|
|
NavigationUser login |
Polaroid Announces Winners of International Photography AwardsJuly 2004 - Polaroid Corporation just announced the winners of its Fifth Polaroid International Photography Awards competition, an annual event open to professional photographers, assistants, and students worldwide, and adjudicated by a panel of esteemed international judges. Grand Prize, Second Place and Third Place ties were awarded, along with 13 regional winning designations and 36 Honorable Mentions. A panel of five experts in photography and fine art selected the winning images from more than 2,500 unique photographs after a meticulous and intense two-day adjudication process at Polaroid's worldwide headquarters. All submissions were shot or output on a range of Polaroid professional instant materials, ranging from venerable B&W standards such as PolaPan Type 55 P/N and PolaPan Type 665 films, to perennial color favorites such as SX-70, Time-Zero and Polacolor Type 669 films. Work was judged in the following categories: Fine Art, Commissioned, Non-commissioned, Assistants, and university-level photography Students. Winners in these five categories represented three worldwide regions - Americas, Europe/Africa, and Asia/Pacific. The Grand Prize, Second Place and Third Place Tie winners were selected from among the regional winners. In addition, the judges liberally awarded a record number of Honorable Mentions.
Grand Prize Ms. Rousseau's personal photographic pursuits often involve landscapes and she travels frequently to the south of Spain to shoot, among other things, the Guadalquivir River. It was at the river that she captured the three top-winning black-and-white images on PolaPan Type 55 Positive/Negative film. Each of the winning photographs depicts the river at different points along its meandering route to the Atlantic Ocean. Ms. Rousseau manipulated one of the images taken in the small town of Coria Del Rio to reflect her own personal interpretation: "The atmosphere was very strange, as if I was not in the south of Europe but in China," she said. "So, to accentuate the strange feeling I had, I made little black spots (in the negative)in the sky to create the sensation that the scene was pure imagination." PolaPan Type 55 P/N film, like most Polaroid Professional films, lends itself to the creative impact of a moment like Ms. Rousseau described. "I like Polaroid film because it can yield surprises. Sometimes accidents during the developing process are very interesting, but the most interesting effect of all is to accentuate these little accidents yourself; to control them to get what you want -- and more!" Ms. Rousseau said. "I like the poetry of the process and its delicacy, too." As Grand Prize winner, Ms. Rousseau will receive two-days use of the legendary Polaroid 20x24 large-format instant camera in either New York or Prague (her choice), 30 film exposures, airfare, and three nights' accommodations. Ms. Rousseau also won the Non-commissioned category for the Europe/Africa region and will receive $1,000 (US) worth of Polaroid's full range of consumer, professional and digital products at retail value.
Second Place "For a long time I was looking for a particular kind of result for my Fine Art images that I was not able to get by traditional cameras and films," Mr. Chiarini said. "Some time ago I bought an old Crown Graphics to take some Polaroid lift shots outside. Then I purchased PolaPan 55 film and started to take photos to test my folding camera. I examined a couple of images and, bingo, I realized it was the exact type of result for which I was searching for many years. "The winning image belongs to a series of photos I am taking, where the subject is neither beautiful nor interesting architecture, but it acquires its importance only by the choice of the moment and the manner in which it is photographed," he said. Mr. Chiarini said that in addition to using Type 55 film to pursue his Fine Art aspirations, he shoots with PolaPan Type 665, Polacolor Type 669 and Polacolor Type 59 films. As the Second Place winner, Mr. Chiarini will receive a complimentary one-day tour of Polaroid's manufacturing facility in Scotland, plus two nights' accommodations and travel expenses. He also captured the Fine Art category for Europe/Africa and will receive his choice of $1,000 (US) worth of Polaroid's full range of consumer, professional and digital products at retail value.
