Guide Rock, Nebraska

Heritage Highway 136 winds through Southern Nebraska in 238 scenic miles, which includes the town of Red Cloud, the childhood home of Pulizter-prize winning prairie-life author Willa Cather. Jeff Haller, who is also a Red Cloud native has been asked to judge the 2010 Heritage Highway Photography contest, along with photographer Jorn Olson, and artist Valerie Knobel, for the Heritage Highway 136 Byway Community.

This is the second time Haller has been asked to judge the contest, which seeks photography that expresses the cultural, archeological, historic, natural, scenic, or recreational aspects of the communities along the route, and boasts a grand prize package that includes a stay at the Yost Farm Cottage, a three room, modern cottage located on the edge of Red Cloud in the heart of Catherland.

“The towns along the highway offer a variety of visually interesting subjects, and culturally important ones as well,” Haller said.

“I grew up driving around, searching for scenes there myself. It’s really where I got my start in photography. I’m excited to see what the photographers come up with.”

Entries are due between March 15, 2010 and January 1, 2011. Send or deliver physical submissions to the Willa Cather Foundation, 413 N. Webster Street, Red Cloud, NE 68970, and email digital submissions to heritagehighway136@live.com.

Jeff and Meggan Haller will exhibit prints from their Bon Temps photo project at Cortlandt’s.

Jeff and Meggan Haller, owners of Keyhole Photo, will launch Bon Temps: The Fancy and Folly of Mobile’s Mardi Gras, a photo exhibition about Mardi Gras in Mobile, Ala., February 1, 2010, to coincide with the opening of Cortlandt’s, in Oakleigh Garden District.

The exhibition, which will include some of the photographs featured in the January 2010 issue of Mobile Bay Monthly Magazine, is the culmination of two years of work photographing the carnival season in Mobile. “Mardi Gras is an incredibly rich tradition, here, and one that we are constantly inspired by,” Jeff Haller said. “I’ve enjoyed photographing it.”

The show will open with over 25 prints that explore the pageantry and revelry of both public and private events, as well as some of the behind-the-scenes. Cortlandt’s, which will exhibit the work, is a new, upscale casual bar and restaurant on the corner of George and Savannah streets in Oakleigh, owned by Mobile native Chef Cortlandt Inge. Meggan Haller said she thought Cortlandt’s was a good fit for the show’s first exhibition because it has recently been renovated and is well-suited to larger bodies of work like Bon Temps.

Though the project is on-going, Meggan Haller said the time is right to start exhibiting the work. “I think we’ll always be working on it, but I’m hoping that the more people know about what we’re doing, the more they’ll want to help us out with ideas.” Haller said. She said that she and Jeff appreciate input and suggestions for possible photo subjects. “One of the coolest things about Mardi Gras is that there are so many ways to celebrate it,” Haller said. “Whether it’s an exclusive organization or a family tradition — we’re interested in all of it.”

If you have ideas for Jeff and Meggan’s Bon Temps Mardi Gras photography project, get in touch. Cortlandt’s is located at 351 George St. in Mobile, Ala.

Blaine Minnick, 5, rides his miniature John Deere tractor by a line full of clean laundry on a late summer day just outside of Red Cloud.

Somewhere in the Middle of America: Life in a Prairie Town, photographer Jeff Haller’s solo exhibition, will be opening at the Mobile Arts Council Gallery, Monday, November 2, 2009. It will remain on display until Friday, November 27. The Mobile Arts Council will host a gallery talk with Haller Saturday, November 14, at 11 a.m.

The show is the culmination of two months of photographing in Red Cloud, Neb., Haller’s hometown, and was produced as part of Haller’s project for Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication Master of Arts degree.

Haller, who currently lives in Mobile, Ala., with his wife, Meggan, said he was excited about launching the exhibit.
“It’s really awesome to be able to offer my vision to the people of Red Cloud,” Haller said. “I think when people live anywhere, they become used to seeing certain things, expecting certain things, and they form this picture in their minds of what their town is like. I stepped away for so long that I was able to come back and offer a fresh perspective.”

Haller, a Red Cloud native, attended Red Cloud High School, and later, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree.

Somewhere in the Middle of America: Life in a Prairie Town features more than thirty prints from Haller’s work. It will be on display until Friday, November 27, 2009.

The exhibition comes to Mobile after shows at the Red Cloud Opera House, Red Cloud, Neb., The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Sioux City, Iowa, and The Great Plains Art Museum at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb.

Girls Night Out

Keyhole Photo is sponsoring the seventh Girls Night Out at Calagaz Photo & Digital Imaging to benefit Penelope House, October 20, 2009.

Penelope House is a non-profit organization established in 1979 to help victims of domestic violence regain social and economic independence.

The Family Violence Center is the only shelter for battered women and children in Mobile, Alabama. Penelope House offers advocacy, community education, counseling, on-site medical care, schools prevention education, transitional living, and victims’ support groups.

Donations will be accepted at the event to benefit Penelope House.

In addition to donating a free Panorama Portrait session ($300 value!) to the raffle, Jeff and Meggan will be at the event taking photos of all the fun! And a Photo Booth will be on-site so you can take your own photos as well. Look for an email from Calagaz after the event with details on how you can order photos.

Please join Keyhole Photo and all the event’s sponsors for a night of fashion, photography, fun, and cool prizes, all for charity, at Calagaz Photo & Digital Imaging, 90 Springdale Blvd., Mobile, AL 36606, (251) 478-0487.

Jeff and Meggan photographed the Cox-Deasy House at night for the Look Up Mobile! 2nd Annual Photographic Landmark Hunt

Jeff and Meggan Haller were honored to be asked to participate, along with four other local professional photographers, in the Look Up Mobile! 2nd Annual Photographic Landmark Hunt to benefit South Alabama CARES in Mobile, Ala.

Participating photographers were asked to photograph historic or recognizable locations throughout Mobile. Twenty-five of the photographs were chosen for inclusion in the Look Up Mobile! booklet to be used as clues in the landmark hunt contest, as well as sold in a silent auction with the remaining photographs.

The winners will be announced September 24, 2009, at the gala auction.

All proceeds generated through these activities benefit the programs and services of South Alabama CARES. Founded in 1987, South Alabama CARES functions as the regional access point for support services and education in Baldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Escambia, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Washington and Wilcox counties. South Alabama CARES is recognized as a vital resource providing help and hope to men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS.

Currently, the Look Up Mobile! 2009 photographs are on display in the Mobile Arts Council’s Skinny Gallery, at 318 Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile. In addition to Keyhole Photo, the photographers this year are Jason Clark, Lesa Jones, Craig Roberts and David Trimmier.