Juror's Statement

I love judging these contests. It's great to see the work and always amazing when it's so flipping good. It really is. And there was a lot to see!

On the other hand, I hate judging because I remember entering many contests where my work was rejected and how that made me feel. Not good. And I hate making some people feel bad. Rest assured I could have chosen hundreds of images if space allowed. We're down to less than a hundred. A small group.

Also consider this is the opinion of one juror. Another juror would probably have made totally different choices. So be it. I was chosen to be The Decider and I will own it. But please don't hate me if you didn't get it.

One thing that stood out to me is how many landscape and still life images there were. I'm mostly a portrait photographer, though I appreciate all kinds of work. But there were remarkably few portraits in this collection. That's neither good nor bad, just surprising to me.

I was looking for good pictures, that's all. They needed to be technically good, preferably excellent. But they also needed to be well framed and carefully seen. For example, I saw many pictures that were good, but could have been much better with tighter composition. Get a little closer. Crop off an edge. Move the main subject a little to the left or right or top or bottom.

The top prizes went to a photograph of a tender moment with a mother, I think, caring for her daughter. She is dressing her carefully for a very special time. I always think the subject is the main thing that makes a picture. And this is a subject dear to so many people's hearts, mother and daughter. Corny? If so, it's me that's the cornball. The photographer didn't fluff it. Just showed it how it was.

The second top prize went to a photograph of a kid playing hopscotch. But the photographer was smart enough to know that the main thing about the photograph was the kid playing hopscotch, not what the kid looked like or even where he or she was. It's the moment of youth described very simply and very succinctly.

Well, good luck to all in your pursuits. It's wonderful to have a passion like photography. It's sustained me for about 50 years now. I hope something like that for you all.

            Henry Horenstein