Juror’s Statement: Andreas Rentsch

I was amazed by the high visual and technical quality of the submitted work. Many photographers submitted cohesive series, and I wish I could have chosen more than one image per participant. It was difficult selecting just 30 images from the 518 submitted. Participants have high expectations of being included in the exhibition, and accepting a rejection of their work is never easy. As a juror, the challenge lies in striving to be objective (an impossible task) and not letting personal preferences guide my judgment.

So, what am I looking for when I judge a photo competition? The big challenge for all of us photographers is how our work stands out from the zillions of pictures produced each day. First and foremost, I am interested in how someone’s mind (imagination) rearranges, perceives, and interprets the world in front of them. While a painter starts with a blank canvas, photographers need to make sense of any given environment they encounter. I am intrigued by what they choose to include, but equally important, what they choose to exclude from an image. I am drawn to the experience and ambiguity of seeing the world through their own, unique prism, expressing moods and thoughts. It’s not about beauty, but about asking questions and challenging us to think outside the box. It is about curiosity and the desire to discover new ways to express ideas visually.

I understand photography as a means of communication that articulates our ideas, memories, and desires. It is a language. Just as we express ourselves orally in unique ways, we do the same visually. When reviewing work, I want to be challenged, piqued with curiosity, and intrigued by a photographer’s ability to make the ordinary look extraordinary, capturing something in a new light. I appreciate images where meaning is found beyond the surface of the photographic print—where it hides as much as it reveals—forcing me to engage with the art on a deeper intellectual level.

I have no preconceived notion of what a good photograph should look like. All I know is that the primary premise of photography involves working with light, time, composition, and forms. Choosing the right technical approach that fits the imagery compounds the complexity of the medium. There are infinite ways to approach a subject matter. How a photographer successfully manages all these variables determines whether an image will make the cut.