Lucie

I attended my first photography award show - The Lucie Awards

Wide eyed, I remained inspired and thoroughly entertained through the whole 90 minute ceremony

Walking into Jazz at the Lincoln Center

Wasn't exactly sure what to expect, yet excited out of my mind

"Wait till you see the displays at the show, you'll be blown away!"

It came straight from the director's mouth the weekend before the show

An understatement in retrospect

The Lucie Awards is in it's 9th year of celebrating the achievements of incredibly talented photographers. International Photographer of the Year; Discovery of the Year; Deeper Perspective Photographer of the Year; and Fashion Layout of the Year were a few of the categories. In addition, six photographers were specially honored for high achievement in their respective fields.

Amazing

As each nominee was presented, a brief slideshow of their work was shown on screen

The kinda stuff I could view all day

Highlights:

1. Discovery of the Year winner, Anna di Prospero's captivating images:

 

Love the way she captured these portraits with a sweet solemnness

 The soft texture of the plant life reflected on the glass adds a whole other dimension to the image

. . .

2. The Deeper Perspective of the Year category had to have been my favorite

Nominees documented touching stories through photos

Like mini movies, those stills had the power to stir souls. 

Darcy Padilla told the complex, touching story of Julie through 18 years of drug abuse, poverty, abusive relationships, births, AIDS and death:

.  . .

3. The honorees - taking a deep look into their work and achievements

Nothing less than touching and inspiring

Nobuyoshi Araki for Achievement in Fine Art

Dawoud Bey for Achievement in Portraiture

Rich Clarkson for Achievement in Sports

Bill Epperidge for Achievement in Photojournalism

Nancy McGirr & Fotokids for Humanitarian Award

Eli Reed for Achievement in Documentary

Thing about it is

You flip through the pages of TIME, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stones, Life, Vogue, GQ

The photos are stunning, the articles are engaging

But sometimes we fail to imagine the artist behind the photos

So seeing these honorees

Hearing their speeches

Looking through their work

gave a deeper meaning

Inspiring

Bill Eppridge

(my fave)

The artist behind LIFE magazine images for years - he was responsible for covering the famous Kennedy Assassination image among other notable achievements

He's got almost six decades of photojournalism under his belt and is barely ever seen without his camera

His speech was humorous yet insightful and motivating

He thanked the competition, because it's what kept him going

And what I loved the most

He thanked his Nikon

Love it because 

As much as I've dreamt of switching to a Canon, which is more user friendly

I've fallen so in love with my Nikon that I just might stick to it

Forever and ever and ever!!

4. Last but not least - Annie Leibovitz!! 

Graceful and humble, she was a presenter for the night

I've admired her work in portrait photography for years

Vogue, Rolling Stones, Vanity Fair - her work is uniquely brilliant

So I was kinda star-struck seeing her

The smile plastered on my face must have been noticed from a mile away

Lucie

I walked in not knowing much about photographers

Walked out with a deeper perspective

With inspiration

And with beauty imprinted in my mind

Thank the LORD for artists