Portraits of a Revolution: Marc Betsworth

 

Portraits of a Revolution
March 1-31
Opening reception: March 1 6-9pm
Artist Talk: March 23 2-4pm

What is your process?

For these shots, I wanted to be as nimble as possible so I used a very simple one-light set up: a gridded beauty dish and a reflector – that’s it. I tended to use a gold reflector to warm up the tones. There’s a pattern of light I’m after and it can be elusive. It means playing with the angle of the reflector a lot. Beyond that,I focus on what my subject is giving me. Primarily, I’m looking for authentic moments – nothing too contrived. As a former musician, I find that music can be really helpful on that front. It inspires my approach and in a way, it can relax and direct the subject better than any verbal direction I can provide. Sometimes, if the music’s right, I can just sit back and wait until it naturally evokes the expression and mood I’m after.

The post process was a bit more involved. Given the era, I knew I wanted to employ a painterly look to the images but I didn’t want them to look too heavy handed or filtered. This meant applying a painterly texture as subtly as possible while preserving the “photographic” integrity of the image. Although I do use a tablet and tend to sculpt in the light, I’m not a fan of out-of-the-box “painterly” effects or brush strokes in a photographic image. To preserve authenticity and character, it was also important to ease up on the retouching.

Endangered

Endangered
November 12-December 24
Reception: November 15 | 6-9pm
Artist Talk: December 4 | 6-7:30pm

Artists: Monica Glitz and Philip Jessup

Philip Jessup

Monica Glitz and Philip Jessup are two contemporary Canadian photographers who have devoted their bodies of work to exploring the sublime in endangered spaces that—at least for now—have been saved by government conservation efforts.

Glitz has photographed UNESCO World Heritage sites over the past twenty years, from Angkor, Cambodia to Easter Island, Chile to Stonehenge, England. Her images look back in time and capture the awe of ancient splendor.
Jessup has photographed significant natural landscapes endangered by sea level rise that governments are seeking to conserve, from Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, Mexico to Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana to Assateague Island National Seashore, Virginia. His images express the beauty we could lose if we don’t turn the tide on climate change.

Local communities benefit from tourism and other services generated by the archaeological sites and natural landscapes these two photographers visit. For instance, indigenous Mayan guides and lobster fishermen have formed business cooperatives to promote thriving local businesses.

Both photographers have developed unique styles that distinguish their respective bodies of work. Glitz made the curatorial decision to pursue producing her images using a historical, and very permanent, printing process. Her images are printed using gum bichromate, a hand coated process that will last hundreds of years, perhaps outliving the subject matter. Jessup shoots in medium format and strives for brilliant color and arresting spatial compositions that hark back to the Japanese woodblocks of Hirosige.

Monica Glitz

Portfolio Workshop December 2018

What: Portfolio Workshop

Where: Alternative Photo Services at 1840 Danforth Ave, Toronto

When: December 27-December 30 2018

Spots: Minimum 4 maximum 6

Cost: $1,000 plus tax + materials (material list provided upon request)

This workshop is for anyone who is looking to build a portfolio of alternative prints. Students will be printing their own work under the guidance of printer Bob Carnie using gum bichromate and/or platinum palladium.

Print sizes range from 8×10 all the way up to 20×28.

Once the prints are finished, they will be custom matted using cotton rag 4 ply board.

To sign up or ask a question, email Bob or Carissa

bob@alternativephotoservices.com

carissa@alternativephotoservices.com

Vancouver and Capture!

Carissa just returned from Vancouver where she was stationed for ten days. We rented a pop up space for two weeks in Chinatown, installing Series, Clearcut and Ipseity.

Series

SERIES brings together five photographers with five different stories to tell. Salina Kassam, Thomas Brasch, Larry D. Hayden and Skip Dean have explored their own environments through the photographic medium.

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Clearcut

The intersection of man and nature is a dominant theme in Matthew Plexman’s work. Clearcut captures the evolution of an old logging road in northeastern Ontario: old sections are blocked off and new routes added, leading to new areas of logging activity. The borders between clearcut and forest are abrupt at first—open areas of chewed-up earth and toppled trees abut untouched woodland. Over time, the process of healing begins and the borders blur. Plexman attempts to find beauty and symmetry in the tension between destruction and regeneration, inviting dialogue about the conflict inherent in our dependence on nature for both resource extraction and emotional sustenance.

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Meeting New People

Carissa had the pleasure of meeting some really interesting folks on her travels. Sally Buck and Kent Lins popped up their photos in cube vans every weekend during the Capture Photo Fest.

She also got a fantastic tour of the new Emily Carr University campus by photo studio tech Geoffrey, and met up with Kathy from Beau Photo.

With a bit of down time, she also got to take in some of the sights of Vancouver and Whistler.

 

 

Pigment NYC and Toronto

Pigment is a group photography exhibition that explores the concept of colour through the historical gum bichromate process. Each photographer has two prints in the show, printed by Bob Carnie.

Artists

Lori Ryerson, Linda Kooluris Dobbs, Bryan Helm, Bob Carnie, Shelagh Howard, Thomas Brasch Brendan Meadows, Ian Campbell, Cory Wilyman, Lorraine Parow, Guy Lafontaine, Paulette Michayluk, Janet Holmes, Alan Dunlop, Laura Paterson

*New York April 6 and 7 Bushwick Community Darkroom*

Pigment will pop up at the Bushwick Community Darkroom April 6 and 7 2018. These dates were chosen so that participating artists who wish to visit the city during the exhibition can attend The Photography Show presented by AIPAD.

Facebook event HERE

*Toronto | May 2-June 29 Lonsdale Gallery*

The prints will return to Toronto where they will become a part of Red Light, an exhibition at Lonsdale Gallery. This juried salon show will exclusively feature alternative prints by artists from around the world. Red Light is a feature show in the CONTACT Photo Festival.

Lori Ryerson

 

Alan Dunlop

Thomas Brasch

Matthew Plexman in San Fransisco

Matthew Plexman and Carissa were just in San Francisco for the opening of “For the Love of Trees” at Photocentral.

“PhotoCentral presents For the Love of Trees, featuring the artwork of Matthew Plexman, John Dotta and Glenn Hemanes. These three artists examine our relationships with trees and landscape from different perspectives and viewpoints. Combining realism, impressionism and small-scale sculpture, the exhibit invites the viewer to look deeply.”

Matthew gave an artist talk about his project, Clearcut, to an enthusiastic audience. Phase One were in attendance, providing technical info on their camera systems and supporting Matthew’s reception. Thanks, Phase!

Matthew and Carissa both visited Pier 24 Photography, where the exhibition, “The Grain of the present” was installed.

“The Grain of the Present, Pier 24 Photography’s ninth exhibition, examines the work of ten photographers at the core of the Pilara Foundation collection—Robert Adams, Diane Arbus, Lewis Baltz, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Lee Friedlander, Nicholas Nixon, Stephen Shore, Henry Wessel, and Garry Winogrand—whose works share a commitment to looking at everyday life as it is.”

They also visited the Minnesota Street Project, a facility that houses gallery’s, pop up spaces and artist studios!

Next up, Clearcut will be installing in Vancouver for the Capture Photo Festival!

Sharing / Le Partage Bernard Marenger

January 18-31 2018 Opening January 19 from 6-9pm

Bernard Marenger est photographe professionnel depuis plus de 45 ans. Il a fait ses débuts dans l’un des plus prestigieux studio de photographie publicitaire à Montréal pour ensuite ouvrir son propre studio au centre-ville. Il a collaboré à plusieurs des meilleures campagnes publicitaires au Québec et au Canada pour des clients aussi prestigieux que Postes Canada, Imperial Tobacco, Labatt, Rona, SAQ etc.

Cette expérience a conduit Bernard Marenger à une démarche artistique très personnelle; à une vision plus sensible de la société et aussi, de la nature et des êtres qui la façonnent.

Doué d’une grande réceptivité à notre environnement, Bernard Marenger a su en capter vivement toute l’intensité.

Global Centre for Pluralism | Salina Kassam

Congrats to our friend Salina Kassam who was commissioned to document the construction of the new Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa! Her images now hang in the space, which opened on May 16.

Kindred in Montreal!

Connections Gallery
November 3 opening reception from 6-9pm
Exhibition is on until November 29

Kindred popped up in Montreal October 20 and 21st at The Ecomusée Du Fier Monde. After driving the show up from Toronto, we had a quick install before inviting eager attendees in to see the exhibition. And what a night! A full house right until the end. Saturday the show was open for general viewing, the natural light that streamed in making the space even more beautiful.

Overall, the show was a success! Seeing all of the images of the subjects who are very personal to each photographer was very moving.

Kindred Artists pt. 4

Montreal
The Ecomusée Du Fier Monde
October 20 opening reception from 6-9pm
October 21 Open viewing from 11am-5:30pm
Toronto
Connections Gallery
November 3 opening reception from 6-9pm
Exhibition is on until November 29

Artists Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Kindred is a portrait exhibition printed entirely using permanent processes. Each photographer has submitted an image of someone within their community that they admire along with a description of their relationship to their subject. The result is an exhibition of people from all walks of life who are being celebrated through the photographic medium.
Kindred will first be popping up for two days in Montreal where we have one branch of our network within the photographic community. This exhibition is comprised of a large number of Quebec artists, allowing for a true exchange when the show is installed in Toronto this November.

Anthony DeLorenzo

Derek Crowe is an adventurer, storyteller and trail builder. I am inspired by his photographs and words which reflect a deep connection to the people, the land and the history of the North. Our paths often cross in the tiny town of Carcross, Yukon where he mentors First Nations youth building world renowned trails on their traditional lands. I photographed Derek as part of The Builders Project, a collaboration with writer Jenn Roberts to chronicle the collective history of Yukon mountain biking.