For many photographers in the Madison area, the month of March is a time to shine. The Madison Photofest swings into full gear this week and will run through the end of March.
Photofest 2002, sponsored by the Center for Photography in Madison, consists of over 70 venues throughout Madison and showcases the work of various photographers. The work is displayed in coffeehouses, retail businesses and galleries.
Organizers of the second biennial Photofest are eager to bring attention to the talent and hard work of photographers in the area, Photofest organizer Ingrid Laas said.
“People haven’t always recognized photography as a valid art form, and so this is showing the variety and breadth of photography as an art form and the variety of talent that we have here in Madison,” Laas said.
Patricia Delker, vice president of the Center for Photography and a Photofest organizer, said over 90 percent of the work is that of local photographers.
One of those local photographers is Jamie Young whose photos are on exhibit at the Promega Gallery. He shoots using antique panoramic cameras from 1915 that can shoot up to 360 degrees. He said the age of his cameras makes the work much more labor intensive, but the payoff is rewarding.
“I’m looking forward to people seeing part of what someone can do with a historical camera in a modern time,” he said.
Photofest 2002 also offers classes and programs to help people discover art. The keynote speaker is Keith Carter, an internationally known fine arts photographer.
His keynote address, titled “A Certain Alchemy,” will be held Friday at the Elvehjem Museum at 7 p.m. It is open to the public and organizers encourage students to attend.
“Anyone who’s involved with anything creative would benefit from his lecture certainly and should take a look at his work,” Delker said.
Carter’s black and white prints will be on display at the Porter Butts Gallery in the Memorial Union beginning Saturday with an opening reception at 7:30 p.m.
Other highlights include a talk today at 7 p.m. by photographer David Heberlein at the Center for Photography as well as a book signing Monday at 7 p.m. by Andrew Borowiec at Canterbury Booksellers. Delker said he recommends the copyright panel discussion being held next Wednesday to anyone interested in selling images they have created.
People interested in attending any of the events can access a full schedule at www.photofestmadison.org.
Photofest organizers are providing a more crowded calendar than that of the inaugural event two years ago.
While 40 venues located in Madison exhibited photography in 2000, Photofest 2002 has 70 venues in and around the Madison area. Communities such as Oregon, Mt. Horeb, Prairie du Sac, Paoli and Cambridge are all participating.
Delker hopes the wider scope of Photofest 2002 will help people gain an appreciation of the artistic nature of photography and the strength of the images.
“It is a celebration of photography; it was [started] to give people in this area an opportunity to know about the wealth of photography talent and the diverse talents of photographers in the area,” she said. “And it was organized by people who really love photography, so they wanted to showcase it.”
