Focus Philadelphia's new look for 2012

UNSEEN PHILADELPHIA

Pull back the veil, open the window and point your lens at something we haven't seen. Show us the unknown, the unsung, the odd, the old, the abandoned, the forgotten, the newly forged, the brilliantly transformed, the up and coming, the utterly ridiculous, the quietly beautiful, the strangely juxtaposed, the bleeding edge, the amazingly elegant, the off the radar, the unpublicized, the behind the scene, the stuff right under our noses we usually ignore. Uncover those hidden treasures, shape them with your heart and mind, translate them with your camera and share them with us.

Focus Philadelphia was originally conceived as an opportunity for you to push yourself as a photographer. Some year’s shows have had themes; others have been wide open. This year, we are plan to give Focus more lasting value. We want to generate public interest in the show, and that starts with our theme: Unseen Philadelphia, a visual observation of this region that is central to our lives. We ask you to reach deep into your creative well and produce images that will surprise, delight, and possibly startle us.  We want to see images from the Philadelphia region that reveal the rich diversity of lives, environments, objects, activities and trends encountered in and around this vital city. No tool is better equipped to do this than a camera, no medium more powerful than a single compelling image.

The city, its suburbs, exurbs are all fair game for this competition and up to ten photographs can be submitted. They can be based on one theme, for example, all faces, or two or three different themes, or simply separate photographs with no underlying theme except that each is somehow connected to Philadelphia. Diptychs, triptychs, etc. are fine and will count as one image. A select group of judges with differing areas of expertise, including commercial, fine art, and editorial, will judge the work. And the final images will be the basis of a beautifully crafted book distributed to key art buyers. A public show and book signing party is also planned.

So start seeing anew, start shooting. Start a new project or develop one you’ve been working on. More details will follow but our deadline for submissions will likely be August 2012. The better the submissions, the more we can make of this, so go get started!