Over 8,100 pictures were entered by over 1,200 photographers, magazines, agencies, publishers and schools, only 324 images will  appear in the book. AP28 will be distributed worldwide in hardcover after the annual book launch event in New York City that celebrates the winners November 8, 2012. A full gallery of the winning images will also appear in The Archive, a searchable web gallery at ai-ap.com. It’s very nice to be included in this amazing group of photographers.

]]> http://markpeterman.com/blog/2012/05/08/ups-shipping-survival-guide/feed/ 0 http://markpeterman.com/blog/2012/04/24/family-circle-origami-owl/ http://markpeterman.com/blog/2012/04/24/family-circle-origami-owl/#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:00:25 +0000 markpeterman http://markpeterman.com/blog/?p=4884 I recently photographed a feature for Family Circle Magazine on Moms who run successful family businesses. I photographed Crissy and Isabella Weems who own Origami Owl a Chandler, Arizona based business that sells custom-made lockets.

Below is the print version of the magazine that is out this month and you can read the entire article on the Family Circle website here.

From the magazine:

Oxnard Police Chief Jeri Williams, was the first person in her family to enter law enforcement. More than two decades later, she became the first African-American woman to head a police department in the history of Ventura County, Calif.

Lenscratch is a blogzine that explores contemporary photography and offers opportunities for exposure and community. It is considered one of the 10 Photography-Related blogs you should be reading by Source Review, Wired.com, and InStyle Magazine. Founded and Edited by Aline Smithson. Aline had contacted me recently about featuring the project on the blog, It’s very exciting as I have been a follower of the blog for some time and have been exposed to many artists work though the daily Lenscratch updates. Aline’s work is amazing, check it out alinesmithson.com. I am in awe of her dedication to promote new artists work and celebrate photography as a medium. Here are a few more images from the project that I haven’t shown on the blog.

Below is the print version of the magazine and you can see the article on the Fast Company site here.

Project statement:
I am fascinated by memory. I find it to be simultaneously perfect and imperfect. You remember what you choose to remember and how you view your past is relative to what memories you keep.

This project is an exploration of my memory and how I remember my past. I have gone back to photograph the places and people who had an effect on me growing up in the midwestern United States. Having spent my formative years in Michigan, Missouri, and Kansas, I share a common bond with many other people who grew up between the coasts.

My memories of youth are mostly of an idyllic place in a midwestern setting. The landscapes that composed this land shaped my existence, whether it was the Great Lakes that touch Michigan or the endless wheat fields of Kansas.

While growing up in the Midwest, I also remember struggling with a restlessness. I had a constant desire to get out and pursue “something else.” I felt suffocated by these same midwestern landscapes and an attitude  that this was “good enough.” As I got older I realized that many of the people around me felt the same way. Over time I felt I had to leave the Midwest to outgrow those feelings, but it lingers in my mind and has left an indelible mark on my character.

Going back today, I find that many of those same people I grew up with continue to struggle with this restlessness on a daily basis. I have found that when you go back to explore your past, the perfect, idyllic memories fade into a new imperfect reality. Time overtakes memory, as the places and people have evolved with growth and change. These images are part perfect memory, imperfect reality, and portraits of an ongoing restlessness. This is my experience Interacting with My Past.

After a year and a half of shooting, I realize that the project isn’t done yet. I still have some history to explore and places to visit before it will be complete. Since introducing the project on the blog early last year Project debut, March 2011, the project won a Photo District News award for the Faces contest for environmental portraiture PDN contest August 2011.

If you would like to see a more complete edit of the project please view it in the ‘Projects’ section of my website: Interacting With My Past.

In March 2011, I posted a few photos that were the beginning of a personal project called “It’s 2:30 on A Monday”. It was about becoming a father for the first time with the addition of my daughter to our family. I have since renamed the project “Making Room for Another” this is an update to that project with photos taken over the last 12 months.

 See previous posts on the project from last year: Project Preview March 2011, Project Debut April 2011. If you would like to see a more complete edit of the project please view it in the ‘Projects’ section of my website: Making Room for Another.

The experience occured at a time when the Iranian government was at the peak of positive relations with the US. Shortly after our return the government in Iran would shift and experience a revolution ending a period of western influence that lasted for almost 25 years.

This is an introduction to the documentary I started filming last year…

You can also view the trailer on my website under Multimedia: Project Trailers