Portals: Windows, Mirrors, and Doors

Juror's Statement

I was impressed by the range of ideas expressed in the large number of images I reviewed for “Portals: Windows, Mirrors, and Doors.” Judging an exhibition is always an honor, as well as a difficult task. I was inspired by the eclectic group of photographs I chose for the Gallery exhibition and Online galleries. Each image was unusual, distinctive, and made with skill, and each beckoned me to explore it fully.

 It’s hard to describe why I chose one image over another. After addressing technical mastery of the medium, I looked for further evidence of creative vision, mystery, and imagination. The Juror’s Award goes to Leslie Jean-Bart’s photograph, “View.”  Reflected and refracted, with diverse scenes and angles, his window view creates a fluid multidimensional world. Matt Schaefer’s “Another View / 15:05, 2020” won the Director’s Award with his minimal interpretation, made simply by the positioning of the reflective surface.

 Thank you to all who entered. All of your work was seen and noted, and I thank you for sharing it with me. Also, many thanks to PhotoPlace Gallery for their continued effort to bring exposure to so many photographers’ work.

Call for Entries

A portal can be an architectural feature (gate, window, doorway, mirror, tunnel) that frames or isolates or adds dimension to an image. In a fictional sense, a portal can become a magical doorway through time and space. Alone or in combination, they hold unlimited creative possibilities for photographers.

For “Portals: Windows, Mirrors, and Doors”,  we're looking for images that use these devices in intriguing ways. All capture methods and processes are welcome.

We are very pleased that Elizabeth Avedon will jury this exhibition. She will select up to 40 images for exhibition in our Middlebury, Vermont gallery and another 40 for our Online Gallery. All 80 images will be reproduced in the exhibition catalog. 

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

Banner image: Ellen Jantzen
Click images to enlarge.

Kerry Mansfield

Walter Crump

Danielle L Goldstein

Skott Chandler

About the Juror

"I work with photographers at all stages of their career, emerging to established, to help edit and shape their work for exhibitions, books, presentations and photography events."

ELIZABETH AVEDON is a photography book and exhibition designer, and independent curator. She is a sought-after consultant for photographers; editing, sequencing, and advising towards their exhibition, book, and portfolio projects. She serves as faculty for both the BFA Photography and Video, and Masters in Digital Photography departments at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Ms. Avedon is the former Director of Photo-Eye Gallery, Santa Fe; Creative Director for The Gere Foundation; Art Director for Polo Ralph Lauren national advertising; and Photo Editor for Ralph Lauren Media's RL Magazine. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her exhibition design and publishing projects, including the retrospective exhibition and book, “Avedon: 1949–1979” for the Metropolitan Museum of Art NY and Dallas Museum of Fine Arts; “Richard Avedon: In the American West” for the Amon Carter Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and The Art Institute of Chicago; and exhibition designs for the Estate of Diane Arbus, the Menil Collection, Houston and the Leica Gallery, New York.

In 2017, Elizabeth received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Griffin Museum of Photography.