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  1. Sigh. Must everything be an ad?

  2. This came out back in April. Suau’s work is the reason I had the desire to visit Romania back in 2000. I first saw his work coming out of here back in the early 1990s when I was 14 or 15 years old. His After The Fall project is just great. I then spent a year living and farming with peasants in 2003 and now I am based out of Bucharest. . . all because of Anthony Suau!

  3. Oh, also! It’s interesting that Suau continues to shoot on film Leicas. But, with an Imacon, shooting on film is very viable in the digital age and much preferable obviously to him and me included! I have been testing out a Leica M8.2 and the noise at 640 ASA is like the noise at 3200 ASA or more on my Canon 5D MKII. I think I’ll stick with an M6 and Tri-X!

  4. Dose anyone find it strange that the image he won for World Press was an unpublished piece (it was published online for time) that was done while Mary Ann Golon was working there and she was the judge of the contest?

    Just a question.

  5. Mike,

    I don’t think it matters if an image was printed in print for it to win an award, it just had to be taken in 2008.

    Also, editors all the time work with photographers and then end up on juries at contests judging sometimes that very same work. She was just one of many people on the jury. Of course an editor knowing a photographer must play some part in the decision making on same level. It’s the same with getting into Magnum for instance–it’s not just about your photography but also who you know who can put your name forth. It is about the photography but certainly having good friends within the business helps. Quite simply an editor will think of you the next time there is an assignment before hiring some random photographer.

    • @Davin Ellicson, “It is about the photography but certainly having good friends within the business helps. ”

      Then they shouldn’t be judging competitions. It should always and ONLY be about the photography.

      • @Debra Weiss, I have no idea if jurors are able to stay objective or not. All I am saying is that the photo world is quite small. Ever been to Perpignan?!

        • @Davin Ellicson, Yes – I’ve been to Perpignan. Again, if they can’t stay objective they shouldn’t be judges. At the very least they should recuse themselves from judging work from anyone they’ve worked with or have any kind of relationship with. It has always amazed me how no one in this industry believes conflicts of interests are something to be concerned about.

      • @Debra Weiss, I absolutely agree with you. This unfortunately happens at magazines as well. If you know the right people, you’ll get work.

    • Davin,

      My point was not that it was unpublished of course you can win a World Press award for unpublished work. I also do not think you magnum reference is valid plenty of photographers pushed by other magnum members do not get it. If anything it may work against you. This year no one was voted in as a nominee but there were for sure members trying to get people in. If you look at the last few years most nominees were virtual unknowns. I just think once you get past a certain stage of judging the people who hired you should not be able to vote on the work there is a certain amount of favoritism when this happens maybe it can be avoided maybe not. It was just a question not a statement.

      • @Mike, Of course it is really just about the quality of one’s work. However, maybe not with contests, but with getting work I have observed there to be quite a close group of people that all know each other as witnessed in Perpignan. This is not a bad thing per se, it’s obvious that if you do good work and have good friendships with certain editors that they are going to call upon you before some young random unknown photographer who just showed them a portfolio. It’s about knowing that they will get results each and every time. What I am saying, like with anything in life, human connections of course mean something. Whether or not this ends up swaying judges I don’t know.

  6. His work seems remarkable in its ordinariness. Every judge or critic has their perspective. You don’t have to know someone. Understanding the bias of the judges helps. I was just in a show and someone said that I would “know” what they would pick. I answered no, not so. Everyone has their own perspective.

    Why not celebrate the ordinary, the incidental eye?

    On another note: I find it interesting how strong he protects and controls his images online:

    “MINIMUM USAGE PER IMAGE:
    250 Euro or $300
    All images are calibrated at 6500K – 2.2 gamma.

    Anthony Suau reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of these images. If you violate the intellectual property you will be liable for: actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of these images, and, where appropriate, the costs of collection and/or statutory damages up to $150,000 (USD)”

    This along with a wall of watermarks certainly would protect an image I would say.

  7. […] via A Photo Editor – Anthony Suau – 2008 World Press Winner […]

  8. “Beyond the Fall” in years 30-50 will fill up archives of a classical photography


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