The beauty pageant industry in the United States is estimated to be worth 5 billion U.S. dollars annually; the estimated number of pageants in the U.S. ranges from 5,000 to 100,000, according to an Internet search. It is conservatively estimated that 2.5 million American girls, from babies to teenagers, participate.
The cost to a family for a daughter to participate in a pageant ranges from $1500 to considerably more. Entry fees, elaborate costumes, makeup, hairdressing, artificial tans and weeks of professional coaching contribute to the high cost. Photo by Ilana Panich-Linsman
Ever since Ilana Panich-Linsman graduated from the Williston Northampton School in 2002, her career as a photographer has been on an amazing upward trajectory.
A former student of photography teacher Ed Hing, Ms. Panich-Linsman earned her bachelor’s degree at Scripps College before completing the Eddie Adams Workshop, earning a master’s degree in photojournalism and documentary photography from University of the Arts, London, and graduating from the International Center of Photography’s photojournalism program, where she received a Director’s Fellowship.
Mr. Hing noted that, even as a high school sophomore, Ms. Panich-Linsman started at a higher level than most students.
“Ilana was a student that always took her photography a step beyond expectations,” he wrote in an email. “The imagery was personal and inventive and she was willing to push herself outside of her comfort zone.”
Mr. Hing recalled a biography assignment that Ms. Panich-Linsman completed with flair by calling the subject, noted photojournalist Mary Ellen Mark, for an interview.
“I knew she had the determination to make things happen,” Mr. Hing wrote. “We’ve talked at many points throughout her career building years and it’s been amazing to be able to watch her succeed.”
On January 21, Ms. Panich-Linsman will return to Williston to talk about her documentary photography, as well as working for such clients as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NBC News, The Boston Globe, Al Jazeera America, and CNN.
“It’s a thrill to see her credit line on a regular basis in The New York Times,” Mr. Hing wrote. “I’m not surprised by what she’s accomplished so far. She’s telling thoughtful and interesting stories with her images and she’s still in the early stages of her career.”
Ms. Panich-Linsman was named one of Magnum Photo’s 30 under 30 2014, and received the Multimedia Award at the 2010 Lumix Festival for Young Photojournalism. She was nominated for the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass and participated in the VII Mentorship Program, assisting Stephanie Sinclair and Donna Ferrato.
The lecture will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room, Reed Campus Center, and like all the talks in the series, is free and open to the public.