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Somerville Toy Camera Festival

somervilletoycamera.org/

Hotel Tropicoco No. 4 has been selected by jury for the Somerville Toy Camera Festival.  It runs the entire month of June at the Nave Annex Gallery in Somerville, MA so if you happen to be enroute to Boston, why not take a slight detour and stop by to see over 100 pieces on exhibit at 4 Somerville galleries. Recommended by Boston Magazine as the No. 3 rated must-see arts events in the Boston area in June, 2014.

TRAVEL group exhibition.. on now at Pearson Airport

This photograph, titled "HABANA LIBRE", was chosen along with 18 others from over 500 entries submitted by over 350 artists who submitted work for a new show titled TRAVEL, running at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Terminal 1, Arrivals area from December 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014.

The photograph "HABANA LIBRE" was taken in 2012 at the Habana Libre Hotel in the Vedado district of Havana, Cuba.

Originally opened as the Hilton Hotel in 1958, it was seized by the Revolutionary Committee of the newly emerged Castro government in 1959.

Today it operates under license by a Spanish tourism company.

Recent Work






Top to bottom:
Sonya Jones, Joel Campell, Linda Jansma and Gabrielle Peacock
Key staff from The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa Ontario

The Death of Photography?



A couple of years ago, three photographers teamed up in Toronto to exhibit conceptual work on what they called "The Death of Photography. " The title of the show certainly got people thinking about what the digital revolution was doing to the elder statesman of photography: It was hammering it to death in a quick, decisive way.

I have witnessed first-hand the changes this revolution has brought about and it has been unsettling. While one would have hoped to have seen both digital and film-based photography co-existing peacefully side by side for at least another 10 years, this has clearly not happened. The mammoth digital sweep has taken over all facets of photography, leaving one to wonder why did film get obliterated as quickly as it did?

It is sad, and I think it is about time people began to speak out about the intrinsic values of film, the beauty of silver prints and the purposes it serves. Once the current media loses its grip on file formats and the next generation of computers demand new readers rendering saved files obsolete, what will happen from a storage standpoint? And how many digital files actually get turned into high quality prints and what is the guarantee for their permanence?

Film has many outstanding and redeeming qualities. The process is more tactile and hands-on, and a well-made silver print will last for generations to come.. as has already been proven. I doubt film will ever again come back to the esteemed position it held in photography for over 125 years. But I do believe there is a place for it here and now and it should be recognised as such before it is too late. This comes from demand, and unless it is created again, I am afraid the next generation of photographers will never know what a beautiful experience working in a darkroom can be.

" Rascal House" deli in Miami Beach, Fla (1992)

This legendary deli closed down a few years ago. Back in 1992, I photographed customers and staff late one evening with a twin-lens Rolleiflex camera. So much to shoot, like the size of the portions they served and the line-ups that began at 4pm outside their doors. A blast from the past, when delis and diners were in their final days. All photos ©Steve Stober 1992