Nocturnes . . . and all that Jazz!

Read the Prospectus for this, our newest online exhibit of Night Photography . . .

The Nocturnes.com invites all interested artists to enter our online Night Photography Exhibition, Nocturnes . . . and all that Jazz! This competition is open to all night photographers, all photo media - and digital cameras are OK, too! We ask only that your final outcome would normally be a fine photographic print - b/w, color, alternative, whatever - presenting mysterious, riveting nocturnal imagery.

This exhibit, coinciding with the Anniversary of John Coltrane's birth (September 23), will explore the connections between the Jazz milieu and the pursuit of improvisational (no pre-visualizing here!), free-form, fluid nocturnal imagery. We've often thought of the "true nocturnists" as being kind of like jazz musicians, rock musicians, or other 'club' or night folk - we're all unsung artists, out looking for a 'form,' no? So, the connection is there, and it’s yours to interpret - an image that illustrates a song title, a portrait that harks back to a vintage "Blue Note" album cover from an earlier period of Jazz, or an abstract rendition of an album title. Your imagery could be of performers or audiences, abstracts of wild neon night light flooding the clubs where jazz is heard, or a landscape that sings a sad, soulful refrain - all taken at night, in the "jazz hours."

Stuck on the idea of what constitutes a "jazz nocturne?" Have a listen to Charlie Haden's recent CD entitled, handily enough, Nocturne - http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/verve/product.asp?pid=9890 - with its timeless Cuban boleros, for some late night inspiration. You can also pick up the recent re-release of Mile Davis' classic adventure into melody and atmosphere, Kind of Blue - http://www.miles-davis.com/kindofblue.html - and on which Coltrane played, for a glimpse of the improvisational mood we might be after. Also, be sure to have a look at the online exhibit area of The Nocturnes Web site - for example, our latest offering, The Nocturnes 2002 - http://www.thenocturnes.com/noct2002/index.htm - for an idea of what we might be looking for. And have a look at some of the Gallery pages of The Nocturnes Web site, especially http://www.thenocturnes.com/billschwab.htm (Bill Schwab's page), Troy Paiva's rather colorful page: http://www.thenocturnes.com/troypaiva.htm, or http://www.thenocturnes.com/stujenks.htm (Stu Jenks' page) for inspiration, and to note the interplay between music and the visual imagery.

Exhibition runs through December 31, 2002. Accepted work will then reside in a developing archive of nocturnal imagery on The Nocturnes Web site after the exhibition, Nocturnes . . . and all that Jazz! closes - available to Night Photographers and those interested in Night Photography, worldwide.