PMPN Student Photography Gallery

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Spring 2010 University of Portland's Juried Student Photography Exhibition

The Portland Metro Photographic News proudly makes this space available to student exhibits. Pat Bognar of the University of Portland regularly shares the juried work of her students' semester work in PMPN's gallery. By exhibiting her student's best work they receive the recognition they have earned while enriching the photographic experience of PMPN's readers.

The University of Portland Juried Student Photography Exhibition was inaugurated in 2005. All UP students currently enrolled in photography courses are eligible to submit anonymous entries each semester. A panel of judges selects photos for display in three categories:

People and Portraits
Landscape and Nature
Artist’s Choice

They also award a Best in Show. The selected photos are exhibited in the Buckley Center Auditorium lobby for one semester, and a new group is selected each semester.

Photography courses offered in the Spring 2010 semester are: Introduction to Black and White Photography; Color Photography; and Creative Photography, which consists of a range of alternative photographic processes. These classes are taught by Patricia Bognar.

The jurors for the Spring exhibit were Christine Laptuta, Larry Cwik and Dan Eccles.

Shown below are this year's award winning images.

Spring 2010 Best of Show

Anne Carey

Best of Portraits

Abby Olson

"Photographer in Training"

Others Chosen in Portraits

Tim Kenney

"On Top of a Mountain"

Marie Benoit

"Tino"

Stephanie Lies

Joe Tanner

"Curiosity"

Fiona Thornhill

Anne Carey

"My Sister Has An Attitude"

Best Of Artist's Choice

Shayla Behling

Others Chosen in "Artist's Choice"

Megan Sweeny

Caitlin Nusbaum

"Friendly Ghosts" (Paper Negative)

Chris Clem

(Platinum/Palladium Print)

Colleen Cunningham

Amelia Gallegos

Fiona Thronhill

Best of Landscape

Chris Clem

(Platinum/Palladium Print)

Others Chosen in "Landscape"

Joe Tanner

Fiona Thronhill

Nadia Peer

Anne Carey

"The Eye of Union Station"

Talley Carlston

Janie Oliphant

"Morning on the Bluff"

The Portland Metro Photographic News congratulates all the University of Portland students who entered this year's competition, and thanks them for sharing their work with our readers. A special note of appreciation goes to their instructor, Patricia Bognar, for all the work she has put into this project and for the guidance and inspiration she provides her students.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Luke Swenson - A High School Photography Student With an Eye and a Plan

The Portland Metro Photographic News is proud to display the work of 17-year old, Luke Swenson of Vancouver, Washington. Luke is a senior at Mountain View High School and an aspiring student photographer with a photographic maturity beyond his years and a plan for his future.

Like most photographers, Luke (shown at right) has his own unique story about his photographic beginnings.

"What initially got me interested in photography were my encounters with an 87-year-old, ex-Life magazine photographer: Elmar Gist. After meeting Mr. Gist I began to visit him weekly on Saturday’s, sitting beside him on his comfy, cream colored couch; finding myself entangled in his vivid stories and depictions of a life that seemed far away from myself and the small town of Vancouver, Washington.

A life insurance salesman for 39 years, and a professional photographer of 18 years, Elmar began to mentor me and teach me in the ways of photography, at a time when I was most susceptible to the influence of others. When leaving to go home each Saturday evening after our visits, I would be filled with a sense of purpose and would suddenly feel as though all my unanswered questions had disappeared.

Editor's Note: Elmar Gist (shown at left) passed away at the age of 88 on September 27, 2009. Read more about his life here.

Luke is always on the move. Today I work three different jobs; attending high school classes, working 3-4 days a week at the local camera shop, Knights Camera, and all the while keeping up with my photographic career and making time to have my work shown/exhibited anywhere with a blank wall around town. At Knights Camera, I am a sales clerk and also run the photo restoration part of the store. This training and experience working at Knight’s has made me quite well versed in film photography, digital photography, and Photoshop.

However, for my personal photography, I stick to film, and use Photoshop only to remove dust from my images and to color correct/contrast them to the way I have printed them in the darkroom. The bulk of my photos are hand processed, black and white images taken with either my Hasselblad 500CM or my Leica M2. Although I primarily shoot in black and white, my work also includes a variety of other alternative processes including color, Polaroid transfers and lifts, Cyanotypes and Solarized prints. For me it is more than just the final outcome of the image, but the manual process that I love. Nothing is more enjoyable for me than spending hours in the darkroom dodging, burning and printing. "

I would like to thank my dear friend Elmar, my photo teacher Mr. Richard Ray, my family and friends, and my fellow employees at Knights Camera, who have continued to support my artwork and me. After graduating from high school this coming June, I plan on moving to Brooklyn, New York to start college at Pratt Institute, where I hope to gain my BFA in Photography with an emphasis in Writing, and then move abroad to begin my life’s adventure. -- Luke Swenson

It was Luke's teacher, Richard Ray, at Mountain View High School who first brought Luke to our attention. Every photography teacher has students whose growth in the craft is their source of pride and motivation in their teaching profession.

Luke has been a photo student of mine for six semesters, starting with film photography and now, grudgingly, involving himself with digital imaging. His passion remains with silver-based photography. His darkroom work excels simply because he’s willing to spend the time to understand how and why things change when using various papers, chemicals, and toners. His current intention is to teach photography; he is considering attending either Pratt Institute or the School of the Art Institute of Chicago when he graduates from Mountain View at the end of this school year.

The thing that amuses me most about his excitement about photography has to be his lack of fear in approaching a new subject, whether it be people, landscape, or cityscape. He openly addresses people in areas outside his comfort zone, explaining his wishes, asking permission to photograph, and then making sure to mail copies of images to his subjects. Everything is fair game for his lens, whether shooting pinhole or medium format. For this student, time is simply a matter of shutter speeds. -- Richard Ray, Mountain View High School.

Welcome to PMPN's Student Gallery and the Imagery of Luke Swenson

©Luke Swenson

Anyone interested in learning more about Luke's photography or purchasing an image may contact his photography instructor, Richard Ray, by email.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Fall 2009 University of Portland's Juried Student Photography Exhibition

Of all the news and services the Portland Metro Photographic News provides to the Pacific Northwest photo community, our Student Gallery ranks as our favorite section. Having the opportunity to showcase the work of tomorrow's photographers as they discover their own unique visions is an honor.

This Student Gallery exhibit displays the art of the photography students from the University of Portland.

The University of Portland Juried Student Photography Exhibition was inaugurated in 2005. All UP students currently enrolled in photography courses are eligible to submit anonymous entries each semester. A panel of judges selects photos for display in three categories:

People and Portraits
Landscape and Nature
Artist’s Choice

They also award a Best in Show. The selected photos are exhibited in the Buckley Center Auditorium lobby for one semester, and a new group is selected each semester.

Photography courses offered in the Fall 2009 semester are: Introduction to Black and White Photography; Color Photography; and Creative Photography, which consists of a range of alternative photographic processes. These classes are taught by Patricia Bognar.

The jurors for the Fall 2009 exhibit were Deirdre Smith, Cecily Caceu, and Ty Buset.

Shown below are this year's award winning images.

Fall 2009 Best of Show

"Mochiko" by Christina Shelton

(cyanotype)