Juror's Statement:

‘In the Moment’ was a difficult challenge and therefore very rewarding to judge. Some went for classic ‘decisive moments’, others were more carefully staged but nevertheless still projected the energy of powerful moments. The few landscape entries were particularly good at capturing that feeling we get, when we want the moment to last just that little bit longer.

In my selection process I look for the element of intrigue. Something about the image which makes me linger and ideally poses a question about the intent of the artist. Then I look for technique; cropping, composition, exposure and processing values..etc. The juror’s choice and the three honorable mentions all have the magic ingredient of going beyond being simply good pictures to capture extraordinary moments.
I was honored to be spoiled with so many good images submitted and I want to thank everyone who entered. 

Juror: Olaf Willoughby

Olaf enjoys an excellent relationship with Leica UK, being one of a number of photographers video interviewed about using the classic Leica M rangefinder camera.  He is co-founder of a Facebook/website group called The Leica Meet. Started in Aug 2013, it now has almost 10,000 members. His work has been exhibited in the UK and the USA and he has authored articles for leading photography magazines and guest blogged on top photo websites. Olaf is a photographer and writer living in London. His work is about Pattern Detection. Exploring the ebb and flow of energy around us.  It is also diverse, involving everything from advocacy to collaborative projects, from multiple exposures to street photography. In advocacy he has visted the Antarctic twice and authored a book titled, ‘Antarctica A Sense of Place’ which the WWF sent as an ebook to their global top 5,000 donors.
In commercial work he has photographed the Soweto String Orchestra in Trafalgar Sq, London, outside the South African Embassy on Nelson Mandela’s birthday. He has just published a book, 'On Tongue Tip Turn a Thousand Times, Moments Frozen in Photography & Haiku Poetry' using abstract imagery to illustrate the beautiful and intense verses of haiku poems.

In 2016 with Eileen McCarney Muldoon, he’ll be co-teaching Visual Conversations workshops at Maine Media College, in New York and at Leica UK, plus running a Street Photography course in Brooklyn. They have also published 'Visualising Poetry', a book celebrating the power of words and images. Getting work out there is important. It was John Cage who said that he didn't feel his work actually existed until someone had heard it. Publishing a single image, showing a project in an exhibition, or seeing a book in print is exciting.  As work comes to a fruition it marks an ending. And
endings contain new beginnings......