One Life Winner – Jan Smith

In October of 2010 I submitted to the One Life International Photography Contest and included the contest in my review of photography contests. Then I crossed my fingers and intentionally forgot all about it– I’ve worked myself up before, only to receive a “thank you, but no thank you” message, or worse, no answer at all.  Well, the results came in today and I was tremendously happy and surprised to see I was the category winner for “Places”. This is not the same as the Grand Prize of $25,000, but I will get a free camera, so I’m not complaining.

It was great to see my work along side that of Lisa Wiltse and fellow Mexican photographer Dulce Pinzon.  I ‘d seen Lisa’s work before on Burn magazine — her work on the  the Mennonites in Bolivia graceful and powerful.  Her pictures show an artistic composition–pastoral and almost innocent–but the story they tell is poignant.  This contrast really brings home the underlying tension of a society recovering from serial rape.

Dulce’s work is perhaps more familiar to us; various publications have featured her work.  On the surface it seems her pictures are but cute parodies of famous comic book superheroes, and we can readily identify with the subjects.  But she is actually broadcasting a powerful message about the (often unappreciated) super human work of everyday Latinamericans in the United States. I have to confess it felt good to see another fellow Mexican share the podium–our country has a rich heritage in the visual arts.

There are over a 100 runner-up portfolios featured.  Of all the ones I looked at, one in particular left me feeling I had cheated somebody else out of better position.  The portfolio of Fardin Waezi is poignant, honest, and humble. The last attribute is rare among photographers. Fardin lives and works in Afghanistan.  He grew up there, working in his father’s photography business–even during the reign of the Taliban.  “My aim is to keep my father’s profession (photography) alive and encourage and train young generation as professional photojournalists,” he writes.  I looked up his profile and he is described as “best photojournalist working in Afghanistan.” I agree with the accolade.  Congratulations Fardin.