Review by Hey, Hot Shot!

Hey, Hot Shot!, a Jen Bekman project, has included a review of my work in advance of selections for the 2009 Second Edition of Hey, Hot Shot!, a premier international photography competition. In describing (3) submitted images from Montpelier, the reviewer noted that “illustrations of maps drawn over photographs give geographic contextualization to his portraits of place.” The review continues “Both an illustrator and photographer, Kyle’s pen and pencil are as strongly guided by by the lines and shapes of the objects in the images as they are by his imagination an memory. His series’ work together—sometimes with contiguous illustrations meant to connect images—to tell both fantastic and narrative stories of personal adventures.”

In addition to making note of recent projects, the reviewer drew comparisons to “the optimism and simple joys conveyed” by Shaun Sundholm’s Untitled (Let’s Get Lost) as well as the integration of illustration and photography found in Jane Tam’s series to the fun house.

A panel of seasoned photography professionals—including founder Jen Bekman, photography book evangelist and publisher Darius Himes, Aperture Foundation publisher Lesley A. Martin, former Creative Director of Colors magazine and photographer Stefan Ruiz, and Chronicle Books chairman and CEO Nion McEvoy—review all the photographs that are entered. Fingers crossed!