FOTOfusion 2024 to show power, creativity of photography in 24 free presentations

This year's FOTOfusion event in West Palm Beach will offer 24 free presentations over the course of five days from photographers whose works are known around the world.

The nonprofit Palm Beach Photographic Centre will stage the event from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3 at the Mandel Public Library in downtown West Palm Beach unless otherwise noted. It is FOTOfusion's 29th annual festival, where creativity can fuse with technology.

The daily presentations "are informative and productive opportunities for professional and hobbyist photographers to engage, connect, and network with some of the leading names in digital photography,” said Fatima NeJame, the center's president and CEO.

The cost to attend is $575 for silver passport members and $645 for nonmembers. The gold passport, which includes two portfolio reviews, is $825 for members and $895 for nonmembers. To register or for more information, please visit https://www.fotofusion.org/pages/registration.php.

Jan. 31

• Copyright: Know It or Blow It, with Debra Weiss, 10-11 a.m. How to deal with predatory image-rights demands and widespread image theft, which can leave a photographer's business in jeopardy.

• Iridescence: The Art of the Iris, with Douglas Dubler, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. A detailed discussion and slide presentation of his recent book on irises and an discussion on his transition to the world of macro flower photography.

• A Unique 50 Year Career of Capturing Beauty: From Fashion to Conceptual from Beauty to Nudes, with Robert Farber, 1-2 p.m. It includes a five-minute video tour of Farber’s studio: an entertaining journey of the story behind some of his iconic images and how his career evolved.

• Photographing an Environmental Story, with Peter Essick, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Essick will share insights into 30 years of photographing natural areas, human altered landscapes and ecological restoration.

• Photographic Seeing: Constructing & Deconstructing Images, with J. Thomas Lopez, 3:45-4:45 p.m. A PowerPoint presentation using photographs of the past to engineer and reverse engineer what makes them iconic and how to use that to make images have more impact.

Feb. 1

• Everyone’s a Photographer: How to Deal with It and What You Can Do About It, with Debra Weiss, 10-11 a.m. How to get your photos noticed and find a path to achieving your goals.

• Portrait Sketching on the iPad, with Jeremy Sutton, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. See how to create a portrait from scratch using the Procreate app on the iPod Pro with an Apple Pencil.

• Water, Water Everywhere! with Craig Blacklock, 1-2 p.m. Blacklock, who has photographed the interface of land and water in wilderness areas for 47 years. He will cover the technical issues, particularly in selecting the shutter speed to control blur in moving water and show examples of his work in both stills and videos.

• A Funny Thing Happened to my Camera, with Dan Burkholder, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Learn how the iPhone changed the photographic landscape and the latest ways to use one to take your own photos.

• The Emotional Landscape, with Matt Stock, 3:45-4:45 p.m. The veteran landscape photographer will share his insights on the many techniques he has used to capture images and his perspective on why South Florida is "more than just a swamp."

• Gartel: Digital Titan, with Laurence Gartel, 5-6 p.m. A survey of masterworks in the digital art pioneer's career, which spans 48 years and includes book and magazine covers, advertising shoots and even Apple Computer's groundbreaking "Think Different" ad. He will show some of his latest projects.

Feb. 2

• Identifying Your Practice: Are You an Artist or a Photographer? with Daile Kaplan, 10-11 a.m. This presentation will reference artists who’ve crossed over from cinema, painting and sculpture into photography, including Anna Atkins, Eduard Steichen, Man Ray, Constantin Brancusi, Barkley Hendricks, Arthur Jafa, and Jay di Feo.

• Intro to iPhone Photography, with Dan Burkholder, 11:30 a.m-12:30 p.m. Get a grip on which apps are best for shooting, editing, and stylizing iPhone photos, and learn iPhone/iPad techniques that make photos look the way you want, from straight to highly stylized.

• A 60-Year Long Journey in Photography, with David Burnett, 1-2 p.m. The photojournalist tells stories from his six decades in the business, including photographing President John F. Kennedy in Salt Lake City a month before his assassination in 1963. He will offer insights into his photos and his outlook for the medium and the challenges it faces today.

• Everyone But David: ‘Contact’ Seen and Told, with Robert Pledge, 2:30-3:30 p.m. The co-founder of Contact Press Images talks about what the boutique photo agency has achieved since its founding in New York during 1976 through the work of a dozen other photojournalists of nine nationalities whose work collectively constitutes its permanent collection.

• TRUTH, with Tony Bannon in Conversation with David Burnett and Robert Pledge, 3:45-4:45 p.m. Together they will wonder about the life span of truth. For example, can truth live with family secrets? With a surprise party? With a camera? With the genocide just outside of town? With the press? With a business plan? With the last contempt of court, or of Congress? With the white lie? Does truth introduce beauty, or make us human? Audience participation is encouraged.

• Art is Good and Good for You, with Brendan Bannon, 5-6 p.m. There has been much study on the relationship between art and health. Bannon’s global and local explorations have brought him into contact with health systems whether he is photographing for Doctors Without Borders or construction collaborative community projects. He will discuss projects he’s been part of that shape a response to trauma through the arts.

• 365: The Year in Pictures, or The Year of SWIFTIES, by Scott McKiernan, ZUMA Press, 7-8 p.m. A retrospective of the year's best photos, along with a Q&A on the highlights of 2023. Note: This will be held inside the Palm Beach Photographic Centre.

Feb. 3

• The Personal Project: From Part-time to Art Gallery, with Mickey Strand, 10-11 a.m. How to get your work from the idea stage to the art gallery?  This class will roadmap the Personal Project Path, which involves defining it, growing it, identifying major players and presenting it.

• Ready Position: Time for a Creative Reset, with Susan Currie, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Feeling depleted creatively? Unfocused and untethered? Join author and artist Susan Currie, who will share teachings from her book "Superflow: Light up the Artist in You."

• Joyce Tenneson and the Heroine’s Journey, with Joyce Tenneson, 1-2 p.m. The fine arts photographer will share her intimate journey toward personal fulfillment and self-actualization, as well as a magical and inspiring exposure of her extensive and ever-evolving portfolio of work.

• Photography in Transition: How Museums and Galleries are Impacting the Medium, with Daile Kaplan, 2:30-3:30 p.m. How to understand new cultural trends, such as private museums and a focus on emerging talent, and their effect on photography.

• Travel Photography Essentials, with Ben Willmore, 3:45-4:45 p.m. Discover the secrets to taking stunning travel photos, whether using a professional camera or just a smartphone, from a photographer who spent a decade living on the road full time, exploring all 50 states and more than 85 countries.

• Scott’s Top 10 List of 2023 Big Headlines, with Scott McKiernan and guests, 5-6 p.m. 2023’s biggest news will be broken down and how it was covered, from the perspective of a professional photojournalist in the field, to the newswire decisions, and how photo editors select what runs.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FOTOfusion 2024 to show power of photography in 24 free presentations