fototazo 6: Aline Smithson

Aline Smithson
Not As Interesting, from the series "Shadows and Stains"
2009

Silver Gelatin Print with oil wash, all processes done in the darkroom

f100: Mike Peters, Verner Soler, Andrew Buurman, Elaine Duigenan

© Mike Peters, from the series "Life"

fototazo has asked a group of 50 curators, gallery owners, blog writers, photographers, academics and others actively engaged in photography to pick two photographers that deserve (more) recognition - the underknown, the under-respected as well as not-appreciated-enough favorites. A little more information on the project is available in the first post in the series here.

We began the series with responses from Nicholas Nixon, Matt Johnston, Blake Andrews and John Edwin Mason. Today we continue with responses from Aline Smithson and Colin Pantall.

Respondent: Aline Smithson is a photographer, editor, writer and educator. Her work has been featured in numerous publications and exhibited widely. She has been the Gallery Editor for Light Leaks Magazine, writes and edits the blog Lenscratch and has been curating exhibitions for a number of galleries and online magazines.

Selections: Mike Peters and Verner Soler

© Verner Soler, from the series "Village Landscapes"

Respondent: Colin Pantall is a photographer and writer based in Bath, England.

Selections: Andrew Buurman and Elaine Duigenan

©Andrew Buurman, from the series "The Serpentine Swimming Club"

Andrew Buurman is a straightforward documentary/photojournalist who produces projects that somehow stick with me. I always remember his Serpentine swimmers and his Allotments book is a low-key classic that just grows on me with time. The more I look at the pictures, the more I see in them and the richer the whole book becomes. I also love the fact that for his wank rooms project, he sent used tissue (or was it just crumpled tissue - a big difference) to people in the photo-world to promote the work.

Elaine Duigenan's scanograms have a charm and elegance that makes the homely into monuments of domestic beauty. Her Nylons and Nets projects are scans of vintage stockings and hairnets, fragile objects that become almost organic creatures at the hands of Duigenan. Micro Mundi is a series of pictures of snail trails, traces of a chronology of existence that is chaotic but recognizable, a world apart but not quite separate.

© Elaine Duigenan, Taille Unique

4.10.11: Second Microgrant Fully Funded

The final donation needed to complete the funding of the second fototazo microgrant for Natalia Lopera was received tonight. A special thank you to all who helped to give a young photographer the opportunity to move forward in her passion and career through donations.

A second thank you also to Pete Brook, Aline Smithson, Andy Adams, John Edwin Mason, Lauren Wolfe, Kate Steciw and Jess T. Dugan for their guidance and invaluable help in promoting the site.

The next microgrant project will be launched later in the week.