Australia’s biggest photographic competition tackles bias head on
More than 700 photographers will showcase thought-provoking images, from Holocaust survivors to anorexia, at the Head On Photo Festival in Bondi — see the photos.
Wentworth Courier
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More than 700 emerging and professional photographers from Australia and across the globe will showcase thought-provoking images at the Head On Photo Festival.
In it’s 14th year, the nation’s largest photographic event will return to Bondi Beach, delivering the annual competition with a total prize pool of $70,000 as well as equipment.
The festival’s creative director and founder, Moshe Rosenzveig, says there has been an influx of entries this year.
“What’s unique about this festival is that we aren’t selecting the artists, rather the artwork based on its composition and merit alone,” he says.
“The majority of portrait competitions are judged on the celebrity of the photographer or subject, meaning so many incredible works are not seen.
“The pieces are submitted blindly, so the selection panel doesn’t know who the photographer is. We don’t care where they went to school, or where they have exhibited before. We’re trying to eliminate that bias.
“Through this process, we have discovered a lot of new talent and launched photographers into hugely successful professional careers.”
The competition celebrates photographic excellence across four categories: Portrait, Landscape, Environmental and a special category dedicated to school students behind the lens.
It’s estimated the festival will attract about 400,000 people along Bondi’s promenade alone.
“With photographers from around the world, we find the festival’s themes usually reflect the issues that have dominated the globe in the last 12 months,” Rosenzveig says.
“We have five exhibits on Ukraine, one centred around a bikie gang in Iraq, a body of work which documents the logging industry in Tasmania, the incredible Lonka Project showing the faces of Holocaust survivors decades on from World War II as well as pieces that focus on ageing, motherhood and anorexia.
“Sometimes an exhibition shines light on a group of people most of us hardly ever think about.”
Head On Photo Festival runs until December 3. For more information, visit headon.org.au
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