This May, The Photo Arts Conservatory at New York Film Academy Los Angeles (NYFA-LA) attended the Palm Springs Photo Festival for the fourth consecutive year in a row.
Each year, the festival provides an opportunity for our students to meet with legendary photographers, share their portfolios in the celebrated portfolio review program, check out the latest photo gear, enjoy evening presentations by world famous image makers, and attend cutting-edge seminars, symposiums, and networking events. NYFA Photography students gain incredible insight into the current photo market and make new connections with industry leaders.
“The part I enjoy most about the Palm Springs Photo Festival is that it gives me the opportunities to meet with a lot of great photographers of different genres,” shares Cindy Chiang, a 1-year Photography student at NYFA. “In addition to the portfolio review, which is helpful in itself, I’m inspired by different artist talks that enable me to think further about my own project.”
This year our students met with Paris Chong, curator of the Leica Gallery Los Angeles; Emily Shornick who is the managing photo editor for InStyle.com; and Virginia Heckert, curator in the Department of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum, among others.
“Palm Springs was a very enriching experience,” says Maria Antonella Moisello (1-year Photography). I’ve not only learned a lot about my own work, but I’ve also had the opportunity to share with my colleagues and network with really cool people.”
In addition to portfolio reviews, our students attended a symposium on women photographers and were honored to attend this moving conversation. The speakers included Barbara Davidson, a three-time Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy award-winning photojournalist best known for her work on victims of gang violence in Los Angeles; artist Mona Kuhn’s whose work has been exhibited and/or included in the collections of The J. Paul Getty Museum, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Pérez Art Museum, and many more; and Melanie Pullen, a fine-art photographer whose work focuses on both social values and taboos while purposely taking aim at the media’s exploitation of sex, gender, and violence.
Other lectures were given by industry legends such as Stephen Wilkes, Jay Maisel, Nadav Kander, and Duane Michaels.
“It’s incredible to get a chance to see so many legendary image makers speaking about their unique journey,” remarks Amanda Rowan, NYFA Photography instructor. “It’s a great way for our students to gain insight and perspective on there own creative journey.”
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