There is less than one week left to submit your photos for the 2016 Miami Street Photography Festival if you’re interested in competing. Last year, I met quite a few readers attending and competing, so get your entries in if you’re interested in participating and potentially winning a Leica Q.
For those that are unaware, the Miami Street Photography Festival is an international festival sponsored in part by Leica and held in December alongside Art Basel in Miami, and it’s a great event for meeting people that enjoy the hobby or profession of photography. Last December, I was invited to attend the festivities on short notice, but Leica events are not to be missed, so I did my best to attend a substantial portion of the festival.
Leica started the festival with the opening of the Lenny Kravitz Flash exhibit, which was enjoyable. Leica provided a lot of support, and it was great to see their employees ensure everyone had a good time. I met a lot of interesting Leica enthusiasts on the opening night that were very engaging, and a few celebrities showed up, but that’s not really my thing.
The next event I attended was the opening of the Miami Street Photography Festival at the History Miami Museum. There was a ton of local and international artists in attendance for the event, and the conversations were very stimulating. I met nature photographers, wedding photographers, fashion photographers, etc… They also had a wonderful lecture that night by Harvey Stein. He recalled and shared so many details about his work, which I found highly educational and entertaining.
The following day, Leica Store Miami had an event that I attended with a lecture by Constantine Manos. That was equally as good, but more personal because it was given in their gallery. I also learned a lot about how photos are hung from the person that hung the show. I greatly enjoy learning everything I can about all aspects of photography, and you never know that you will meet at a Leica event, so it is best to be sociable and open to where the conversation takes you.
The final night of the festival, they had yet another educational lecture at the History Miami Museum by David Alan Harvey and awards for people that submitted photos, followed by live music. The atmosphere was great and the festival seemed to have grown from people that heard about it at Art Basel. I heard from everyone about how good the photo walk and photo review sessions were, but I was unable to attend them this last year because of other obligations. The daytime activities were well planned and thought out from the feedback I received from people that attended them, and I hope to attend them this year if my schedule permits.
I’m a big fan of attending a good lecture, and last year was full of them as I am sure this year will be too. I’m genuinely looking forward to the festivities, and I can’t wait to see all the submissions. If you will be in attendance, feel free to get in touch with me through one of the addict sites (Fujiaddict, Sonyaddict, 43addict) or via twitter. You can find my 2015 Miami Street Photography Festival 500px Gallery here.