ILFORD Photo / CALUMET Press Release

The ILFORD Photo / CALUMET black-and-white photography event being staged in Pasadena, California, next March under the title SILVER is drawing bookings from across the United States as well as from overseas, and is anticipated to become a major event on the photographic calendar.

The inaugural staging of the SILVER black-and-white photography conference, together with its accompanying print competition, commemorative book, workshops and social events, planned to take place over March 3 - 5 next year at the Pasadena Arts Centre, has generated a great deal of enthusiasm and anticipation.

Being heavily sponsored by ILFORD Photo and CALUMET as a non-profit making event with any surplus revenue being donated to the Pasadena Art Centre to fund scholarships to photography students who need support and to assist photo educators, SILVER sees the coming together of some of the world’s leading exponents of black-and-white photography.

Setting the scene for the conference will be James M. Reilly who is director of the Image Permanence Institute, a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, a consultant to many museums and government agencies, and a much sought-after teacher and seminar speaker.

Well known for his research on the deterioration of nineteenth-century photographic prints, the effectiveness of storage enclosures for imaging materials, the major causes of image deterioration, and optimizing conditions in storage vaults, Reilly is author of numerous publications on his subjects.

Reilly’s presentation will consider the black-and-white silver print from a variety of perspectives - historical, technical, commercial, aesthetic, and archival - with an eye on what makes it unique and what its prospects might be in the future. Does the medium for the 20th-century’s photographic masterpieces have a legitimate claim on visual expression in the 21st century? Professor Reilly will explore the possibilities.

The line-up of world-renowned black-and-white specialist photographers providing an insight into their worlds reads like a veritable ‘who’s who?’ of leading practitioners of the genre. It extends from those who concentrate on ‘fine art’ photography and portraiture such as Mona Kuhn and Keith Carter, landscapes artists like Alan Ross and John Sexton, people and lifestyle specialist such as Jeff Dunas and Michelle Dunn Marsh, to specialist photojournalist Marisa Roth, darkroom maestro Les McLean, and leading educators George DeWolfe and Mary Virginia Swanson,

These icons of the marque can reflect on many years’ experience - several include work with Ansel Adams in their résumés - in working at the outermost reaches of quality and style, much of which is communicated to students and others with a passion for photographic artistry via their seminars and workshops.

Each speaker has a fascinating story to impart, reflecting their dedication to their art and their commitment to black-and-white photography, how its infinite tones and nuances enables them to capture not just images, but the very essence of their subjects, whether that be the congruity of people or the vastness of nature.

All have exhibitions of note behind and in front of them, highly praised and award winning books and monographs, and above all, total immersion in their art which they will share with attendees of SILVER on this magical occasion.

Attendance at the SILVER conference is being limited to ensure that all participants will be able to enjoy all aspects of this groundbreaking occasion. Costing $300 per head ($50 discount for members of SPE, TPS and APUG, plus registered students), SILVER promises to go down in the history of photography as a landmark event.

Participation in the SILVER print competition, the entry deadline for which is February 1, 2006, is open to everyone with a passion for black-and-white photography, and provides the opportunity to win a First Prize of $3,000 plus a Santa Fe Workshop session and a $1,000 Ilford Materials Grant.

The Second Prize consists of $2,000 plus a $500 Ilford Materials Grant, and the Third Prize winner will receive $1,000 plus a $250 Ilford Materials Grant. There will also be 15 Honourable Mention Awards of $100 Ilford Materials Grants.

For those attending the SILVER conference, the initial entry into the competition is free, and all are encouraged to enter up to three prints. For those not attending, the competition entry fee is $35 for up to three prints, plus $10 for each additional print.

In addition to being displayed at the conference, the winning prints, and selected other competition entries along with images from some of the speakers, will be included in the SILVER Journal, a book being produced by The Texas Photographic Society, under the direction of D Clarke Evans. The prints will also be part of an exhibition to tour the USA and the UK.

For further information and to book places at the SILVER conference, visit www.calumetphoto.com and quote sales reference ZZSM0251 with your booking.

Information on ILFORD Photo film, paper, photochemistry and other black-and-white photographic products can be found at www.ilfordphoto.com