Our Club's First Excibition Story...

[Kostas Papakotas-2]

Hello all!

 

This is the story of our photo club first exhibition...while most of the members are novices we thought of making some noise about us just like teenagers do....

 

So the last 2 months were spent preparing a one-day exhibition setup in open-air in one of the town’s parks...

Photos were taken, prints were made (4 each) (and thanks to the club members that owned B&W enlargers) and were double-side taped on light foam-board (used by architects for mock-ups) (cheep, easy and light). We had already secured use of tripods from a members job, clip-on spotlights from the municipality arts organization, and soon we were ready to launch....

 

BUT we had to postpone the opening for a week and that Thursday it was rainy...the whole day long...Just as when we had setup the tripods it started in the morning, a nerve breaking drizzle, and kept on and off...Sometime in the afternoon during a spell of good weather we started mounting the photos...Half way through it started again. We decided to “fall and fail” but not without trying, and kept on hanging in the rain...Some people were already visiting and we were all using umbrellas! Thanks god for someone bringing thin nylon sheeting to cover the photos...

 

So this is how we operated.....

 

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/9278/87026894.jpg

 

And by past 22:00 the rain had stopped and we could use the lights! But a decision would have to be made...Since we had a lot of borrowed equipment either some of us would have to crash there on guard, or we would pull everything down...

 

...to set them up again next day!

 

And we did!

 

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/2198/31567383.jpg

 

It took us less than an hour for the whole lot and we had crowds coming. (did I mentioned that that Friday was hot and there was a concert going nearby?). People were somehow caught off-guard...It was so unexpected, the photo happening, the success, the positive responses, everything!

 

Some more photos....

http://tinyurl.com/l26jwm

http://tinyurl.com/mqva2b
http://tinyurl.com/md4d2g
http://tinyurl.com/kk2rp8

 

This was a glorious, memorable experience for me. hope you enjoyed it.

 

 

PS...Andy, I hope you received my Gallery contribution (it is from this event)...It seems it did not reach you last week.

---

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[Guy Glorieux-2]

Congratulation, Kostas!
This must have been a fantastic adventure for your club members.
Give us more detail about the club. 
I'm intrigued that you all seem to be silver-based image makers with enlargers and darkroom, etc.
Is this a conscious decision?
Guy

2009/6/24 Kostas Papakotas <clenchedteethphotography@...>

Hello all!

 

This is the story of our photo club first exhibition...while most of the members are novices we thought of making some noise about us just like teenagers do....

 

So the last 2 months were spent preparing a one-day exhibition setup in open-air in one of the town’s parks...

Photos were taken, prints were made (4 each) (and thanks to the club members that owned B&W enlargers) and were double-side taped on light foam-board (used by architects for mock-ups) (cheep, easy and light). We had already secured use of tripods from a members job, clip-on spotlights from the municipality arts organization, and soon we were ready to launch....

 

BUT we had to postpone the opening for a week and that Thursday it was rainy...the whole day long...Just as when we had setup the tripods it started in the morning, a nerve breaking drizzle, and kept on and off...Sometime in the afternoon during a spell of good weather we started mounting the photos...Half way through it started again. We decided to “fall and fail” but not without trying, and kept on hanging in the rain...Some people were already visiting and we were all using umbrellas! Thanks god for someone bringing thin nylon sheeting to cover the photos...

 

So this is how we operated.....

 

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/9278/87026894.jpg

 

And by past 22:00 the rain had stopped and we could use the lights! But a decision would have to be made...Since we had a lot of borrowed equipment either some of us would have to crash there on guard, or we would pull everything down...

 

...to set them up again next day!

 

And we did!

 

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/2198/31567383.jpg

 

It took us less than an hour for the whole lot and we had crowds coming. (did I mentioned that that Friday was hot and there was a concert going nearby?). People were somehow caught off-guard...It was so unexpected, the photo happening, the success, the positive responses, everything!

 

Some more photos....

http://tinyurl.com/l26jwm

http://tinyurl.com/mqva2b
http://tinyurl.com/md4d2g
http://tinyurl.com/kk2rp8

 

This was a glorious, memorable experience for me. hope you enjoyed it.

 

 

PS...Andy, I hope you received my Gallery contribution (it is from this event)...It seems it did not reach you last week.

---

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--
Un peuple prêt à sacrifier un peu de liberté pour un peu de sécurité ne mérite ni l'une ni l'autre, et finit par perdre les deux."
"Those prepared to sacrifice a bit of liberty for a bit of security deserve neither and will lose both".
Benjamin Franklin

[Kostas Papakotas-2]

Thanks for the kind remarks Guy...

 

Our club is a few months old...the idea was of 2 students in a friend's photo class I was assisting...Then they made more contacts and we located a local pro taht is more advanced than us. (he was the man behind everything and hosts club's meets in his shop for the time being). Then a bunch of youngsters joined in....

Fresh good news: The municipality of Veria has given us use of a unused city building in a village nearby...we will be going there next week to see on installing a darkroom...

 

Indeed Greece is one of the strongholds of B&W photography...Influenced by an older socialist way of being (but that is another story not) there is NO club and school that does not start teaching and printing from the Silver based chemistry. To some people/schools/movements digital color is a sacrilege!

 

Although we aim not being dogmatic on B&W art photography, new club members are urged to find.buy/borrow a camera that allows manula settings. Nikon FM2s are plentiful. We have procured copious amounts of APX from Germany, ilford paper is still plentiful in Greece, and soon most of the 25+ members (excluding me for going digital and short on time) found their way to 3 members' darkrooms. Add to that 2 enlargers working in my city's art workshops (where my friend teaches) and we have 1-5 ratio. it seems either crazy or dreamy these days doesn't it?

 

And the whole affair is so rejuvenating!  tnx for the interest, Kostas

--- Στις Τετ., 24/06/09, ο/η Guy Glorieux <guy.glorieux@...> έγραψε:

Από: Guy Glorieux guy.glorieux@...

Congratulation, Kostas!
This must have been a fantastic adventure for your club members.
Give us more detail about the club. 
I'm intrigued that you all seem to be silver-based image makers with enlargers and darkroom, etc.
Is this a conscious decision?
Guy

---

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