This year’s judges are Sandra Rothenberg and Mark Evans. In addition to the technical side of the photo (lighting, crispness, and framing of the photo), they will be looking for images that are powerful, that touch them and draw them in. According to Mark, they are looking for photos that, if they were in a gallery, would make them go back two or three times just to look at it again.
The Judges
Sandra Rothenberg
Sandra Rothenberg, PhD (Warren, PA) is a former psychotherapist who currently devotes her time to nature photography. Just as psychology reveals the hidden aspects of the psyche and the unconscious, Sandra believes photography reveals the details of nature that might otherwise be missed. Sandra feels that the closer you look, the more you see. The observer merges with the lens of the camera to become a witness to unexpected drama, stunning beauty, design, color, and form, all in relationship to the ever-changing light. As a psychotherapist, Sandra has had a long-standing interest in dreams and enjoys creating dream-like images. She is known for both her realistic and ethereal images.
Sandra appreciates the feelings evoked by the process of photography. The intimacy, the unadulterated joy, and the flutter of anticipation surface as she discovers new images with her camera to capture the moment.
“In nature, I am acutely aware of the passage of time. All creatures and all floras are ephemeral. Each instant is precious. A photograph captures one infinitesimal facet of a moment. When you look carefully, details appear. The richness of the moment unfolds. First you see only the gestalt, the integrity and wholeness of a scene. Then you see more and more: the meadowlark’s eyelashes and pale blue-grey eyes, the Red-shouldered Hawk’s intense gaze, the complementary colors of the hummingbird’s beak and vivid feathers, the repeating fractal patterns of the tail feathers, the articulation and complexity of the design of the chickadee’s feathers, the Lesser Long-nosed Bat’s pink tongue, the curve of the Pallid Bat’s nose, or the bat’s delicate bones.
In nature you can’t procrastinate. If you wait even a minute everything has changed. You begin to feel the pulse of life. You become a witness to the fragility and excitement of the moment, the current of change external to you as your consciousness streams inside. Your breath deepens. Sometimes there is an instant of blurred boundaries, a deep sense of connection. Instead of waiting by the pond or in the field, there is simply energy streaming. It is as if my ego is gone, I disappear. For that moment time stops.”
Sandra Rothenberg has participated and won first prize in a juried Show at Image City Gallery in Rochester, NY. She has had solo shows at the Crary Art Gallery in Warren, PA, Roger Tory Peterson, Jamestown, NY, and Audubon Community Nature Center, Jamestown, NY. Additionally, her work has been shown in numerous group shows throughout the region. Her photographs have been honored by NANPA and many other organizations. Recently, a female oriole building a nest was chosen by National Audubon Society for two pages in their 2022 Annual Report and another Oriole was chosen for the cover of the National Wildlife magazine 2020. She won the best female bird award in the National Audubon competition this year and her image is in the Summer 2023 Audubon magazine. She recently received recognition for a top 100 NANPA Showcase 2024 image (2 Cassin’s Kingbirds in an altercation) and top 250 NANPA Showcase 2024 image (Golden-crowned Kinglet).
Sandra is a member of the Warren Camera Club and the PASNWPA (Photographic Art Society of Western PA).
Mark Evans
Mark is a naturalized citizen who moved to the United States from England in 1976. He retired as a control room lead operator at United Refining Company.
Mark spends many hours out in the open air photographing nature as he finds it. From the Whitetail Deer to the Pennsylvania Elk herd, to the birds, plants, and fauna that frequent his property and the surrounding woods, observing nature is his passion. “I am primarily a wildlife photographer. My camera is my excuse to go off on my own and observe nature. I realized a long time ago that the photographs I take, during these moments, are secondary. What is most important on my excursions is be in harmony with nature.
There is nothing better than sharing, however briefly, a part of the life of the wildlife observed. I may not always capture a moment in time on my camera but I will have spent some glorious moments observing nature. Nothing brings me more pleasure in the natural world than to have been close to my subjects and to have had their behavior remain undisturbed. During those moments, I feel as if I have been allowed into their world and not the other way around. On every outing, I bring home memories, experiences and, if I’m lucky, some good images.
I can remember my first wildlife photograph, a wood pigeon. I was 10 years old. It was taken with my father’s Canon, an AE1 35 mm SLR film camera. That camera did not have a through-the-lens light meter. The light meter had an eye in the camera body beside the lens and an F-stop scale on top. It required much practice to expose the image correctly. To some, perhaps many, photographers with our modern cameras and phones, this is alien. The only way then to record a good image was to know one’s gear. After all, the images, whether prints or slides, could not be viewed until processed. Those early days, pre-digital, taught me to pay attention to the technical side of photography.
I always strive for images that need no post-processing. Consequently, as a judge, I will be looking for images that include high technical ability. The image itself should capture a moment that is powerful and tells a story in itself. As photographers, our images freeze time whilst often recording an action or behavior. However, this is not always enough. The image shouldn’t just appeal to the image-taker/photographer. To create a powerful image, a photograph should draw the viewer in, set a mood, or create a feeling that encourages engagement with the subject.”
Mark has exhibited at the Cray Art Gallery in Warren, PA. The joint exhibition, Double Vision — Art and Camera in Ireland, in collaboration with Carol Henry, was highly acclaimed. Most recently, three of his photographs were chosen to be part of the Allegheny National Forest 100th year anniversary show. In addition, numerous photographs of his hang in various households in Warren and elsewhere. Some of his deer photographs are included in a Penn State presentation on the Whitetail Deer. For the last three years, his photographs of Warren Area High School sports teams in action have been and are being published on the sports pages of the Times Observer.
Mark has been a member of the Warren Camera Club since 2016.