Our 15th Online Exhibition of Night Photography
Town and Country

"There, beneath the blue suburban skies . . ."

The Nocturnes.com invites all interested artists to enter Town and Country - our latest online Night Photography Exhibition. This competition is open to all night photographers, all photo media - traditional B/W, color, "hybrid workflows," 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 - reflecting on the dual themes (sometimes they're the same theme!) of urban and natural landscapes, which we find in Night Photography. What we would really like to see is for you Night Photographers (NPs) out there to tackle both sides of the equation, maybe even in the same image - perhaps a diptych, with one urban and another rural image side-by-side, something like that . . . Those elements, separately or together, and of course, the musical connection which we're always making, here at The Nocturnes - tho' you might have to put on your thinking caps for this one, gang! You might also have a look at Pete Zivkov's (of Pacific Art League) excellent series (http://www.zivkov.com/photos/contemplation/index.html) of images entitled "Contemplation" in which he pairs two very different images (one in motion, one in stillness - one abstract, one 'concrete') linked mostly by a narrow color palette - fascinating stuff, very zen, thought provoking - and printed in near-panorama!

Stuck in town, not so sure of the way to the country? - maybe that's not it, at all . . . for instance, if you live near St. Louis - you could simply point your lens toward the little suburban community of Town and Country, Missouri (Population: approx. 11,000 - http://www.town-and-country.org)!

Some more "food for thought:"
Early humans led a nomadic existence, relying on hunting and gathering for sustenance. Between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago, systematic cultivation of plants and the domestication of animals allowed for more permanent settlements. During the fourth millennium B.C., the requirements for the "urban revolution" were finally met: the production of a surplus of storable food, a system of writing, a more complex social organization, and technological advances such as the plough, potter's wheel, loom, and metallurgy. (Source: History Of Cities And City Planning by Cliff Ellis)

The largest city in the world is Tokyo, Japan (28,000,000 people).
The least densely populated country in the world (inhabitants per sq. kilometre) is Mongolia (1.7).

This quote, attributed to Edward Weston (and we sincerely hope he said it!) seems somehow appropo: "Anything more than 500 yds. from the car just isn't photogenic."

The musical connection(s):
"Downtown" by Petula Clark
"Penny Lane" by The Beatles
"Out in the Country" by Paul Williams/Three Dog Night

With all this in mind, let's see what we can come up with for Town and Country, shall we? Again, much like our California Nocturne and New York Nocturne shows, maybe your images don't need to be about a specifc location or a described area - perhaps it can refer subliminally to the idea of "Town and Country," the urban experience, a suburban landscape, or those states of mind - Wisteria Lane is pretty "dark," actually - something to think about, no?

Entry Fee and Deadline
There is no limit to the number of pieces submitted per artist. Entry Fee: $25 for up to 3 entries; each additional entry is $5. Postmarked dates for entries are NOT acceptable for this competition - we will need to RECEIVE your 'hard copy' of entry form and fee by December 15, 2005! Please NOTE: Entries from outside the U.S. should be sent well in advance of the Decenber 15, 2005 deadline, as international mail deliveries are often delayed up to a week or two.

Exhibition Dates:
Exhibition runs from December 31, 2005 through February 28, 2006. Accepted work will then reside in a developing archive of nocturnal imagery on The Nocturnes Web site (NEWLY re-designed!) after the exhibition closes - available to NPs and those interested in Night Photography, worldwide.

What to send:
Send jpeg files at 72 dpi named appropriately for the Web: 8 letters-dot-3 letter extension (e.g.- niteshot.jpg) all lowercase letters. The size should be no greater than 420 pixels in any one dimension. Square medium format images are optimal at 340x340 pixels; and 35mm images should be approximately 280x420 pixels.

If you send images via snail mail, the files should be small enough (see above) to fit on a floppy (use lots of protective cardboard for shipping disk) - we will accept CDs of your images, also. An even better alternative is to send us the URL of images that are already on a web page, and we can 'retrieve' those images. As you might have gathered, we are trying to avoid a flood of emails and haphazard, ineffective attachments being sent to the site.

Awards:
Two (2) Awards will be awarded at the discretion of the Awards Juror (TBA) - a Best of Show and an Honorable Mention (Prize Money to be announced). This final jurying will be done from a preliminary selection of works by members of The Nocturnes.

Sales:
Sales will be encouraged - No Commission taken for any of our online exhibits - and direct links to artist sites or emails will be provided. Artwork remains Copyright of the participating artists. Pages on the Web site are Copyright, The Nocturnes, and Pacific Media Arts. The exhibit, Town and Country is Copyright Pacific Media Arts and The Nocturnes Web site.


Please print all pages of this form, fill them out (keeping a copy for your records)
and mail with appropriate fee (to be RECEIVED by December 15, 2005) to:


Town and Country Exhibition
Pacific Media Arts
PO Box 590161
San Francisco, CA 94159


ENTRY FORM: Town and Country
(print, fill out and forward with entry fee to Pacific Media Arts)

Name:
_________________________________________________________________
Company:
_________________________________________________________________
Address:
_________________________________________________________________
City/State/Country/Postal Code:
_________________________________________________________________
Phone:
_________________________________________________________________
Fax:
_________________________________________________________________
email:
_________________________________________________________________
URL: (where artwork is to be found)
_________________________________________________________________

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File #1 - Filename: (e.g.- niteshot.jpg)
_________________________________________________________________
File #1 - Title of artwork/Year created: (e.g.- "Desert Nocturne #2")
_________________________________________________________________
File #1 - Photo Medium/Print Dimensions/Price:
_________________________________________________________________


File #2 - Filename:
_________________________________________________________________
File #2 - Title of artwork:
_________________________________________________________________
File #2 - Photo Medium/Print Dimensions/Price:
_________________________________________________________________


File #3 - Filename:
_________________________________________________________________
File #3 - Title of artwork:
_________________________________________________________________
File #3 - Photo Medium/Print Dimensions/Price:
_________________________________________________________________


File #4 - Filename:
_________________________________________________________________
File #4 - Title of artwork:
_________________________________________________________________
File #4 - Photo Medium/Print Dimensions/Price:
_________________________________________________________________


File #5 - Filename:
_________________________________________________________________
File #5 - Title of artwork:
_________________________________________________________________
File #5 - Photo Medium/Print Dimensions/Price:
_________________________________________________________________

Include nonrefundable Entry Fee: $25 (US Dollars) for up to 3 entries; additional entries are $5 each

Check#: ______ Payable to Pacific Media Arts

Credit Card: Visa _____ Mastercard _____ Amount: ________________

Credit Card Number: ________________________________________

Expiration: _____ / _____ Name on Card: _______________________

Zip Code corresponding to Credit Card: _________________________

Authorized Signature: _______________________________________

Number of disks ______ enclosed. Disks will NOT be returned.

Photographic Experience / Interest in Night Photography:

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

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How did you learn about this online exhibition? Previous show?
Specify by name if Craigslist.org, Artist Resource Web site, Artweek or other publication,
The Nocturnes Web site, a poster in retail outlet, or other.
When did you first discover The Nocturnes?

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Would you be interested if this (or another) show were presented in a more traditional
"bricks and white walls' venue (probably in the San Francisco Bay area).
Any suggestions?

_________________________________________________________________

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Receipt of this completed, signed entry form or any materials, files, etc.
constitutes your agreement with the conditions set forth in this prospectus.

 

SIGNATURE _________________________________ DATE _________________