Juror: Anne Berry
Gallery exhibition: December 5 – December 28, 2019
Exhibition prints due: November 21, 2019

Juror's Statement

Culling just 70 images from well over a thousand is not an easy task. I am excited about this collection of work but sad to leave behind so many worthy submissions. I thank all the photographers who submitted to Childhood and remind those not chosen how subjective and difficult the selection process is.

Every photograph in this exhibition makes the viewer stop to look closer. Perhaps it is effective use of color or composition or the subject’s arresting gaze or a poignant gesture. No distracting elements or colors distract from the subject. Objects common in photographs of children, swings, animals, toys, speak to previous work while staying consistent to the photographer’s vision and language. All the work I selected for awards went beyond the single image, making it difficult to decide which image to include in the exhibition and giving me a glimpse of the photographer’s overall vision. Juror’s Award winner Jessica Tampas’s images are about the intensity of the gaze. The composition, the shallow depth of field and the lack of color draw our attention to the eyes, confronting us and making us wonder.
— Anne Berry