This exciting new documentary short, The Future of Contemporary Photography, provides a dynamic look into the New York Photo Festival 2008 (NYPH08), and premieres at PDN Photo Plus Expo on Thursday, October 23, 2008. The film explores the curatorial insights of four leading photo editors, the festival’s founders, and the many cutting-edge artists who shared their work. The film asks curators, artists, and viewers to make their own aesthetic judgments on the state of modern photographic image making.

“PhotoPlus is always on the cutting edge of what’s happening in photography and imaging, so it's a natural fit for us to screen the Snorri Bros’ documentary The Future of Contemporary Photography during this huge industry event,” says Frank Evers, Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of the New York Photo Festival. “We think that the film is an brilliant documentation of the first ever New York Photo Festival and captures the incredible spirit, passion and excitement of that inaugural event.  We can't give enough thanks to the folks at PDN PhotoPlus, who have proven steadfast supporters in helping us bring an annual world-class photo festival to New York City.”

The inaugural event in May 2008 was a surprise hit, and it delivered on the promise of presenting the “Future of Contemporary Photography” through the efforts of world-class curators and selected artists. The NYPH08 Festival Curators, Kathy Ryan, Martin Parr, Lesley A. Martin, and Tim Barber, delivered four stunning exhibitions dealing with everything from the ubiquity of imagery to typologies to artistic expression in photography. The New York Photo Festival has successfully filled the need for a large-scale, international cultural event in New York City dedicated to contemporary photography.

Founded by Daniel Power and Frank Evers, the New York Photo Festival is the first international-level festival of photography to be based in the U.S. With the ambition of documenting the future of photography in all its forms, this new annual event has selected a group of internationally respected curators who will deliver their personal vision of the newest and most important trends in contemporary photography. The inaugural edition (May 14–18, 2008) proved an astounding success with over 15,000 tickets sold, 2,500 VIPs and artists, 1,000 members of the international press, packed seating for all day and evening programming events at St. Ann’s Warehouse (450 capacity), 20 countries represented in curated and satellite pavilions, 85,000 clicked site visits, 47,000 blog posts, 2.5 million unique visits to www.nyphotofestival.com, 49 media partners, and over 3,000 submissions from 87 countries for the New York Photo Awards (www.newyorkphotoawards.com).

The New York Photo Festival 2009 will run from May 14 through May 24, made possible with the generous assistance of Two Trees Management and Canon USA. In addition to the curated pavilions, the festival will offer visitors an extensive range of activities that will generate dialogue and buzz among photo professionals, amateurs, students, and aficionados of art and culture, including seminars, slide shows, book signings, photographic workshops, live performances and events, and a gallery row. The New York Photo Festival will be headquartered in DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY.

The Future of Contemporary Photography is a Snorri Bros Production, directed by Eidur Snorri Eysteinsson, Snorri Sturluson, and David Weinstock, edited by Ruth Mamaril at Filmcore, with VFX by the Snorri Bros. Music provided by soundpets and Jody Redhage. Camera operator: Jérémy Lebreton. Associate Producers Daniel Power and Frank Evers.

About PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo
Designed for professionals in the photographic and imaging industries, PDN PhotoPlus showcases the latest advances in photography, both traditional and digital. Held annually at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, attendees have the opportunity to explore an inspiring array of photography and imaging products and services—everything from image capture and color management to retouching and storage—all from the industry's leading manufacturers.

The show also offers over 100 photography and imaging seminars and hands-on workshops taught by world-renowned experts, with a focus on cutting-edge innovations in digital imaging products and techniques. The 2007 Expo recently received top rankings in Exhibit Survey Inc.’s annual Trade Show Trends Report for the second year in a row, as published in the April 2008 issue of Exhibitor magazine, ranking at or near the top in most major categories of its “Top Trade Shows of 2007”: Second-Highest Total Buying Plans; Eighth-Highest Net Buying Influence; and Second-Highest Traffic Density.

The survey results can be seen at: http://www.exhibitoronline.com/exhibitormagazine/apr08/trends.asp

More information on PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo is available at: http://www.photoplusexpo.com

2009 FESTIVAL INFO

NEW YORK PHOTO FESTIVAL 2009 (May 14th - 24th 2009)
The Second Annual International Photography Festival in New York City

Photography, one of the most important visual media of our lives, has been surprisingly uncelebrated, particularly in the United States. New York City, home to the most influential commercial and fine art photography community, has lacked—until now—a large-scale event dedicated to photography. The inaugural New York Photo Festival (May 14–May 18, 2008) delivered a dynamic, high-quality event in what is arguably the photographic capital of the world. This event celebrated both contemporary photography and the creative, inspirational talents of the people who produce this work. The New York Photo Festival 2008 took place in DUMBO, an off-the-beaten-track, but easily accessible neighborhood on the Brooklyn waterfront between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

The second annual New York Photo Festival is scheduled to take place in DUMBO, next May 14-24, 2009.

World-Renowned Curators (NYPH 2009)
The goal of the New York Photo Festival is to document the future of photography in all its forms. Our group of internationally-respected curators will deliver their personal vision of the newest and most important trends in contemporary photography, each exhibited in their own pavilion and promising to draw the attention of the entire photographic community.

Festival Curators for NYPH 2009 include photo editor Jody Quon (New York Magazine), book publisher Chris Boot, Bill Ewing, Director of the Musée de l'Elysée, and Neville Wakefield, art critic, author and independent curator.

Ten Days Celebrating Contemporary Photography
In addition to the curated pavilions, the festival will offer visitors an extensive range of activities that will generate dialogue and buzz among all the communities of photo professionals, amateurs, students, and aficionados of art and culture: seminars, slide shows, book signings, photographic workshops, live performances and events, and a gallery row. The festival will also be documented online in a regularly updated virtual environment.

Our Growing Support
The New York Photo Festival has already received support from major institutions and individuals in the U.S. and abroad: museums and galleries, photo agencies, the media, scholars, and more (for references, please refer to our list of advisory board members on page 4). The scope of our support demonstrates the expectations of the festival and the high standards on which it has been built thus far.

International attendance
With its unique scope and focus, the festival appeals to all people involved in image-making and collecting: professional photographers and artists, arts editors, scholars, curators, collectors, as well as everyone with an appreciation for what is undoubtedly the most popular fine arts medium. The four primary international photography festivals in Europe and Canada each draw between 100,000 and 1,000,000 people per year. Our ambition is to attract a comparable audience to the second annual NYPH festival in 2009, and to increase substantially in subsequent years as the scope and real estate available for the festival grows.

NYPH t-shirts, hats and more. Get them while they last! Buy online here.

hyperphocal Interviews Daniel Power

We want your festival pictures!!!

Check out NYPH on flickr

To contribute, Post your pics on flickr (tag them "newyorkphotofestival", "nyph" or nyphotofestival") for all to see.