2014 Sony World Photography Awards Judge shares what she’s looking for in this year’s competition
You have seen the call for entries to the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards but how can you make sure yours is the photograph that the judges choose? WPO gives you an exclusive insight into the thoughts of our 2014 Honorary Jury members and exactly what they are looking for in an award-winning image.
This week, WPO interviews jury member Isabella Icoz, Art Consultant, Turkey.
To enter the competition, go here.
In your opinion, what makes an award-winning image? What key elements will you look for in the entries to the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards?
I generally respond to difficult work, by that I mean work that is intellectually and politically charged. I like when an artist pushes the creative envelope and takes the medium a step further. The work does need to interest me aesthetically, but I then need to be challenged by it. A work that could capture this would be award-worthy.
What are you hoping to see in this year’s entries?
I am excited and honoured to be a part of the jury this year and to have the chance to see some first-rate photography. I would love to see more entries from Eastern Europe and South America.
What practical tips can you give photographers entering a competition for the first time? Why do you think it is important for amateur and professional photographers to enter their work into competitions?
Given that there is a proliferation of photographers I think it is important for someone entering the competition to carve out a niche for themselves. The work submitted needs to be creative and fresh. Works that are too obvious or derivative would most likely not capture the attention of the judges. I think it is important for a photographer, or any artist, to first ask themselves questions such as: what do they want to achieve in their work? Why are they attracted to a particular topic or theme? How will they capture what they wish to express? How will this body of work lend itself to their overall portfolio, and how can it be developed and remain relevant and still be appreciated down the road? I believe competitions like this are crucial for the discovery of new talent and to afford opportunities to photographers to have their work seen and critiqued by people they may not otherwise have had a chance to meet.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]
