Date Specific more information can be found on the ATPI web site at www.atpi.org
8.29.2016
#atpigoodbyesummer social media contest deadline
Curtis Christian of McKinney HS captured this photo at the Salt Lick in Driftwood during the ATPI Summer Workshop. The Salt Lick was one of more than a dozen locations photographed during the week. For more photos and a recap of the workshop, see page 2.
9.26.2016
#atpionthesidelines social media contest deadline
10.15-17.2016
TAJE Fall Fiesta, San Antonio
10.21.2016
ATPI Fall Photo Contest deadline
11.28.2016
#atpifoodforthought social media contest deadline
1.30.2017
#atpioldandnew social media contest deadline
2.1.2017
Hampton Inn South Arlington reservation deadline for Winter Conference
2.24-26.2017
ATPI Winter Conference Arlington
3.27.2017
#atpiflyingcolors social media contest deadline Do you know of some other important dates? If so, e-mail us at info@atpi.org and we’ll pass them on.
Volume 27 Issue 1 August 2016 A publication of the Association of Texas Photography Instructors
Photo Competitions Underway
Social Media Competitions Offer Students Multiple Opportunities This Year Social Media Contest Not only does ATPI host fall and spring digital entry contests, but also several social media contests throughout the school year. The themes for each will be posted at the beginning of the month on ATPI’s Twitter feed, and winners will be announced within two days of the deadline. Any photographer looking to enter photos must follow these guidelines: Post an original photo on Twitter or Instagram using the designated theme hashtag given on the ATPI feed. Ex: #atpigoodbyesummer. Without using the given hashtag, it will be impossible to track down your entry into the contest. Each entry must have a clear photo credit either in the tweet or caption. We recommend something like this: “My favorite shot of my family’s last vacation to Lake Tahoe | Credit: Mark Murray.” Photographers are limited to five entries per contest. To those wanting to publish their entire lives in the contest: have pity on us and don’t. The photos you use in these contests cannot be used in any other subsequent ATPI contest, excluding the spring portfolio contests. Any photo not meeting these guidelines will be disqualified immediately from entry. Winners of the contest will receive a special shout-out from the ATPI twitter account, announcing you
as one of our “Young Photographers to Follow.” All entries are due at 11:59 p.m. on the evening given below. Here are the themes and deadlines for this year’s contests: Goodbye Summer - Monday, August 29 (#atpigoodbyesummer) On the Sidelines - Monday, September 26 (#atpionthesidelines) Food for Thought - Monday, November 28 (#atpifoodforthought) The Old and the New - Monday, January 30 (#atpioldandnew) With Flying Colors - Monday, March 27 (#atpiflyingcolors) Fall Contest Seasoned photographers of ATPI contests know the secret that it’s never too early to start shooting for the Fall Contest. This year’s theme announced at the summer workshop is one to spark the imagination and challenge the skills of our photographers. “Dreams and Nightmares” will serve as the theme for both digital image and the three-minute video categories. Reading the rules and submission guidelines is crucial to success in ATPI’s contests, and we cannot stress that enough. But here are some quick reminders based on problem areas that continue to surface every year.
Metadata, metadata, metadata. Did we mention metadata? Memorizing our digital submission instructions (which can be found under the contest tab on the website) will serve you well to keep your entries safe from disqualification. Also, the contest site will prevent you from uploading images without metadata. So do it right, and follow the rules. The portfolio and photo story categories require five photos. No more, no less. Photo stories also require a full, descriptive caption in the metadata as well. And despite popular belief, these two categories are not the same. Portfolios show depth of ideas with visual unity; photo stories should visually narrate a story in parts (beginning, middle, end, detail, etc.) The Open category tends to be a dumping ground for the images photographers couldn’t fit into other areas, either because of the three-count limit or the content of the image prevented it. The most successful images in the Open category tend to be ones that cannot possibly fit anywhere else (abstract, conceptual, etc.), have striking visual components and showcase original ideas previously unseen in ATPI contests. Questions about any contests, rules and guidelines or general help? Send your concerns to info@atpi.org.
