11/19/10
Last day to submit to Notes on Being a Woman!
Today is the last day to submit to Notes on Being a Woman.
Some potential topics: what you learned from your mom or grandmother, an impactful female mentor, your choices on career and family and how that’s affected you, or how you may have influenced others. (Remember — men can submit too, by contributing a photo and story of an inspirational woman in their life.)
Also, if you haven’t yet, check out the Shape What’s to Come site — here’s my profile.
10/26/10
Pictory and Levi's
“I still believe in the seemingly lost art of good advertising.”
A few months back, I was quoted by Fast Company about my plans for advertising on Pictory. At the time, I didn’t know who my first advertising partner would be — but I knew who I wanted. Over the last few years, Levi’s has worked with an impressive array of indie photographers and filmmakers like Ryan McGinley and Cary Fukunaga, produced community spaces for creative output through their workshops, and stayed true to the roots of their 150-year-old brand. I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be partnering with Levi’s Shape What’s to Come for my first ever sponsored theme and showcase.
Our inaugural collaboration focuses on inspiring women (submit now!). Stay tuned to see the exciting ways this partnership evolves. On December 1, we’ll release the “Notes on Being a Woman” showcase. As always, my top priorities are an excellent experience for the reader and support of the photography and design communities — I can’t wait to show you how Pictory’s vision for online advertising reinforces both.
08/17/10
Check out Hey, Hot Shot! before the deadline!
Hey Pictory readers! I’ve missed you! (I skipped a showcase to run Phoot Camp.) I hope you’re looking forward to tomorrow’s Bodies of Water showcase, guest curated by Youngna Park.
For those of you looking for opportunities beyond these waters, Youngna is the lead on the Hey, Hot Shot! photography competition, open for entries through this Sunday, August 22nd at 8:00 p.m (EDT). Five photographers will be selected by their diverse panel (which includes Founder Jen Bekman, photographer Todd Hido, and Aperture Publisher Lesley A. Martin) for a group exhibition at Jen Bekman Gallery, a $500 honorarium, a $1000 book credit at the self-publishing company Blurb and the chance to release an edition on 20x200. Jen Bekman will select one of these five photographers as the Grand Prize winner and award this artist a $5,000 honorarium, solo exhibition and two years of representation from Jen Bekman Gallery. So how do you enter? The guidelines are simple: submit 5 photographs from a single body of work, using their online upload tool, with an entry fee of $80.
08/12/10
Phoot Camp Afterglow
When planning the first Phoot Camp last year, I had a sense in my head of the magic. The energy in the air that would happen if I combined all those talented people, all those Internet friends who’d never met, all those like-minded strangers.
We had a great time, and got awfully close to what I’d imagined — and in some ways exceeded it. But this year, something took it to the next level.
Maybe it’s the fact that many of us are close friends still because of last year. Maybe it’s because we had about 10 more people. Maybe it was the pool, warm weather, and sunshine. Or maybe just a better understanding of what we were there to do.
In any case, I want to thank everyone involved (our sponsor Virb.com, my 27 campers, our location agent Nancy Rigoli who found us the gorgeous estate, the models and guests who dropped by for the open house, etc.) for making last weekend truly memorable and impactful.
Follow @phootcamp on Twitter or bookmark phootcamp.com for the photos and stories from the weekend! They should be up within a week or two.
“I know I’ve said it a million times before, but I feel like the luckiest person alive. I’m so glad to have met all of you. #phootcamp” -@danielslee
08/05/10
Counting Down to Virb Phoot Camp!
Phoot Camp. A little over a year ago I was scribbling the words on to a piece of paper over lunch with Photojojo friends Amit Gupta and Jen Giese (fun friends to have in the neighborhood if you have a lot of hair brained photo ideas).
A month after that I managed to press send on a crazy email to 80 photographers, most of whom I’d never met in person, hoping that some of them would choose to fly to California and head out into the woods with me and a bunch of strangers. And then hitting refresh on the spreadsheet wondering if anyone would possibly say yes.
After what seemed like an eternity (less than an hour), Dan Busta sent the first response. Rather than “yes” or “no” he wrote “NEED”. Phew. One by one the spreadsheet filled in. When Kevin “lomokev” Meredith and Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek bought flights from Europe, I knew this would have the momentum it needed to come together. In the end, 20 people committed to attend.
