EDITORS’ PICK
A Life of Possibilities
OPEN CALL
OPEN CALL EDITORS’ PICK
Following Helen Healy’s selection of winning images for our recent Open Call competition, this compilation of 20 images represents some of the other talented photographers whose work struck us and left a mark. Each a stunning image worthy of exposure and attention…
When selecting for editor’s picks we’re always searching for those striking photographs that make for an unforgettable single image, whether from a broader series or not. We enjoy the accompanying text some photographers submit with their images, and while not always necessary it can be relevant when understanding the work in full context.
These are intended to be a conversation starter… so feel free to join the discussion on our social networks.
BANNER IMAGE: AARON BICKFORD
The magnificence of the wave is captured in this colorless seascape, soundlessly ripping through the scene and encouraging the viewer to look closer and examine the details within the deep dark waters. This mesmerizing photograph provides a subtle reminder of the force of nature, beauty and danger quietly coexisting until we challenge it. A captivating image, created with an experienced use of soft gradients and tonal range. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Tear.
KEVIN CLARK
Mystery and intrigue instantly grab the viewer’s attention – from the isolated location of this one fuel pump, to Harry, the feline explorer emerging from the shadowy foreground of the scene. A striking image, clear and exact, framed to emphasize the solitude found in places where SUVs and pickup trucks are a necessity for inhabitants… unless you’re a cat… – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Harry makes his way across the snow-covered ground at Rome Station in south-eastern Oregon.
FRANCESCA REMIGIO
The viewer takes in a scene that appeals to the senses through texture, light and quietness, as the photographer allows them insight into their inspiration and process – detailed and instinctual. Through this organic process the photographer has lovingly created a typically peaceful image where the observer can draw on its stillness and relax into the scene before them. Something about the unpolished result – the graininess and imperfect focus – only adds to the charm. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – I’m not a professional photographer, I haven’t attended themed courses, I’ve never used Photoshop (to tell the truth, I don’t even own a computer), I edit my shots from my cell phone screen and only recently I allowed myself the luxury of a mirrorless camera with which I spend every spare time. What I want to photograph manifests itself in my head as lightning-fast but well-defined images in the details so, as soon as I can, I get to work to materialize my vision in one shot. I like pop colors and provocative photography, but never vulgar and I find it fun to insert alienating elements into my compositions.
JESS WILLIAMS
The subject stares back at the viewer, smooth skinned and stone faced, as the light balances evenly from foreground to background. The image reads like a high-end fashion and beauty shoot rather than any type of staged street snapshot, its cinematic quality enhanced by the landscape framing. It’s an engaging photograph, the subject standing strong against the blue backdrop of lights and crossing wires of the urban environment. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Dressed in Shadows, She Embraces the City’s Bold Luminance.
RYAN AW
Curiosity drew this photographer back to admire and capture a striking and stark seascape, which in itself displays skill, respect and adoration for this stunning but difficult environment. The viewer absorbs a scene of complete tranquillity, allowing all senses to be evoked and enveloped, all the time while considering the rise and fall of the water as it hides and reveals this island rock in different forms. This photograph of snow, rock and sea is one that has a magnetic effect on both photographer and viewer. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Sea Castle – A naturally formed spire, initially presenting itself as just a rock during high tide, reveals itself to be a massive, 18ft tall spire in the sea. I first spotted the rock while en route to another location on the Kenai Peninsula, but found myself coming back here for some reason.
ELENA PARASKEVA
A scene packed with pattern and symmetry awaits the viewer’s gaze. The sugar-sweet color palette plays a stark contrast to the subject who has become lost somewhere beyond her physical presence, surrounded by water, hard surfaces and empty chairs. Feelings of loneliness and hopelessness float amongst the scattered ice cubes – it’s plain to see the photographer has considered every aspect of their image and taken care to create the scene. An imaginative and skilled photograph. – LIFE FRAMER
JOHN BULLOCK
This sunny street portrait is full of people without faces and identity, triggering our senses beyond sight as we feel the movement of shadows and the warmth reflecting off the surfaces. There is a calm and placid mood to the soundless scene where the expressionless silhouettes appear happy and content. The photographer evokes a welcomed moment of slowness with this harmonious and uncomplicated photograph. – LIFE FRAMER
NIKITA SHCHUKIN
The photographer creates an effortless, performative scene to weave together a myriad of connected themes. It asks the viewer to take on the perspective of a complete outsider to understand the nature of our relationship with this planet, and our split attitude of waste and worship towards material things we discard upon it. A scene of symbolism and serenity that questions humanity’s perceived social and environmental conscience, and the contradictory actions that follow. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Future Myth of the Present. This project was conceived during our coasteering adventures around Hong Kong and its nearby islands. We reached places seemingly untouched by civilization, yet the sea, with its unerring consistency, always brought us reminders of human presence — discards, wreckage, fishing tackles, and other debris. From the perspective of someone acquainted with the modern world, it’s not challenging to discern the original purpose of these objects. However, we strive to adopt the gaze of an outsider, one devoid of preconceptions about our present. We ponder, what might these objects signify to them?