Third Place His winning image, a Polaroid 600 Instant Color Film photograph called "Magazine Street," garnered the Third Place tie, as well as captured the Students category for the Americas. A current graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, Mr. Morgan says he is passionate about photography and plans to work soon as a photographer in a large city. "I mostly shoot photographs of people, but not exclusively," he said. "I really just enjoy the search for the image and the rush from the entire process of getting a great image. I really love people though and most all of my photographs are about them, even if they are not actually in the image. "The (winning) image was taken when I had just gotten a cast off my leg and I couldn't skateboard, so I was shooting some Polaroid images of my friends. I really enjoy the distinct color, sharpness and focus of 600 film and the instantaneous image. I use this film quite a bit," Mr. Morgan said. Sharing Third Place with Mr. Morgan is Bjorn Sterri, a photographer and teacher from Oslo, Norway. Mr. Sterri is a regular user of SX-70 Time Zero film and his winning SX-70 photograph is one in a prolific series of images of his oldest son. Mr. Sterri said his latest work, from which the winning image emanates, "was inspired by a book about a boat, the truth and death. To put it very simply, the new work is about the knowledge that I will die one day and my two sons will keep on living." He feels SX-70 film best captures his intent. "I like the quality of Polaroid SX-70 film with regard to its color and sharpness; it gives me a feeling of memory and the past," he said. "I never manipulate the image. It has all the qualities needed without any extra manipulation." In addition to his Third Place tie position, Mr. Sterri is the Commissioned winner for Europe/Africa. The winning image of his son was used commercially by the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation. As Third Place winners, both Mr. Morgan and Mr. Sterri will receive a complimentary one-day tour of the Polaroid Collections in Waltham, Mass., including two nights' accommodations and travel expenses. As category winners in their respective regions, they each will receive their choice of $1,000 (US) worth of Polaroid's full range of consumer, professional and digital products at retail value.
Regional Winners
The work of all 13 regional winners will be featured on Polaroid's web site (www.polaroid.com/photoawards beginning in August; in Polaroid's international publication for professional photographers - P Magazine, Issue 28 - scheduled for release in the spring of 2005; in Polaroid collateral materials; and in other promotional vehicles. The 34 Honorable Mention winners , including two for the first time from Taiwan, whose names are listed on the web site, will receive a certificate of merit and many of their images will be published as well. An exhibition of all winning and honored images is planned. The judges did not select top winners in theAssistants Category for the Americas or Europe/Africa.
Competition Continues to Showcase the Creative Capability of
Professional Instant Film The esteemed panel of international judges who adjudicated the competition also expressed delight. Among them was Yuko Yamaji, curator of the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts in Yamanashi, Japan. "I have always been intrigued by the images made with Polaroid film for their unique color, quality, the various techniques that can be applied, and also the size," Ms. Yamaji said. "Many of the images are as small as 4 x 5 (inches) and these small-size films have a feeling of daguerreotype, which uniquely portrays the essence of the subject photographed. "I found it tremendously encouraging to see many submissions from students. They practice their creativity on Polaroid films freely and they look very fresh and successful," she said. "We see digital images flourishing but even so, the works with a lot of handwork by the artist and elaborate images were most impressive. "Lastly," Ms. Yamaji added, "It was interesting to see the works divided by the three regions, but nowadays I feel that the 'language'of photography is becoming more common and the borders are indistinct." Ms. Yamaji's colleague on the panel, Dr. Sara Frances Stevenson, the chief curator of the Scottish National Photography Collection at the National Galleries of Scotland,was equally delighted by the extent of work: "The range of intelligence and skills, from pinhole work to computer manipulation, was impressive, and made it very difficult to choose the winners,"she said. "The work explored and displayed much of the flexibility and aesthetic control of the Polaroid processes, which enables the character of the finished work to be so different and so personal." A third judge, Roberto Mutti, the chief editor of Immagini FOTOpratica,an Italian magazine based in Milan that focuses on the cultural aspects of contemporary photography and images, said officiating at the competition adjudication was "an important professional experience" and that he was impressed with the quantity of high-level photographs. Mr. Mutti, who is also a freelance curator, writer/critic, and teacher, explained how the judges accomplished their work: "We focused our attention on the aesthetic side, artistic value, and the importance of composition. The awards were obtained by the best photographers. The judges from different backgrounds, experiences, and nationalities succeeded in finding a common point of view in a serious but friendly atmosphere."
Rounding out the panel were the following judges:
A Sixth Polaroid International Photography Awards competition is planned. Rules and entry forms will be available in the fall, with adjudication scheduled for May 2005. For more information on Polaroid products and how to purchase them, visit the Polaroid website at www.polaroid.com. SOURCE Polaroid []
If you like this site then please subscribe to our full feed RSS. You can also subscribe by Email. huh? Similar |
|
Printer-friendly version