Joshua Rashaad McFadden

After Selma

Juror's Pick,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

A lot has happened since becoming one of the Emerging Talents in 2015! I have won additional awards, including an International Photography Award (IPA Award) 1st place: Social Cause for "After SELMA". I also won the Society of Photographic Education Award and Scholarship (South East Region) for After SELMA. I have traveled all over the USA doing talks about After Selma. I have been accepted into the New York Times Portfolio Review 2016.

Niki Boon

Childhood in the Raw

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2015

Since being selected as finalist in the Exposure Awards this year, I have had requests from various international websites and publications to feature my work, which has allowed me to have some valuable exposure. This competition was the first I have ever placed in and it has given me the courage to enter more over the course of the year—which has allowed for further exposure of my current body of work. I want to thank LensCulture for providing a wonderful platform for this. It has certainly given me the exposure and confidence to take my pictures elsewhere.

Steve Scallone

Untitled

Finalist,
Street Photography Awards 2015

It has been an amazing year as I’ve won a few awards and presented a solo exhibition in Sydney, Australia called "Into the White". I also ended up winning the 2015 Australian Travel Photographer of the year (National Award) and the 2015 Victorian Professional Photographer and 2016 Victorian Travel Photographer of the year (State Awards). Love what LensCulture is doing...fantastic!!

Denny Renshaw

Street Stories

Finalist,
Street Photography Awards 2015

Last October, I was shooting on the street in Tokyo when I received the email stating I was a finalist in the LensCulture Street Photography Awards. This good news was a substantial encouragement for me to continue towards my goals in street photography. Before being recognized by LensCulture I had not shown my street photography to anyone outside of a few close friends. Since winning, my work has received a lot of attention and I have made many new friends within the street photography community.

Camille Michel

The Last Men

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

After being published on LensCulture, my work received a lot of attention — the good news came one after the other! I received other awards such as "Sony Photo Magazine" award and the "30 Under 30 Women Photographer 2016." The project was published in magazines, books, as well as in newspapers such as La Croix (France), CityZine (China). The series was exhibited or projected in several places in France, England, Argentina, United States, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, and Russia. And my work will be exhibited at the Filature Scène Nationale de Mulhouse in France in 2017 for my first major personal exhibition! So, thank you to LensCulture, as the award enabled me to get introduced to many interesting people, to spread my work, and to pursue my projects.

Thomas Kiefer

El Sueno Americano Project

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

A high-profile photo agency saw my work and contacted me within a week of the announcement of the Emerging Talent awards. Since then, my project has been featured in magazines and publications in Europe, Asia and other markets that I never could have imagined. The project continues to grow in stature and visibility due directly to the Lens Culture recognition. I almost didn't enter the competition because of that familiar refrain of self-doubt. So thanks to LensCulture for what you do!

Hans Gindlesberger

Weighing the Rain: Portraits

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2014

After the LensCulture Portrait Awards, my project was published in BLOW magazine as part of their "Monochromes" issue—I believe the editors found that work through LensCulture. In addition, a piece from a companion series just appeared at the Medium Festival of Photography in San Diego where it won the Director's Choice award. In all, LensCulture has been a terrific outlet for my own work along with being a go-to resource as an educator. Thanks for everything you do in helping to make so much great work visible and accessible.

Sian Davey

Looking for Alice

Juror's Pick,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

It's been a very good start to the year. The Kickstarter for my book went very well and "Looking for Alice," was published in November to great success. It was in both the The Guardian and Telegraph (UK) top 10 photo books' list...I have to say—because of the LensCulture Session I had with you guys, it got me thinking about how I shoot in the winter and it resulted in a whole body of work photographing teenagers in the night without flash. So thanks for that!

Sandra Pereznieto

Back to Silence

Finalist,
Street Photography Awards 2015

Back to Silence was featured at the Slideshow Event for the exhibition “LIFE: Life A Journey Through Time" at the Annenberg Space for Photography in March 2016. This one-night special program highlighted the work of photographers who examine a variety of topics related to the overall theme of the exhibition. The project was also featured at Xataka Foto, where both Spanish photographers that were finalists of the Street Photography Award were published.

