Tag: photography

My Artista Vista show “Symbology”

Posted on by Brett Flashnick

I believe that our culture is founded on, and formed by symbols that enable us to connect what we can see with those things that can only be understood by our souls.  The symbols we use to express our patriotism, faith, love, and even socioeconomic status, are simply an outward expression of the desire we all share as human beings to belong to something larger than ourselves. The representation of these symbols in the images I have created reflects the way I see what my subjects present, as a means of communicating their belonging to the world around them.

A political protester grasps a confederate battle flag, outside of town hall meeting at Seawell's, in Columbia, S.C., for Republican presidential hopeful John McCain.

The proceeding statement was the founding basis for my first fine art photography show titled “Symbology,” which contains 15 16×20 format silver halide prints, from editorial images which I have created over the past decade as a freelance photojournalist.

The show will run April 23-25, 2009, at the Columbia Music Festival Association located at 914 Pulaski St. in Columbia, SC. Click Here to View a Map. 

Symbology will open with a free reception on Art Night, Thursday, April 23, 2009 from 4-9pm.

The show will continue on Friday, April 24, 2009, with gallery hours from 11am-3pm, followed by a special performance from local rock band, All Walks of Life from 7pm-Until.  Tickets for the show are $5, and can be purchased at CMFA in advance or at the door.

Gallery hours will continue on Saturday, April 25, 2009 from 11am-3pm, and will conclude with a special talk, and question and answer session from 2-3pm.

For more information on Artista Vista, Columbia’s Premier Gallery Crawl, visit their website www.artistavista.com or Click Here to download a PDF gallery map.

Personal Selects: Best of 2008

Posted on by Brett Flashnick

As tradition, during the first or second week of every new year I spend a day going back through all of the images I have created during the previous year to prepare for annual contest submissions.  For me this is an opportunity to look back on what I have learned over the year, re-evaluate what I might do differently next year, and see my growth both as a photographer and a person.  This year was a little different.  In a few months I will celebrate being a photographer, and a small business owner for a decade.  A small milestone in the greater scheme of things, but a pretty big one for a 28-year-old.

While last year was tough for me personally, and professionally (we are all dealing with this down economy).  The year of 2009 has started off for me with a great deal of opportunity and promise, with several great adventures already in the books that I can’t wait to share with you, and others that are out there which I don’t even know about yet.  I am going through a period of tremendous growth again, after being somewhat stagnant creatively for some time, and I am very excited for what the future holds.

The gallery of images contained in this post is never usually seen outside of contest judging rooms, where they may only get a brief glimpse of time on a projector screen.  With that in mind, I would like to have the opportunity to share some of my favorite images of the year with those of you who read this blog.  I sincerely hope you enjoy, and feel free to share your own stories, comments and critiques.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009!

The Week in Pictures Oct. 30 – Nov. 6

Posted on by Brett Flashnick

 

As featured in the Oct. 30 - Nov. 6 MSNBC TWiP: As tears stream down his cheek, Quentin Patrick, center, clad in a red prison jumpsuit, signs paperwork during his bond hearing at the Sumter-Lee County Detention center, Monday, Nov. 3, 2008, in Sumter, S.C. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)
As featured in the Oct. 30 - Nov. 6 MSNBC TWiP: As tears stream down his cheek, Quentin Patrick, center, clad in a red prison jumpsuit, signs paperwork during his bond hearing at the Sumter-Lee County Detention center, Monday, Nov. 3, 2008, in Sumter, S.C. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

As I checked my Facebook page before heading out for a 12 hour photo day on Saturday, I was a bit perplexed when I saw that friend and fellow shooter Chris Keane had left me a note for me to check out MSNBC’s The Week in Pictures for Oct. 30 – Nov. 6, 2008.  Much to my surprise one of my images from the bond hearing of Quentin Patrick, who is accused of killing 12-year-old, trick-or-treater, T.J. Darrisaw, when he fired 29 rounds from his AK-47 through the front door of his house in Sumter, S.C., upon seeing the 3 masked figures, outside of his home on Halloween night, and thinking he was about to be robbed.  This image came from my second day of covering this extremely emotional tragedy for the Associated Press, and can be found in Oct. 30 – Nov. 6, TWiP at the following link http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27578284/displaymode/1107/framenumber/7/s/2/

