Meet the Judges — SUGi X NAVA Photography contest

As the first annual SUGi x NAVA Photography Contest continues into its second week, we decided to ask our judges what they are looking for in contest submissions.  Keep reading to see if you have existing work that meets their criteria—or get inspired to dust off your camera!

Eslah Attar

Photo Editor, The New York Times

What are you looking for in submissions?
Photography lets us experience spaces we’ve never seen or been to — near or far. I want to see how we connect with the spaces we inhabit and the resilience of the environment.

What do you think makes a great photograph?
I appreciate when something surprises me, educates me, and brings a different perspective than mine.

Who are some photographers who you think embody the contest theme of bringing nature closer?
Some photographers who I think embody this contest theme are Cristina Mittermeier, Madeline Cass, and Matt Black. Their work focuses on the changing landscape of their environments among other social and environmental injustices.

What excites you about this contest?
I’m excited to see the intersection of nature and human life because I feel we are all deeply connected to earth and to each other.

Nicole Archibeque

Co-Founder/Partner NAVA Contemporary

What are you looking for in submissions?
I want to see something I haven't seen before, something that surprises and wows me and something that shows the photographer's unique point of view.

What do you think makes a great photograph?
I think like all great art, great photographs are like ghosts.  The feeling they give you lasts long after you viewed the work.  It transports you to a time and place, and that feeling stays with you.

Who are some photographers who you think embody the contest theme of bringing nature closer?
I will say that I think photographers that handle the subject conceptually and focus on creating a piece of art rather than a documentation of a location/subject embody this idea the best.

What excites you about this contest?
Discovering new artists!

Prasenjeet Yadav

Natural history & Science photographer

What are you looking for in submissions?
I'll be focusing on images which are compositionally and aesthetically solid. Once these two criteria are met, that's when I'd like to see what story the image is trying to tell and how well it's executed.

What do you think makes a great photograph?
I think a great photograph induces multiple emotions in the viewer. It surprises the viewer and makes them wonder, sad or joyful. Also, one doesn't have to go to a national park to create a great wildlife photograph; it can be made in your backyard. A butterfly in the garden or a bird chirping across your window is also wild, and a good image is a unique composition of some of the most common subjects.

Who are some photographers who you think embody the contest theme of bringing nature closer?
I have learned from a lot of photographers. Still, some names that come to the top of my mind are: Natural landscape images of Ansel Adams, Anand Varma's images bringing out the wonders of the macro world, Brent Stirton's hard-hitting photos highlighting environmental issues, Evgenia Arbugaeva's depiction of Russian Arctic, Wildlife stories by Ami Vitale and Charlie Hamilton James among others.

What excites you about this contest?
What excites me most about this contest is the theme of bringing nature closer. The fact is we are surrounded by nature even in our urban setting, just that we ignore it as it's right in front of us.

Daniel Diego Lincoln

Creative Director at SUGi Project

What are you looking for in submissions?
I'm looking for a real sense of story within the image. Our relationship with 'nature' has shifted in recent years and people have been expressing this in really exciting and creative ways. I'm looking for submissions that 'rewild our eyes'

What do you think makes a great photograph?
For me a great photograph makes me see the world in a way that I had not previously seen before. Great photography has a weight that it's hard to describe. It's not an obvious image to capture of the world.

Who are some photographers who you think embody the contest theme of bringing nature closer?
Hard one.. Maybe something like Nick Knight's series called 'Roses from my Garden'. I love that he uses nature that is in his immediate surroundings and sensationalizes it.

What excites you about this contest?
I think it's exciting to challenge people to express what it means 'bringing nature closer' as it's really a personal idea. Also to see how that differs culturally and geographically.