“The lessons of impermanence, the occasional despair, and the muse, so tenuously moored, all visit their needs upon me and I dig deeply for the spiritual utilities that restore me: my love for the place, for the one man left, for my children and friends and the great green pulse of spring,” says Sally Mann, Virginia’s resident photo sorceress. I find my encounters with that kind of tender intensity increasingly more rare, but the work of Mann, Eugene Richards and many others in last year’s Look festival brought it front and center—and this year promises to do the same. Day trip, anyone? The event takes place this weekend, June 12-14, and you can cut your slice any way you like it: a $99 three-day pass for all limited-seating events (including the INsight talks with NPR correspondent Alex Chadwick and Time’s director of photography MaryAnne Golon), a $25 single ticket for a particular limited-seating event that you’re psyched up about, or a leisurely day’s stroll through a whole bunch of completely free public exhibits. With the fest pass comes entry into the Aperture software classes, which are ordinarily about $100 a pop. I think I’d definitely get a single ticket for the Shots show at the fabulously eerie IX warehouse space; photographic projections from internationally recognized photographers and a dance party ‘til 2 AM kind of fit my sensibilities. There are a couple of film premieres by the featured photographers, too (one with a Mary Ellen Marks/Martin Bell Q&A session). Check out what you want to do and which day you want to do it at http://www.festivalofthephotograph.com.

The lineup is pretty freakin’ exciting. Joel-Peter Witkin’s provocative, collage-like Marriage of Heaven and Hell and James Nachtwey’s illustrative war stills, titled The Unvanquished, provide counterpoints to the work of Mary Ellen Mark (RFK Journalism, Guggenheim Fellowship, and Infinity award winner), who will show her surprising and brilliant take on proms; there are even shots of Charlottesville prom-goers in the exhibit, which reinforces festival operations manager Andrew Owen’s focus. “The governing principle behind this event is community. For example, the YourSpace exhibit, for which anyone and everyone can bring work to hang. We don’t want you to be just a spectator… we want this to be participatory, an annual reunion of friends,” says Owen. So bring something to install at headquarters, the Charlottesville Design Center, if you’re so inclined. The intimate, inclusive feel to the Look event comes from its former identity as a backyard artist meet-up in Berkeley—co-executive director Nick Nichols brought the idea with him to Charlottesville, having watched it develop into a much larger gathering over the years. The ped-only Downtown Mall location is an ideal transition from backyard to public viewing, retaining that up-close and personal feel where people can enjoy a show, a walk, a beer, and some summer weather. Pretty excellent way to spend time (and potentially NOT spend money) this weekend.