The American President

Posted on by Brett Flashnick

 

I recently found out that, the image I took of then Sen. John McCain’s visit to Adluh Flour in Columbia, SC during his campaign for the Republican Presidential Primary while on assignment for the Associated Press has been selected for a traveling photo exhibit by the AP titled The American President.  I feel extremely honored for my image to be selected for this exhibit since, “The photos in this exhibition are drawn from the AP Images photo archive, which contains more than 10 million film and digital images and is one of the most extensive collections of news and documentary images anywhere,” according to the exhibit’s official promotional flyer released by the AP. 

Additionally, I am the only freelance photographer whose work is contained in the exhibit, all of the other images were created by some of the best AP staff political photographers of all time, and I feel honored for my work to be chosen to be displayed side by side with the work of photographers of that caliber.

 

To request interviews or speakers, to request use of photos from the exhibit or to book an exhibit for display, contact AP Corporate Communications at 212.621.1720 or visit http://www.ap.org/americanpresident

Lessons from the trail

Posted on by Brett Flashnick

I just wanted to take a minute to post my favorite images of the Democratic and Republican nominees for president that I had the opportunity to make while covering their primary campaigns, and share a few things I learned during my time with them.

  

(AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)
Above: Sen. John McCain, R-Az., right, and his wife Cindy McCain, left, wait behind a large American Flag, to be announced at an event in Columbia, S.C., on April 26, 2007.

(Brett Flashnick/WpN)
Above: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., makes a grand entrance into the Columbia Convention Center, during his first visit to the south, on Feb. 16, 2007.
Overall I think the most important thing that I learned along the process is that the relationships you make are crucial when you are in situations like this.  When you cover something as large as a political campaign (especially those of the top tier candidates), you are often subjected to being part of pack journalism.  Something that I personally detest, since it greatly tends to limit the amount of creative freedom you have to photograph the events as you truly see them, and find real moments which is something I truly value.  I found out early on that taking the time to build relationships with the candidates staff, interns, and advisors, the same way I would with a regular client, I was able to put myself in better positions to make the images that I wanted.  After the relationships and trust were established, convincing advisers, press spokespeople, and staffers to let me make the images I wanted to was a much easier thing to achieve, and once I got to know the candidates personally it resulted in me being able to photograph them as I saw and perceived them, and by the end of it I had the campaign staffers trying to help me make the images that I wanted to, and the best part was I got paid to do it.  In my book that is a win-win situation all the way around.

Mitch’s Story… Prostate Cancer

Posted on by Brett Flashnick

The New York Times just posted a multimedia project I recently had the opportunity to work on, called “Patient Voices” which was about prostate cancer (there are others out there ranging from ADD to Infertility).  For this project I photographed and interviewed ESPN Commentator and all around good guy, Mitch Laurance.  I spent a great afternoon talk with, and photographing Mitch at the Grande Dunes Members Club in Myrtle Beach, while the Hard Rock Park celebrity golf tournament was going on outside.  It is always a rewarding experience when you get to help someone tell their story, especially one as personal as this.

 

 

 

If you are interested in watching the Patient Voices Interactive Feature follow this link.

Turns out I’m not dull

Posted on by Brett Flashnick

Well, at least one of my photos isn’t dull, according to the folks over at AntiDull, an online Fine Art and Photography magazine that was started back in August of 2007. I was selected to appear in their June 2008 issue which can be viewed at http://www.antidull.com first PocketWizard now this… I’ll be an internet celebrity pretty soon if I keep this up. Hope all is well out there.