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Stormz O2 Photography

Just in time

PHOTOGRAPHY HAS EVOLVED

The photography idea is fast turning into a business that has found a market. However, evolution is set to occur in the industry as fast and rising budding young photographers are beginning to bring out different tastes and interesting approaches to the photography sphere.

Now you decide where you want to be in the coming year. 2017 will be friendly with only the people who think before, on and after the job. Go get the strobes, fix the lights, play on the aperture, save for some lenses and don’t forget to say a gentle reminder to God.

We will see in 2017.

We are officially back.....stay tuned

DOWN THE UP STAIRCASE; JORDAN VANSISE ON SELF PORTRAITS

Selfies' have become one of the dominant features of the decade - but the more formal self-portrait has been a staple within the fine art world throughout its history. The 2014 Student Focus finalists were tasked with the brief of developing a self-portrait series of up to ten images. The work presented is a stunning approach to these students’ lives, how they think, how the see the world and the future, their dreams and their fears. Going back to the roots of the artistic medium, they present how they see themselves within the wider world.

To get a better sense of the 2014 Student Focus Finalist series, we've asked the photographers to reflect on their shooting experiences. Today, Jordan VanSise of Marylhurst University shares his thoughts on his self-portraits' development.

What was your initial reaction to this year's theme of "Self-portraits"?=
I was excited because I was able to stick to the theme of my original image. It gave me a reason to start making these pictures which have previously only been ideas written in my notebook.



Tell us what first comes to mind when you think of self-portraits today? As a photography student, how do you react to word "selfie" becoming 2013's Word of the Year?
A self portrait can be whatever a person wants it to be. It can simply depict how we want to physically look, or it can include references to what's going on in our mind or how we feel about the world, it is open to however we wish to approach it. 'Selfie' being the word of 2013 was interesting to me, but I'm not really sure what it says about our time. I think it may be reflective of our access to technology as well as the way we use it.

How did you decide to approach your photographic series to fit the brief? What were some of the things you considered in developing your project?
I wanted to develop the concept of my original picture, which also happened to be a self portrait. I decided to try and tell a story in each picture about things I am going through personally and hopefully in a way that other people will be able to relate in some way.



What was the biggest challenge you encountered putting together your series?
Time was a big struggle while making my series because I still had everything else going on in my life but I had to give myself a lot of time and energy towards these pictures. Just the act of making them was time consuming, and compositing the images was just as challenging.

What was the biggest thing you learned undergoing this project?
I learned a different approach to picture making. I would say that my style is more on the side of straight photography - which tries to stay true to the moment. In this series of images I had to conceptualise what I was going to do before making the pictures. It was much more expressive about what's going on inside of me compared to what I'm out observing in the world.

What do you hope viewers will take away from your self-portrait series?
I hope that others will be able to find their own meaning in my series. But I want to express the self awareness I have developed, partially, through processing my experiences; and hopefully I can promote the importance of being aware of what you feel and why you are feeling it.

Any final thoughts on the experience you wish to share?
This has been a great experience for me, I have found a way to express the things I haven't been able to before verbally. And it is a project I wish to continue beyond the competition.



To see Jordan's full series, click here.
To see more of the Student Focus Finalist series, click here.

The photographs of all the student finalists will be exhibited at Somerset House in London, as part of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition from 1-18 May and published in the 2014 edition of the annual Sony World Photography Awards book. The overall winner will be announced at the Sony World Photography Awards gala ceremony in London on 30th April.

2014 Women's Initiative Grant for photographers, photojournalists

April 14, 2014 /Photography News/ The Alexia Foundation is pleased to announce the call for entries for the 2014 Women's Initiative Grant which will provide a $25,000 grant for a project to be produced on a significant issue involving and affecting women anywhere in the world.

The Alexia Foundation's main purpose is to encourage and help photojournalists create stories that drive change. While the traditional grant guidelines put no limits on the subject matter for grant proposals, a number of proposals about women's rights in the last few years have been so powerful that we have been compelled to create a grant specifically on issues relating to women.

Unlike the first Women's Initiative grant, which specifically focused on abuse of women in the United States, this call for entries is open to photographers any where in the world and is intended to permit the photographer to produce a serious documentary photographic project encompassing any issue involving women anywhere in the world.

While considering the idea of women's issues, several themes that have been suggested, including: femininity and the culture of abuse; women making a difference, leading, changing things for the better; gender inequality; the direct connection to women and education, and the impact on birth rates, health of children and the productivity of the women; gender discrimination, women in leadership, women in the military, mental health issues. They are by no means intended to influence your proposal, but they may help you start thinking about this topic. They are, in fact, just general themes.

Eligibility:

Photographers and visual journalists from any country may apply for this Grant. Proposals for projects that have already received grants or awards of more than $1,000 in the previous calendar year are not eligible. The Grant is made to an individual photographer; project proposals that involve multiple content producers will not be accepted.

Judging Criteria:

The Grant was established to help promote greater awareness of issues surrounding and impacting women. The strength of your proposal will be judged equally to your photographic skills. The Grant goes to those who clearly and concisely propose significant projects that share in the Foundation’s mission and who demonstrate the ability to accomplish their proposals by showing photographs of the highest caliber. Photographs you submit with your proposal may be about your proposal’s subject or of past work that is of a similar type.

A well-written statement of purpose proposal is required. This is not a portfolio competition. The grant will be awarded to a photojournalist who can write a concise, focused, and meaningful story proposal concerning women’s abuse and who can demonstrate the ability to visually execute that story with compelling images. 

Applications will be judged in two rounds. First, members of the Alexia photojournalism advisory board, the Alexia Board and its executive advisors will review portfolios and move those demonstrating strongest visual storytelling skills to a second round. 

In the second round, judges first read and rank the story proposals for all those portfolios brought forward. If no judge thinks the proposal is worth considering, the portfolio will not be reviewed in the second round. A winner is chosen based on the judges' determination of the combination of the strongest proposal and photography.

All applications are expected to adhere to photojournalism ethical standards. 

Deadline: June 30, 2014 at 2p.m. EST

The winner will have six months or until March 1, 2015 to complete the project.

from Stormz Desk

We do wish to inform you that Stormz O2 Photography is headed for new releases. We need our teaming audience,

United States	292
Nigeria	254
Russia	196
United Kingdom	153
Germany	46
France	43
Netherlands	22
Canada	7
Serbia	7
India	5

to be informed of our more inspiring outpours......

New themes are being arrived at and ready for upload in a week's time.......do hope to satisfy your curiosity.

Tobi 

For Stormz