The Quiet Landscape

Juror's Statement

A quiet landscape can manifest in many forms. What an absolute pleasure it was to travel through these images, from desolate beaches, to snowy fields, to mountain peaks, to quiet streams.

The caliber of work was outstanding, which made our job extremely difficult. Many an image inspired spirited debate as to whether or not it would make the final cut. We agonized over our choices and attempted to make a selection that represented a broad range of styles and subject matter. Our personal style and taste leans towards pictures that are able to make ordinary scenes feel extraordinary, and so many images we reviewed did just that. Thank you all for taking us on a journey across the quiet landscapes of the world. We truly enjoyed reviewing all of your work.

- Jacob and Alissa Hessler

About the Jurors

Jacob Hessler
A graduate of the Brooks Institute of Photography, Jacob has spent over a decade working in both the commercial and fine-art photography worlds. Shooting for diverse clientele, he approaches studio lighting with a scientific aptitude. Jacob is currently collaborating on “Boundaries,” a fine-press book project with the inaugural poet Richard Blanco, pairing Hessler’s images with Blanco’s poetry. “Boundaries” will be released in 2017 by Two Ponds Press. Jacob and Alissa regularly conduct landscape workshops at Maine Media Workshops. www.jacobhessler.com

Alissa Hessler
With a diverse background in art direction, marketing and creative project management, Alissa has had successful careers working on both the creative agency side and the client side. When not running client projects and co-teaching workshops, she continues building and expanding her Urban Exodus project, documenting creative urbanites who left the concrete jungle for greener pastures. She just finished writing and photographing her first book “Ditch the City and Go Country”, which will be launching in July of 2017, distributed by Macmillan Press. www.urbanexodus.com