Tamika Huffins
If you’ve ever wondered what it would take to get one of your images displayed in a City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA) nominated publication, your opportunity awaits. This is just one scenario out of over 40 being offered at the upcoming Funkytown Focus festival running from May 9 through May 18. Since 2015, this image heavy gala, formerly known as Fort Worth Foto Fest, has helped countless local photogs gain experience in the very competitive field of professional photography and more.
What makes this nearly decade-old event a must for anyone who likes capturing images, is the fact that this fest’s workshops and classes themselves are conducted by local and nationally recognized photographers. Yes, this is your chance to pick their brains and check out their camera settings in challenging lighting situations.
Heading up these upcoming image soirees, is none other than Fort Worth Camera general manager MacKenzie Hughes, who’s been putting this style of fest together for nine years. He verifies that the name of this year’s fest is just one of the changes he and his team decided to make, which helped open the doors to more possibilities.
“This year we're actually including a lot of social media and online content, not just creation opportunities, but educational opportunities,” Hughes says. “One in particular I'm kind of proud of is something we called ‘Surviving the Doom Scroll.’ It is an educational event hosted by a licensed therapist who will relate how to have a healthier online and social media experience.”
Other events taking place at Funkytown Focus include a C-47 Photo Flight Experience, Lights and Levitation, and The Olympian, a real-time magazine photoshoot opportunity sponsored by us, Fort Worth Magazine, to name a few.
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Crystal Wise
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Crystal Wise
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Crystal Wise
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Crystal Wise
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Crystal Wise
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Crystal Wise
Participants in The Olympian event will get a first-hand look at the process our very own CRMA-nominated director of photography Crystal Wise goes through for a professional editorial photoshoot. What is often dubbed “editorial photography” has a lot more to do with preparation behind the camera than the photo itself. Attendees will have a chance to learn pro-tips from Wise as they take images of Fort Worth resident, Lindon Victor, who will be competing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, this summer.
Utilizing professional lighting at The Bolt Studios on May 10 from 5 to 7 p.m., participants will have a chance to have their shots featured in an upcoming Fall issue of Fort Worth Magazine.
“One of the unspoken benefits, and there's a lot of them, is that (Funkytown Focus) is a real-life social experiment, and it works,” Hughes added. “You get to meet people, you make friends. You're experiencing something that is your passion with other passionate people. You meet a lot of people doing the same thing that you're into and friendships are galvanized through this and that happens every year. People become friends and then they have friendships that last a long time, and right now we have people that are taking time off of work. They're coming from all over to participate in this. Not just because they get to play with their camera, but it's because they get to be with like-minded people.”
