Juror's Statement:

The 'Grocery image' really piqued my curiosity and stood out as a firm favourite. It's a simple yet deceptive picture, photographed from a cool, analytical distance. Graphic, textured and verging on abstraction, the formal qualities are all there on the surface for us to see. But it also subtly speaks of time and its passing through the traces left via scrawlings and notes which coupled with a gentle humour makes it very human.

 Tim Clark 

Juror:Tim Clark

Juror's Statement:

My interest in dreams lies in their ability to expose our innermost psychology, desires, and fears in a primarily symbolic, visual, and emotional manner. Our deepest memories and the matter of our everyday lives can take the same precedence in the mysterious space of a dream. Dreams are universally personal, experienced only by the dreamer, sometimes so vividly that they are confused with the “reality” of our waking lives. Hallucinations are related, an expression of the interior workings of the mind, an altering of perception, or of an external “reality”.

As the title of this exhibition suggests, Dreams and Hallucinations is a conscious attempt by each artist to intersect the sometimes murky life of the mind with the medium of photography. Though the selected photographs are as personal and varied as the individuals who made them, I believe there are universally understood threads that run through them, and, like dreams, are left to be discovered and interpreted by each receptive viewer.

- Russell Joslin, November 4, 2014

Juror: Russell Joslin

Russell Joslin has been the Editor & Publisher of SHOTS Magazine the past fourteen years.  SHOTS is an independent, reader-supported quarterly journal of fine art photography that reaches an international audience.  Joslin is also the author of Black Forest: Four Visible Poems, due this November from Candela Books.  Black Forest demonstrates his distinct editing style, with a special emphasis on sequence and narrative tone.

 
In addition to his publishing background, Joslin has exhibited his photographs in many galleries and publications worldwide for some twenty years.  Most recently, his photographs were featured in EYEMAZING (2012) and at the Ballarat International Foto Biennale (2013).  Joslin lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Juror's Statement:

I kept in mind the call for entries: "From the far corners of your backyard to the far away country it takes weeks to traverse to, we want to see where you end up when you go 'far away'."  As I was selecting the winners, I enjoyed going around the world with the 114 photographers who submitted 632 images. Yet, some of the best work was not made in a far away, foreign land either, reminding us that the idea of far away is as much about a mental or emotional journey as it is a physical one.  The best images were technically flawless and perfectly composed.  They had one or more added elements, be it an especially dramatic time of day, an unusual angle, an experiment with time or with focus, for example.  Some, but not all then had an element of post production that supported the narrative in the image, be that making the image B + W or pinhole or panorama, etc.  These added elements ALWAYS supported the story in the photograph and never looked like they were thrown in to improve an otherwise mediocre image.

The Juror's Choice goes to "Ruins Jumieges, Normandy".  This has all the elements I noted above.  The light is magical, the composition dynamic, the birds flying through make it a moment, the choice of black and white adds to the drama and the square format keeps our attention within the image unlike a rectangular image, which tends to move the viewer through the image.  The photographer who submitted it may have taken a look at my work in advance and seen how I use the play of light and shadow in much of my work. One reviewer wrote “Wells uses light like a surgeon.” That idea, previewing the juror’s work and adjusting the submission accordingly, can improve your chances.  

It was a real thrill to go around the world in a weekend (which is how long it took me to pick the winners.)   I never had to go through security, fight for a seat or argue with a surly customer service representative.  Sure, going all those places would have been real blast, but seeing those places and those people enabled me to go “Far Away” from the comfort of my home.

David H. Wells

Juror:David H. Wells
David H. Wells is an editorial, commercial and location photographer/ video-maker. He is affiliated with Aurora Photos and specializes in intercultural communications and the use of light and shadow to enhance visual narratives. Wells focuses on multimedia productions and photo-essays for publication and exhibition for local, national and international clientele.