Communication Arts Photo Annual
A number of things get me excited about the month of August, but there's only one which I look forward to with great anticipation — The Communication Arts Photography Annual. While living in California and doing freelance gigs for the Orange County Register in the early '90s, I became friendly with a number on staff. Staff photographer Nadia Borowski introduced me to the yearly photography issue of Communication Arts after I saw her carrying in a large number of publications and asked what she intended to do with all the paper. She said the Communicaion Arts Photography Annual was a great place to see great and different work outside the realm of the newspaper. Truer words could not be spoken now or then.
Divided into eight categories — advertising, books, editorial (this is where newspaper and magazine work fits), for sale, institutional, cinematography, self promotion and unpublished — the creativity and power just flows from the pages. To put things a bit timidly... It rocks.
National Geographic photography dominates the editorial section (Another reminder to get a subscription to the magazine if you do not already have one.) Of note from that esteemed publication is Gerd Ludwig's "The Long Shadow of Chernobyl" on pages 70-71 and Ed Kashi's "Curse of the Black Gold: Hope and Betrayal in the Niger Delta" on pages 88-89. Outside of National Geographic look at Rick Loomis' moving "Altered Oceans" from the Los Angeles Times (our sister paper) on pages 72-73. "Gaza Summer Rain" on pages 68-69 by Alexandra Boulet for Time is spectacular.
I suggest picking up a copy at Barnes & Noble (where i got mine) sooner than later. Or go online. You can also order back issues, of which I need to do for 2002 and 2005 — I missed it a couple times.
