The Fifth NTD International Photography Competition received over 2,000 submissions from more than a thousand photographers from over a hundred countries. From January 27 to January 31, 186 selected works were exhibited at the Salmagundi Club in Manhattan, New York. The competition held an award ceremony on January 29, producing 2 gold medalists, 4 silver medalists, 7 bronze medalists, and 20 recipients of outstanding awards.
One of the competition judges, Errolson, recently gave an interview to explain the characteristics of the NTD Photography Competition and the differences between traditional and modern photography. Here is the full text of Errolson’s interview.
In the submissions for previous NTD International Photography Competitions, we often encountered the term “tradition.” Some may wonder, since photography is a modern technology, what does tradition in photography refer to? To answer this question, we need to go back to the images themselves.
Images generally have three basic modes of representation: figuration, impression, and abstraction. We can understand them as three ways in which humans view the world in different eras.
Figuration involves a clear and concrete representation of reality; impression captures a moment as remembered; abstraction separates forms, lines, and colors from figuration, becoming a conceptual expression.
These three modes are more like a continuously flowing river, constantly changing, branching out, and extending over time. Tradition and modernity operate in the same manner. When photography was born, a key question arose: Is photography art?
As photography also uses a flat surface as its medium and can reproduce reality, it naturally leaned towards existing art systems like painting. This formed the basis of early photographic aesthetics.
Thus, pictorialism emerged in photography, also known as high art photography. It imitated the subjects and forms of painting, pursuing elegant forms, rigorous compositions, delicate light and shadow relationships, and a sense of depth. The photos did not look like photos but more like paintings.
Yet, art never exists in isolation; it always changes in sync with society’s rhythm and people’s way of life. The advent of industry in the mid-nineteenth century changed the world. Cities replaced farmlands, machinery altered time, and people began to follow clocks and factories.
It became difficult for people to leisurely observe the world, so impressionism emerged. It acknowledged speed, moments, and the incomplete nature of observation.
Impressionist photography followed suit with these societal changes. Sharpness was no longer the sole criterion. Soft focus, slow shutter speeds, and darkroom processing became means to express emotions. Photographers captured not just what was in front of them but the impressions left in their minds.
As the world sped up and became more complex, art began to turn abstract. Not due to a lack of technology but because presenting society’s reality in its entirety became increasingly difficult.
Throughout this process, art moved away from direct representations of reality and emphasized self, concepts, and attitudes. This shift was a crucial factor in the transition to modern art. Like a river meandering over the terrain’s undulations.
This is why when we speak of tradition today, it is not just a form but more like a spirit. In the NTD International Photography Competition, this tradition conveys universal human emotions and values. Such as bravery, justice, kindness, peace, and respect for real-life, especially that slow, tranquil, and unhurried way of life. It may have departed from our daily existence long ago but still lingers deep in the human memory. It is this essence that embodies the tradition that the NTD International Photography Competition seeks.
Another essential concept is where the line between tradition and modernity lies. This question troubles many. We say that the emergence of impressionism marks the watershed between tradition and modernity.