Travel: 1st Place. By Val Proudkii

FotoWeek is different this year. It has a new home at the Corcoran. There are new categories in the contest — like one for photographs taken with mobile phones. There are new parties, like one from Brightest Young Things. And there's a whole new assortment of Nightgalleries — the building-size projection shows that have expanded tremendously since last year's festival. There are also some noticeable absences, such as Fixation, a show that has been a part of the past two FotoWeeks. Many of the photographers I wrote about last year aren't in the shows, either. Are the subtractions outweighed by the additions? We'll see.

Here are 10 events worth checking out:

Phillips After 5 Prelude Party/After Party
The Phillips Collection/Hillyer
Thursday, Nov. 4, 6-8:30 p.m.
The day before the official kickoff of FotoWeek, the Phillips' monthly After 5 party is a post-Halloween chance to dress up: Attendees are encouraged to wear turn-of-the-20th-century dress to better enjoy TruthBeauty, the museum's current exhibit about early pictoralism in photography. It's also a chance to step before the lens of Worn Magazine photographers for their Polaroid portraits, and check out some vintage bikes courtesy of Dandies and Quaintrelles. Continue the party at Hillyer for the opening of the show "ImMigration," which features work from nine photographers of Central and South American descent.

FotoWeek DC Awards Ceremony/Launch Party
The Corcoran Gallery of Art
Friday, Nov. 5, 8-11 p.m. $45
FotoWeek's fanciest party will be held at the Corcoran this Friday, and the invitation encourages attendees to look sharp for the paparazzi. Between open bar and hors d'oeuvres, it's a chance to meet the winners of FWDC's international contest, and see their work projected on the interior and exterior of the building.

Commercial: 3rd place, series of six, Pete McBride

BYT's Young @ Heart
FotoWeek Satellite Central (3333 M St. NW)
Wednesday, Nov. 10. 8-11 p.m. $10
This FotoWeek party/exhibit is likely the only one where, if you travel in certain crowds, you're likely to see your own image among the art. Years of social scene photography — parties, portraits, and otherwise — comprise this show, which aims to capture the spirit of what it's like to be young in D.C. Featured photographers include BYT regulars Chris Chen, Dakota Fine, Lexie Moreland, Ben Droz, Fitsum Belay, and more. And if you didn't make it into this year's exhibit, one can be sure they will be taking party pictures at their opening to supply the next one with material.

Outernational: A Photocinema experience by Metro Collective & Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation
FotoWeek Satellite Central (3333 M Street NW)
Thursday, Nov. 11. 8-11 p.m. $20
Metro Collective, a group of photographers from as close as D.C. and as far as Albania, have assembled a show of projected images to emphasize their worldview of looking outward and embracing new ways of connecting with the world. To enhance those connections, Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation will create a soundscape, which will render the photo-viewing experience cinematic.

Jeff Sheng: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Human Rights Campaign
Nov. 6-8. Free
It's surprising that L.A.-based photographer Jeff Sheng's work hasn't made it to D.C. sooner. It's the most suitable place for these portraits of 60 LGBT servicemembers — particularly the Human Rights Campaign, where it can be viewed for only three days, from Nov. 8-10. Sheng's subjects are portrayed in a quiet setting, always in uniform, and often with their faces hidden from the camera, buried in their hands. While some of the photos show the soldiers and sailors in a liaison with other servicemembers, the more telling portraits are the ones that involve mirrors, for which the subjects obscure their faces, as if they were too difficult to see.

"Of This Rather Than That" (Photo: Khánh H. Lê)

Khánh H. Lê: Neither... Nor
Vivid Solutions
Nov. 6-Dec. 17 (Opening reception Wednesday, Nov. 10, 6-8 p.m.) Free.
Khánh H. Lê is an American, born after the Vietnamese War, but his photogravure etchings help him to process the idea of reconciling his two cultures, each scarred by their own conflicts. Some of the most iconic war photographs find their way into advertising tableaus and magazine spreads of comfy American homes with pretty girls. It shows how, for recent immigrants such as his family, the American Dream is harder fought.

Foto Baroque: Victoria Gaitán and Cecilia Paredes
Curator's Office
Nov. 10- Jan. 8, 2011 (Opening reception Wednesday, Nov. 10, 6-8 p.m.) Free.
The gluttonous work of Victoria Gaitán provides a nice contrast with Cecilia Paredes' ascetic images. Gaitán's subjects want more, and Paredes' subjects, who blend into their surroundings, want to disappear. What they have in common is opulence: The photos are set against expensive wallpaper and towering stacks of profiteroles. The two photographers explore chameleon-like nature of female identity.

Nightgalleries
Various locations. Free.
There were three Nightgalleries for last year's FotoWeek, and this year, there are 20 chances to catch these shows, at eight different locations. The massive projected images, which will be on display beginning at dusk, respond to the architecture of the building that hosts them. Images on the National Museum of the American Indian on Nov. 8 are of Native Americans, past and present, and photos on the Holocaust Museum from Nov. 8-10 are from a recent trip that Pulitzer Prize-winner Lucian Perkins took to Sudan. The outside of the Corcoran is the place to see all of the winners, and other select shows, throughout the week.

A previous Nightgallery at the Newseum. (Courtesy FotoWeek)

Nightvisions
FotoWeek Satellite Central (3333 M Street NW)
Saturday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. to Sunday. Nov. 7 at 6 a.m. $10
Like a college all-nighter, Nightvisions encourages local photographers to skip their sleep and go out in the dark to prowl for the perfect photo. This year's theme: Portraits. Photographers have less than 10 hours to get their shot and deliver it in person to the FWDC judges. Luckily, if they get tired, there will be drinks, snacks, and music at headquarters to liven things up.

Slideluck Potshow
FotoWeek Satellite Central (3333 M Street NW)
Friday, Nov. 12, 7-11 p.m. $10
Foodies and photographers bring a lot to the table — in this case, their best images and a delicious home-cooked dish. Slideluck Potshow joins photographers over a communal meal, where they discuss and critique each other's slides. This event comes with an extra recommendation by TBD's staff photographer, Jay Westcott, who contributed to the last dinner. He'll be making fudge brownies.