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Look at Me: 2010 SPE Open Portfolio Highlights

Going to a photo conference like Society for Photographic Education (SPE)’s annual conference can be a whirlwind of information. Many of the personalities only before seen on Facebook are now there in the flesh, ready to hand out a card, pass over the latest book or, at best, just say hello. Since I was there to set up and (wo)man the booth in the Exhibition Hall for photo-eye, I was lucky to make my way out into daylight during the three day event. The festivities started off with a lecture by Kip Fulbeck on Thursday night which was heart-warming, slightly political and very entertaining. Many of the speakers, bookmakers and/or photographers who I was pleased to host at the photo-eye booth for signings were mostly well-established in the photography community. There are numerous reasons to attend the events at SPE—education, networking, and collecting (information, books, prints and, of course, free schwag) to name a few.

Collecting at SPE is not the same as other photography festivals or events. Most of the work is that of undergraduates, but new talent can be found in the open portfolio viewing for the admissions director and for the art collector. One student in particular that I remember seeing a few years ago was Jen Davis squatting on the floor. Since that time she has had her work published in Women in Photography and Aperture Magazine. I am sure others have slipped from my memory deserving of note so I would like to present a few of the highlights for me from SPE’s 2010 Conference. This is in no way a survey of the night’s festivities and presenters as the room was filled with tables hosting up to 100-200 photographers (I do not have official count and I am bad at these “How many jelly beans in the jar?” type of games). I stopped at what or who caught my eye. Here are some of my highlights from the SPE 2010 Philadelphia open portfolio viewing: