SEC4P Competitions / Calls for Entry
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The Contemporary Portrait
The Portrait. We use portraits as objects of remembrance and reverence, of seduction and glorification. From the keepsakes in lockets as tiny remembrances of love, to the likenesses of leaders meant to inspire and seduce with their power. They can stir, and confront, and drive us to action. Just as they can lull in longing for a time since passed. They act as a mirror in whose reflection we find the inward experiences of ourselves, or as a window from which we look out toward the virtues of another.
Analog and digital manipulation in all its forms welcome. Monochrome or color, all subjects, analog, digital or antique processes, photographers of all skill levels and locations are welcome.
Aline Smithson is a visual artist, educator, and editor based in Los Angeles, California. Best known for her conceptual portraiture and a practice that uses humor and pathos to explore the performative potential of photography. Growing up in the shadow of Hollywood, her work is influenced by the elevated unreal. She received a BA in art from the University of California at Santa Barbara and was accepted into the College of Creative Studies, studying under artists such as William Wegman, Allen Ruppersburg, and Charles Garabian. After a decade-long career as a New York Fashion Editor, Smithson returned to Los Angeles and to her own artistic practice.
35-40 selected images will hang in the SE Center’s virtual gallery space for approximately one month. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG, Twitter) and an archived, online slide show. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived.
The Abandoned Landscape
The Abandoned Landscape
Rural or urban, desert or jungle, ancient to recent. The SE Center is looking for photographers who appreciate the ravages of time and create compelling images reflecting those effects around us. Color or BW, analog, digital or antique processes, photographers of all skill levels and locations are welcome.
Our juror for The Abandoned Landscape is Constance Lewis. Constance Lewis holds a Fine Art degree in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute. She founded Opal Gallery, an Atlanta-based artist collective that exhibited the work of an international array of artists. She has studied photography conversation in Paris, France and her independent curatorial work includes exhibitions in Paris, San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Mississippi. She has published; Oraien Catledge: Photographs ( University Press of Mississippi, 2010) and has worked with renowned photographers on multiple book projects.
Constance’s passion is to highlight marginalized artists and she has a deep interest in promoting photography within a broader context. In addition to her work in photography, Constance holds an advanced degree in Education with an emphasis on Visual Literacy from Rice University. She currently resides in New Orleans and Houston, where she has been lecturer and educator, and where she launched Opal Art Management, offering advising and curatorial services to artists, collectors, and institutions.
35-40 selected images will hang in the SE Center’s virtual gallery space for approximately one month. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG, Twitter) and an archived, online slide show. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived.
The Modern Nude
The fine art nude has been a celebrated subject of photography since the beginning and played an important role in establishing photography as a fine art medium. Early on, both in history and most photographers experience, the nude has been featured in a classical pose and setting, maturing to illustrating the human body as a sculptural abstraction, and with some pushing boundaries.
Analog and digital manipulation in all its forms welcome. Monochrome or color, all subjects, analog, digital or antique processes, photographers of all skill levels and locations where legal are welcome.
Our juror for The Modern Nude is William Earle. Born in an era prior to the current technology and information sharing society we live in, my first memory of a camera was one my Father owned. It was a Canon 35mm gizmo that he used while serving in the Army in Korea. I clearly remember looking at it and being fascinated with slides he had taken while over seas. While non-functional today I still have it. I have come to realize that it’s the photographer who makes the picture, not the gear and gizmos. The camera is simply a tool, an extension of the photographer.
Bill's work has been recognized as "So very simple on the eye with an aura of great confidence and tranquility. Yet, with these apparent restrictions you deliver a sensual but respectful image
35-40 selected images will hang in the SE Center’s virtual gallery space for approximately one month. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG, Twitter) and an archived, online slide show. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived.
Abstract
The SE Center for Photography is looking for non-representational imagery, though it can be from found objects in nature, man made or figurative works. We're seeking images that do not attempt to represent external reality, but seek to achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colors, and texture. Black-and-white or color, analog, digital or antique processes, photographers of all skill levels and locations are welcome.
Adam Finkelston is an artist, publisher, and educator based in Prairie Village, KS. He has shown his art work in solo exhibitions in Kansas City, MO as well as group and juried exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally.
Mr. Finkelston is also the owner, publisher and co-editor of the quarterly photography and printmaking magazine, The Hand Magazine: A Magazine For Reproduction-based Art.
35-40 selected images will hang in the SE Center’s virtual gallery space for approximately one month. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG, Twitter) and an archived, online slide show. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived.
Flora & Fauna
Artists throughout the ages have been drawn to the vast and varied world of flora. What moves you? Do you celebrate the essence of beauty or strive to heighten recognition of the perilous path of our environment? Are you inspired by a single bloom or a profusion of blossoms in a lush bouquet, enchanted gardens manicured or messy, plants endangered or invasive, carefully cultivated or sown by nature, bursting forth or shriveling on a vine?
We’re looking for flora, all types from a single stem to a vast landscape, still life, formal gardens, or vegetation gone wild. Color or monochrome, analog, digital or antique processes, photographers of all skill levels and locations are welcome.
Fauna- all the animal life of a particular region. We live with animals daily - wildlife, farmed, caged or free, many are our best friends, some we fear, yet others we admire. Whether it walks, flies, crawls, slithers, swims, the SE Center wants your best animal images.
