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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Pros Of The Future

Out of the thousands of submissions, the images on these pages are those that rose to the top in this year's contest

This Article Features Photo Zoom

As we wrap up the Third Annual Emerging Pro Photo Competition, all of us at Digital Photo Pro were impressed once again by the caliber of the submissions. In a business environment that poses more than its fair share of challenges to professional photographers looking to make a living in the field, there’s no shortage of talent to help give this next generation a firm foundation from which to launch their careers. In any photo contest, choosing winners is, in the best of circumstances, no easy task. With so many excellent submissions, the job was made even more difficult this time around.

Thanks to our sponsors, Microsoft and Olympus, we were again able to offer some incredible prizes to this year’s winners. Having such enthusiastic corporate backing makes it possible for us to award a $10,000 Grand Prize and $1,000 First Prizes to this year’s winners, and we’re grateful to both Microsoft and Olympus for their support.

A few years ago, it was suggested that there was almost no more need for professional photographers in a world inundated with more than 100 years of /images. The naysayers who made that proclamation completely discounted the aesthetic evolution of the medium, as well as the ability of technology to revolutionize the very act of previsualizing an image. The next generation of professionals will have been brought up in a world of digital /images, and their aesthetics and the very way in which they think about photographs will be seen through that filter.

We look forward to the 2009 Emerging Pro Photo Competition and to seeing how the next generation will continue to push the visual envelope.

Grand Prize
Jason Blake
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
School: University of the Arts, Philadelphia, BFA in Photography
Awards: Group Exhibitions—2005: “Photography Exhibition,” Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; 2006: “University of the Arts Digital Photography,” Silicon Gallery, Phila-delphia, Pa.; 2006: “Blood, Sweat, Emulsion,” Icebox Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa. Permanent Collections —“Collected Visions 2,” Stare Gallery, Cabrillo College, Aptos, Calif.; “Photography Collection,” George School, Newtown, Pa.; “Photography Collection,” Haverford College, Haverford, Pa.; “Permanent Collection,” Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. Promising Artist Award, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, 2001.

It wasn’t until early in Jason Blake’s college career that he fell in love with photography, becoming influenced after seeing other photographers’ work. One of his strongest influences was Francesca Woodman because of her use of narrative in her /images. Blake’s goal
is to create thought-provoking and inspiring /images with a sense of hidden narrative. He wants his /images to elicit emotion, mystery and, most of all, a story.

Describing his winning image, The Brothel, based on an idea of woman’s power over man, Blake says, “Both the sexes have a debilitating power over the other, and in this case, I’m showing woman’s power over man—that one’s confidence has the physical power to melt the other one away in the form displayed by the top hats, which represent man’s physicality. The top hats also represent the trail of men that woman has control over.”

All of Blake’s /images are examples of high style and high concept. Many inexperienced photographers have fantastic ideas and a sense of style, but their /images fall apart because the photographer can’t deliver a polished, professional-level finished product. Blake stands out with his attention to detail in all aspects of the photograph.