Photo L A is an international photographic art exposition with over 50 dealers that celebrates its 25th anniversary this year at The REEF, located in the historic LA Mart building in Downtown Los Angeles and it features photographic art, ranging from 19th Century works to contemporary and innovative photo-based art. Galleries, dealers, museums, schools, and non-profit organizations participate to define what photography has been, what it is today, and what it might evolve into. The “Opening Night Gala” was on Thursday night and it was a exciting affair with plenty to see.
Santa Fe was well represented by dealers Andrew Smith and Sydney Monroe. We had a special occasion to celebrate as Pilar Law was honored to be selected to have one of her photos exhibited in the curated American Society of Media Photographers booth. It was my 70th birthday and my best present is pictured below.
I had a great time and I learned a lot. It is such fun to go to an event like this and find yourself surrounded by people whose expertise varies from the photographer’s whose skills come into play when it comes to using cameras and understanding light, line and composition and on to the skills that are involved with the art of digital media and printmaking all the way to understanding the business side of photography.
I spent a long time in a fascinating discussion with Paul Dupont about the art and craft of color management. The primary goal of color management is to obtain a good match across color devices. For example, the colors in a digital camera should appear the same on a computer LCD monitor, on a plasma TV screen or as a printed poster and I discovered later that Paul is one of the recognized gurus in that field. I am not sure if anything is more exciting to me than finding myself in the company of someone who is an expert in their field and finding a way to get them to let loose their passion. The moment of truth comes when their unbridled enthusiasm draws you willingly into their world and Paul Dupont took me there.
It was a great night and a perfect beginning to my two weeks in L A that would include four more great shows and several museum visits. I am full of anticipation and I will keep you informed.
