All Photos © Rick Gayle
In 2024, the Arizona Photography Alliance (AZPA) launched the Juried Theme Gallery, an online platform designed to engage our members and showcase their exceptional work. Juried by local professional photographers and curators, these themed works are selected to be included on social media platforms like Instagram. The top winner and two honorable mentions are selected by a juror to receive special recognition and promotion through our blog and social media. In addition, all participants have one selected image featured on our Arizona Photography Alliance website.
Our mission is to support and elevate our members’ work, help them gain visibility in both the Arizona community and the broader photography industry.
For the first time, our online juried theme exhibitions have been given gallery space through Phoenix College, enabling our members to exhibit their work to the community. This exhibition brings together works from three of our juried themes:
Show Us Your Muse
Still Life
Shadow and Light
Through our community outreach, we connected with Jennifer Lafoon, the Academic Director of the Photography Program at Phoenix College. Jennifer introduced us to Tiffany Bailey, head of the Ceramics Department and Gallery Director at the Eric Fischl Gallery on the Phoenix College campus. Thanks to their generosity, we have been given space in the gallery to display a selection of members’ works from these themed calls for entry.
The opening event, held on October 14, 2024 was a resounding success, featuring live jazz music, delicious food and a lively crowd. The exhibition is open for free and will be on display until October 31, 2024.
I would like to thank board members Nancy Miiller, Susan Ruscetti, Fred Ullrich, and Richard Laugharn for their help in organizing and mounting this exhibition.
Rick Gayle
Contributing Writer
Rick Gayle is a graduate of The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. He’s been a commercial photographer with a full-service studio in downtown Phoenix for 40 years working with local and national ad agencies and corporations. His involvement in photography started when he was 12.
“My parents took me to The Family of Man exhibition, and I realized the power a single image can have. I began exploring the medium and fell in love with light and storytelling. From that point on I began my immersion into discovery. Many years later I knew I wanted to make a living in photography. Commercial photography was the best way for me to be able to be creative and have an income. All along I’ve consistently shot personal work. Now I’m on a new journey of discovering why I picked up a camera in the first place…to connect to the world in my own autobiographical way.”
Contact Rick