Open Call 2021

Juror's Statement

Many of the images submitted for Open Call were quiet and nostalgic, seeming to reflect the melancholy so many of us have felt during this painful year.

I enjoyed looking through all the work that was submitted, but in the end I looked for distinctive voices and visions. I was drawn to images that asked questions or making declarative statements. The common thread among all the chosen images was excellence.

In the Juror's Award, a woman in a white bathing suit sits in front of a pool filled with branches. Nature prevails over the man-made structures.

The Director's Award contains the same sense of emptiness. Why is this handsome young man so melancholic? The beautiful composition and harmonious colors captivated my attention and sparked my curiosity.

Two of my Honorable Mentions also appeal to a sense of emptiness. In one, a sign "The Only Other Thing is Nothing" left on a beach says it all. In another, the image of a man standing away from a crowd with his head bowed in an apparent memorial ceremony.

The two other honorable mentions stand out in their subject matter, vastly different from the others: a beautiful still-life of a branch growing in a blue water bottle and a child celebrating his hero, Spiderman.

Thank you to the talented photographers who submitted their images to this exhibit. Selecting only a few of them was a difficult task, and required many fine images to be left behind. Seeing them all reminded me of photography’s endless possibilities.

     — Sandrine Hermand-Grisel

Call for Entries

Here’s a chance to share the photographs you love, as well as those images you’ve just never had a chance to show. Anything goes in this open call for submissions. Share with us how you see the world. All capture methods, processes and subject matter are welcome. 

We are very pleased to welcome Sandrine Hermand-Grisel as juror for Open Call 2021. She will select up to 35 images for exhibition in our Middlebury, Vermont gallery, and up to 40 more for our permanent online gallery.

Information about our printing service and free matting and framing here.

Banner image: Steve Immel

About the Juror

Sandrine Hermand-Grisel grew up in Paris and in London. Influenced by her mother's sculptures and her husband’s paintings and films, her series Nocturnes won her the Prix Kodak de la Critique Photographique. She moved with her family to the United States in 2006, and in 2013 she created the website All About Photo.

All About Photo presents an international perspective on contemporary photography, with an eye toward beauty, artistic significance and timeless quality. Packed with the work of exceptional photographers around the world,  it is a free and independent magazine that has become one of the most vibrant portals of photography on the web.

See Sandrine's work here.
Visit All About Photo here.