LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph
When: Today-Saturday at various venues in Charlottesville
INsight Conversations: Photographers Sylvia Plachy, today 7-9 p.m.; Martin Parr, tomorrow 4-6 p.m.; and Gilles Peress, Saturday 4-6 p.m., all at the Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St. Admission: $35 each.
Exhibits: Plachy's work is on display at McGuffey Art Center, 201 Second St. NW, through June 28; Parr has an exhibit at Second Street Gallery, 115 Second St. SE, through July 18; and the Peress exhibit is at Michie at Seventh Street, through June 28.
Info: For a full schedule of LOOK3 events and to buy festival passes, go to www.look3.org.
CHARLOTTESVILLE - World-renowned nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen's photograph "Guardian of Knight Inlet"-- a bear who wandered atop a prominent rock outcropping near Knight Inlet bay off the rocky coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia -- is one of his many banner-size wildlife photographs hanging from the trees along Charlottesville's Downtown Mall.
The banners have become a popular tradition of LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph, which opens today and runs through Saturday. Since its inception in 2007, the annual event, billed as "three days of peace, love and photography," has featured some of the world's most famous and accomplished photographers.
LOOK3 refers to the centerpiece of the festival. On three consecutive evenings at the Paramount Theater, an internationally acclaimed photographer is interviewed while examples of his or her work are projected onto the screen.
The photographers participating in this year's "INsight Conversations" are Sylvia Plachy, Martin Parr and Gilles Peress.
Michael "Nick" Nichols, founder and co-executive director of LOOK3, said this year's featured photographers are among the most mischievous on the scene today.
"What I mean by mischievous is, they play with you with their images," Nichols said. "When you see Sylvia, she'll probably have every kind of camera there is hanging around her neck.
"She'll have a camera with two lenses, a plastic camera, a panoramic camera. Her photography is very ephemeral and eclectic -- you never know what's coming next."
Nichols said he has no idea where the conversation will go when Parr is interviewed by a close friend. He's certain there will be plenty of laughs.
"Martin is British, and his photography evolved into poking fun at the British culture . . . ," Nichols said. "He has done photo projects on British food and British people at the beach, where there is no sunshine.
"Gilles is a war photographer and social documentary photographer. He's most agile photographing total chaos."
The popularity of the festival has led Nichols, co-director Jessica Nagle and the festival's board of advisers to take measures to ensure its long-term sustainability. One way is to take a breather every three years, the first coming in 2010.
"The festival has grown faster than we could have imagined," said Nichols, a longtime Albemarle County resident and celebrated National Geographic wildlife photographer. "It's in the hearts and minds of people around the world, and the vibe part of it is just off the chart."
David Maurer is a staff writer for The Daily Progress in Charlottesville.
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