In the days prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the Port of Long Beach and Arts Council for Long Beach would host a photography workshop, the popular Port PHOTO Program, allowing aspiring photographers the chance to gather at the port and learn some hands-on photography tips from professionals.
One facet of the program included a contest that invited the photographers to hop on a boat at sunset and take some photos of the port they could then submit to the contest. Afterward, the winning photographs would be displayed at the Port Administration Building for all to see.
With gathering restrictions due to COVID-19, the program was reinvented to a virtual domain in the online photography workshop series, PhotoWorks. The contest portion has also been reimagined as the Create Your Own Container, a do-it-yourself container project designed by local artist and designer Nick Zegel.
All participants need do is print out the design, color the black-and-white shipping container to your liking, then fold into the rectangular shape. There’s a tutorial available online, here.
The first 100 participants who take a photo of their crafted paper shipping container and post on Instagram using the hashtags #artslb and #portoflongbeach will be entered into a drawing where one winner will receive $100 from Tuttle Cameras.
Those interested in watching the free online photography PhotoWorks series can access the lessons through the PhotoWorks Program Facebook Group.
The series includes keynote presentations by professional photographers Tim Rue, Bernadette McKeever, Mike Boidy, Scott Varley, and Chris Conkle. Instructors and professors Joanne Kim, Matt Fukushima, Brice Bischoff, and Ann Le cover the principles of photography such as composition, camera equipment, lighting and editing software.
Click here for more information regarding the contest and workshop series.