Darkroom Gallery, Junction Essex, Vermont
Mot du Jury William Neill :
The photography submitted for the Rare Earth competition was a pleasure to review. The work as a whole showed a strong sensitivity to the wondrous qualities of our planet. The styles of capture and post-processing varied greatly, some straightforward in technique, and other highly interpretive. I appreciate any technique that communicates both the emotion of the artist and a sense of place. My initial editing removed photographs that I felt had technical issues, whether in composition, exposure or post-processing. I also focused intently on how I felt the image fit the theme of Rare Earth.
In the later half of my decision-making process, I found it very difficult to narrow down to the required number as I became attached to many more photographs than made the final selections. All of the images were viewed many times over many days of studying the submissions.
Being a landscape photographer myself for 38 years, I was very pleased to see the range of ideas and emotion expressed in the submissions about this Earth. All of them showed a deeply felt value for, and connection to, the land. The high degree of creativity in how photographers are approaching the genre stylistically was encouraging, as was that I saw very few clichés. Whether your photographs made the final cut or not, please continue to photograph and share your work, stay connected with nature and aware of our impact on the landscape so that our children’s children will live on a healthier Earth.
Dates de l’exposition : du 10 janvier au 3 février 2013