Most of you know we had a meeting, not at the Coxe Avenue APBC since they were closed on Saturday at 2pm… (who would have thunk that?) but up the street at Jack of the Wood. I think we had a good turnout and discussion, what could be heard of it. (while I happen to love bars, they are not as conducive for meetings as I would like) and think perhaps we should meet somewhere else, THEN go to the bar next time. Discussion?

Now, onto content… as you can read here or just keep reading here, cause it is the same stuff, my overview of today’s meeting.

Dates
noon on May 22, 2009 to 11:59p.m on May 23rd (36 hours, 12 on the 22nd and 24 on the 24rd}
Photos will be due to be posted on flickr no later than noon on June 6. this will be for film or digital submissions.

Judging
We are still working out judging, but there is strong support for a different way to do it… please let your voice be heard!

Number of entries
At this time we are sticking to 15 judged submissions and 1 “photographer’s choice” but we are going to allow the photographer to choose after the judging this time.

Show
We would like to go to the library again, but there are limitations on that space for any kind of reception. We are actively pursuing additional spaces.

Participation
We would like to get more pros involved, to that end, we are hoping to attract more and possibly offer workshops during DITLOA on specific themes. This is evolving. Let us hear from you.

Bill Rhodes is ready for Ditloa

We are tentatively looking at a Late May date for DITLOA 2009.

Planning session will be Saturday, March 7 at 2pm at Asheville Pizza and Brewing on Coxe ave.

Come one, come all

Thanks to reporter Paul Clark for his interest!

Here’s a tidbit:

Clark Mackey, who runs a small advertising firm in downtown Asheville, got the project idea from something he read online, about someone who put a disposable camera outside his office and invited people to use it.

“I thought that sounded neat,” Mackey said. “So I bought about five or six disposable cameras, and Jason Sandford (creator of the Day in the Life of Asheville project) had some, too.”

They secured them to benches and poles at Pack Place, on Wall Street, in the park at Eagle Street and elsewhere and put up signs explaining that the project was part of a larger project.

…
Mackey witnessed a lot of candid moments.

He watched people notice the camera, notice the sign, look back at the camera and read about the project. Then some of them picked up the point-and-shoot. Mackey thought they’d knock off a dozen shots, but people were as considerate as they were thoughtful about the photos they made — they took only a couple, then left the rest for other people.

“It worked great,” he said.

He’s been serious about his own photography since he received, two years ago, a collection of his family’s photos taken in the 1950s and 1960s in and around Houma, La.

When he got the slides, he was struck by the joy in his relatives’ faces. He’d never taken a picture like that, he remembers thinking.

The hope that he and others would and will is part of what inspired Citizen Camera, he said.

“We just wanted folks to see the beauty in the little moments in life,” he said. “Putting the cameras on park benches where people sit, we wanted them to stop and think about making a little beautiful moment.

“I think there is a lot of beauty around you, wherever you are. A camera is a good way to notice it. A camera when used well can bring out the best in life.”

We’ll have a table ready for some basic finger foods. We’re looking for folks to bring goodies - brownies, tiny sammiches, veggies, chips and dip. Something that’s no hassle and easy to clean up after.

If we can’t find a musician, can someone bring a little boom box?

Spread the word. See you there.

Posting the prints:

Tammy Silver and her colleagues have already begun printing pages for the mounting of your photographs. With the blessing of library director Ed Sheary, the library group plans to mount about 150 photos and put them in the windows along the library hall leading to the parking, and possibly windows out front.

Tammy said she expects that photos to start going up next week some time. She’ll let me know, and I’ll let you guys know. The photos will be posted for about one month.

This is a massive, time-consuming undertaking. Endless thanks to the library staffers for their support of Day in the Life of Asheville.

How you can help:

The library folks need window washers. They need volunteers to wash and clean old tape off the windows. They’ll let me know. It will probably be early next week.

The reception:

The library staff is open to us throwing a reception. They say nobody else has done it, so we’ll be the first. So we get to set the bar!

The library closes at 8 p.m. every day except Friday, when it closes at 6. So an after-work reception on a Monday-through-Thursday sounds good. We need to pick a date when the Asheville Civic Center doesn’t have a big event, because lots of folks park in the center deck and crowd the hallway on event nights.

The library will provide tables. No chairs. We probably need to focus on finger food - light and easy to clean. Drinks, but no alcohol, on county-owned property.

Music - a boombox? A local musician or two to volunteer, since we don’t have any money?

Wireless - the county is installing a localized wireless system. It looks like it will be functional by the time we get our reception together, so if people want to bring laptops to look at photos, they should be able to use the library wireless.

Judging is complete for Day in the Life of Asheville.Bill Sanders has finished is picks today, and Rob finished his picks last Sunday.

So let’s start the clock ticking for submission of prints: Deadline will be Tuesday, May 13. Get your prints amde as 8×10s or as near as possible; glossy; no borders.

As far as I know, the discount deal is still on at Iris on Merrimon - 10 percent off if you mention Day in the Life, i think.

I’ll confirm that you can leave your prints at Iris. You can also drop them off with me at the Miles Building, 2 Wall Street, downtown Asheville.

Might be good to have one more location serve as a drop-off point for photos. Any ideas?

Looks like 111 photos were chosen by the judges. That, plus another 70 or so for each individual photographer’s pick. That means close to 200 photos to put up. Not to mention a selection of Citizen Camera photos that I’ll get printed.

Everyone, please meet the deadline so we can get these photos up!

If you need help sorting through thousands of images, well, you’re on your own. Mostly.

Here is a helpful discussion for getting the photos uploaded, tagged, and contributed to the project: http://www.flickr.com/groups/diloashvegas/discuss/72157604580862365/

Need a link to the Flickr group? A link to all the DITLO photos on Flickr (not just the ones you are adding to the group)?

Sincerely,
Clark Mackey