participants will have the option of not being included.) This way they can control the length of the session, but more importantly they can control how many images to show that exhibit similarities. They’ll be able to select a broad range of photographs, having both negative and positive characteristics, and with these provide a comprehensive learning experience for the attendees. This is a unique approach to an old idea and one that is sure to be popular with everyone.
2010 Foto Fest Program Schedule
OTHER COOL STUFF
The Western North Carolina Foto Fest features great programs and the opportunity to win terrific prizes, all in an atmosphere of fun and energy. But Bill and Kevin have planned this event to offer even more benefits for the participants. They specifically chose Brevard as home for the Foto Fest because it is close to so many wonderful photo opportunities. They encourage participant to come early and stay late to take advantage of these great subjects. All participants will receive a list of Bill's and Kevin's favorite locations. Bottled water and light refreshments will be provided at all times during the Foto Fest. On Friday and Saturday evening there will be a cash bar with beer and wine. Meals will be on your own. On Thursday evening prior to the Foto Fest, Bluewood Gallery will host a special reception.
SPEAKERS & CONTEST JUDGES
The links below take you to biographic information for all the Foto Fest speakers and contest judges. Most of the biographies reside within the websites of the individuals. You are encouraged to browse their sites. Joan VanOrman does not have a biography page. The link for her takes you to the website for Bluewood Gallery. Joan is co-owner of the gallery and owner of Main Stream Marketing, specializing in artist and business marketing and public relations.
Kevin Adams
Kathy Adams Clark
Tom Blagden
Bill Lea
Jeff Miller
Tony Sweet
Joan VanOrman
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA FOTO FEST
(Please read the registration note at the bottom of the page before registering)
The 2010 Western North Carolina Foto Fest is proudly sponsored by the following companies:
All photos on this page: © Bill Lea
Registration notes: Online registration is open until September 14. You can also register by sending a check to Kevin Adams to the address listed on the bottom of the page. Please include your email address if registering by mail. You may also register at the door. Please note that in order to enter the photo contest you must register by August 31, as contest entries are due on that day.
After you complete the online registration process, you will receive two emails. The first one will be a receipt for your payment, which you should receive from PayPal right away. The second email will include an attachment to a pdf document that provides detailed information for the Foto Fest, including the program schedule and instructions for submitting photos to the contest. The second email comes directly from us and may be delayed a few days if we are out of the office on a photo trip. All of the information that is included in the second email is also included in the following links.
2010 Foto Fest Program Schedule
2010 Foto Fest Photo Contest Information & Submission Guidelines
2010 Foto Fest General Attendance Information
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