Being Selected - A Positive and A Negative

Just received notification a few days ago that two of my images were selected for the upcoming NCPBE (North Carolina Photographers Biennial Exhibition)...needless to say I'm thrilled. The Exhibition opening and reception will be on September 13 from 2-4 p.m. at Meredith College in The Weems Gallery. Eighty eight pieces were selected by the juror Deborah Willis. Ms. Willis is currently professor of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She was a 2005 Guggenheim Fellow and Fletcher Fellow, and a 2000 MacArthur Fellow, as well as she curated the landmark Smithsonian exhibition, Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present. She has pursued a dual professional career as an art photographer and as one of the nation's leading historians of African American photography and curator of African American culture. On October 1, Ms. Willis will return to Meredith to present the Juror's Lecture at 8 p.m.


Being "selected" now has a new meaning for me. Last year I was honored to have fifteen of my images purchased for display in the main lobby and lower gallery of a medical office building. I got word last week five of the images were "selected", well, not exactly selected they were actually stolen. As a photographer, we always want others to appreciate our work; however, to actually have images physically stolen has really been unsettling. When we post images online, we always run the risk some one might "steal" those images, so we take precautions by uploading images at 72 dpi. To have someone just walk into a building, remove images off the wall, then walk out without any regard or respect for the property of others has really bothered me and left me wondering "Why?". It certainly isn't because I'm a well-known photographer by any means so I certainly don't think someone could resell the photographs and make lots of money...hummmm, maybe I should check out Ebay and Craigslist. The good news, the owners want the work replaced.

Just curious, is there always a positive and a negative to everything?