2015 Statewide Photography Competition Exhibition

Now through June 13
NCCA Statewide Photography Competition

Jansma Gallery at NCCA-Artsplace, 13 E. Main St., Fremont. 231-924-4022. Our goal is to exhibit and acknowledge the finest photographers in the State of Michigan and encourage greater growth and achievement in the photographic community. This is a juried competition. Selected works are on exhibit and among them will be the honor of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place and honorable mentions receiving ribbons and cash awards.

2015 Juror Brian Kainulainen is a professional landscape photographer. Although photography is his primary medium, Kainulainen has also received a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting and Graphic Design and worked several years as a Graphic Artist, which has added a certain artistic quality to his work.

Juror’s Statement:

“Jurying this show was an honor and a pleasure…and slightly nerve-racking. It’s  always nice to see how other photographers view the world and the different processes they choose to communicate their vision. There was a nice range of work submitted and I was impressed with the quality of work achieved. This did not make the already unpleasant task of eliminating certain works any easier. And it added an extra challenge in choosing the awards.

I believe great photography is technically sound, visually compelling,  and moves us in some way. As I looked at each work I asked myself several questions: Is the composition strong/compelling? What is the quality of the light and how did the photographer use it? Does the work have visual or emotional impact? What is the image about or is the photographer’s intent with the image clear? And what is the quality of the overall presentation of the image (framing, matting, wrapping)?

I believe the chosen works succeeded in several  of these areas and the awarded works had all of these elements going for them. These works were the ones that really stood out to me because of their technical excellence, their beautiful marriage of form and content, and their overall impact.

I enjoyed the jury process, though it was not easy, and I tried to be fair in my choices to present a high quality, diverse show. I want to congratulate those photographers that were admitted into the show and received awards. I want to encourage those who were not accepted to continue to believe in their work. The jury process can be unkind, but I am just one man and can guarantee that I am not all-knowing. As artists I believe subjecting our work to scrutiny by others can be painful, but can, also, be very rewarding and help us grow into better image makers in the end.”

-Brian Kainulainen

Photographers receiving honors are:

1st place, Jim Churchill for “Autumn Splendor”
2nd place, Donald Leigh Karel for “The Gathering”
3rd place, Frederic A. Reinecke for ” Ice Texture”
Honorable Mention, Richard Hinton for “Rusted Floor”
Honorable Mention, Gail Howart for “Larry”

Photographers accepted into the juried exhibition this year are:

Kenzie Burt
Joe Bushman
Randy Butters
Dianne Carroll Burdick
Jim Churchill
Robert C. Day
Ron Dibble
Katie Day-Schirmer
W. Christian Kuebler
Tom Gammans
Linda Greer
Kellie Hetler
Richard Hinton
Gail Howarth
Donald Leigh Karel
Barb Lowry
Judi Luptak
Carl Luther
Leanne McGann
Lisa Medendorp
Frederic A. Reinecke
David Sauer
Jane Stroschin
Piotr Wosilewski