2022 gallery
Jacinta Lagos | UNITED STATES
TITLE:
Ecstasy
GEAR:
Sony α7 III with 24-70MM F2.8 DG OS HSM | A
As a birth photographer, I work at many different spaces with different sources of light available. This was a hospital birth that took place after several days of medical induction due to mother's health issues. In the photograph, there's a mother in the center, holding her baby girl. Behind her it's her husband, who watches his baby over mom's shoulder. On the right, a nurse wearing a Green Bay Packers bandana, which situates the image somewhere in Wisconsin.
My inspiration was the expression of the mother, completely relieved by having her baby in her arms. Her face illuminated by the hospital light, almost like a heavenly glow from the ecstasy she's experiencing.
BIRTH
Rebecca Congleton | UNITED STATES
TITLE:
Sunset Prayer at the Wedding
GEAR:
Canon EOS M50 with Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN
I was covering a few hours of a wedding reception for a couple who had been married the week before in another part of the country. While awaiting the bride and groom’s entrance, I observed their guests gathering for sunset prayer, outside the tent. It had stormed shortly before, and the sky lit up with the most brilliant colors, much like the garments worn by the couple’s family and friends.
My intention was to capture the beauty of the scene, the color, the sense of community, tradition, and devotion.
BLUE HOUR
Lindsay Beros | UNITED STATES
TITLE:
Pop
GEAR:
Nikon Z 6II with Nikon NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8
I am in my 4th year of a project 365. I aim to capture how our days look and feel. This is the moment when my 7 year old learned to blow bubbles for the first time.
I wanted to capture her amazed expressions at learning to blow bubbles for the first time. She is always making funny faces and crossing her eyes, so I knew if I kept shooting, I would capture one of those moments.
GESTURE and EXPRESSION
FROM ABOVE
Lis warren | UNITED KINGDOM
TITLE:
A vintage garden
GEAR:
Nikon D610 with the Nikkor 24-70 lens
This image was the start of a personal challenge. I wanted to start to appreciate my home and to shoot in each room starting with my garden! I actually ended up taking this project into lockdown and did four images in my garden recording different seasons from the window. The subjects in my image are my two daughters, and we share a passion for vintage styling. I wanted the image to feel like a timeless vintage garden peaceful and full of summer and laundry (my other favorite thing!) Being that my house is actually in the busy east end of London, I really wanted it to feel like it wasn't in a city! I also hung out of the window and had my son hold my feet which I think is also a personal achievement!! Haha! I am happy to say that the project did give me a fresh appreciation for 'home and I continue to shoot all over my small house!
ALEX EISCHEID | UNITED STATES
TITLE:
Peekaboo
GEAR:
Canon 5Dmkiv with Sigma 24mm f1.4ART
I shot this image as a two image composite in my daughter's room. The first image was with my dress laid out in the suitcase and all the mess around the room. My cat happened to be sitting on the side table behind the suitcase so I called his name so he would make direct eye contact with the camera. The second image I put the dress on and laid in the exact spot the dress was laying in the suitcase. I then composited just my legs coming out of the bottom of the dress.
This was my first time leaving town by myself in years. Typically when I leave my family, I will leave little notes or hand drawn pictures around the house for them to find as a surprise. I thought wouldn't it would be cheeky to literally leave a little piece of me behind? So this is what I came up with.
HUMOR
EUNICE KIM | UNITED STATES
TITLE:
Focused
GEAR:
Nikon D6 with Nikon Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8
I was the swim team photographer this summer and my goal is always to capture moments that spectators normally do not get to see up close. This was taken at a swim meet in Mclean, Virginia of a friend's daughter, Ashley Shen, getting ready for warm ups.
I wanted to capture the focus and determination of some kids, such as Ashley, before jumping into the pool. I wanted her to stand out from the crowd in this image.
LAYERED
Angela Faries | bermuda
TITLE:
Reflective Shadow
GEAR:
Fuji X-T4 with 24mm
During the pandemic, with travel at a grinding halt, I sought to take a closer look at my surroundings. I live in Bermuda so there is no absence of beautiful scenes to shoot, but as this was not what I was after, I took pleasure in doing photo walks in and around the town of Hamilton when I could and just kept my eyes peeled for interesting subjects.
I noticed the shadow first and when positioning myself to get the best angle of the shadow, I caught sight of the reflection. I had to play a little bit to make sure I was not in the reflection myself. I liked the "puzzle" this created!
Light play
monochromatic
Christie Goldstein | UNITED states
TITLE:
Stretch
GEAR:
Nikon A6 with an 85mm prime lens
This shoot took place during a time for Grace when ballet performances had still not returned to full, live audiences. We booked such a long session because we wanted to give her the audience (even if it was only an audience of two) she had been missing. She has wanted to be a ballerina since she was 4. This has been her dream for her entire life. When Covid shut down the world, the arts were some of the last jobs to return. These roles are often overlooked and the emotions that come with being unable to fulfill these jobs were often brushed aside. Seeing the joy and gratitude within her to do what she loves while creating art gave her back something she had been missing. To be able to give that kind of joy by taking a photograph is humbling.
emma palmer | united kingdom
TITLE:
The beautiful duckling
GEAR:
Nikon D750 with Sigma Contemporary 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3
I have been working on a project photographing common birds this year as a way to push my technical skills. In the process I have become fascinated with different local 'families' of birds. As a family photographer it's been a joy to notice and capture the ubiquity of the experience of motherhood.
