Disqus - Latest Comments for matteich

Re: We Sing, We Pray by Russel Albert Daniels

matteich — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:06:15 -0000

Judges Comments:
Russel – Its always a gift when we as photographers can meet such unique subjects who also happen to be incredible individuals in their own right. I appreciate your sensitive approach to this story and the visual variety that you packed in to the edit. It is obvious that you spent some time on this. The main constructive criticism that comes to mind is that the story doesn’t have any rise and fall throughout – it is consistent but lacks the emotional wallop needed to make it really stick with the viewer. I’m sorry to hear of Matthew’s passing. I’m sure these photos will be invaluable to his family. Try to use the foundation you have built with this project to expand and continue honing these linear narratives. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do next. Best of luck.

Re: Untitled by Nicole Tung

matteich — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:54:46 -0000

Judges Comments:
Nicole – Some of my favorite images from this entire competition were in your essay, which is also a unique and fascinating topic. The flip side is that your subject is a hard thing to show and will require a bold visual approach to drive it home. I’d love to see you continue on this path, telling the story through landscapes, daily life images and then intimate, stylistically consistent portraits of Native Americans who suffer from PTSD. Some compelling written or audio interviews would give this even more impact. Your aesthetic sensibilities are strong and I feel this story, more than any of the others really, has the potential to be a uniquely moving essay. I’d urge you to keep working on it and please let me know if I can be of some help by offering thoughts or eyes on edits. Great work.

Re: Professional wrestling by Timothy Eastman

matteich — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:47:04 -0000

Judges Comments:
Timothy – I was looking through the finalists with a friend of mine and we were instantly drawn in by your tones. The use of color in this collection of pictures helps set a mood, which is solid. Your edit needs a bit tightening up but overall this represents a good start to a project you can continue for some time. Ben Lowy did a great piece on MMA fighting that would be worth looking at. Keep applying your unique aesthetic to the subject and this will develop into a nice body of work over time if you continue to pursue it.

http://www.poyi.org/66/05/f...

Re: Untitiled by Sveta Khisamutdinova

matteich — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:42:30 -0000

Judges Comments:
Sveta – Without an artist statement or something to explain your thought process I feel a bit lost. Like Panos, I believe color and black & white can work in some instances, however, I don’t believe the mix works here. More importantly, I don’t understand at all what you are trying to convey with these images. There are a few beautiful singles in there but no narrative or common thread and several images that are much weaker than the others, dragging the rest down. You have an eye but it seems you need to figure out your purpose and focus your energy on developing a narrative to help everything hold together. I hope that makes sense. Let me know if you wan to dialogue about this some more. Keep at it!

Re: Portraits by Kimberly Halverson

matteich — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:31:40 -0000

JUDGES COMMENTS:
Kimberly – These images show a wonderful grasp on light and color. Some like #s 1, 3, 5 and 15 are really beautiful images that stand out. There is great potential in this group of pictures to explore your relationship with Ernest and Luanna. As a viewer, I want to know more about them than what I get at this point. You try to focus on the mundane parts of their life but the scope is a bit limited. What about going with them to the grocery store, to church or to a friend’s house? Look for those fleeting tender moments where hands touch, or however they express themselves to one another. See if you can be there early in the morning as they climb out of bed to start their day. Push for more intimacy. The images remind me a great deal of KayLynn Deveney’s book, “The Day to Day Life of Albert Hastings.” I’ll link to her site here so you can check it out.

www.kaylynndeveney.com

Editing is one of the most crucial and yet difficult parts of photography. The images have to blend aesthetically and avoid redundancies to really flow. The middle of your essay gets a bit redundant with several lunchtime shots – some almost identical. These need to be trimmed out, leaving only the strongest to comprise your narrative. One other thing that stood out is that the camera awareness in #s 4, 11, and 12 clash stylistically with the others. The images where Ernest and Luanna seem to have forgotten your presence are the strongest. This is a good start to what could be a really touching story. I hope you continue to pursue it. Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Re: Lost in the Trees by Alyssa Reichardt

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:44:57 -0000

Judges Comments:
Alyssa – Your use of light and color is great. There is a lack of closeness and intimacy with the subjects that I really crave to make this story stand out from the mix. Most of the time people feel more like compositional elements than subjects. The band story is something that has been done before and done well, so to make this successful you really have to push the aesthetic boundaries to make it pop. Your camera-to-subject distance is similar throughout and lacks the push/pull needed to keep the viewer engaged. Try working as physically close to your subject as possible, then move as far away as you can, with your back to the wall and work from there. The comfortable distance in the middle always comes naturally. I can see that you are coming into your style and am excited to see how that develops. There is lots of potential within the subject you have chosen – capitalize on it with bold imagery and keep pushing.

Re: Pahelwans: The Wrestlers by Siddhartha Hajra

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:44:08 -0000

Judges Comments:
Siddhartha – Your essay gets off to a great start with the first few images. Frame number 5 pulls it down for me because it doesn’t meet the bar you’ve set with the previous shots. I want to get a sense of who the wrestlers are, why they choose to spend their time this way and the dedication the pursuit entails. Even without getting to the “why,” there are only a few images that illustrate what it is they actually do. One photographer who has some really strong work that reminded me of yours, both stylistically and in terms of content is Tomasz Gudzowaty. Check out his website (linked below) for some examples of a way to approach this sort of non-linear narrative. There is a lot of beauty in your images and this is a great beginning. Please do continue working on this and feel free to drop me a line if you want to discuss the project further.

http://www.gudzowaty.com/

Re: Existence of Dismissal by Yanina Manolova

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:42:27 -0000

Judges Comments:
Hey Yanina – This is a great collection of compelling images highlighting an important story. You’ve got a knack for making pictures that are very beautiful in a traditional way. Like Jamie I noticed the similarities between this and Mary Calvert’s story, but still think that it is an issue that needs to be shown – though hopefully interpreted in different ways. You have a great sense of the traditional photojournalism aesthetic, my only criticism would be that I don’t feel it pushes the envelope to challenge or startle me visually. To make your voice heard, and by proxy that of your subjects, you need to strive to cultivate your own unique perspective.

Re: Coping with a Desaparecido by Stanley Cabigas

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:41:33 -0000

Judges Comments:
Stanley – You’ve chosen a fascinating but visually difficult subject here. How do you show the lack of something or someone? There are some strong single images within the essay you submitted but as a story it only strikes a couple chords. You want to take the viewer on an emotional journey – think of yourself as a conduit between the subject and the viewer. How do you convey their loss so that someone in another country can understand? On a technical level, the images are beautifully toned but you overuse the wide angle a bit. Oftentimes photographers struggle to get indoors but you’ve succeeded to get that access – now push for the visual variety of the family outside or anywhere else (we desperately need a scene-setter). Take the opportunity to tell this unique story by pushing hard on it and seeing what comes. Find a variety of subjects who have been affected to round out the narrative but definitely continue pursuing this story.

Re: Minus the Action by Drew Angerer

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:40:17 -0000

Judges Comments:
Drew – Some beautiful images in the mix here and a nice edit. I love that you chose to approach this story from a different angle that also capitalizes on your strengths as a photographer. Technically, the images and toning are very strong. You fall into a pattern of using certain visual tools (some would call them gimmicks, but they have their uses) like the silhouette when I know you are capable of making images that have deeper meaning. This sort of story is good to show a publication what you can do at an event and to make some eye-candy but I’d love to see you delve into a story that you really care about. Looking forward to seeing what you produce this year.

Re: Nonexistent by Stephanie Makosky

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:39:00 -0000

Judges Comments:
Stephanie – A lot of beautiful images in the mix and what looks like the start of a nice project. Your ability to convey a mood is well developed and a strength you should build on. What needs work is the narrative. I understand that you are trying to push home the fact that these immigrants are invisible, but it is possible to show that in a compelling way without making each image anonymous. After a while the images tend to become redundant, hitting the same note when you need to create a rise and fall within the piece, like a song, if that makes any sense. Instead of perpetuating the anonymity give voice to the voiceless. You succeed in showing what you describe but take it a step further and make the viewer feel what it is like to be invisible. The images are great – use them as a foundation to build upon with this project.

Re: Nonexistent by Stephanie Makosky

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:38:53 -0000

Re: Border Patrol by Philip Scott Andrews

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:36:55 -0000

Judges Comments:
Pip, It’s been great to see this project develop. Your vision is strong and compelling. Despite this story being a bit “over-covered” by the media, I think it is important to interpret it in your own way. We’ve discussed the project in depth before and I am excited to see how it develops as you keep working on it.

Re: American Family by Nathanael Turner

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:36:27 -0000

Judges Comments:
Nathanael – I really respect that you are trying to approach this from a different standpoint and working to stitch together an abstract narrative. That said, I don’t feel it is really successful as of yet. These images all hint at an emerging voice and vision that you are honing. There are a lot of positive aesthetic qualities that these images contain individually, but as a whole they don’t all seem to mesh. The key is to keep plugging away and allowing your vision to develop at its own pace. Your use of subtle color, light and the inclusion of details reminds me of a lot of work you’d see in FADER magazine – look at some of the photographers they publish regularly like Dorothy Hong or Lauren Fleishman to see how they utilize a lot of these same aesthetic hooks you are working with to flesh out your narrative. Photographing your family is crucial – you are the only person with that access. You will learn a lot about yourself and also create a priceless document of your family history by continuing that work. Keep it up.

Re: Its like fishing by Natalie Conn

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:36:19 -0000

Judges Comments:
Natalie – This is an interesting daily assignment that might yield a couple fun singles, but not enough to make into a story or essay in my opinion. As a visual storyteller, one of the most difficult facets of your job sometime will be selecting something that is visually interesting. While this might make a fascinating written story there just isn’t enough to pull an essay out of what you shot. Some things just will not yield a picture story. Editing is one of the most key elements of photography – there are a lot of redundancies in the images you chose to show. Piece together a tight edit of the strongest images to present. I don’t get a sense of narrative from this collection of pictures – only that you were there with a camera. Figure out what you are trying to say with your images. If you are a communicator, you need a unique perspective. What is yours? I hope this is helpful and would love to chat with you more about your approach if you feel like it. Just drop me a line.

Re: Untitled by Jongchul Lee

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:34:04 -0000

Judges Comments:
Jongchul, 43 images in almost any essay is far far too many. There are some exceptional and beautiful frames within this body of work but they are watered down by the excess. You allow yourself to take risks with certain images (such as frame 2) that really excel and give a feeling, but others (like #4) don’t seem to be all there. This is a personal story, one you have great access to and time is on your side. Keep making images and pushing the envelope visually, but keep in mind that your final product is only as strong as the weakest image. The saying I always try to keep in mind when editing is, “Edit until it hurts. Then cut one more.”

Re: Untitled by Ashley Ross

matteich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:32:32 -0000

Judges Comments:
Ashley, this is a nice start to a thoughtful story that shows sensitivity. There are a handful of images that stand above the rest, and a couple that tend to drag the edit down. #9 feels unnecessary, especially when followed by #10. How long did you spend with Carly and Matthew? Judging by the variety in clothing it looks like two days. This story could have benefited from more time to add some depth to your narrative. There are some nice moments and some good use of light – work on the technical side of the imaging (i.e. toning) and pushing your compositions. Again, this is a great start – keep it up!