Juror's Statement
Photographers often think of themselves as creators, but I think of them more as editors. After all, they start out with every object on the planet available to their lenses. Their first job is to select a subject from the world’s visual cacophony that genuinely draws them in. Next, they must make decisions about where to position the camera, how much of the scene to include and, just as important, what elements to exclude – all in service to the initial interest that drew them to the subject.
After that, the photographer must choose how to use the mechanics of the camera to handle time’s passage, the lens’ focus, and then combine them to interpret the light that’s in the scene to convey the meaning that they want to communicate. Lastly, post-production of the image, whether in a computer or a darkroom, works to bring the original idea to completion as an image that engages the viewer in the image’s story. All photographers, even those who choose to construct something for the camera eventually have to decide all of the same things.
It was with all of these things in mind that I selected the images in this exhibition. Judging an exhibition is equal measures of delight and difficulty, especially when, as in this case, most all of the submitted images were quite good. In the end, what stood out in the photographs that I selected was that all of the elements of making a great and memorable image — both the art of seeing and the craft of making — came together at once.
The photograph I chose for the Director’s Award compresses an interesting subject, fantastic texture and luscious tone into one carefully seen and tightly composed frame, where we see everything we need to see and nothing that we don’t. That tight framing is contrasted in my Juror’s Award image, where an expansive frame, a subtle complementary color relationship, carefully controlled focus, and a sad, but perfectly-placed toy come together to create a melancholy end-of-summer poem.
Thank you to all the photographers who submitted work to this open call. It was my great pleasure to spend some time with the way you all see and edit the world.
—Jeff Curto
Call for Entries
Well-composed photographs possess a few essential elements: an interesting way of seeing or interpreting the subject, solid craftsmanship that enhances the image, strong organization of the elements within the frame, and hopefully, a spark of life that makes the image memorable. This is a call for such photographs. All capture and processing methods are welcome.
We are very pleased that Jeff Curto will jury and curate this exhibit. He will select up to 35 images for our Middlebury, Vermont, Exhibition Gallery, and another 35 for our Online Gallery. All 70 images will be published in the exhibition catalog.
Information about our printing service and free matting and framing here.
Banner image: Brenda Bancel
Click to enlarge image.
About the Juror
Jeff Curto is Professor Emeritus of Photography at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, where he taught from 1984 to 2014. He was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1981 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Bennington College in Vermont in 1983. He had the good fortune to attend Ansel Adams’ last workshop in Carmel, California in 1983. Inspired by that workshop and the potential for learning the workshop environment, in 2009, he began leading annual photography workshops in Italy.
An early adopter of podcasting as a form of instruction and communication, Curto recorded his History of Photography class sessions His Camera Position podcast, which discusses photography’s creative aspects, can be also be found online.
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