Our gallery at 36, Rue de la Roquette, Arles, France (scan of a photograph recorded with instant film Fuji FP100-C). © 2018 Luigi Cassinelli. All rights reserved.

We welcome photographers to join our endeavor. We welcome integrity, passion, and experience from amateurs and from professionals. We seek help from collectors, art galleries, museum curators, editors, and publishers who value our code of honor.

If you agree and are compelled by our mission and would like to contribute to the publication of ThePhotographers.org, please review the following points. If you have any questions, please contact us by email at daniel@thephotographers.org (English) or franco@thephotographers.org (French, Italian).

Thank you for your interest. Luigi Cassinelli, Founder.

1. Read Our Code of Honor

If you agree and decide to abide by the Materia et Lumen Criterion, proceed to the next step.

2. Scan One of Your Photographs

Whether you record your original photograph as a negative, instant film ("polaroid"), or chrome, email us (daniel@thephotographers.org (English) or franco@thephotographers.org (French, Italian)) a scan with a height of 2160 pixels. The following examples should help clarify and remind you that we need the whole area, including the rebate (the area, not exposed to light, with the frame number and the type of film).

3. Tell Us About Your Photography

4. Send Us the Print of Your Photograph (Optional)

If you wish, you may also send us one print of your photograph. The print can be photographic (gelatin silver, cibachrome) or ink-jet, as you prefer, BUT what is important to us is that the print MUST be fair to the original photograph (zero retouching), as expressed in our Code of Honor. Ship your print, AFTER June 25th 2018, to 36, Rue de la Roquette, 13200 Arles, France.

5. Donate

Our Code of Honor, the Materia et Lumen Criterion, can and will speak for itself. With that in mind, for our message to be heard each photographer will be asked to contribute towards the expenses of the movement (website, gallery rental and promotional expenses) with $100.00. College contributors will be allowed to enter with a $50.00 contribution. We ask college contributors to email us a copy of their student I.D. to the application for publication. Further and future funding will be re-evaluated during our first convention.

Application for publication on ThePhotographers.org

If you prefer to donate with a check (only US accounts), print the following request of publication, issue a check payable to "MATERIA ET LUMEN" for "ThePhotographers.org 2018" in the amount of USD 100.00, and mail them to: Materia et Lumen, P.O. BOX 111231, Naples, FL 34108, United States.

Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Website:

I, the undersigned __________________________________________________, would like to be a contributor of ThePhotographers.org and I pledge to the Materia et Lumen Criterion. I understand I will be asked to show my original photographs at any time. I request / I do not request ThePhotographers.org to link to my website. I understand that the founder of ThePhotographers.org will dismiss my name from the list of contributors should I infringe the Materia et Lumen Criterion.

Date and Signature:

1. We Create Your Webpage

On your webpage (example: www.thephotographers.org/yourname.html) we will publish the scan you send us (if it's a negative, we will make it so that viewers will see the negative and the image in positive) and we will upload all the info you send us.

2. We Include Your Scan in our Documentary

The documentary will show all the scans of our contributors. We will showcase the documentary on our UHD TV in the Arles Gallery all summer (negatives will also dissolve into positive).

3. We Exhibit Your Print at the Gallery in Arles

Prints of all contributors will be exhibited on "first come, first serve basis" and will rotate. If any visitor wants to buy your print, we will put the visitor in contact with you; we do not sell prints.

4. We Publish Your Photograph in Our Yearly Magazine

5. We Grant You a 50% Discount on Certificates Issued by Materia et Lumen

Our Core and Scope

ThePhotographers.org is a manifesto of work ethic based on one specific technological, ontological, and semantic analysis. The use of photographic film is not a sufficient condition to become a contributor. In our view, recorded film is not simply one step of a process; recorded film is our ultimate purpose, and its fair reproduction, on any media, is the core of our pledge. We do not pursue a moral endeavor nor a moral judgement on others. What we want is for spectators to know that our work abides by our code of honor.

2018 Convention in Arles, France

We are in a preliminary phase and this website should be considered as a preliminary draft for our manifesto. In July 2018, we will meet and discuss all topics during our first convention in Arles, in our gallery located at 36, Rue de la Roquette. Before then, we hope to accumulate contributors willing to be displayed at the event. Open slots will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.

Freedom of Choice, of Expression, and Responsibilities We Bear

By all means, we don't deprecate the use of other technologies. ThePhotographers.org doesn't inhibit any one of its contributors and supporters from creating work rooted in different techniques, provided such work won't be labeled a "photograph." We believe freedom occurs only when we can differentiate voices, not when the trendy silences the rest. We praise differentiation, not trivial confrontations and discrimination. Along with our freedom to choose our own technique, we also bear responsibilities. On this account, we encourage all artists to disclose information on their techniques; spectators should know whether they are observing a sculpture or a 3D print, an original oil on canvas or an image configured by a computer operated device. If any work is produced with a mix of techniques, that should be noted too.

This is not an Agency Representing Photographers

It is out of our scope to sell our members' work. Being a member of The Photographers.org is strictly a commitment to a specific code of work ethics. Members are entitled to have a link to their own website or their representatives', provided that the websites show sections with digital scans of original photographs in compliance with the Materia et Lumen Criterion.

Artistic Merits

It is out of our scope to acknowledge artistic merits, favor particular trends, and set yearly contests. Our focus is on the authenticity of our work, not on our skills and creativity. With that said, in our pursuit for authenticity we will not risk becoming an offensive collection. We view vulgarity as a distraction and we will play no part in it.

Advertising

ThePhotographers.org does not publish any advertising banner. Any donation, from privates and from companies, will be evaluated before being accepted. Any advertising that is allowed to participate in our yearly magazine will follow the same criteria given to our contributors.

Contributors

Each photographer that wishes to embody ThePhotographers.org Code of Honor within their work will be eligible for publication on the website and on the yearly printed issue.

Supporters

Not all who admire the movement are expected to present a form of photography. It is understood and appreciated that our Code of Honor will reach beyond those behind the lens. For supporters willing to donate towards the movement, we would like to extend our gratitude in the form of acknowledgement and recognition in our commonwealth.