Tony Corocher

Beauty in Hell

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2014

The award has given me incredible exposure, not only in my country, but internationally. LensCulture was one of the first and main awards that "Beauty In Hell" received, and it definitely helped to give credit to the project and to my work in general. Thanks to your exposure, I was invited to quite a few solo and group exhibitions in different countries and it helped increase the value of my prints and photobooks. Also I've been contacted by the Wall Street Journal who asked to do an article about "Beauty In Hell," and publish all 20 photos.

Alan Thomas Wilkie

The War Veteran

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2014

Doing what you love most is an important thing for me. But it is even better to know that your work is being recognized. After being named a finalist, I began to get that recognition. The award was a huge opportunity and gave me powerful motivation: it increased web traffic and led to more likes and followers on social media. I am still a humble amateur but I plan on working my photography genes as far as they can go and will be using the LensCulture community as a motivational source for future development.

Franky Verdickt

The South Street Village

Series Winner,
Exposure Awards 2014

LensCulture is great — it's become a reference for photography and through its awards, you can make yourself shown to the world. If you want to get inspired or to see good work or just to know what's going on, LensCulture is a very good place to be.

Bela Doka

Fan Club Putin

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2014

Thanks my exposure on LensCulture, my series "FC Putin" got a 2nd life. Years after the series was first published, I saw a huge surge of renewed interest. Overnight, I was contacted by publications all around the world. Even now, I'm using the interest in the series to draw more attention to my latest work.

Eugenio Grosso

Heavily Loaded

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

Since I won the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards, my series "Heavily Loaded" won the Flash Forward Magenta Foundation 2015 and has been featured in its catalogue. The work has also been shortlisted for the BarTur Photobook Awards in 2015 and I had the chance to present it at The Photographers Gallery in London...To win the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards gave me high visibility and now I can see the results. I am glad I applied for it and would definitely do it again.

Philipp Englehorn

Qingdao Beach

2nd Place Series Winner,
LensCulture Portrait Awards 2015

In just three weeks since the announcement, Photo District News (PDN) picked up my swimmer series for online usage. S Moda Magazine, a suppplement to El País journal in Spain, asked me for some images too. I used my 2nd place win for a general promotion email to all my clients and magazine contacts, which led to a job with Afar Magazine!

Kurt Simonson

Northwoods Journals

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

It's been a really busy and fantastic year...biggest of all, my "Northwoods Journals" book was released in November! It's been mentioned in a few year-end / best of list — most notably by Photo Eye, Lenscratch and Flak Photo. Also, just yesterday, American Photo featured the project on their front page! So that's just a few things...all very exciting!

Carlotta Cardana

Mod Couples

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

A popular monthly magazine really liked my project about Native American pride in LensCulture, and they have decided to commission me to go back and shoot more. So exciting, I still can't believe it! ALSO I have seven images from the Mod Couples series in The Eyes Collection #1 exhibition (thanks to LensCulture, obviously!).

Katrina Kepule

Sit Silently

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

Since I was selected, I have received unparalled attention. My series was published in several websites from across the world—Gosee, Aint Bad, and Juxtapoz, to name just a few. I was invited to participate in the Angkor Photography Festival (Siem Reap, Cambodia), the Kaunas Photo festival (Lithuania), as well as in a Latvian photography collective.

Vincent Gouriou

Singularity

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2014

After the LensCulture Portrait Awards, I participated in many collective exhibitions: from “Mois de la Photo” in Paris to many events around the world: Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards), Bulgaria (European Month of Photography), and Netherlands (Pride Photo Awards). My series was published in magazines and international websites and I now freelance regularly for French national newspapers and magazines. Finally, some images in the series were acquired by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) and Maison Européenne de la Photographie. In short, my photographic career continues to grow and evolve and I have met many interesting people in the photography world.

