Todays News 2012

Welcome to the news section of 500 Photographers. Here we will post all the news we think you should know considering this website and other matters from the world of photography. Once the news is dated or has become irrelevant, it will be deleted.


THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2012
AMAZING SHOW IN DUBAI - WOMEN ON THE VERGE

If I had the chance I would be heading to Dubai to see the show composed by The Empty Quarter Gallery. They are exhibiting works from 14 photographers from the Middle East including photographer #250: Boushra Almutawakel and #443: Myriam Abdelaziz. The other women are also strong examples of the great photography that is produced by women from Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrein, Palestine and more. I believe it's a must see for those that are able to make their way down to Dubai between now and April 30.
More information: www.theemptyquarter.com

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012
BELGIAN PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL SHOWS BIG NAMES AT WONDERLAND

The mid-size photography festival in the Belgian coastal town of Knokke-Heist is only days away from opening its doors. The entirely free festival shows images in the outdoors as well as in indoor venues. They have an impressive list of six photographers including photographers featured on 500 as Corey Arnold, Ruud van Empel, Gerco de Ruijter and Michael Light. Olaf Otto Becker from Germany and Sanna Kannisto from Finland complete the list. I have never been to this festival and to be honest; I had never heard of it, but it seems to be a great one. So if you are somewhere in the region, I guess you should be visiting the spectacle between March 25 and June 30.
For more information visit: www.fotofestival.be


THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

FOUR EYES SAYS GOODBYE

In June 2009 I started Four Eyes Photography & Art, a photography gallery and bookstore focused on beautiful and affordable art and books from known and unknown photographers, made by large publishing houses all the way to tiny self-published editions.

In the past three years we have had several exhibitions showing art from up and coming photographers and graphic designers. I released my own photography book and Four Eyes Photography Magazine. Our international selection of books kept growing and growing until there was not enough room to stock all of them. Both the artworks on the wall and the books taught me what worked and what doesn’t work. By analyzing and reflecting on why a certain book would sell out and others wouldn’t, it has become a valuable lesson to the magic world of bookmaking. It was also within the walls of Four Eyes that I came up with the idea to start the 500 Photographers project.

The time has come to move on, to truly focus on my own career. I will be making sure to finish the 500 Photographers project. Once the project is finished I will be giving my own photographic career 100% of my attention. I still love paper and do not exclude the possibility of creating a new magazine in the future nor the possibility of creating a platform, gallery or something of that kind.

I wish to thank everyone who has supported me during the last three years with the Four Eyes project and all the people that visited the store.

Four Eyes might be done, but it is a step forwards…

Friendly greetings, Pieter

PS: I will still keep office in the Rotabs Style Center on the first floor. If you wish to swing by please contact me in advance as I will not always be there during normal hours.

SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2012

JUDGE FOR THE 21st EDITION OF THE PANL AWARDS

Images by Suzanne Karsters

Yesterday I had the pleasure to be a judge for the 21st edition of the PANL awards (Photographers Association of the Netherlands). Together with photographer #328: Finlay Mackay, picture editor of the Independant on Sunday Sophie Batterbury, creative director Yacco Vijn and photographer Lukas Göbel we had an entire day of looking at images, judging them and having interesting discussions. Somewhere in April or Mai the awards will be given to the winners. 

Earlier this week I was invited to give a three hour lecture at the School of Fine Arts in Utrecht, NL.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2012
CHEAP & PLASTIQUE, ART MAGAZINE

It's not often I get mail by post, but Christine Navin aka Violet Shuraka was kind enough to send me the two latest copies of Cheap & Plastique, a printed magazine which includes wonderful photography, quirky art, interesting interviews on publishing, music and much, much more. There are so many magazines out there, and I'm unable to be aware of all of them, that's why we love finding out about magazines as this one and support Violet on her mission. Want to find out more on this magazine or even order some copies, go to: http://www.plastiquepeople.com/cheapweb/

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2012
FOTOTAZO COMPLETED THE F100... IMPRESSIVE SERIES

Images by Kathryn Parker Almanas & Dimitris Triantafyllou

In June 2011 the highly educational and inspirational photography website Fototazo embarked on an ambitious journey. They "asked a group of 50 curators, gallery owners, blog writers, photographers, academics and others actively engaged in photography to pick two photographers that deserve (more) recognition - the underknown, the under-respected as well as not-appreciated-enough favorites." People as Richard Mosse, Aline Smithson, Shane Lavalette, Larissa Leclair and myself participated. Yesterday the list was complete, leaving us with an impressive list of photographers you should know about. Absolutely worth a visit to check out who each person selected. While you are there, check out the other stories and features they have and make sure to like their facebook page as well.
Website: www.fototazo.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fototazo/

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012
RECENT PUBLICATIONS INCLUDING 500 / PIETER

-We are proud to be included in the magazine Picnic from Mexico. I can honestly say that it is one of the nicest magazines I've had the pleasure to be holding in my hands. Photographer #337: Fernando Montiel Klint was invited to curate a photography edition on the subject of hedonism. He chose 11 different photographers, including photographer #333: Augustin Rebetez, photographer #171: Asger Carlsen, photographer #247: Luis Gonzalez Palma and Pieter Wisse / myself. The magazine also invited me to write a piece on hedonism and photography which I kindly accepted. Proud to be in this publication.
-The new Dutch magazine RAW, 196 pages thick, including various portfolio's and interesting discussions, interviewed me together with others from the photographic world. The question raised was why Dutch Photography is doing so well accross the world. Absolutely an interesting read.
-We would also like to thank the guys at Bulkka, a popular online arts and culture magazine with interesting articles. They payed some attention to 500 Photographers and asked me some questions on how I select photographers for this website. Go check it out!
Websites: www.picnic-mag.com | rawfotomagazine.nl | www.bulkka.com

MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2012
LONGEST CONCEPTUAL PHOTO SERIES... AND YOU CAN JOIN

The folks at didyousayeager.com have started 2012 with an ambitious plan. They started the Redline Portraits project. The concept is: "A red line that connects us all in a graphical way, combined with our mutual love/hate feeling towards shooting a self-portrait." They want to connect photographers from all over the world to achieve this "longest conceptual photo series". This is where you come in. The rules are quite simple: make a self-portrait and make sure there is a red line in the image. Until now they have 98 portraits from 16 different countries, their goal is 2012 photographers from 100 countries. I know that the readers of 500 Photographers have great taste, so let's show these guys how great photography can be and get creative. Let's give this project a boost.
Information: www.redlineportraits.com & didyousayeager.com

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2012
MUST SEE VIDEO ON PRISON PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETE BROOK

Yes, we are a fan of prison photography, and by prison photography we mean the website and project by Pete Brook. Most of you will probably already know what he does, but for those that do not; watch the video and visit the website. Enter a world hidden behind walls and bars. (Video by timmatsui.com)
Link: prisonphotography.wordpress.com/

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012
STORIES BEHIND IMAGES OF PHOTOJOURNALISTS 

Images by Alvaro Ybarra Zavala & Eric Bouvet

The article in the Guardian might be more than half a year old, but I don't read the Guardian on a regular basis. While searching for information on a photographer that I wanted to feature on 500 Photographers, I came accross the following article. These are stories of photojournalists describing in first person what happened and what the affects were on them. It is a glimpse into the mad world of war and how photographers perceive the situations. It's a great read and includes photographers that have also been featured on 500 Photographers as Alvaro Ybarra Zavala, Lynsey Addario and Eric Bouvet.
Link: www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jun/18/war-photographers-special-report