Judges felt this was a weak category with the first place winner head and shoulders above the others. This was a very strong entry showing with the photographer working hard to show the life of a refugee as he works to become a citizen. The readers were able to gain a sense of Yayha Akbar life in a new country while not losing his cultural identity. This went beyond simply being a collection of photographs. Excellent story !
We can understand how difficult the second place story might have been to photograph from a physical standpoint. Nonetheless they were able to portray the work day of a steeplejack, but we were left wanting to see more from this story.
We were close to not awarding a third place winner but felt the photographer was on the right track but they needed to show what the story was about, pointe shoe fittings, so we were surprised not to see feet being fitted. There should have been fewer photos of students at the barre, which didn't quite show picture variety and was repetitive, and a more diverse selection (tighter shots of hands, feet and pointe shoes). Again, something for the photographer to keep in mind...variety of angles and looks help make for stronger stories.
Judges:
Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail, Theresa Suzuki/The Globe and Mail, Tim McKenna/The Globe and Mail
Judges Comments
Judges felt this was a weak category with the first place winner head and shoulders above the others. This was a very strong entry showing with the photographer working hard to show the life of a refugee as he works to become a citizen. The readers were able to gain a sense of Yayha Akbar life in a new country while not losing his cultural identity. This went beyond simply being a collection of photographs. Excellent story ! We can understand how difficult the second place story might have been to photograph from a physical standpoint. Nonetheless they were able to portray the work day of a steeplejack, but we were left wanting to see more from this story. We were close to not awarding a third place winner but felt the photographer was on the right track but they needed to show what the story was about, pointe shoe fittings, so we were surprised not to see feet being fitted. There should have been fewer photos of students at the barre, which didn't quite show picture variety and was repetitive, and a more diverse selection (tighter shots of hands, feet and pointe shoes). Again, something for the photographer to keep in mind...variety of angles and looks help make for stronger stories.