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PDX Pop Now! Seeking submissions for photo book
07:19PM on Monday February 16, 2009
Attention Portland photographers:
PDX Pop Now! is looking for a few good photographs. We are planning to publish a big beautiful photography book documenting the first 5 years of the PDX Pop Now! music festival, from 2004 through 2008. We already have a lot of great photos, but need more, and are asking for submissions from local photographers who have attended and photographed the festival any time in the past. We want to use photos of:
- artists playing the festival
- fans attending the festival
- volunteers working the festival
- “green room”, setting up, backstage, misc. behind-the-scenes stuff
- other PDX Pop-related events, such as the City Hall concerts, school shows, CD compilation release shows, etc.
Why are we doing this? First of all, we believe a high quality book of dynamic photography would be a popular item for any fan of the festival or the Portland music scene in general, and would provide a lasting memento of the countless great performances festival-goers have seen over the past five years. Secondly, it’s a fundraiser. It costs a lot of money to throw a 3-day free music festival every summer, and while we have many generous sponsors and donors, we’re always in need of more funding to keep the festival going and improving for years to come. 100% of proceeds from the book will go directly towards PDX Pop Now’s operating expenses.
Who’s putting this thing together? The project is being organized by Jason Quigley (www.photojq.com/music), who has photographed the festival every year since it began, and became a brand-new PDX Pop Now! board member this year. We have assembled a small selection committee to comb through submissions and make the process as fair as possible. We are absolutely committed to compiling the best photos we can find of as many bands as possible, as opposed to favoring a select few photographers.
How do I submit?
- Please email your submissions on or before March 15, 2009 to pdxpop.book (at) gmail.com, in JPEG format, 72 dpi, no larger than 1000 pixels on the longest side.
- Name the files according to the following format: “bandname_year_yourname.jpg”. For example, a photo of Blitzen Trapper taken by Jane Smith at the 2007 festival would be called “blitzentrapper_07_janesmith.jpg”.
- If your photo does not have a band in it, e.g. it’s a crowd shot or porta-potty or something, include a short description in place of the band name. Feel free to include any other relevant details in your email. If you do not know the band’s name, send it in anyway and we’ll try to figure it out.
- There is no limit to the number of photos you can submit, however please send only your best work. We will not have time to comb through 30 photos of the same band to pick the best one. That’s up to you.
- If your work is selected, we will contact you to request a high-resolution image for publication. This process may take a while, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t get an immediate reply. The images may be narrowed down further from there, depending on the volume of photos and the layout of the book.
This will be a professional-quality photography book. That doesn’t mean you have to be a professional photographer, but it does mean that your blurry cell phone shots probably won’t make the cut. Please save us some time by limiting submissions accordingly.
If you are unable to provide your images in a digital format, please email the above address and explain, and we will work out a submission process that works for you. We love film, polaroids, etc., and don’t want to exclude any great photos just because you don’t have a scanner!
Will you get paid for your photos? Unfortunately no. As a photographer myself, I’m not usually one to advocate giving up your work for free. In this case however, musicians donate their music and time to the CD compilations and festival, and the festival is organized and run every year entirely by volunteers, and it’s all done on a shoestring budget. We believe it makes sense that photographers donate their talents to this project as well. All photographs will of course be credited, and published photographers will receive a free copy of the book. If your work is selected you will be asked to sign a photo release form.
Photos will not be used for any purpose other than publication in this book, nor will they be used for any other promotional purpose unless we have written permission from the photographer.
Finally, please be patient. None of us has ever published a book before. Feel free to email us with any other questions at pdxpop.book (at) gmail.com