On one part, this project attempts to present an image of our present, formed from a critically nuanced understanding of objects thrown ashore, focusing on surreal misplacement of functionality of things, alike the cognition of cargo cults, for whom any unknown technology is indistinguishable from magic. In that fashion our objects turn into idols presenting a transcendently cycle. And on the other, the ghostly figures represent connection between humans and nature and show as an individual human being is like a spectral imprint on the earthly temporal scale, while humanity as a whole has etched itself into the bedrock through its actions and impact on the surrounding natural environment.
WILHELM PHILIPP
The viewer would be forgiven for mistaking this image for a scene from outer space, a shooting star flying through the dark galaxy. The reality, we learn from their accompanying statement, is something different altogether – a moment where the micro world reflects the macro world, as well as a wonderful example of finding magic in everyday details. It’s an effortless and effective photograph. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Waltzing Deep Space Lullaby. A single thread of a spider’s web illuminated by the sun to create a comet-like shape flying through the night sky. Melbourne, 2020.
CHRISTIAN HOLZKNECHT
An iconic scene from America’s Route 66, however the perspective doesn’t focus specifically on the diner itself, but also on the surrounding buildings and cars – as dated in style and order as the famous eatery. The photographer’s use of grainy, black and white allows the observer to slip back in time and immerse themselves in the highway culture of 1940/50’s America. A photograph that feels like a postcard from the past – a well trodden visual language but done here with style and grace. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Roy’s Cafe in Amboy, California.
JASNA VUKOS
Beyond the perfectly polished cinematic scene, the viewer is left to contemplate the intricacies of self-portraiture – the planning, staging and lighting, the perfecting of the posing and the timing of the image – a huge amount of effort before even seeing the final output. The photographer chooses to depict this concept of a muddled, identity crisis using the generic settings of a hotel room, and uses the space wholly to her advantage. A flawless and calculated picture. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – From the series Atopos. My identity has been shaped by the experience of living as an immigrant in different cultures and countries. I have come to understand identity as a continuous flow, a journey, and an escape from any definition, rather than something assigned to me by birth. Through this journey, hotels have represented places of transition where concerns of identity are erased. They are non-places in which we are briefly levitating.
These self-portraits were taken in hotel rooms I visited. While deconstructing and exploring the different meanings of the terms non-place and identity in relation to contemporary mobility, I observe the feelings of alienation, disorientation, anticipation, and loneliness that accompany the act of uprooting due to leaving one’s home, as well as the sense of freedom that a newly gained nomadic identity can provide.
ANDRÉS DE VARONA
The photographer presents a visual depiction of both inherited trauma and human struggle, as the wires and cord wrap themselves uninvitedly around the subject’s body. A difficult image for the viewer to examine and consider, as the black and white emphasizes the pain and harshness, leaving nowhere for relief or meditation. However, the concept exposes the reality of the experiences of the generations before us that we cannot rid ourselves of – for good or for bad we carry them with us through empathy, culture and family. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Envoy. This project, TRIALS, streamlines all of our individual narratives into a visual record which all collaborators (including myself) are depicted as a living memorial, meaning we are enacting and becoming testimonies to events that once happened in our past lives. By viewing ourselves as a living memorial, we acknowledge a person’s history, what they are going through now, and how they will be moving into their future. Our bodies serve as personal monuments – representing our dedication to time spent healing, accepting and transforming. This visual record is a tool to enter the collective human experience, in which art is used as a celebration within the midst of intense life changes, and acknowledged as a victory against the harsh realities of living. My images don’t provide answers or resolutions, but instead point to areas of thought which are more difficult to express or access in language. Instead, my photographs aim at the delicate truth of what it means to be human by working with the body to visualize the frictions of reality, wounds from survivors, and the ambiguity of conflict.
MATTHEW BUCKNALL
Footprints of humanity appear in every corner of our inhabited planet, even in sparse environments we seek to fashion tools and instruments of entertainment from the most basic of materials, leaving them behind as evidence of our existence. The photographer frames a simple scene of symmetry and contrast as soft blue skies sit softly above the yellow barren landscape, uncaringly interrupted by the metal fencing and wooden board. An interesting image devoid of people but not their presence. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Basketball court, Yucca Valley, CA, USA.
MONIA MARCHIONNI
An intriguing creation of collage, color and pattern receives the viewer’s gaze, the image deconstructed and manipulated to represent how our identities entangle with land and nature. The photographer conceals the faces of the young subjects to allow their concept of ancestral and generational connections to flow uninterrupted through the image. A unique and creative perspective on how people and land can influence and affect each other. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – This photo is called Connections: When a new land is discovered, this land becomes part of our existence and we connect with the spirit of the place, leaving a piece of us. It’s part of the photo series Zanj, born during a trip to Zanzibar at the beginning of 2023. In the resort where I was staying, I met the seasonal workers, the children of the nearby village and the Masai. Receptionists, waiters, cleaners, students, in my eyes they are all tribal leaders connected to their ancestors, wonderful muses, kings and princesses.
