Comments on: 2007 Fuji… Ermm… “Distinctions” Awards http://beautyphoto.com/news/fuji_awards/ based near Chester, providing the north west, north Wales and the Midlands with the finest creative photography Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:04:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Chris Birchall http://beautyphoto.com/news/fuji_awards/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Chris Birchall Mon, 03 Mar 2008 10:55:45 +0000 http://www.beautyphoto.org.uk/blog/2008/02/27/awards/#comment-3 Fuji have followed up with information about the winning image. Here are some excerpts from their press release: <em>Afshin combines his career as a photographer with multimedia work and lecturing... ...The winning shot was taken at 'Darya-che Namak' which literally translates as Salt Lake, a two hour drive south of Tehran. Afshin explains how the shot happened: 'I had heard about the lake from various people and wanted to shoot there at dusk, so I called a cab and off we went. But we misjudged the distance, arriving much earlier than expected. We pulled off the highway onto a dirt track and headed into the scrubland. As we approached the lake we saw the dry brown earth transitioning into white salt beds, this is where they mine for salt.' He continued: 'There wasn't much there, just the odd hut, some labourers and a few mangy guard dogs, keeping watch over the mining equipment. If you arrive during the heat of afternoon, as we did, the dogs and their owners are all sleeping under the relative cool of the shade. We drove to the edge of the mine - beyond that my cab driver wouldn't go, having heard stories of day trippers driving out into the lake bed and never being seen again. The drivers is actually in the photo, he's asleep at the wheel, the doors left open to keep cool.'</em> <strong>One of the judges, Jon Levy, had this to say about the winning entry:</strong> <em>'Afshin's image has an ambiguous quality which, combined with the colour transforms what could be an ordinary scene into something quite mysterious. The simplicity and openness makes this photograph into an iconic image.'</em> <strong>Ah! So that's why it won! Silly me. It was that <em>"ambiguous quality"</em> that I must somehow have missed</strong> ;) Fuji have followed up with information about the winning image. Here are some excerpts from their press release:

Afshin combines his career as a photographer with multimedia work and lecturing…

…The winning shot was taken at ‘Darya-che Namak’ which literally translates as Salt Lake, a two hour drive south of Tehran. Afshin explains how the shot happened: ‘I had heard about the lake from various people and wanted to shoot there at dusk, so I called a cab and off we went. But we misjudged the distance, arriving much earlier than expected. We pulled off the highway onto a dirt track and headed into the scrubland. As we approached the lake we saw the dry brown earth transitioning into white salt beds, this is where they mine for salt.’

He continued: ‘There wasn’t much there, just the odd hut, some labourers and a few mangy guard dogs, keeping watch over the mining equipment. If you arrive during the heat of afternoon, as we did, the dogs and their owners are all sleeping under the relative cool of the shade. We drove to the edge of the mine – beyond that my cab driver wouldn’t go, having heard stories of day trippers driving out into the lake bed and never being seen again. The drivers is actually in the photo, he’s asleep at the wheel, the doors left open to keep cool.’

One of the judges, Jon Levy, had this to say about the winning entry: ‘Afshin’s image has an ambiguous quality which, combined with the colour transforms what could be an ordinary scene into something quite mysterious. The simplicity and openness makes this photograph into an iconic image.’

Ah! So that’s why it won!
Silly me. It was that “ambiguous quality” that I must somehow have missed ;)

]]> By: Chris Birchall http://beautyphoto.com/news/fuji_awards/comment-page-1/#comment-2 Chris Birchall Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:22:42 +0000 http://www.beautyphoto.org.uk/blog/2008/02/27/awards/#comment-2 What do YOU think of this year's winning entries? Are they creative? Has "creativity" gone too far? Is Chris getting as old as his years? <strong>Let's hear YOUR views on the subject.</strong> What do YOU think of this year’s winning entries?
Are they creative? Has “creativity” gone too far? Is Chris getting as old as his years?
Let’s hear YOUR views on the subject.

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