I sat watching them for about 2 hours, maintaining a respectful distance to avoid alarming them. They preened, swam and ate. And then slept. I took a lot of images over that two hours but when this little one tucked itself under its mothers wing I knew that this was going to be the image because of the relatable newborn story of it. I also really enjoyed the natural monotone and the beauty of the contrasting textures of the cygnet's fluff and the swan's strong, long, defined feathers. I think the contrast tells a story about how far that cygnet has to go. I have cropped the image to strip out the wider setting to enhance these elements.
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HONORABLE MENTION
nature
alice chapman | united kingdom
TITLE:
Ann's Patch
GEAR:
Canon R6 with Canon EF 35mm F1.4L II
Generations of my family come from this village and as a child I took part in the week long Summer carnival. I remember making paper flowers like those in the window, eating ice creams and spending time with my grandparents. I was visiting with my children and extended family, reminiscing about my grandparents and the carnival weeks we spent together in the village. I got chatting to Ann while having lunch inside the cafe and I wondered if she'd known any of my relatives as she'd lived in the village a long time. Ann had known my grandmother: “I don’t think there’s many people that will remember her because they’ve all died.” I wanted to capture Ann during carnival week as a link to the past. I liked including the children on the outside of the cafe to represent different generations.
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HONORABLE MENTION
neighborhood
PASTEL
sarai jacobs | UNITED states
TITLE:
Her
GEAR:
Canon Mark IV and 35 1.4 Lens
This photo was taken during a photography challenge. My group was given random props, outfits, backdrops, and tools to use. As a group, we had 30 mins to conceptualize an idea and each take a photo that represents who we are as artist. I found this challenge to be difficult, as portraits aren't really my strong suit. I felt intimated by the other photographers, friends I know are great in this space. Not only did I shoot this image, but I was lifted up and encouraged to do so by those very photographers I was intimated by. Something powerful happens when we have people pushing ourselves into uncomfortable spaces.
Bianca Ioana Buliga | australia
TITLE:
Real Life
GEAR:
Sony a7iii and Sony 50mm 1.8
This is a very special self portrait I did with my daughter in my home studio/nursery and it was taken just around 9am when I was feeding my daughter and helping her have her morning nap.
I took this just before I accepted that I needed help for my depression and I wanted to document how fragile & beautiful the motherhood journey is. Self portrait are a big part of my healing and I love how I captured the way my daughter is pinching me every time she is breastfeeding. Even though is painful at times, it's a feeling that will always be engraved on my soul.
real life
Self Portrait
Christina freeman | UNITED states
TITLE:
Transformation
GEAR:
Nikon D750 and Nikon Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8
I received my diagnosis for triple negative breast cancer the first week of 2022. I had already started my treatments at this point, but this is the image that will forever be engrained in my mind as the moment that divided my life into two--my life before cancer, and this moment, gazing at myself in the mirror at my new reflection, coming face to face with a reality and future that I hadn't seen coming. I had just gotten my hair dyed pink and blue--something I had talked about doing for years but had never had the guts to do. Now I had finally taken the plunge, yet here it was, lying scattered all around me on the floor. In so many ways, it felt like it represented so much of what I was feeling in that moment. Cancer was never supposed to be a part of my story--it took all of my plans and seemed to scatter them in an instant. But even so, I can remember feeling a calm when I saw myself in that moment. It was not the reflection that I had ever expected to be looking back at me. But it was still me, stripped down to my very core. And for that moment, it was enough.
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Olesya Alferenko | australia
TITLE:
Hope for Ukraine
GEAR:
Canon EOS R5 and Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM
The war in Ukraine had recently begun and I was overwhelmed with grief and sadness. The Ukrainian woman pictured had just come to the US and reached out to me for portraits after randomly finding me on Facebook. I thought that this timing was incredible luck as I felt a strong need to create to express hope and solidarity with Ukrainians. I thought that we both could use a beautiful experience in nature to lift our spirits, so a few days later I grabbed some dresses, picked her up and we drove out to the blooming poppy fields in Antelope Valley, CA. Just as the sun was setting I gave her the Ukrainian flag and we stood there taking in the sunset, hoping that one day soon the sun will set over a peaceful Ukraine.
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Unity
Indigo Larmour | india
TITLE:
Republic Day Rehearsals
GEAR:
Sony a7iii and Sony 50mm 1.8
The marching bands of different army regiments practice for India’s republic day parade in the chilly early hours of the morning throughout January. A fog hangs in the early morning air and the temperature can drop to 4 degrees Celsius.
Republic Day is an important event for many people all across India and I wanted to use a long exposure to capture the movement and energy as the rehearsals commence.
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HONORABLE MENTION