October 9, the morning before the first Phoot Camp started, I threw the last of my supplies into the car and set off for China Camp State Park in Marin. And yelled, at the top of my lungs, with the windows down (oops) to blow off some of the anxiety of what I was getting myself into. Would one of these people murder us all in the woods? Would the park ranger kick us out? Would we all be homeless for the weekend?
In the end, everything went perfectly.
But I still wouldn’t have believed that this year I would have an awesome sponsor (yay Virb!), real digs (an amazing estate in LA complete with tennis court and pool), 10 new photo friends (picked from a talented pool of enthusiastic applicants), and nearly all the gang returning from last year.
Virb Phoot Camp 2010 is tomorrow. Deep breaths. Holy crap. Let’s do this.
06/30/10
Quick! Apply for Phoot Camp!
Think you’ve got the right stuff for Phoot 2010? Do you love fun and photography equally? Are you inventive and easy-going? How much ridiculous camera gear/props can you fit in a carry-on? Apply now if you’re up to the challenge.
05/27/10
New theme: Letter to My Future Self
Late spring is a time of flux: graduations, weddings, even just the anticipation of the summer ahead. Compose a message, through photo and caption, to your future self about what’s going through your head now.
If this theme is successful, I’ll repeat it annually and include a follow up on the messages from the year before.
05/27/10
Pictory is looking for a summer intern!
Pictory, currently a one-woman-operation, is looking to take on a little summer help here in San Francisco. I need someone to help me with marketing efforts like my email newsletter, facebook page, award/grant submittals, press, etc. A Pictory intern would also help brainstorm theme ideas, discuss editorial strategy, and work on Pictory side project Phoot Camp.
Applicants should be smart, detail-oriented, fast, resourceful, and hard-working. They should also love photography and have excellent writing skills. Design or web development skills are icing on top.
I can’t afford to offer a paid internship, but I’m happy to work with your school program to help you get credit, and/or to help you out with your subsequent job search however I can.
If you’re interested, send an email to laura (at) pictorymag.com with a conversational cover letter (please don’t use the words “ideal” or “candidate”) and either a LinkedIn profile or a resume.
Thanks!
Laura Brunow Miner
05/26/10
Last day to submit to the New York theme!
This one’s going to be special — trust me!
04/02/10
Take the Stage with Pictory and Pop-Up Magazine!
I’m thrilled to offer a unique opportunity to Pictory members: submit as soon as possible to “Sorry, Mom” and you may be invited to share the stage with renowned authors and Oscar-winning filmmakers at the next Pop-Up Magazine live event on April 16, 2010 at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Pop-Up editor Douglas McGray will be inviting a few lucky Pictory members to read their captions live on stage while their photos are projected. Do it for your résumé, your bucket list, or (fittingly) your mom — but don’t miss this chance.
Note 1: If you’re not a bay area resident, you can still submit! If we love your photo story, we may record your caption remotely ahead of time. Note 2: The Pop Up Magazine event sold out in all of an hour, but if you’re selected, we’ll give you tickets (2) for you and a friend.
03/11/10
Heading to SXSW Interactive!
Pictory is taking a break for a week as I head to SXSW Interactive for a reload of ideas and energy. You may hear that this fast-growing festival isn’t what it used to be, but that’s only true if you act like it is.
Last year I arrived at the festival with a concept for a community-created take on the Big Picture and slowly got up the confidence to share my idea with some friends. Both Tom Watson and Jeff Croft (who I later brought on to develop the code for Pictory) emphatically told me to GO FOR IT! I slowly got comfortable talking to more people (even the “internet famous” and the Big Picture’s Alan Taylor himself) about my budding idea, and left the conference with a notebook full of scrawls and an intention to get started right away.
I can’t wait to see who I meet and what I learn this year, and how it effects the next stages of Pictory. So be patient with my absence and the one-week delay on the next showcase — and while I’m gone, get outside and then submit your own travel photos to Spring Break Stories! (Submit deadline: March 17, Showcase: March 24)
Laura Brunow Miner, founder/editor/designer
02/10/10
New Theme: Danger! And the story behind it.
“Hey I’m about to embark into the deep everglades with 7 family members, 1 boat, 5 sleeping bags, and 3 guns. Can we come up with a magical theme and I will shoot the heck out of it?”
