March 28, 2024

By JASON MOTAjmflash

For the second year in a row, FLASH: Contemporary Photography Here, an event celebrating the art of photography and showcasing photos from local amateurs to professionals, went off without a hitch at downtown Kitchener’s Tannery Event Centre.

The event was $20 at the door, and was sold out. CBC’s Craig Norris was the MC, and attendees were photography enthusiasts young and old alike.

The event has five major organizers, including Anthony Reinhart, the director of editorial strategy at Communitech, who was in charge of public relations for FLASH. The event was conceived at an art expo a couple of years ago, when Reinhart was approached by someone from Christie Digital, a company specializing in digital projections, about putting on a photography exhibition. Christie Digital was responsible for the digital displays of the photos during the event.

Reinhart found his love for photography in Conestoga College’s journalism print program, from which he graduated in the 1980s.

“You can manipulate a story – lengthen it, shorten it, change the wording, write it a thousand different ways – but a photo is a photo,” said Reinhart. “You take the photo, that’s it.”

The event also featured renowned polar photographer Camille Seaman, whose work has been in National Geographic, among countless other publications. She spent roughly an hour talking about her life and her journey toward where she was today, and then showed a montage of her work, many of which drew gasps of amazement from the audience.

Seaman learned a lot about photography directly from Steve McCurry, the photographer of the famous photo, Afghan Girl. This, according to her, helped mold her into the photographer she is today.

“Photograph what you love, not what you think people are going to like,” said Seaman. “Take the time to figure out what makes the way you see the world different from the way I see the world. National Geographic doesn’t want another Camille Seaman, they want to see how you see the world.”

This event, considering its success for the past two years, will no doubt continue for years to come, spreading the joy and creative passion for the art of photography.

Just make sure you show up before it’s sold out.

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