Life slices, frozen moments, winks of the camera eye -- whichever metaphor best describes photography's results, there's no denying the impact and seductiveness of its aura. Allowing us to possess, savor, even change reality to suit our moods, millions of shutter clicks each day all over the world are a kind of international, public and private writing. The events, people or objects that they record lend themselves to endless variations of beauty and understanding. And so, the Metro Times -- which relies on a steady flow of black & white and color shots for each week's issue -- is proud to offer amateur photographers the chance to compete in the 16th annual Metro Times Photo Awards. With 335 entries, and with winners and honorable mentions from all over metro Detroit, this year's contest has brought in a high percentage of sophisticated, challenging work, just a fraction of which is laid out on these pages. Look for more of these photos to be printed in our annual Summer Fiction issue on July 22.
The three judges for this year's awards include: George Tysh, Metro Times arts editor; Ewolf, a photographer for a large cultural institution in Detroit who is better known for his shots of local and national bands; and S. Kay Young, a Native American local freelance photographer whose work is included in a traveling exhibition, "She Be Me," June 10-17 at the Dell Pryor Galleries, Detroit.
Kudos and thanks to all participants, with a deep bow of gratitude to Greg Stephens of the Scarab Club, where all the contest entries are on view. The club is at 217 Farnsworth (adjacent to the DIA), Detroit. A reception and party on June 12 from 7 p.m. till midnight, with live music by Slim Cessna's Auto Club, highlights the show which ends on June 14. For information call 313-831-1250.
Judges: Ewolf, S. Kay Young
and George Tysh
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PHOTOS
1998 Photo Awards
1st Place Black & White
Brian Lynch. Allen Park
A 30-year-old freshman in photography
at the Center for Creative Studies, Brian Lynch has been going on
ride-alongs for the last month and a half with the River Rouge Fire
Department. "I grew up with two of the guys who work there and they
convinced the chief to let me go along." Of the prize-winning shot he
says, "I just took that one on a whim" (with his Canon EOS A2 35 mm
camera, a 150 mm lens and Kodak T-Max 400 film). The subject is a pipeman
in her fourth year on the job, her face smudged by smoke from a minor
alarm just minutes before the shot. But what began as a school assignment
in documentary has turned into a fund-raising project for the fire
department, with Lynch shooting various aspects of the profession in
preparation for a book. And as if his studies at CCS and the ride-alongs
weren't enough, Lynch works full-time as a graphic designer.
2nd Place Black & White
Justin Smith, Oak Park
Second place-winner Justin Smith
travels a lot and, instead of buying postcards, takes film with him
wherever he goes. Describing the landscape that became the subject of his
shot (using Kodak Plus X film in a Fujica GSW 690 camera, with a 65 mm
lens and a Cokin orange filter), he says, "It's not far from San Francisco
in a really hilly area -- next to the San Pedro Reservoir on the way to
Reno, Nevada -- it seemed very Zen to me." A graduate of the University of
Notre Dame and the University of Detroit, Smith is a lawyer.
3rd Place Black & White
Johanna Miller, Grosse Pointe Woods
A graduating senior at Grosse
Pointe North High School, Johanna Miller has been studying photography
there for the last two years with Renato Marchesi. She also works at
Speedi Photo developing prints for the masses. One day, while hanging at
Cup-A-Cino coffeehouse in Grosse Pointe Park, she picked up her
25-year-old Sears edition 35mm camera loaded with Kodak T-Max 400 film and
took a spontaneous shot of her friend Walter Cassidy. With no more than
available track lighting, she achieved the soft "Parisian" look of this
third-place winning print. Johanna plans to attend Wayne State University,
majoring in either photography or business.