Last year, I volunteered at the Palm Springs Photo Festival (PSPF). I was living in Palm Springs at the time, and knew about it because, in the prior year, one of the workshops used studio space at the studio I was working for. I thought it would be a good opportunity to connect with other industry creatives and get more exposed to the art photography world. The PSPF is a meeting place for many of the top photographers, curators, art directors, editors, gallery directors, Ad agency creatives, educators and other industry leaders in the photo world. The PSPF focuses mainly on the art of photography, but some of it’s workshops and seminars are commercially oriented. There is a good mix of attendees and participants who are involved in both commercial and art photography.
I found the PSPF website and studied it carefully. I researched as much as I could about the festival, the director, and the people involved. I sent an email to the organizing committee, informing them of my interest and availability. A few months later, I was helping to set-up the festival and rubbing elbows with photographers like Jeff Dunas, Colin Finlay, and Frank Ockenfels III. All-in-all, I worked my ass off, but I had a blast!
On Sunday, the first day, we set up the administration and check-in area at the Korakia. We also set up the ez-ups for the Fine Art Print Walk. It was a lot of work and it was a bit warm that day, but after the event started, it was great. I got to chat with so many photographers and learn about how they put their books and portfolios together. What their thought process was as they shot their subjects. The trials of their efforts and the blood, sweat, and tears they sacrificed.
The second day was the actual start of the festival with the portfolio reviews and the first of the three day workshops and single event seminars. I worked the portfolio reviews and got to see many of the attendees work that they brought in for review. I was able to listen to the dialogue between photographer and reviewer, and hear the objective feedback the photographer was given. It was really very interesting, especially as I considered my own process to some of my work.
Later in the day, I went to a couple different seminars to help out. But, mostly, I got to sit in on the presentation and soak in the info. I heard Colin Finlay talk about some of his travels as he showed his slide presentation. An amazing photographer with an endearing spirit to tell the story of the down-trodden. His work really makes you think about our place in this world.
The third day I had a gig in Los Angeles so I took a break from the festival.
On Wednesday, I helped out a bit with some of the last of the portfolio reviews and another seminar. Then, I helped with gassing up the fleet of vans we used to transport workshop attendees to the various workshop locations. Later, after dinner, we drove some of the attendees to the Palm Springs Art Museum for the key note presentation where Andreas Bitesnich and Andy Summers (The Police) gave slide show talks… very cool! Andy Summers signed his new photography book afterwards, at the party.
Thursday we struck the ez-ups and packed the administration areas and generally cleaned up.
I’m already signed up for the 2009 PSPF as a volunteer. I’m also hoping to assist one of the workshop photographers.
By attending a photo festival, you are exposed to many opportunities that can help you improve your photography. By volunteering, you have many of the same opportunities, but you don’t have to pay. Sure, you’re going to be kept busy and won’t get to participate like you would if you were an attendee and involved in workshops and seminars as a student, but chances are, you’ll build an amazing relationship with some very important people to help you succeed in your own assisting and photography. And, you’ll be exposed to a lot more than the attendees, so you will see and learn many, many different things that will aid you in your own business. I think the trick here is just to be yourself, learn as much as you can, be helpful to others, and make contacts for new and future work, be it assisting or shooting.
Look around on the web for any photo festivals and trade shows in or near your community. The other biggees, of course, is the New York Photo Festival and PDN PhotoPlus. Ask other photographers about festivals they have attended. Get involved in some meetups groups in your area… search photography. Looks for other art festivals that include photography. And if you really want to set your sights high, check out PhotoShop World and PhotoKina. Always put yourself in a position to help the people who put these events together. It will take some work, but if you’re diligent about it, you will succeed in getting noticed.
I will be including some more links on the new links page, so check back soon.
Sponsored Links
Recent Comments