2017

Photos by Kat Carey.

Keynote Speaker:

John keatley

In an era when every passing pedestrian and her stunt double behind the wheel are taking "selfies" by the millions, all the more value is lent to a genuine lensman such as John Keatley, who, with the calculated snap of a real camera, can create a narrative instead of a nod, produce a revealing portrait rather than a doodle. 

Raised in California, Keatley, 37, was a junior at Seattle Pacific University contemplating a career as a musician or computer programer when one afternoon in a drugstore the manager of the photo lab told him he had a "special eye" for visual imagery.  Something clicked (in more ways than one), he shifted his focus to photography and never looked back. 

Keatley's photos have appeared in many publications, including Rolling Stone, Wired, and the New York Times Magazine; and he's portrayed notables ranging from Macklemore to Sarah Palin, even turning the tables on photo empress Annie Leibovitz, his portrait of her winning a PDN award.  His many other prizes include an American Advertising "Gold Addy," four Applied Arts and six One Eyeland awards, and his images have been honored by American Photography on three occasions.  No stranger to conceptual advertising, he's also conducted successful shoots for clients such as Samsung, Microsoft, and Starbucks.

Based in artistically fertile Seattle since 1999, married and with two young children, Keatley's curiosity and interests are far-ranging, stoking his desire to effectively narrow the gap between journalistic and "fine art" photography  --- a galaxy far, far away from Planet Selfie.

Bio written by Author Tom Robbins.

John and his wife Nichelle Keatley, also host photographers for two and three day workshop in Seattle called Survival Guide. 

Get Paid to Shoot What You Love: Artist Talk with Brinson + Banks

David Walter Banks and Kendrick Brinson, are a lifestyle and portraiture photography team based in Los Angeles. They collaborate with each other as Brinson + Banks, their team, and their clients to create portraiture and lifestyle imagery that tells a story or creates a mood.

The two met in a photojournalism class at The University of Georgia and fell in love with photography and storytelling at the same time in the same place. But they didn't fall in love with each other until two years later. Before they joined forces to create something more elevated and colorful as a photography team, they worked individually for the likes of TIME Magazine, The New York Times, Sports Illustrated and FADER individually for several years. The duo now collaborate for clients like CitiBank, Spike TV, Red Bull and Samsung, as well as create celebrity portraiture for the likes of Smithsonian, TIME, The Washington Post, Variety and The New York Times.

In their talk - Get Paid to Shoot What You Love, they discussed the importance of style and personal work and shooting for yourself, and how that can translate to more satisfaction in your work.

The Candid Frame

LIVE PODCAST MODERATED BY IBARIONEX PERELLO 

The Candid Frame provides frank, insightful interviews with some of the industry's top established and emerging photographers. The show has featured guests including Jay Maisel, Joel Meyerowitz, Pete Turner, Lynn Goldsmith and Gerd Ludwig and enjoys a following among photo enthusiasts from all over the world. Ibarionex Perello will speak with Texas photographers Reg Campbell and Verónica G. Cárdenas at Four X Five Photo Fest 2017.

Ibarionex Perello is a photographer, writer and educator. He is also the host and producer of The Candid Frame photography podcast, which features conversations with some of the world’s best established and emerging photographers from all over the world. He is the author of numerous magazines articles and books including the best-selling Chasing the Light: Improving Photography with Available Light. He lives near Los Angeles with his wife and their dog, Zooey.

Artist Talk with Verónica G. Cárdenas

Verónica G. Cárdenas is an emerging documentary photographer based in the South Texas border. Her work has been shown at the United Nations Headquarters, Long Island City Arts, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley-UTRGV, Festival of International Books and Arts, South Texas College, and Festival Internacional de Poesía Latinoamericana amongst others.

Publications where her work has been featured include Spinter News, Texas Observer, Feature Shoot, El Mundo, Black & White Magazine, Juxtapoz, Society Magazine and Pulse Magazine.

Artist Talk with Reg Campbell

Reg Campbell is a San Antonio based portrait and lifestyle photographer. A comedian at heart, he has a penchant for documenting people in their environment, and showcasing their individual personalities.

His clients include San Antonio Sea World, Mossimo (Target, Latina Magazine, MTVTres, Wired, Harvard Business Review Magazine, San Antonio Magazine, Cure Magazine, AARP Magazine,  Houstonia Magazine, Real Physical Therapy, La Cantera Resort, "You are going to love Me" children's book, San Antonio Pain Centers, Cafe Express, Fresh Urban Florals, 2 Tart Bakery, and MD News.

4x5 Photo Fest Emcee

SUHAIL ARASTU

Suhail Arastu was raised in San Antonio and studied Neurobiology & Classics at The University of California, Berkeley where he competed as an NCAA gymnast. In Philadelphia he continued research and began graduate studies before moving to a small Japanese mountain village for a year of contemplation, deep sea fishing, hiking, skiing and teaching. He then travelled the world by ship under the auspices of the United Nations Economic & Social Council before returning home in 2008. Suhail now serves as a Trustee of The Mind Science Foundation and works as the Development Director for Musical Bridges Around the World. He is the Arts & Culture Chair for Anuja San Antonio, the organization which manages our Sister City Relations with Chennai, India. Suhail is the Mayor's appointee to the Public Art Commission and enjoys serving on the Board of Directors of Gemini Ink, Constitution Cafe & The Lone Star Art Alliance. He presented a collection of his photographs from seven continents at PechaKucha Volume 5.