Monthly Meeting – December 2018

Print Theme: Open

Please submit up to two images max for the Print competition by recording image names into a competition log to be provided by IPS at the meeting, in accordance with IPS Competition Rules (including print size and matting guidelines).

Submission deadline: Day of the competition, by 6:15pm (before the speaker’s presentation).

All Print images need to be clearly labeled with the photographer’s name, image name, and competition class (A or B).

Images that do not adhere to the competition rules, are submitted late, and/or are not matted and labeled properly will be automatically disqualified.

Guest Speaker/Judge: Jason Hamacher

Jason Hamacher is the founder and director of Lost Origins Productions and the Lost Origins Gallery. He contributes to the international conversation on Syria with frequent appearances on National Public Radio, BBC World Service, Al Jazeera, Voice of America, Huffington Post, Washington Post and the United Nations.

From 2005-2010, Hamacher was granted unprecedented access to the city of Aleppo, Syria. He went to document ancient religious traditions and, inadvertently, captured the apex of Syria’s modernization before the eruption of civil war. Hamacher’s efforts contribute to the international conversation on Syria with frequent speaking engagements and television, radio, and print appearances. He has recently spoken at United Nations Geneva, Great St. Mary’s Church Cambridge (UK),  Armenian Museum and Library of the United States and Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection; and appeared on NPR, BBC World Service, Al Jazeera, Voice of America, and CBC’s Q.

Hamacher’s combination of photography, sound, and personal experience of Syria offers an unparalleled immersion into one of the world’s oldest civilizations. His adventurist spirit, passion for people, and love of culture earned him the trust of Syrians across all socio-economic classes. This allowed him to truly capture the essence of the Syrian landscape and its people.  His archive of sound and image was added into the permanent collection at the Library of Congress in early 2018.

Hamacher will speak about his latest exhibition, 1,001 Syrian Nights, and his hopes to confront viewers with simultaneous visions of grandeur and resilience, not just the destruction so commonly associated with Syria.