L.A. Photo Curator Results
Theme: Introspective Matter
Curator: Michael Kirchoff

Note from Michael Kirchoff to entrants:

When I first wrote the prospectus for Introspective Matter, I felt I’d had a pretty good idea of what to expect from the resulting submissions. For a very long time know, I’ve also had a career as someone who has photographed a whole lot of tabletop, product, and still-life imagery for advertising and editorial clients. Even when doing that I always had made photographs that were more personal or reflected my love of light and lighting. These were, for the most part, rather traditional in approach and concept, yet filled a part of my own aesthetic that I felt important to me as an image maker. What I did find upon my first perusal of submissions for this call was both eye-opening and unexpected. Let me now thank you all for that, as it was most definitely a pleasant surprise. Overall, there was a “think outside the box” approach that I was seeing with these images. Processes and concepts brought a fresh and varied view to the thought behind creating stunning still life imagery, both of which made it quite difficult to make my final selections. I found that almost everyone had submitted something that initially caught my eye (something that rarely happens), and my early selection list was far too long. I really had to simply sit with this list of images for some time and revisit it periodically. I had to gauge my choices over time and in different moods and levels of alertness (I’m working a lot these days and often on the exhausted side of things). In the end, what I found was that my final list mirrored my moods and state of being throughout the process, and in hindsight has provided a better understanding of the many ideas of what a still-life photograph can be. That has brought an improved perspective to my ideas and ways of doing things, and for that, I am very grateful. Please know that the process of putting together the final list of choices was a tough one and that there were far too many winners submitted to award kudos to. What I do have though, is a list of great talent and art that will keep me looking back at with what is possible. Thank you all for your submissions, your talent, and your art.


First Place: Kent Krugh 'Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)'

Second Place: PD Packard 'Lyrical Chives'

Honorable Mentions:
Mariana Bartolomeo 'Alchemy',
Laurie Peek 'Candlestick',
Barbara Hazen 'Spoon Molds',
Claudia-Cebrian 'Promised-Land-Peony01',
Juergen Lechner 'Camera Obscura Playground'

Best Series: Charlie McCullers 'Pointe #3, 'Pointe #4, 'Pointe #5