2007 Fuji… Ermm… “Distinctions” Awards
Now, this is not sour grapes – I promise you – and if you think I’m out of order, please, don’t be afraid to tell me.
Jayne and I didn’t enter the Fuji Distinctions Awards this year. In fact, the last time was back in 2004 – before they made it a “film-only” competition. We got a merit in the fourth quarter of that year with the father and baby picture shown here.
The standard of entries was very high with a lot of creative work making it through to the finals. Mark Ashworth, Trevor Reed, Dave Wall and Stephen Edwards were the very worthy winners in 2004 and I was delighted and privilaged to be ranked a finalist amongst work of such a high standard.
01/06/08 UPDATE: I notice all winners prior to 2006 appear to have been removed from the Fuji Distinctions web site. I wonder why? Embarrassment perhaps? That being the case, should they not have left these more worthy entries as a benchmark for future contestants? Either that, or abandon the ridiculous “film only” restriction and open up the competition once again to the world’s contemporary creative photographers?
Contrast those shots with the 2007 winners announced today!
Excuse me for asking… but were the judges “on something”? Or have all the creative photographers finally migrated to the digital arena, and hence ineligible to enter?
I’m all for “something different” – just so long as it’s something good. Looking through this year’s finalists, I really do think the time has come for FUJI to stop flogging that dead horse called film and once again open up this formerly prestigious competition to all creative photographers.
February 27, 2008 @ 6:22 pm
What do YOU think of this year’s winning entries?
Are they creative? Has “creativity” gone too far? Is Chris getting as old as his years?
Let’s hear YOUR views on the subject.
February 27, 2008 @ 6:22 pm
What do YOU think of this year’s winning entries?
Are they creative? Has “creativity” gone too far? Is Chris getting as old as his years?
Let’s hear YOUR views on the subject.
March 3, 2008 @ 10:55 am
Fuji have followed up with information about the winning image. Here are some excerpts from their press release:
Afshin combines his career as a photographer with multimedia work and lecturing…
…The winning shot was taken at ‘Darya-che Namak’ which literally translates as Salt Lake, a two hour drive south of Tehran. Afshin explains how the shot happened: ‘I had heard about the lake from various people and wanted to shoot there at dusk, so I called a cab and off we went. But we misjudged the distance, arriving much earlier than expected. We pulled off the highway onto a dirt track and headed into the scrubland. As we approached the lake we saw the dry brown earth transitioning into white salt beds, this is where they mine for salt.’
He continued: ‘There wasn’t much there, just the odd hut, some labourers and a few mangy guard dogs, keeping watch over the mining equipment. If you arrive during the heat of afternoon, as we did, the dogs and their owners are all sleeping under the relative cool of the shade. We drove to the edge of the mine – beyond that my cab driver wouldn’t go, having heard stories of day trippers driving out into the lake bed and never being seen again. The drivers is actually in the photo, he’s asleep at the wheel, the doors left open to keep cool.’
One of the judges, Jon Levy, had this to say about the winning entry: ‘Afshin’s image has an ambiguous quality which, combined with the colour transforms what could be an ordinary scene into something quite mysterious. The simplicity and openness makes this photograph into an iconic image.’
Ah! So that’s why it won!
Silly me. It was that “ambiguous quality” that I must somehow have missed 😉
March 3, 2008 @ 10:55 am
Fuji have followed up with information about the winning image. Here are some excerpts from their press release:
Afshin combines his career as a photographer with multimedia work and lecturing…
…The winning shot was taken at ‘Darya-che Namak’ which literally translates as Salt Lake, a two hour drive south of Tehran. Afshin explains how the shot happened: ‘I had heard about the lake from various people and wanted to shoot there at dusk, so I called a cab and off we went. But we misjudged the distance, arriving much earlier than expected. We pulled off the highway onto a dirt track and headed into the scrubland. As we approached the lake we saw the dry brown earth transitioning into white salt beds, this is where they mine for salt.’
He continued: ‘There wasn’t much there, just the odd hut, some labourers and a few mangy guard dogs, keeping watch over the mining equipment. If you arrive during the heat of afternoon, as we did, the dogs and their owners are all sleeping under the relative cool of the shade. We drove to the edge of the mine – beyond that my cab driver wouldn’t go, having heard stories of day trippers driving out into the lake bed and never being seen again. The drivers is actually in the photo, he’s asleep at the wheel, the doors left open to keep cool.’
One of the judges, Jon Levy, had this to say about the winning entry: ‘Afshin’s image has an ambiguous quality which, combined with the colour transforms what could be an ordinary scene into something quite mysterious. The simplicity and openness makes this photograph into an iconic image.’
Ah! So that’s why it won!
Silly me. It was that “ambiguous quality” that I must somehow have missed 😉