"Night News" - an occasional missive from the darkness
Vol.8 No.1
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"No man is an Island . . . he's a peninsula!"
- Jefferson Airplane (1967) with apologies to John Donne (1572-1631)

"So, the word is out: San Francisco Bay is an estuary."
- From "San Francisco Bay, Portrait of an Estuary," text by John Hart,
photographs by David Sanger; University of California Press (2003)
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Friends of The Nocturnes,

Yes, it has been a long while since our last missive - as I'm sure many of you know, a lot has been happening 'round Nocturnes Corners of late. Foremost, I guess, is the BIG move we made in December - after twenty-some years in San Francisco, we packed up and moved to Mare Island (sometimes island/sometimes peninsula!) bordering the wetlands of San Pablo Bay. Things have progressed quickly since we've been here. Tim showed night work done recently on Mare Island - http://www.thenocturnes.com/gallery/mareisland.html - at the Fetterley Gallery in Vallejo in March/April - along with longtime maritime Nocturne Tom Paiva! Also in March, we held our Annual AlumNight on Mare Island at the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation http://www.mareislandhpf.org - 25 of our most illustrious alumni attended, a splendid time was had by all, and about a hundred images can be viewed at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/nocturnes060311/

The year 2006 marks a big year for The Nocturnes - 15 years since that initial group exhibit of ten Bay area luminaries, and 10 years since the inauguration of TheNocturnes.com, our critically acclaimed Web site dedicated to the advancement of Night Photography and Night Photographers worldwide. To celebrate this checkpoint in our history, we are partnering with Lance Keimig's TheNightSkye.com to sponsor a number of special events, that will enable us to look back on what we've done, as well as forward to what lies ahead. In August, we are holding a Night Photography Conference up at Mono Lake, in the Eastern Sierra, with a special early dinner honoring the man, who for many of us, helped make all this possible: Night Photography legend and mentor, Steve Harper - http://www.steveharperphotography.com.

In September, Lance Keimig and Tim Baskerville return to the West of Ireland for their popular 10-day photographic tour with Irish guide and musician, Olcan Masterson. This year also marks the return of our Biennial exhibit - "The Nocturnes 2006" - showcasing the best Night Photography the Web has to offer! Visit our Anniversary page - www.thenocturnes.com/anniversary.html - for more reasons why 2006 is a watershed for The Nocturnes, and how you can become a part of it!

This concludes the 'teaser intro' for this edition of NightNews - all the details/deeper URLs are included in the various news sections below, as well as additional newsworthy items - so let's have a look, shall we??

As always, you can read this edition of NightNews here, or online at http://www.thenocturnes.com/newsletter/newsarchive.htm where a more readable, printable version resides.

WORKSHOP NEWS
Online registration is now available for The 2006 Night Photography Conference at Mono Lake, August 5-8. This year's event includes courses with Tom Paiva teaching a ViewCamera Workshop; and Christian Waeber, teaching Figure in the Landscape; with presentations by Brian Chapman, Andy Frazer, Troy Paiva, and more! The price for the conference is $375, with optional Night Photography, View Camera, and Figure in the Landscape workshops offered at an additional cost. The conference and workshop class sessions will be held at the Mono Inn (run by the granddaughter of Ansel Adams - now where do we know that name from?), as will luncheons and a special early dinner honoring Steve Harper, whose Web site - www.steveharperphotography.com - went LIVE! this past weekend. More information can be found at http://www.thenightskye.com/ws.mono.htm where you can register online with a credit card or download or print a mail-in registration form. If you are planning to attend, do it today to assure your space! Registration and payment required by July 1, 2006

A few spaces are still available for our September trip to Ireland with Tim Baskerville of and Lance Keimig of The Nocturnes. September 3-13, 2006, Lance and Tim will be leading a photographic tour of County Mayo in the West of Ireland with Irish guide and Musician, Olcan Masterson. The trip features full moon night photography, visits to castles, abbeys, seascapes, mountainscapes, and the option to climb Croagh Patrick, Ireland's holy. Registration and payment required by July 15, 2006 - http://www.thenightskye.com/ws.ireland.htm

Also, time is running out to register for a special one-night workshop July 7th, with Tim Baskerville at Rush Ranch in Solano County. See www.thenocturnes.com/workshops/rushranch.html for full details.

Finally, you can check out the latest information on all our offerings at http://www.thenocturnes.com/workshops.html

EXHIBITS NOTED
There is an exhibit of the work Tim Baskerville has done of the Historic Streetcars - sponsored in part by the Market Street Railway (www.streetcar.org) - at Embarcadero Center One and Embarcadero Center Three in San Francisco, through June 2006. Tim's classic black and white photographs, part of the series: "Interiors: The F-Market Line" provide a thoughtful, beautiful document of the international fleet of historic vintage streetcars. Visit www.timbaskerville.com for more details.

