Randolph Community College Hosts Annual Meeting of N.C. Press Photographers Assn. Feb. 5-7

Randolph Community College's Photographic Technology department will host the annual meeting of the North Carolina Press Photographers Association Feb. 5-7 in the Photography Imaging Center on the Asheboro Campus. The Saturday and Sunday sessions are open to the public.

The annual meeting includes the Pictures of the Year contest, and the NCPPA will be judging Photographer of the Year categories all day Saturday starting at 9 a.m., according to William Thompson, RCC Photographic Technology instructor.

Documentary photographer Sam Abell is the keynote speaker on Sunday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m. Abell’s 30-year career has included lengthy, in-depth coverages for National Geographic magazine and its Book Division. At the same time, he has maintained a career as an artist, teacher, and author.

In addition, he has maintained a personal black-and-white photographic diary that documents the life behind the artistic process. In 1990, Abell's work was the subject of a one-man exhibition at the International Center of Photography in New York City. A companion book, "Stay This Moment," was published at that time.

Abell is a member of the board of directors of the Santa Fe Center For Photography, the George Eastman House, and the University of Virginia Art Museum. In 2002, he collaborated with Leah Bendavid-Val on a retrospective of his life and work titled "Sam Abell: The Photographic Life," published by Rizzoli. He is also the author of the book "Seeing Gardens," published in 2001.

For more information on the NCPPA, go to www.ncppaonline.org.