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Summer Workshop Focuses on Storytelling Teachers Document Locations Throughout Texas Hill Country Teachers from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and California gathered in the Texas Hill Country in June for the ATPI Summer Workshop for Instructors. Rather than offering multiple tracks, this year it focused exclusively on storytelling and gave attendees the opportunity to work individually and with groups throughout the workshop. Before the official start of the workshop, a small number of teachers participated in The Urban Experience. Retired United Nations Chief Photographer John Isaac led the one-day class and gave both group and one-on-one instruction. The group photographed Barton Springs, Zilker Park and downtown Austin before heading to Dripping Springs for the night for dinner and critiques. The workshop officially kicked off June 20 in Wimberley. Each participant had the opportunity to choose four locations to visit and document over the course of the next few days. Choices ranged from wineries and breweries, to Downtown Wimberley and the local theatre, as well as an olive farm. At each venue, team leaders – Isaac, John Knaur, Ian McVea, Jeff Grimm, and members of the ATPI board – were on hand to give guidance. The participants were encouraged to not just tell stories through pictures, but through video and audio as well. “I really enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone and learning about video,” Caron Blake, Mayde Creek HS, said. “My colleagues were awesome about sharing ideas and supporting my efforts.” In addition, the participants picked up technical advice that they
Clockwise, from top: Part of a Jaccob’s Well package by Diane Bolinger (Weatherford HS); Michael Flax (Permian HS) photographed at Wimberley Players; Linda Hopson (Bellaire HS) visited Moon Dance Arts. could use both on their workshop assignments and back in their schools. “I was skeptical about the rule of adding masking tape to my oncamera flash to help skin tones,” Frances Packman, Magnolia West HS, said of a recommendation from Grimm. “It worked wonderfully.” Teams worked well past scheduled
workshop hours to finish story packages and receive critiques. “I haven’t worked so hard, learned so much, or slept so little since college,” John Skees, Nolan Catholic HS, said. “This was amazing.” Through working individually and with groups, participants developed ideas for instruction in the upcoming
school year. Packman said, “I believe the workshop, in helping me tell a story, is going to help my kids tell their own story through their experiences.” Check out the stories and galleries from the workshop at the ATPI website. Our thanks to the people of Wimberley for their hospitality.
ATPI Board Welcomes New Members Bolinger and Smith Fill Vacant Vice President Spots Diane Bolinger will serve as a vice president of ATPI, filling the position previously held by Leah Waters. Bolinger is in her 11th year of teaching at Weatherford High School in Weatherford, Texas. She teaches Commercial Photography and Advanced Placement Art & Photography. She is a graduate of the
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University of Texas in San Antonio. Her students have placed in fall contests and Rising Star, and this year they earned first place in Top Program Still Life. Clint Smith also joined the board as a vice president this year, filling Michael Pena’s position. Smith teaches journalism, web technology
and photography at Texas High School in Texarkana. His students tied for second place Top Program this year, taking first place in Sports and Documentary/Photojournalism, among others. “The board is fortunate to have Diane and Clint join us, as they both have built successful programs and
have valuable experience to share,” ATPI president Deanne Brown said. “I am so excited to be working with them on ideas and events as ATPI moves into the new school year.” Waters will be ATPI’s contest coordinator while taking the year off of teaching to pursue her master’s degree.
