“During my recovery period, day-to-day concerns became irrelevant, and I became more aware of the moments that really matter in life – moments of emotion, human connection, and wonder at the beauty of nature. What better way to represent those moments than through photography?”
Fiona Gifford, a lawyer and keen amateur photographer who was diagnosed with breast cancer, aged 34, founded the competition in 2006.
RENAISSANCE PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE 2013
The Renaissance Photography Prize is now open for online entries and there is an early bird discount of 20% if you submit your images by 15 March. It is an international photography award that showcases outstanding photography from emerging or established photographers while raising funds to support young women with breast cancer. All profit from entries is donated to The Lavender Trust at Breast Cancer Care, UK and there are a range of prizes.
I’ll be on the judging panel for the Series category and have been a keen supporter of the competition, since I met Fiona in 2008. I will be supporting the competition on the blog until the deadline by featuring the logo. I recently did a short interview with Renaissance for its February newsletter, see below for an excerpt from the interview. The full version should be on the website soon as I had rather a lot to say. For now, here’s a taster:
You will be volunteering to judge this year’s prize – What made you support Renaissance?
Honestly? My mother was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in 2008 and I happened to meet Fiona [Gifford, the founder] the same year. We got talking and discovered a shared passion for photography. So many photo competitions charge entry fees that amount to a small fortune when you total them up and I often wonder where the money goes. With the Renaissance Photography Prize all the money goes to the Lavender Trust.
What are you looking for when you judge a photography prize?
I like to find images that resonate with me and give me a sense of the photographer, their vision and imagination. I am drawn to photos that evoke emotion… I see a lot of clichéd images that show me the same subjects, whether portraits or landscapes, portrayed in a generic fashion. With a series, it’s important that the photographs are cohesive and hang together as a whole. But that doesn’t mean that they all need to look the same – it’s about the overall sense of the series as well as about the individual shots. I think that one of the most challenging aspects in creating a series is producing a tight edit, one in which all the photos are working individually and together.
In the five years since its inception, Renaissance has raised over £200,000 for the charity. Entering gives photographers a chance to have their work judged by some of the top names in the industry and win prizes with a total value of over £5,000, including cash, photographic equipment, portfolio reviews and the winning series published in HotShoe Magazine. In addition, 60 selected photographs will form part of the Renaissance exhibition held this autumn in a prestigious London gallery.
Previous prize winners include Renaissance Photography Prize 2012 to Anastasia Taylor-Lind (United Kingdom), Calumet Film Prize 2012 to Julieta Sans (United Kingdom) and the Category Prize 2012 – Expression to Mimi Mollica (United Kingdom). See 2012 prize winners for more.
SUBMISSIONS
Photographers can enter single images (categories Expression, Ordinary and In Between) or a series of work in an open category. The competition is open to everyone and welcomes entries from all countries.
Single Image
Submit unlimited individual photographs
Categories: Expression – Ordinary – In Between
Entry fee: £15 for 1 photograph, £25 for up to 3, £40 for up to 6
Series
Submit 5-8 photographs from one body of work + project statement
Category: Open, no theme
Entry fee: £50 per series
JUDGES 2013
Monica Allende – Picture Editor, The Sunday Times Magazine
Simon Bainbridge – Editor, British Journal of Photography
Julia Fullerton-Batten – Photographer
Miranda Gavin – Deputy and Online Editor, HotShoe International
Nadav Kander – Photographer
Chris Littlewood – Director of Photography, Flowers Gallery, UK
Brett Rogers – Director, The Photographers’ Gallery, UK
Sophie Wright – Cultural & Print Room Director, Magnum Photos
The judges will select 60 photographs to be exhibited in London autumn 2013, and from these nominate the shortlist and winners. The winners will be announced at an award ceremony held during the exhibition week.
PREVIOUS JUDGES
In previous years the judges, all of whom donate their time and expertise, has included Martin Parr, Eamonn McCabe and editors, curators and directors from respected UK institutions such as The Photographers’ Gallery, Michael Hoppen Gallery, Rhubarb Rhubarb and the Sunday Times Magazine.
About Renaissance
Six years on and the competition has become an established fixture in the photography world. Renaissance is growing each year and last year the competition attracted over 5,225 entries from 67 countries. It has enjoyed amazing support from photographers, editors, curators and photography organisations and aims to raise even more funds this year.
For more information please visit Renaissance Photography Prize or contact info@renaissancephotography.org.
If you have any suggestions for content, or want to know more or are having problems with the blog, feel free to contact me: mirandagavin@hotmail.com
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