We are excited to announce that our September 2021 online group exhibition, “Toy Stories,” is being curated by fine art photographer, independent curator, and founder of PhotoNOLA, Jennifer Shaw! To enter, all you need to do is read and respond to the following prompt with your analog photography. The best of these images will be showcased in an online show, beginning September 16th, 2021. Good luck!

Jennifer Shaw writes:

The optics are cheap, the settings are simple, but the images created using toy cameras can be beautifully nuanced and sophisticated. Known for their blur, light leaks, and vignetting, these light and easy tools can surprise and delight. Because they free us from technological concerns, plastic cameras help us work from a place of instinct and intuition. 

This call is open to all images created with a Holga, Diana, Lomo, etc; in short, any camera with a plastic lens. In celebration of the plastic fantastic, please show us your complex images from simple cameras, your happy accidents with gorgeous results, your double exposures by accident or design. How do you utilize toy cameras to communicate your vision? We are particularly interested in seeing images that push beyond the technical quirks, or incorporate them in the service of storytelling.

Deadline for Submissions is August 31st, 2021

About the Curator

Jennifer Shaw is a photographer whose work embraces both a world observed and a world constructed. Known for her use of toy cameras and a playful approach to serious subjects, she has recently been experimenting with photogravure. Shaw graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in photography, then moved to New Orleans in pursuit of the artist’s life. She founded PhotoNOLA, the city’s annual festival of photography, and served as its creative director from 2006 – 2019. 

Jennifer has juried contests and exhibitions for One-One Thousand, Three Rivers Arts Festival,  POPCAP ‘14, Sony World Photography Awards, and British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Humanity. Her curatorial experience includes I’ll Be Your Mirror at HomeSpace Gallery in New Orleans, Gathering and summertime at A. Smith Gallery in Johnson City, TX, the Somerville Toy Camera Festival in Somerville, MA, and Life of Water at the Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO.

Her own photographs have been published in two artist monographs: Hurricane Story (Chin Music Press, 2011) and Nature/Nurture (North Light Press, 2012). In 2020, Shaw was one of three finalists for the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art. She is represented by the Cole Pratt Gallery in New Orleans. 

Connect with Jennifer Shaw on her website and Instagram.

Submission Guidelines: 

Image Specifications:
1) Only .jpg files will be accepted.
2) Images must be 1500px on the shortest side at 72dpi.
3) No photo-shopped borders or watermarks. 
4) Only one image may be submitted.
5) Image must be named in the following format: “FirstNameLastName1.jpg”, etc.

Email Specifications:
1) The subject line of your email should state: "Submission: Toy Stories”
2) Please ATTACH your images to the email. Do not embed them. Do not attach a google drive or dropbox link. 
3) Please do not send PDF or Text Files. Please put all information into the body of the email.

Specific information needed for each Submission:
1) Your name as you would like it to appear.
2) The Camera and Process used to create your images.
3) Title of your photograph. Write out each title exactly as you would like it to appear.
4) Email Address in the text of the email.
5) The Website Address you would like your images linked to.

Send your submission to submissions@analogforevermagazine.com by August 31st, 2021.

Note: Due to the large number of submissions we receive you may not receive a response. Though we try our best to respond to everyone, we do not guarantee a response. Thank you for understanding.

Copyright Information:

By submitting photos for publication in Analog Forever Magazine you are stipulating to us that you own copyright to these photographs or have permission from the copyright holder to submit these photographs. You are granting Analog Forever Magazine a non-exclusive license to use the photograph in its submitted form, subject to re-sizing to fit the magazine format, for publication on the Analog Forever Magazine website for as long as the website exists. You also grant Analog Forever Magazine permission to use these photographs on social media accounts connected to Analog Forever Magazine including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Should you, for any reason, wish your photographs to be removed from the website, we will make every effort to do so. However, please note also that third parties such as educational institutions, search engines or individuals may download, save, store or archive this (or any other) website with or without our knowledge. Analog Forever Magazine will have no control over such downloading and subsequent use and therefore cannot accept responsibility for any such use.