In the ‘Zone’

Young Chang

The upcoming juried photo exhibit at Orange Coast College is titled

“Zone I,” which is a good sign.

In photography lingo, the zone system is part of the exposure and

development process. Zone zero is a paper base of black. Zone 10 is

white. Organizers of this year’s photo show plan to sit back for the next

10 years and not worry about future show titles.

OCC students Eric Macklin, Damian Tsutsumida and Hideki Yoshii put

together the show and are that confident their first-time project will

last.

“We wanted to do this to offer something to the students that was our

own,” said Macklin, a photography major at the college. “It offers up a

chance -- an incentive -- to have these big photographers come down and

look at their work.”

Dennis Keeley, a photography instructor at UC Irvine, as well as

professional photographers Vic Huber and Larry Wiese, judged the student

entries. Fifty black and white, color and digital works were selected

from more than 250 pieces submitted by 65 students.

“They were judged primarily on just being the best all around,

technical expertise, combined with the aesthetics, the composition,”

Macklin said.

Cash awards in still undecided amounts will be given to the top five

entries. Eleven recipients of honorable mentions will receive prizes

donated by Kodak, Fuji, Ilford and local businesses. The winners have not

been notified yet.

“We wanted to give as many [prizes] as we could to kind of spread this

around a little bit more, and not to say just who’s best, to really get

going on this,” Macklin said.

The show is the first in recent years to honor the winner with cash

awards. The organizers said they collected about $1,000 from entry fees

charged to submit pieces.

The exhibit will open Monday in the college’s Photo Gallery and close

March 2.

Images include bleachers, sidewalks and silhouettes, abandoned houses,

abstract pieces, a door where the glass has been broken and babies.

“I would assume the reason they chose the [baby] images is just the

feeling that you get when you look at them,” said Tsutsumida, who has two

pieces hanging in the show. “It’s supposed to evoke some sort of calm

emotion.”

One of his photos is called “Hamilton Park.” He went out one foggy

night, found the lighting to be beautiful at the nearby park he often

visits, and photographed a tree and a sidewalk.

“The students have turned out some works that I’m impressed with,”

Macklin said. “It tells a lot about our program. It’s nice to see that

from a junior college in California. We can really turn out some

excellent work.”

Ten years from now, when the organizers of the annual show have used

up all of their zones, there are always the aperture values, he added.

FYI

WHAT: “Zone I,” a juried student photo exhibition

WHEN: From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, Monday through March 2

WHERE: Orange Coast College’s Fine Arts Building, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa

COST: Free

CALL: (714) 432-5524, Ext. 2