ALEXANDER KUCHERIAVIY
A clever composition of simple shape and shadow are the foundations to this scene. However, there’s a contrasting feeling of irony as the viewer compares text and image – the subject’s full silhouette is depicted as if nude behind what appears like a bed sheet, their body as much a point of focus as the aforementioned smile. It has something to say about beauty ideals, and could be the jumping-off point for a very interesting body of work. The photographer uses the natural light perfectly in every aspect of this quirky image. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Sometimes just a smile is enough to see a person completely, with all the inner feelings, joys and fears.
ELLA MACK
Tropes of femininity and masculinity weave through this portrait of fatherhood, as if purposely placed to create this familiar scene – familiar within a domestic setting but not as commonly promoted within society, media and modern culture. The photographer has taken great care to construct, light and pose this portrait – the subjects appearing at ease and proud in their familial roles. A welcomed image of connection and responsibility. – LIFE FRAMER
ERWAN TARLET
A strange and fascinating scene comes together for the viewer here, as the small, upside-down subject materializes in detail. Initially there is a playful and whimsical feel to the image, however the photographer provides context on the symbolic nature of the staged scene and the fragility of the human body. An almost imminent and certain fate is illustrated with the proximity to the cliff edge, as the landscape dominates the scene – possibly a reminder of our ultimate insignificance as individuals on the planet, but in that light to follow our own path while we’re here. A thought provoking image. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – A precarious balance inevitably destined to fall. A body caught just before it falls. Humanity suspended, clinging to its last breath and convincing itself that it won’t let go. A contemplative odyssey of a long fall that never arrives yet is unmistakably evident. The story of life within an inert and faceless body. A falsely “neutral” body of a certain humanity on a journey towards its own collective suicide from the very beginning. The body of an invasive and metastatic species. This body holds on. But for how much longer? Undoubtedly, a world turned upside down…
This work of placing my body within the space of these images was achieved without any editing or manipulation. I used circus techniques such as head balances, suspension by the mouth / hair to create these photos and the help of non-photographer friend or lover to click on the camera when and where I say it so.
GÉRARD LÜTHI
The photographer blends time in this image to depict a narrative of change and progress in an area of Sri Lanka. They effortlessly merge color with black and white imagery to create this passage of time, inviting the viewer to observe the differences and similarities between the two moments. It would be interesting to see this series of images in full with accompanying text of both anecdotal and factual corroboration of the photographer’s own experience. A compelling body of work, where it’s easy to see the love and dedication poured into it by the photographer. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – From the series Sri Lanka, dialogue with the past? Each image, taken between 2021 and 2022, is the synthesis of the same problem at two different times in Sri Lanka. The black and white parts correspond to photographs I took in 1983. The color parts to shots I took in 2018. Like a little novel or a short story, each image is a subjective story inspired by real events. We can thus measure the evolution or, on the contrary, the strength of tradition in the Sri Lankan way of life.
Valachchenai (1983) et Dambulla (2018). Markets today offer a variety of products in abundance. The Sri Lankans, whose thinness betrayed a precarious situation, were succeeded by well-nourished, even chubby men thanks to the improvement of their living conditions.
ELISKA SKY
The observer is drawn closer to inspect the subject, half submerged and half painted, occupying two physical spaces but seemingly at peace with their position – both literally and metaphorically. The complex nature of the theme subtly presents itself through the subdued color of the horizon and the subject’s expression – one of both understanding and surrender. It’s an insightful and creative expression of a difficult experience. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – My Blending Brother. In the depths of uncertainty and isolation that defined the pandemic era, I found solace and renewed appreciation for the bonds of family. That’s why I started to photograph members of my family on our annual holidays in Greece. This photograph of my brother blending with his surroundings, expresses that tension of isolation and solitude, yet is an exploration of vulnerability and resilience, encapsulating the profound beauty found within the connection of our lives with those who anchor us, reminding us that we are never truly alone.
MINAMI IVORY
The photographer’s strong grasp of color theory gives this image immediate visual impact – it grabbing the viewer’s attention before they slowly begin to unravel an interpretation of what they’re seeing, a bit like unwrapping the plastic tubing knotted around the subject’s face. The experience the photographer describes in going through IVF must feel at time impersonal, overwhelming, frustrating and endless, and there’s something of all those feelings in this shot. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – My series “How Do I Bury You If I Don’t Have Your Body: Counted, Graded, Numbered” explores my personal journey from clinical, sterile IVF treatments and the pain through photographs. In the lab, embryos are counted, graded and numbered like samples. They’re stored frozen together in the dark and quiet room like icy poles in the corner shop at night. During every embryo transfer cycle, the embryos were thawed and slid down the tube into my uterus. I just obsessively continued the monthly transfers, consuming my defrosted embryos, just to let them go through me. The aim of the journey became obscure. Mindlessly and obsessively, I continued the transfers, consuming them like bitterly cold icy poles. It became so painful that I just wanted it to be over.