Our juror for Flora & Fauna is Darrell Gulin. Darrell, one of Canon's Legends Photographer, has been photographing for over 39 years, marketing his work for the last 37 years and has been a full time Nature/Travel Photographer for the last 30 years. He markets his work through Stock Agencies, Editorial Markets, Photography Workshop/Tours, Seminars and Speaking Engagements.
He is the past President of the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA). He has been their keynote speaker and has lead many workshops and programs at their Annual Summits.
35-40 selected images will hang in the SE Center’s virtual gallery space for approximately one month. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG, Twitter) and an archived, online slide show. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived.
College Call
College Students (of any age) attending a college or university are invited to submit up to 10 images, photography or photo based art in the SE Center College Call. The Call is open theme - all subjects, media, digital, analog, or antique processes that show your best work.
Our juror is Polly Gaillard is a seasoned professional with a rich background in the arts and nonprofit sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Polly's academic career includes over a decade of teaching photography and art courses at several universities, including Furman University, Anderson University, Greenville Technical College, the University of Georgia, the University of New Orleans, and Delta State University. Her teaching portfolio is distinguished by her involvement in study-abroad programs in Prague and Italy, enhancing the international exposure of her students.
In 2023, Polly embraced the role of Program Director at Photolucida, where she manages the prestigious Critical Mass international photography competition. This role involves developing marketing strategies, securing sponsorships and partnerships, curating social media content, and communicating with a wide network of artists, judges, and board members. She has successfully organized and managed the competition's marketing budget, approached donors, and planned fundraising events.
50 Selected images will hang in the SE Center’s virtual gallery space for approximately one month. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG, Twitter) and an archived, online slide show. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived.
Architecture '25
Architectural photography: The photographing of buildings and similar structures that are aesthetically pleasing and accurate representations of their subjects.Throughout the history of photography, buildings have been highly valued photographic subjects, mirroring society's appreciation for architecture and its cultural significance.
As building designs changed and broke with traditional forms, architectural photography also evolved. During the early-to-mid-20th century, architectural photography became more creative as photographers used lines and bold shadows in their compositions, and experimented with other techniques, resulting in architectural photography being viewed as more of an art form.
The SE Center is looking for all forms of architectural imagery, urban or rural, black-and-white and color, analog, digital or antique processes, photographers of all skill levels and locations are welcome.
Architectural photography: The photographing of buildings and similar structures that are aesthetically pleasing and accurate representations of their subjects.Throughout the history of photography, buildings have been highly valued photographic subjects, mirroring society's appreciation for architecture and its cultural significance.
As building designs changed and broke with traditional forms, architectural photography also evolved. During the early-to-mid-20th century, architectural photography became more creative as photographers used lines and bold shadows in their compositions, and experimented with other techniques, resulting in architectural photography being viewed as more of an art form.
The SE Center is looking for all forms of architectural imagery, urban or rural, black-and-white and color, analog, digital or antique processes, photographers of all skill levels and locations are welcome.
35-40 selected images will hang in the SE Center’s virtual gallery space for approximately one month. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG, Twitter) and an archived, online slide show. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived.
Women by Women 25
The history of photography has a long tradition of representing women as subjects but has less to say about women as artists. Today, the roles of women in photography are both behind the camera and in front of it. Who understands women better than women? The female perspective offers an important view of the many facets of womanhood and women’s role in society. This exhibition seeks women photographers who explore and celebrate the myriad ways that they render female-identifying subjects.
Our juror for Women by Women is Elinor Carucci.
Born 1971 in Jerusalem, Israel, to a Mizrahi Jewish family of North African, Middle Eastern and Italian descent, Elinor Carucci graduated in 1995 from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design with a degree in photography, and moved to New York that same year. In a relatively short amount of time, her work has been included in an impressive amount of solo and group exhibitions worldwide, solo shows include The Jewish Museum, Edwynn Houk gallery, Fifty One Fine Art Gallery, James Hyman and Gagosian Gallery, London among others and group show include The Museum of Modern Art New York and The Photographers' Gallery, London.
35-40 selected images will hang in the SE Center’s virtual gallery space for approximately one month. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG, Twitter) and an archived, online slide show. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived.
Shades of Black & White
Monochrome photography, images produced with a single hue, rather than recording the colors of the object that was photographed. The SE Center is looking for all forms of Monochrome imagery, black-and-white and toned photography- all subjects, analog, digital or antique processes, photographers of all skill levels and locations are welcome.
Our juror for Shades of Black & White is Susan Burnstine. Susan Burnstine is an award winning fine art and commercial photographer originally from Chicago now based in Los Angeles. Susan is represented in galleries across the world, widely published throughout the globe and has also written for several photography magazines, including a monthly column for Black & White Photography (UK).
35-40 selected images will hang in the SE Center’s virtual gallery space for approximately one month. In addition, selected images are featured in the SE Center social media accounts (FB, IG, Twitter) and an archived, online slide show. A video walkthrough of each exhibition is also featured and archived. Participating artists that can attend have the opportunity for a Portfolio Review by SE Center Director Michael Pannier on the following Saturday morning (reservations needed).