Regional Exhibition
Juror: Jane Bowling Wilson || Catalog || Flier
Awards:
- First Place: On the Shelf, photograph by Anne McGrath, Fredericksburg, Va.
- Second Place: Mushroom Forest, photograph by
David G. Boyd, Fredericksburg, Va. - Third Place: Lone Runner, photograph by Penny Parrish,
Fredericksburg, Va.
Honorable Mentions:
- Waiting for Happy Hour, photograph by Lee Cochrane, King George, Va.
- Legs, photograph by Rebecca Cunningham, Fredericksburg, Va.
- Running Buddies, photograph by Dorian Hamilton, Stafford, Va.
- Marche de Legumes, photograph by Deborah Herndon, Evansville, Ind.
- Reach to the Sea, photograph by Mary Lynn Wolfe, Spotsylvania, Va.
Juror's Statement:
It is difficult to dismiss personal preferences in jurying an exhibition of photography and I tried to select pieces that represent a diversity of subject and technique, with both conventional and unconventional treatments, that might appeal to a wide audience.
What makes a wonderful photograph? For me it is the sense of intrigue or the suggestion of a narrative. Design is paramount; balance and direction are vital but most importantly, the picture should create a lasting impression in my visual memory. The image is something I come back to unexpectedly; it gives me something to think about again and again.
The submissions were wonderful! Sometimes a great photograph exists in the simplicity of the subject matter and it is not exactly what you see but what is missing or occurred just before the picture is taken or an event that might happen immediately after the image is captured.
Other times, the design dominates and the abstract quality takes center stage. Directional elements, color and value create the excitement. Frequently it is the subtle combination of color, texture and line that is breathtaking. The kinetic quality in some of the abstract pieces is delightful and creates a vibrant image full of movement and light. I particularly like the change in view point and by varying the viewing angle, a subject becomes something quite different.
And, then there is humor. When an image surprises you, or the artist captures a moment that makes you smile unexpectedly, it is like a good story, one that you do not tire of.
I hope the diversity and quality of this exhibition resonates for you the viewer as it does for me.
