Juror's Statement
There’s an image that could be the park at the end of my childhood street, the sun setting over the tree line, the kids scattering, the summer lawn, the vague sadness that comes as the days get shorter or really, when my favorite season ends. It’s the waning light. So beautiful, so emotive, so nostalgic. There were so many incredible photographs submitted into the Magic of Light exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery, but this picture by Cindy Weisbart kept calling me back and hence, earned the Juror’s Award. There was another photographer who had many images which spoke to me, but his photograph of a geisha moving through a beam of scattered light towards an approaching man in the night streets was provocative and mysterious, earning David Culton the Director’s Award. I knew neither of these artists nor their photography before jurying this competition, so they were great discoveries for me. The honorable mention winners were also unknown to me: Thomas Winz with his black and white image of an egret from above moving silently through the water, his white body casting the deepest shadow in a reflection of the sky; Sophia de Vasconcelos’ princess crowning herself with a golden halo to illuminate the moment; Ann Kornfeld - somehow an invisible observer in India - with light raining down on the subjects in their procession; and Paul Rose who captured a sunset landscape of the most golden pond with a chair that appears to be an illusion.
With so many images submitted, it was nearly impossible to whittle them down to a mere 35 in the gallery. I begged for a few extras in the online gallery and was able to include an additional 40 images in that selection. Still a hardship. Sometimes I forget why I became interested in photography in the first place, but jurying this show reminded me: it was the light.
Thank you to all the artists who submitted their work and reminded me about the magic of light, how it can stop you in its tracks, literally make it hard to “believe your eyes,” how it can squeeze your heart, move you to tears, fill you with awe, remind you to slow down, to look, to live, to remember that things are fleeting, to make you chase a shadow, drive to the edge of a continent, hold your breath until the last of the light has disappeared, the colors changing, the earth growing quiet…I remembered everything and I wish I could have included so many more images that pushed and pulled me. But know that I won’t forget them and I am honored to have seen them. Thank you.
Ann Jastrab
Call for Entries
Photographers recognize that they are not photographing the tangible subject, but only the light that is reflected from it. The quality of the light, then — its intensity, direction, color, diffusion — often determines the success or failure of an image.
For this exhibit, we’re looking for images whose success rests in the quality of the light — harsh or diffuse, bright or dim, natural or artificial — their subjects made magic by the light that falls on them. All capture and processing methods are welcome.
We are very pleased that Ann Jastrab will jury and this exhibit. She will select up to 35 images for exhibition in the Middlebury gallery, and up to an additional 35 for our Online gallery. All selected images will be published in the exhibit catalog.
Information about our printing service and free matting and framing here.
Banner image: Frank Curran
Home page thumbnail image: Richard Greene
Click to enlarge image.
About the Juror
Ann M. Jastrab is the Executive Director at the Center for Photographic Art (CPA) in Carmel, California. CPA strives to advance photography through education, exhibition and publication. These regional traditions—including mastery of craft, the concept of mentorship, and dedication to the photographic arts—evolved out of CPA's predecessor, the renowned Friends of Photography established in 1967 by iconic artists Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock and Cole Weston. While respecting these West Coast traditions, CPA is also at the vanguard of the future of photographic imagery.
Before coming to CPA, Ann was the gallery manager at Scott Nichols Gallery in San Francisco where she incorporated contemporary artists with the legends photography. Ann also worked as the gallery director at RayKo Photo Center in San Francisco for 10 years until their closure in 2017. Ann has curated many shows in the Bay Area while simultaneously jurying, curating, and organizing numerous exhibitions for other national and international venues outside of San Francisco. Besides being a curator, Ann Jastrab, MFA, is a fine art photographer, master darkroom printer, and educator as well.
Skip to Navigation
Skip to Content