Review of the work that won the Gold Medal at the 2024 Southeast Region Photo Festival

(NADS) - After the Award Ceremony and announcement of the winning works of the 2024 Southeast Regional Art Photography Festival on August 23 in Tay Ninh, the photography community was confused and had many conflicting opinions about the winning works.

The Executive Committee of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists has directed the Association's Art Council and the Jury of this regional Photo Festival to re-examine the information and give professional comments on this work.

Gold Medal - Photo: Future Light - Author: Nguyen Kim Hoan (Ninh Thuan)

According to the results, the photo work "Future Light" by author Nguyen Kim Hoan (Ninh Thuan) won the Gold Medal in the 2024 Southeast Region competition.

The Jury Board of the 2024 Southeast Regional Art Photography Festival had some comments on the work "Future Light" which won the Gold Medal as follows:

According to the contest rules: "... Showing the beauty of nature, country, and people in the region; Reflecting achievements in economics, science and technology, social security, national defense and security, enhancing international exchange and integration...", this work has met the contest criteria.

With the desire to innovate and improve the quality of Vietnamese artistic photography, in recent times, the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists has organized seminars and discussions and always sought sincere, intelligent, responsible, and macro-level comments from professionals, scientists, members, and photography enthusiasts so that Vietnamese photography can develop more sustainably and in the right direction as Resolution 23 of the Politburo summarized after 15 years of deployment and implementation.

Therefore, the jury also wanted to find artistic beauty and creativity in photography techniques, and the work "Future Light" by the young photographer has found the techniques of running light and color.

Halftone photography is a style of photo editing that creates a monochrome effect, usually black and white or containing only a single color. Halftones are often used to create a vintage, artistic feel or to emphasize the subject of a photo. The aesthetic of a halftone photo depends on the personal perception and sense of art, culture, aesthetics, and style that the author wants to convey.

In the past, photographers who wanted to create technical photos with highlights and tones had to do it in a darkroom, which was a very difficult and laborious technique to produce a good work. The artistry in today's photos has been enhanced thanks to the support technology that has satisfied the creative ideas of the artist.

In this photo, author Kim Hoan has skillfully applied this technique to his work. In addition, the author has applied it well and improved it further by adding some small details (orange protective gear) to create a softer feeling.

In the Art Photography Festival, the jury wanted to find creative works of art. This is a photo with many intentions, combining the author's shooting technique and elaborate post-production techniques.

The contest has open rules so the author can freely use photoshop techniques, lighting, collage... to express his ideas. In addition, the color transition in the photo is very good, the photo composition is impressive. This is the only work in the competition and exhibition with the most elaborate shooting and post-production techniques.

Previously, this method of using the technique of color separation and light running was used by the late photographer Nguyen Ba Mau (Da Lat) and made the whole world admire with many works, typically the photo Dang Ngoai which consecutively won 5 awards: Vietnam - US Photography Gold Cup, Vietnam Photography Association Gold Cup, Gold Medal at Salon Montesson (France)... However, over the years, this method has gradually been used less.

The work focuses on a large-scale engineering project of the electricity industry. The use of a white light area as the background (background) creates a strong contrast with the black and white lines of the project. The size of the project compared to the light behind creates a sense of the massiveness and importance of the project in space. The use of black and white tones helps to focus on the shapes and lines of the project, creating a strong and clear feeling. The author has increased the contrast to highlight the details of the project and create a strong visual effect.

The lines of the building are sharp, creating a sense of precision and meticulousness in expressing structure and architecture, creating a depth effect and emphasizing the main building.

In addition to its high aesthetic value, attracting viewers with its simplicity and sophistication, the work successfully and clearly conveys the message of the grandeur and complexity of engineering works. The balance between art and technique, the combination of artistic elements (contrast, lines), technical elements (shapes, structures) and photo processing techniques have created a lively and harmonious work.

Therefore, the Jury unanimously chose the work "Future Light" by author Nguyen Kim Hoan to win the Gold Medal.

However, in recent days, many public comments have been received. The Executive Committee of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists has assigned the Inspection Committee to verify the work " Future Light " and the author has confirmed that it was taken at a location outside the Southeast region, thus the work has violated the rules of this Festival. Therefore, the Executive Committee will take measures to handle the offending work according to the Association's charter and regulations.

The Organizing Committee said it has just received an application to withdraw the Award from author Nguyen Kim Hoan.

Source: https://nhiepanhdoisong.vn/danh-gia-ve-tac-pham-doat-huy-chuong-vang-lien-hoan-anh-kv-mien-dong-nam-bo-nam-2024-15081.html