The 2017 Rfotofolio call was judged as a portfolio of work. We were honored to have three guest jurors, David Carol, Willie Osterman, and Barbara Bullock-Wilson.
Because everyone sees something different in each image, for the most part we all choose different photographers. Each juror was asked to selected their top portfolios, and this was no easy task. All the jurors commented about the difficulty in making selections because of the high quality of work submitted. Be it color or black and white, street photography to abstract, you inspired us with the amazing work that you created.
If you entered but your name does not appear as a selection please do not be discouraged. This was the hardest call we have had. Photographers have raised the bar in technique, creativity, and message.
Thank you for entering, by doing so we are able to see work that we might have missed and your donations supports the Rfotofolio Grant.
Thank you to the jurors, for your time and thoughts on the work. We where happy to hear that you felt as we did that there was so much wonderful work that this process was a challenge.
These works where judged as a portfolio of work and not just the images you see in this post.
Galleries and interviews will be posted during the months ahead.
Please click on the photographers name to learn more.
Selections by Barbara Bullock-Wilson
“Every time I reviewed the 100-plus entries in this year’s juried project, I was freshly impressed by the quality of the imagery. It was outstanding and made my job as a juror very challenging! What I looked for was the creative use of the photographic medium to stimulate thought, promote greater awareness and understanding, and to evoke a deep emotional or empathetic response. For me, it was not enough that a group of images was beautiful or well-executed or represented a particular style, approach, or subject matter area that I was personally partial to. What I looked for were entries that, across a variety of approaches and subject matter areas, awakened a fresh insight or connection, that enhanced a sense of wonder and appreciation, that offered an interesting answer to why do this at all. Many more entries than six met these criteria, but that was all I was allowed to select. I want to congratulate each and every artist who participated in this year’s call and I want to thank you for sharing your remarkable work with us.” Barbara Bullock-Wilson
“Of the “street photography” entries, this is the one I gravitate to with its strong compositions and interesting, evocative relationships between people and buildings.”
“I found this series of images very distinctive. There’s a masterful use of abstraction. There are also really interesting sub-texts and metaphors, among them humanity’s relationships with the natural environment and beauty even in decay and destructive practices.”
“These images are imaginative, playful, quirky and also intriguingly thought-provoking. They explore our inner world of thoughts, memories, feelings, values – what we focus on, what we hold dear. Also they probe the connections and relationships between internal and external realities.”
“This artist presents images that are mysterious, haunting, dreamlike. There are interesting juxtapositions between what we conventionally define as animate and inanimate things, raising questions about what is living and what is not and how various aspects of existence are connected.”
“This is another intriguing series of images, ambiguous, abstract, open-ended. They draw you in and beyond – working on both microscopic and macroscopic levels simultaneously. I resonate to juxtapositions of earthly and cosmic elements and strings that connect the two.”
“These images are visually compelling with their interplay of dark and light, form and movement. Beyond this, are the intriguing ideas of the beauty and grace of “dead” and “decaying” things; of the energy and “life” of discarded objects; and the energy inherent in forms returning to the earth.”
Selections from David Carol
“Being a member of a jury is always very exciting and tremendously nerve-racking. My method of choosing images is based on visual intrigue of the picture as well as the sophistication implied within the image. By that I mean what is the ‘staying power’ of the image. My process was to look at all the images several times and get acquainted with them then look closely their strengths and weakness’, technical successes and failures, and finally, my ‘gut’ reaction to the pictures. At the start of this process I find it an overwhelming task, but after several reviews the images seem to sort themselves out for me.” Willie Osterman.
Selections from Willie Osterman
I am impressed with the surreal quality of this work. Each has a focal point and ‘something else’ that draws my eye. I also appreciate the ritual of making the images involving travel, exploration and discovery. The B&W quality is excellent and the images, while arresting have an ‘other world’ quality to them.
The grid quality of the images impresses me about this work. It deals with small things that make up the whole or our entire world. It seems that recently we are ignoring the small things and not concerned with them. This work reminds the viewer of that.
© Dale Niles
There is a fairytale quality to this work that impresses me. It makes me feel young again to view and become part of the tableaus as they draw me in
© Bob Avakian
The surreal lighting quality works well in these images. There is a softness, loneliness, and peacefulness that radiates from this group. The color palate reinforces that feeling of peace as I feel in those moments just before dawn.
© Juergen Buergin
Juergen Buergin
This portfolio is about discovery. It is about someone walking the city streets and finding unusual (to the author) aspects that manifest themselves in people. The artists observational skills are excellent and the statements are refreshing and ‘real’.
Beyond personally being a collodionist I find this group to be authentic with respect to the culmination of the image to the technique. There are smears and smudges on the images that create a dream-like quality to the resulting images.
The Rfotofolio Selections
(Selected by J.R. andC.R.)
Irene Zóttola Carretero
© Robynne Limoges
About the jurors.
Barbara Bullock-Wilson is the oldest daughter of photographers Wynn and Edna Bullock. Through her family, she was exposed to the creative process at an early age and her interest in it has continued to deepen through studies in psychology, philosophy, and spirituality, as well as, the pursuit of her own writing career in the areas of early childhood education, natural history, and photography.
She has written and edited many articles and books on the life and work of each of her parents and she has organized several major exhibitions featuring their imagery. She has also been an active supporter of the photographic community as a presenter, workshop facilitator, consultant, and writer. Since 2001, she has served as manager of the Bullock family photographic estate.
David J. Carol is a photographer, writer, curator, editor, teacher, lecturer and publisher. He attended the School of Visual Arts and The New School for Social Research where he studied under Lisette Model. He was the first assignment photographer for The Image Bank photo agency (now part of Getty Images) at the age of 26. He recently retired after 25 plus years as the Director of Photography at Outfront Media (formerly CBS Outdoor) to become the Editor-in-Chief of Peanut Press Books.
He loves giving photographers a platform to share and discuss their work with the photographic community. He is able to do this as a contributing writer to Rangefinder Magazine and PDN as well as doing portfolio reviews at such varied venues as The Palm Springs Photo Festival, PhotoPlus Expo in NYC, ASMP Fine Art, APA, Filter Photo Festival in Chicago, Slow Exposures Festival in Georgia, The Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado and The Savannah College of Art and Design.
David is the author of four monographs, …, ALL MY LIES ARE TRUE…, THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS! and his latest book, NO PLAN B. He also recently completed a trilogy of books, Where’s the Monkey?, Here’s the Deal! and All My Pictures Look the Same. with Cafe Royal Books, London.
Willie Osterman earned a BFA and MFA in photography and is a professor and chair of Fine Art Photography at Rochester Institute of Technology. He worked as a contract photographer for the Eastman Kodak Company.
His publication Déjà View: A Cultural Re-Photographic Survey of Bologna, Italy in its second edition is now out of print.
During his sabbatical for the year of 2010 he received a Fulbright Scholars Award to develop a Master’s Degree program and teach at the Academy of the Dramatic Arts, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
He has over 80 exhibitions in the US, Italy, Turkey, Austria, China and Croatia. His work is included, among others, in the collections of the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House, The Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the University of New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Alinari Photographic Archive in Florence, Italy.
Connie and Jerry Rosenthal are the co Founders of Rfotofolio.
Thank you to our generous sponsors, Chris Kovacs of Adore Noir, and Carol Boss at Hahnemühle Paper, and too all our supporters.
Art can make a difference.
Well done! Such diversity of work and jury make for a tough job but (and no surprise!) you made a beautiful presentation.
Willie
Love your thoughtful and interesting content and images.
thank you
Viviane