Palm Springs Photo Festival

Take me back! 🌴 

I had such an incredible time at the Palm Springs Photo Festival this month. I highly recommend it and will be doing my best to return in 2020! If you missed it, there were some great symposiums and evening presentations which were live-streamed that you can now watch on Facebook. This year’s festival included talks and classes by heavy-hitters such as Mona Kuhn and Nadav Kander.

I reviewed more than 20 photographers in three days and the work was incredible, the bar was definitely raised this year. I was especially moved by so many women and women of color photographers who attended. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Martine Séverin - fashion and lifestyle photographer, Chicago + Los Angeles

https://martineseverin.com

Originally from Haiti, Martine has lived all over the world and has a truly infectious and joyful personality. I enjoyed bumping in to her many times during the week. Martine is one to watch!


Lilli Waters - Fine Art photographer, Melbourne

https://lilliwaters.com/

Painterly, moody, stunning fine art, portraits and motion. Lilli came all the way from Australia to attend the festival and I am so glad she did!


Elizabeth Rudge - Kids, Lifestyle, & Fashion photographer, feminist badass, Seattle

https://www.elizabethrudge.com

Elizabeth, will you be my sister from another mister? It’s not such a far out idea as we both hail from Louisiana. So many high-fives and F$%&YESes in this review, I didn’t want her to leave. Also, NBD, she actually won reviewer’s pick for the entire festival, congrats!!


Gritchelle Fallesgon - Lifestyle & Portrait photographer, Portland

http://gritchelle.photos

Gritchelle is an avid biker shooting gorgeous outdoor lifestyle photography and “Women Getting Rad.” Thank you for repeating that phrase ten times until I understood (and loved) it. Another one to watch!


Susan J. Chen - Conceptual Fashion, Photographer & Director - New York

https://www.susanjchen.com

Susan is a heavily awarded photographer with a stunning video reel. I have no doubt she will be an incredibly successful and well-known director in about five minutes. Speechless.


Alexis Hunley - Fashion & Music photographer, Los Angeles

https://www.alexishunley.com

If only we were all this talented two years into our self-taught careers. Alexis was IMO one of the most buzzed-about photographers of the festival. Raw talent. If I could take only one photographer home in my pocket from Palm Springs, it would be Alexis (and her pup, Luna.)


Samantha Wolov - Fashion & Beauty, San Francisco & NYC

https://www.samanthawolov.com

Samantha’s book was the perfect blend of editorial and commercial beauty. She’s incredibly thoughtful, experimental, evolving, and a multi-PDN winner who identifies as a painter with a camera. I can’t wait for her next experiment.


Mark Peterman - Portraits (& beyond), Phoenix, AZ

https://www.markpeterman.com/

No, I didn’t forget about the guys… Mark had one of the most beautifully printed books that I saw at the festival. His work is so lovely, quiet and modern, not unlike his self. I’m certain his gentle demeanor is what makes him such an incredible equine and portrait photographer.


Damien Andrews - Sports, Fitness, Portraits & Motion, Los Angeles

https://www.nobleandrews.com

On the flip side, if you’re looking for some juicy energy on set, Damien is probably your guy.


Michele Thomas - Portrait photographer, Los Angeles

https://michelethomas.com/

Michele had one of the most uniquely designed portfolios that I saw at the festival. You can get a hint of it from her website. She is a fantastic storyteller through her lens.


Lilia Cretcher - Still Life photographer, NYC

http://liliacretcher.com/

Last but certainly not least, I had such a blast meeting Lilia. We spent some of our time brainstorming fun promo ideas and she had, hands down, the most thoughtful leave-behind of the week. I’ll be sharing that in another blog.

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Whew! If you made it this far, thank you for checking out these amazing photographers. It was such an incredible honor to review with so many talented artists in Palm Springs, I was on cloud nine.  

A couple more babes I would be remiss to exclude, I had the honor of editing portfolios for Tatiana Wills and Alicia Stepp ahead of the festival and I am so proud of the feedback that they received.

For anyone reading who felt like they didn’t get enough time, or wanted to review with me but was unable to grab a slot, please don’t hesitate to reach out or jump on my calendar for a free 15 minute review.


Palm Springs crew, please keep in touch, I’m Rooting For You!


                                                                                            V.


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