SNAP! Orlando is a four-day photography festival celebrating photography worldwide. Founded by Patrick Kahn, SNAP! is the first large-scale photography event in Orlando. This year marks the fourth year of the festival with exhibitions, lectures, workshops and special events located throughout downtown Orlando.
(Disclosure: SNAP! Orlando is near and dear to my heart. I’ve been on their advisory board since the beginning and have witnessed the festival grow. The programming is incredible and Orlando is lucky to have it!)
This year, SNAP will feature photographs by light painter Patrick Rochon in a project done in collaboration with Red Bull Illume (Red Bull Illume is the world’s largest photography contest for action and adventure sports) and shot on location last month in Orlando. The boards of Red Bull wake riders Adam Errington, Dallas Friday and Mike Dowdy were outfitted with LED lights and photographed after-hours by Patrick Rochon at the Orlando Watersports Complex.
“This project has never done before, mixing sports, art and technology,” Rochon said. “Focusing on the art, the creativity and the beauty” directs him. This was also a unique and new experience for the athletes who brought their A game to an unseasonable cold night in Orlando, bringing life to the photographs.
Images and video from this shoot will be on exhibit during SNAP! Orlando May 2 -5. For a behind-the-scenes look at the photography shoot, check out this video directed by Geoff Levy and produced by Evan Jones.
Featured guests humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine and 9-year-old activist Vivienne Harr whose “Make a Stand” Lemonade project has raised $400,000 to end childhood slavery will also be in attendance. Vivienne Harr was inspired by the work of photographer Lisa Kristine to take a stand against childhood slavery. Lemonade stands will be set up throughout downtown Orlando to involve the entire community and celebrate the one-year anniversary of Vivienne’s project. Kristine will be lecturing Saturday, May 4, at noon at the Orlando Museum of Art.
This year SNAP! will also feature works by Vicki DaSilva, Jill Greenberg, Martin Stranka, Szymon Brodziak, Christy Lee Rogers, Kerry Skarbakka, among others.
The main exhibition will be featured in a 13,000-square-foot warehouse located on 1427 Alden Road in the Ivanhoe Row District in downtown Orlando. Addition work will be on exhibit in the City Arts Factory and Orlando Museum of Art.
Guest speakers will take the stage on May 4 at the Orlando Museum of Art and include Jill Greenberg, Brian Clamp, Lisa Kristine, Stephen Knapp, Jeff Frost and Patrick Rochon. For a complete list of scheduled events, lectures and exhibits during the festival visit http://snaporlando.com/schedule/
SNAP! Orlando also has the style factor. The events are super polished, well executed, sociable and fun. Not only can visitors see high caliber work from the world’s best photographers, but experience a Fashion Night Out on May 4 with an interactive fashion shootout with live models, exhibits, light painting photo booth DJs and VIP lounge located at the SNAP! Warehouse.
SNAP! Orlando is unique and unlike any other photography event in the United States. SNAP! has become the cultural event of the year in Orlando with more than 6,500 visitors in attendance last year. Patrick Kahn, founder and producer of SNAP!, has responded to the entertainment industry of Orlando and the beauty of the natural landscape, which is home to festival. At the same time, he has cultivated an appreciation of international photography, with solid programming and high caliber exhibitions.
E. Brady Robinson received her B.F.A. in photography from The Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland and MFA in photography from Cranbrook Art Academy, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Robinson is associate professor in the School of Visual Arts & Design at the University of Central Florida. She maintains a studio in Washington, D.C., and Orlando, Fla.