Frances Denny

Let Virtue Be Your Guide

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

Just in the last 6 months or so, I went on press for my first monograph—a book of my series "Let Virtue Be Your Guide" that will be released by Radius Books in May 2016! I also had my first solo exhibition at ClampArt in NYC in November 2015 (and receiving ongoing representation with the gallery). Finally, I went on to win the PDN 30 for 2016 as well.

Tetsuya Kusu

American Archives

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2015

I had some successes after I received the LensCulture prize: A commercial gallery in Japan asked me to exhibit my work in May 2016—they are a very famous photo gallery in Japan. They will deal not only my prints but also publish my photo book. Thus, I have a big chance to make my career as an artist next year, going to Photo Fever in Paris with them and then go to business across the United States. All thanks to LensCulture!!!

Sandra Hoyn

Fighting for a Pittance

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

Last year I won World Press Photo, 3rd prize singles, nature category. I was also a winner at the HIPA in Dubai and have been short-listed for the Sony World Photography Awards. There may be more, but I'm not allowed to tell now. After the ceremony... ;-)

Marjorie Salvaterra

Her

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

Well, you got me at the right time! I have my first book, through Glitterati publishing, coming out this April 2016. It’s called "HER: Meditations On Being Female." So, thank you for all the great work you do!

Joan Alvado

School of Shepherds

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

Just after LensCulture published my work, I received an inquiry to publish the story in the Washington Post InSight photo section. Thanks to that, a filmmaker from NYC found me and proposed to make a movie about the School of Shepherds—we are into filming that movie right now! So the exposure has been high and produced real restults very fast.

Tsutomu Yamagata

Thirteen Orphans

3rd Place Series Winner,
Portrait Awards 2014

After the announcement, my work was featured on Huffington Post Italia, Artist Database Japan, Rinse, and more. I can't count how many times I was reblogged and shared on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr. The sales of my photography book increased in the USA. It hit the weekly best-seller list on photo-eye books. This autumn, my work will be featured in the international photo festival "La Quatrieme Image" in Paris. My work will be known all over the world—all thanks to LensCulture.

Adrien Tache

West African Studio Photographers

Finalist,
Visual Storytelling Awards 2014

Realizing that my work had been noticed among hundreds of professional, high-quality works surprised me a lot — but it was such a good reward after all those hours I spent on the project. The award has helped me a lot in terms of visibility! Just after the official announcement, my work was featured in Il Post (Italy), Hyperallergic (US), La Reppubblica (IT). I was also interviewed by Mull It Over? (UK). Since then, it has been shown at festivals in Georgia, Slovenia and France! So a lot of good news, and it started with LensCulture—thanks a lot!

Ali Mobasser

Afsaneh: Box 3

Winner,
LensCulture Emerging Talents 2014

“Stern magazine has just contacted me and want to publish my aunt's ID photos series. They saw it on LensCulture. As my wife is German and I love Stern, this is great news!!!! Later, a Russian online mag approached me and did an interview about me and the piece. They saw it in LensCulture of course! All this attention has given me the confidence to go to the next step of making a book!”

Andreas Olesen

Estate

Grant Winner,
Emerging Talent 2014

Being chosen resulted in an immediate, huge jump in the amount of attention my work receives. I was photographing on a small island north of Sardinia when I got the news, and by the time I got back to my computer, my inbox was flooded with mails from well wishers and print purchase inquiries. Within a few weeks, I had gotten several interview requests, a publishing request and hefty jump in traffic (double, in fact) on my website.
Now, I am organizing an exhibition of the work in California and I think that winning the award definitely helped me secure this show.

Andrejs Strokins

People in the dunes

Winner,
LensCulture Emerging Talent 2014

“What can I say about such joyous news? It’s a pleasure to finally join the ranks of those who grace the pages of your fine publication. I couldn’t be happier. Thanks to you LensCulture, I’ve received a lot of attention and also some purchase requests for work. More news to come!”