You are always welcome to send me emails like this one. Any of you. In fact, you might make my day, and you might get a theme dedicated to you.
Thank you to friend of Pictory Nate Bolt for writing that line and for inspiring the theme Danger.
01/27/10
Last day to submit to Local Delicacy!
01/27/10
Check out our collaboration with Good Magazine.
On the first day of my last job (at JPG Magazine), my creative director handed me a magazine. It was Good, and he gave it to me as an example of publication craft and design. Hard to believe that was almost three years ago. Each issue still feels fresh, and innovative, and brand new.
I’m excited to launch a theme in collaboration with Good today. It’s the first of many partnerships to come, and I can’t wait to see the showcase that results from working with their award-winning design and editorial team.
If you’re new to Pictory, check out one of our recent showcases to get a feel for what it is we do here: You submit a captioned photo to one of our themes, and then we curate the best work into polished showcases.
Here’s the latest theme:
Neighborhood Treasure (with Good Magazine)
What’s the best thing in your neighborhood (outside your home)? Is it the park bench with an amazing view, the house that’s ridiculously decorated for every holiday, or maybe a community space like a park or school? Include a photograph and a description that conveys the culture of the spot and of your neighborhood. BONUS: This theme is a collaboration with Good Magazine and they’ll be guest editing and guest designing — plus, their editors may invite you to include your photo in their next issue or a Picture Show. (Tip: They’re particularly looking for images of interesting storefronts photographed from front and center.)
Submit by February 24, 2010! The showcase will run on March 3, 2010.
01/20/10
New theme! Submit now to Spring Break Stories.
01/06/10
One week left to submit to The House I Grew Up In!
12/23/09
My Most Meaningful Image closes today! London theme opens!
12/18/09
How the new links in the showcases support Pictory.
Hello!
I hope you’ve had a chance to see the two showcases we’ve published so far, Overseas and Overwhelmed and San Francisco. You may have noticed something new in the last showcase: information about what kind of camera was used to capture each image.
This added layer of information on the site gives insight into the types of images that come from different cameras: film, digital, point and shoot, dSLR, etc. — and it also helps support Pictory. If you buy anything from Amazon within 24 hours of clicking that link, a small percentage of the purchase price is given to Pictory (at no additional charge to you).
If you’ve enjoyed the site, please consider doing holiday shopping through this Amazon link.
Thanks, and happy holidays!
LBM
12/14/09
Read about the next showcase, and schedule going forward.
Hello, Pictory viewers!
I can’t wait to show you the next showcase, Portrait of a Place: San Francisco, which will be released this Wednesday, December 16. The submissions were fantastic, Sarah Rich of Dwell Magazine helped me edit, and Naz Hamid of Weightshift did the guest design — all in all, it’s looking great.
After the holidays you can expect a regular schedule for new themes and showcases, as follows:
- January 6 - Showcase published, My Most Meaningful Image (note, I moved the submit date to December 23)
- January 13 - New theme opens, The House I Grew Up In closes
- January 20 - Showcase published, The House I Grew Up In
- January 27 - New theme opens, Local Delicacy closes
… and so on. You can keep track of this through our new RSS feed, the Pictory twitter account, our newsletter, or the site itself.
Happy Holidays, and don’t forget to photograph the House You Grew Up In while you’re home! (And a Local Delicacy?)
—Laura Brunow Miner
12/11/09
Submit to new theme Local Delicacy.
12/02/09
Welcome to Pictory!
I love photography. Few things make me happier than a beautiful image—online or in print. That said, I’ve become a little complacent about some photos. The Internet is brimming with eye candy, but the vast majority of these images have lost their original context. Photo credits are rare and captions usually garbled, so I find myself often wondering: Who made this? What does it mean? The forces of the Internet can sometimes turn good work into confusing shrapnel.
I hope to do the opposite with Pictory. I want to collect images and stories directly from their sources: the people who create them. And then I want to make the best work that much better by editing, proofing, and compiling submissions into glossy online showcases. Big images. Careful details. Practical design. Credit and context.
Maybe it’s a new model for online magazines. Or, maybe it’s just the best I can do from my living room.
In any case, it’s a humble start, and it needs you. Enjoy the features, share Pictory with your friends, submit to the themes, and don’t be afraid to tell me what you think the site needs.
—Laura Brunow Miner, Editor/Designer/Founder