2016
ATPI
Fall Photo Contest
Second Place Beg-MS Time Exposure - Max Keliehor -Westlake HS (Austin, TX)
Third Place Adv Open - Audrey Ashburn - Austin HS (Austin, TX)
ENTRY DEADLINE Oct. 21, 2016
Things to Remember • Entries are due by 6 pm, Oct. 21, 2016 • Students may only enter three images in a category • Include entry information in the metadata field in digital files - full instructions at atpi.org/submission
First Place Beg-MS Landscape - Megan McGahey - Coppell HS (Coppell, TX)
HM Faculty - Shannon Oden - Trimble Technical HS (Fort Worth, TX)
• Include proper entry fees and return postage for prints • If you took a HS photo class prior to Aug. 1, 2016, enter ALL of your entries in the advanced division • All digital entries must be entered online but mat or mount print entries - include entrant info online • Teachers must register at contest.atpi.org and create student accounts, then add students to the Fall Contest and set division as beginning or advanced before students can upload images
HM Adv Sports-Reaction - Annabel Thorpe - Argyle HS (Argyle, TX)
First HM Adv Animal - Matthew Craig - Robert G Cole HS (San Antonio, TX)
Some winners from the 2015 Fall Contest
Third Place Adv Portfolio - Daniel Mahaffey - Allen HS (Allen, TX)
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Briefs Membership Reminder
Have you renewed your membership in ATPI yet? You can join ATPI for only $20/year and help support the organization. You can also join TAJE ($35), JEA ($60) and SIPA ($30) using the same form on the ATPI website. If you aren’t sure if you have already paid, e-mail info@ atpi.org and we’ll let you know.
TAJE Fall Fiesta
TAJE will hold the annual Fall Fiesta Oct. 15-17 at the Wyndham Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio. Speaker forms are on the TAJE website. Members are urged to sign up to present a session, judge contests and critique publications. Information about the convention, including contest rules and registration, will be available at taje.org.
Best of Texas
The national high school Journalism convention, sponsored by JEA and NSPA, returns to Dallas in November 2017 and ATPI will, with the support of Friesens, be publishing Volume 4 of the Best of Texas High School Photography book. ATPI will use the 25,000+ photos submitted to the Fall and Spring contests over the past four years to select images for the book. All students whose work is selected for the book will receive a free copy. We will host several selection meetings during the Fall. If you would be interested in assisting with this selection process, please email info@atpi.org. And the best way to ensure that your school is represented in the book is to enter photos in the Fall and Spring contests. In addition, ATPI will be supporting the national convention with speakers and judges. Contact ATPI if you would like to help welcome JEA/NSPA back to Texas.
Association of Texas Photography Instructors P.O. Box 121092 Arlington, TX 76012 AUGUST 2016 The ATPI Imagemaker is a publication of the Association of Texas Photography Instructors. Articles may be reprinted with permission of the Association at P.O. Box 121092, Arlington, TX 76012. ATPI is a non-profit organization under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Deanne Brown, President Clint Smith, Vice President Diane Bolinger, Vice President Andrea Negri, Secretary Craig Coyle, Past President Bradley Wilson, Senior Consultant Mark Murray, Executive Director
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Imagemaker Team Reminder While the application deadline falls in early May, the beginning of the school year is the perfect time to start thinking about the 2016-2017 Imagemaker Team. Remember than any contest that permits more than one school to enter and posts the entry rules and list of winners online may be included on the application. Entrants will need to include the URLs on entry forms and the student’s name must be easily identified on the list of winners. Points are awarded as follows: Best of Show • National/international contest - 10 points • State/regional contest - 8 points • Local/restricted access (limited to specific groups, like the TAJE Clip Contest or on-site contests like the ATPI Winter Conference) - 6 points First Place/Superior/Merit (Young Arts) • National/international contest - 9 points • State/regional contest - 7 points
• Local/restricted access - 5 points Second Place/Excellent • National/international contest - 8 points • State/regional contest - 6 points • Local/restricted access - 4 points Third Place/Honorable Mention (Young Arts) • National/international contest - 7 points • State/regional contest - 5 points • Local/restricted access - 3 points Honorable Mention/Exhibitor • National/international contest - 5 points • State/regional contest - 3 points • Local/restricted access - 1 point A list of current contests, levels and an explanation of levels is available on the ATPI website. If you have any questions about the Imagemaker Team or contest eligibility, email info@atpi.org for more information.