The roster for our annual "Studio Nocturne" as been finalized, as it returns for the Fourth year to Fort Mason Center as part of San Francisco Open Studios on October 21 and 22. Thirteen intrepid Night Photographers will again participate in this year's event. Landmark Building 'A' Fort Mason, October 21-22, from 11am to 6pm. Artists in this year's "Studio Nocturne" include:
Tim Baskerville
Todd Friedlander
Robert Garrett
Randy Gunning
Mark Jaremko
Ethel Jimenez
Richard Kettles
Joe Reifer
Deborah Rourke
Greta and Manu Schnetzler
Lena Tsakmaki
John Vias
Roxanne Worthington

We will also be screening updated new footage of Andy Frazer's documentary film about Night Photography, including a conversation between Tim Baskerville and Steve Harper. Screenings will be on-the-hour, during Open Studio hours on the 21st and 22nd!

BTW, we are looking for "a few good docents" for this special event - if you are a night photographer, or just have an interest in this exciting genre of photography and want to learn more about it, why not volunteer to act as a docent for a few hours on either day? - Contact us directly at studio@thenocturnes.com. While it would be great if you are well-versed in the 'nocturne,' a general interest in art or photography is all that is required. In addition to greeting and directing visitors to the respective artists in the show, we will be conducting a brief survey of patron's impressions of our not so-little presentation this year.

BOOKS AND ARTICLES NOTED
So, the word is out (continued) . . . American Photo Magazine has some kind words to say about The Nocturnes as part of their Special Internet Issue (May/June 2006). In the "Best of the Web - Online Resources" section (p73) they say:
"TheNocturnes.com - For every niche interest , there is likely a great Web page. Dedicated to Night photography, this is both a resource and a community, with galleries full of stunning work and resources section with an index of guides, tips, and information about equipment. The site also offers three-day workshop throughout the West Coast and a yearly photo contest." Accompanying the above mention, was a screen shot of one of our Gallery pages! BTW, our online photo exhibits appear roughly 2-3 times a years - and, we're aiming for quarterly presentations of "stunning work!"

CALL FOR ENTRIES
Submissions are being accepted for our latest Online Exhibition of Night Photography: "The Nocturnes 2006, a Biennial" in which we investigat the best Night Photography, both local and on the web. The exhibition will be juried by our own Lance Keimig Deadline for entries is June 15, 2006. Prospectus for the exhibit is available at http://www.thenocturnes.com/forms/entryform_2006.html - so, help us celebrate our 15th / 10th anniversaries (as mentioned above) by participating! So far, we've received entries from as far away as Italy and Canada, as well as a number of entries from the NorthWest and SouthWest U.S.! The Nocturnes - support your local global community!

ALUMNI NEWS
Important Announcement!
Along with PhotoAlliance (www.photoalliance.org), we are pleased to announce that all Alumni of The Nocturnes Workshops and courses, as well as participants in our various Online Exhibits, Bay Area Art shows, and Open Studios are eligible for a 20% discount (off the $380 tuition) on "The Landscape and Point Reyes," a workshop with Debra Bloomfield and Lukas Felzman. This overnight, 2-day photo workshop (June 10 and 11) at Pt. Reyes National Seashore offers plenty of fieldwork, feedback, presentation, and critique for all who attend. Overnight housing will be in the Historic Lifeboat Station at Drakes Bay - sounds like there might be some Night Photography happening, as well! For more information or to register: contact thom@photoalliance.org or call 415.425.5608 - and be sure to mention The Nocturnes for your discount.

Both Paula Kelly (NYC) and Mike Koerner (Tucson, AZ) did well in the "Krappy Kamera VIII" contest at the Soho Photo Gallery in NYC. One of Mike Koerner's images, a "Holgaroid," won the National Grand Prize in the competition.

Roxanne Worthington shows new photography, from the series "Passing Through," until June 4 at Art Waves Gallery, 3848 Judah Street, San Francisco. For further information call Art Waves Gallery (415) 254-4579 or visit the website www.artwavesgallerysf.com

Marc Babsin has been busy of late - in March and April, rather large color photographs from his "Urban Space" series were shown at MFLA (Martha Fry Landscape Associates) in San Francisco.

Web sites of some of the Alumni mentioned (or not) in this edition of Night News:
Roxanne Worthington - www.mesart.com/rworthington
Marc Babsin - www.marcbabsin.com
Mike Koerner - www.ExposeTheShadows.com
Joe Reifer - www.joereifer.com
Deb Rourke - www.deborahrourke.com
Ethel Jimenez - www.etheljimenez.com
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This concludes this edition of "Night News." As always, this and past issues of "Night News" are accessible at http://www.thenocturnes.com/newsletter/newsarchive.htm

And finally, when that bell tolls, remember: ". . . let's be careful out there."

Susan Nichols
nichols@thenocturnes.com
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"It's been ages since you visited any of us . . . "
The Nocturnes family of Web sites:
http://www.thenocturnes.com
http://www.timbaskerville.com
http://www.meersfamily.org

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