Over 200 photography professionals from across the southeast will converge at Randolph Community College this weekend when RCC's Department of Photographic Technology hosts the 2008 Society for Photographic Education Southeast Regional Conference. The conference will be held Nov. 7-9 in the Photography Imaging Center at the Asheboro Campus. Greg Stewart, chair of RCC's Photographic Technology, Art and Design Department, is serving as the conference chair.
Tom Rankin, director of The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, will present the keynote address on Friday evening on the topic "Photo Story: Time, Place, Transition." Dr. Richard Zakia, author and professor emeritus of Rochester Institute of Technology, will present the Honored Educator address on "Perception and Imaging" on Saturday afternoon. Other invited presenters on Saturday include Pam Crist, photographer and owner of Dalmation Black and White Custom Lab, on the transition from traditional to digital in fine art black-and-white photography; Johnny Horne, astronomer/photojournalist with The Fayetteville (NC) Observer, on astronomical imaging; and Joyce Tenneson, photographer and author, on her retrospective book celebrating four decades of photographic work.
In addition, several concurrent sessions are scheduled for Friday and Saturday to cover topics such as digital technology, fine art botanical photography, color management and new trends in photographic education, night and low-light photography, and interiors and landscapes.
The Society for Photographic Education is a nonprofit, membership organization that provides a forum for the discussion of photography and related media as a means of creative expression and cultural insight. In addition to teachers at nearly every academic level, the current membership includes critics, curators, gallery directors, exhibiting photographers, photojournalists and collectors.
"Transition" is the theme for the conference, which is expected to be attended by photography educators and students from Appalachian State University, Cape Fear Community College, Carteret Community College, Clemson University, College of Charleston, East Carolina University, Florida State University, Greenville Technical College, High Point University, Lander University, Lenoir Community College, Liberty University, Meredith College, Mississippi State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, The University of Tennessee, University of Georgia, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Asheville and Chapel Hill, Virginia Intermont College, Wake Forest University, and Washington & Lee University.
Randolph Community College's Photographic Technology, Art and Design department brings the College's renowned Advertising & Graphic Design, Interior Design, and Photographic Technology programs under one academic umbrella. In addition to their specialized training, students in each of the programs are introduced to concepts from the other disciplines. Photographic Technology students have a choice of four concentrations: Biocommunications Photography, Commercial Photography, Photojournalism, and Portrait Studio Management.
