What: 2011 New York Photo Festival
Where: Multiples venues, including the Powerhouse Arena, 37 Main Street, DUMBO
When: May 11-15th, Exhibition Hours Vary
Why: The New York Photo Festival returns for its fourth photography installation. The multi-venue festival will host 40 events over five days presenting more than 3,000 images from around the world along Brooklyn’s waterfront.
Photography Now, this year’s theme, examines documentary photography and its power to be a personal and engaging art form. German born curator Elisabeth Biondi and Italian born curator Enrico Bossan take a distinct perspective on the theme; Bossan’s show Hope: Between Dream and Reality showcases young photographers who “capture the essential aspects of life.” While Biondi’s Subjective/Objective positions documentary photography as a viable medium of visual language and not a relic of digital media.
The duo converge their curator voices with a one night only event, Under the Bridge: Projections of a Revolution on Thursday, May 12 at 8p.m. Four screens will flash hundreds of images from noted photographers like Contrasto, Getty, and One Day on Earth alongside non-profits and non-professionals. This body of work—accompanied by music from African native DJ Awesome Tapes—will honor fallen documentary journalists who’ve covered areas of Libya, Egypt, and Tunis while exhibiting photos and videos of the revolutions in North Africa.
Thursday through Saturday, participate in the Leica Scavenger Hunt, with your own camera or borrow one from the festival. Follow clues while discovering area landmarks in historic DUMBO. The best images will be showcased in a pop-up exhibition on Saturday from 5-7p.m.
Additional festival highlights include the Lecture Series at St. Ann’s Warehouse on Friday (12p.m.–7p.m.) and Saturday 11a.m.-7p.m. Lectures of note include NYPH presents Fred Ricthin and Brian Palmer in Conversation on Friday, May 13th at 4p.m. on the challenges of digital media for a photographic community, FotoVisura Presents E Cite: The Phenomenon of Online Blogs & Magazines on Saturday May 14th at 4p.m.
Over the weekend, stop in for Saturday’s Slideluck Potshow XVI curated by Whitney Johnson from 7p.m. – 10p.m. Last year, it broke the Guinness World record for the Largest Potluck Dinner on Earth celebrating food, photography and community. Sunday attend a photo workshop where you can make your own pinhole camera and light grams.
Whether you visit for a single day or return for multiple exhibitions the festival aims to make your trip a revolutionary experience. For a full guide to the festival, including all events, exhibitions, lectures, portfolio reviews and the photo awards ceremony visit NewYorkPhotoFestival.com.
Cost: $15 Single day pass w/exhibition/ $35 Festival Pass including exhibition, parties and lectures
How to get there: Take the A or C to High St. or the F train to York St. (37 Main St at Water St. Dumbo, Brooklyn, 718.666.3049, newyorkphotofestival.com)
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram