News coverage: "Focus" (Filmag, Philippines, January 26, 1998): "A truly unique, new and exciting international photography show was recently launched on the Internet's worldwide web. It is the first ever "Hyperlinked PhotoForum Worldwide Exhibition." This ongoing exhibit which will run for three months is open and free for viewing at PhotoForum's website.

Featuring the photographic images created by 23 photographers from all over the world, the exhibition, organized by Tom R. Chambers (one of the PhotoForum members), is under the auspices of Professor Andrew Davidhazy of the PhotoForum mailing list from the Imaging and Photographic Technology Department, School of Photographic Arts and Sciences of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester, New York, U.S.A.

Unlike all current photographic exhibition websites that are typically housed on a single server or location, this ongoing show sequentially links the mostly never-before-seen individual photo images chosen by the different participating photographers from different countries on their own servers.

"This may be the first time," says exhibit organizer, Tom R. Chambers, "that individuals have come together through this kind of hyperlinkage process on the Web to share and project a common interest ... in this case, the medium of photography. This holistic approach tests the true potential of cyberspace to be able to merge 'space' from different points on the globe."

The participating photographers who have yet to meet each other face-to-face are all members of and continually communicate through the PhotoForum mailing list. Through the Net, they have created, featured and linked individual exhibit pages of their chosen images for this hyperlinked photography exhibition.

The exhibit showcases the outstanding images of world-class photographers who are from or currently based in different countries such as: Carl Volk (Boulder City, Nevada, U.S.A.), Roberta McGowan (Cherry Hill, New Jersey, U.S.A.), Peter Marshall (London, England), Albert Tirado (Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico), Steve Hodges (Perth, Australia), Palma Allen (Clarksburg, Maryland, U.S.A.), Mario Filipe Alves Oliveira Pires (Lisbon, Portugal), Jim Coe (Mill Valley, California, U.S.A.), Bruce Lane (Holyrood, Newfoundland, Canada), Terry Allan Smith (Austin, Texas, U.S.A.), Rob Miracle (Key West, Florida, U.S.A.), Jan Faul (Kensington, Maryland, U.S.A.),Alan Zinn (East Lansing, Flint, Michigan, U.S.A.), Ron Lowry (Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa), Lisa Noll (Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.), Kirk Kief (Palatka, Florida, U.S.A.), Dan Cardish (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Christopher Strevens (South London, England), Paul Silver (Narragansett, Rhode Island, U.S.A.), Buddy du Preez (Alberta, Canada), Tom R. Chambers (Seoul, South Korea), Andrew Davidhazy (Rochester, New York, U.S.A.) and Dominique James (Pasay, Philippines).

In this first hyperlinked photo exhibition, the photographers chose not to present pictures based on a singular, definitive theme. Instead, the breadth and depth of the images and techniques used, and the manner in which the individual photo exhibit pages were presented by each photographer, serves only and all the more to highlight one overriding theme ... unity in diversity.

The images on exhibit, created by both professional and amateur photographers, cover the grounds of fine art images, technical photos and snapshots ... in color, black-and-white, toned and painted.

The subjects captured on camera include: candid and formal photographs of celebrities like Marlene Dietrich, as well as private individuals, sweeping landscapes, haunting seascapes and erotic bodyscapes, spectacular sunsets and dreamy cloud formations, colorful still lifes and delectable food shots, solitary figures and crowds, children who are simply either at innocent play or kids who unwittingly make political, social and psychological commentary, among others.

In these photographs, various creative and technical methods were employed ... straight shots, digital imaging and manipulation, creative filters, processing and printing, camera formats and image sizes.

While the show is ongoing, the organizer and members of this exhibition are already at work on a second exhibition featuring photographs on a particular theme and to be participated by more photographers and PhotoForum members. (Dominique James)