Anne Berry

Behind Glass

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

“Since I won the award, my photographs have been published in the Huffington Post, PetaPixel, Viralnova, and Feature Shoot.”

Antoine Bruy

Scrublands

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

“2014 has been an amazing year for me, and winning made it even more exciting. After the award, I received a lot of propositions for exhibitions and publications. For example, Sunjung Kim showed my work at the Seoul Lunar Photo Fest. Thus, LensCulture gave me one of the most important things when you are a photographer—a bit of recognition—something that helps a lot in continuing to believe in what you do.”

Birgit Püve

A Tale of the Lake

Finalist,
Exposure Awards 2014

During the very same evening that the results were announced, I received many e-mails and a feature request from Verve Photo, The New Breed of Documentary Photographers. Another one of my series has gained a lot of attention since then and I am being contacted by photo editors of online and paper magazines. Fotografia Magazine and OSTSEE Magazine have published the project — and more to come. I am really happy and thankful to LensCulture that my work is seen on such a great platform with wide audience. Many exciting things are happening!

Candace Gaudiani

Forty Eight States II

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2012

Being named a finalist in the LensCulture Exposure Awards for the project "Between Destinations" made a huge difference in helping my exhibitions and publications come into fruition. In short, it was a “stamp of recognition” for my work. Thank you, LensCulture! The support keeps me inspired!

Candace Karch

Ms. Ulmer: 90 Years an Artist

3rd Place Series Winner,
Portrait Awards 2015

I have been working on the pages of this book for a long time and FINALLY with this win I am getting the attention I need to move forward—and it is keeping me motivated!! After the winners were announced, Feature Shoot Magazine interviewed me for their blog and The Guardian also contacted me to feature my website and the “Ms. Ulmer” series in an online gallery. My hope is to find a publisher and get this book in print by the end of the year! And as an extra bonus, I will have Ms. Ulmer at the book signing.

Claire Felicie

Here are the Young Men

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2011

Winning a LensCulture award did a LOT for my career. When LensCulture published my whole series, requests for publishing came in from all over the world. Among them were the Daily Mail and the Huffington Post. I found that LensCulture is highly respected and to be published and featured there opens doors with galleries and museum curators. So, for me it is very important that my work is to be seen on such a platform with such a wide audience.

Daesung Lee

Futuristic Archaeology

Winner,
Visual Storytelling Awards 2014

“After receiving a LensCulture Visual Storytelling award, I was contacted by “Courrier International” a French weekly magazine! My work will be published on the 8th of January. Thanks a lot, again, to LensCulture. It is very worthy to apply for awards on LensCulture.”

Daisuke Takakura

monodramatic

Winner,
Visual Storytelling 2014

My work “monodramatic” was featured in U.S. news site Mashable! It was shared by over 2.2k people. What a nice surprise. It’s thanks to you and the LensCulture team.

Dayna Bartoli

Florafaunal Angiography

Finalist,
LensCulture New & Emerging Photographers 2013

“My biggest success that came as a direct result of submitting my photos to LensCulture was seeing my work published in Harper’s Magazine! One of my photos was featured on LensCulture’s Facebook page before the contest results were even announced and it was seen by someone at Harper’s. Harper’s contacted me and asked if they could publish 3 of my photos. They ran in the July 2013 issue! It felt amazing to see my photos in every newsstand across the US. It would not have happened without LensCulture.”

Debi Cornwall

Gitmo at Home, Gitmo at Play

Finalist
Visual Storytelling Awards 2014

Many thanks to everyone at LensCulture for recognizing my work and offering me your platform for wider exposure! As you can see, it has helped to catapult my work before a worldwide audience, including showing at the 2015 Belfast Photo Festival opening June 6, being shortlisted for the Festival Images Vevey Photography Award and the 2015 Athens Photo Festival, and showing my first solo exhibition, opening at Fovea Exhibitions in Beacon, NY on June 13.