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| Click photo to see a slideshow of 2007 Photographer of the Year, Marc Aviles. |
The editors of Popular Photography & Imaging have named Marc Aviles from San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines, the 2007 Photographer of the Year. He will receive the $5,000 cash prize and the prestigious title of "The Best Shooter on the Planet."
The self-taught photographer, who is in his late 30s and works in the information-technology field, has been shooting for five years. This is his first time competing in a Popular Photography & Imaging contest. "I've been following the Photographer of the Year contest since the beginning," he says, but I always missed the deadlines before."
Aviles said that competing in this year's Shoot-Out allowed him to exercise his imagination. "I find competitions very exciting because there's a lot of great photographers out there and I'm learning a lot," he says.
Click here to view a gallery of 2007 Photographer of the Year Marc Aviles' work from all rounds of the competition.
The July 16-19 online Shoot-Out was the biggest in Pop Photo history. The hundreds of shooters in this intense, three-day competition came from all over the world, including Bosnia, Bangladesh, Russia, and Brazil. Thousands of photos were uploaded each day to the PopPhoto.com site as the photographers took on assignments ranging from the challenging to the bizarre (photograph a unicorn, anyone?).
After selecting more than 35 finalists, the editors compared each contestant's body of work across all three assignments and narrowed it down further to a final few. The decision was difficult, as front-runners included Jodi Esplin from Spring Creek, NV, Matthew McKenzie from Foothill Ranch, CA, defending champ, 2006 Photographer of the Year Roberto Soares Gomes of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and 2005 Photographer of the Year, Michael Soo from Cupertino, CA.
Each shooter had his or her strong suit -- "Esplin's creative name construction was a stand-out from Assignment 1 (Your Name)," said one editor. "But her workplace documentary for Assignment 3 (the Creative Documentary), didn't tell a complete story, and looked more like a well-executed environmental portrait."
The slick, high-fashion style of McKenzie's work caught all of the judges' eyes, but some felt his second assignment did not hold up to the others. Soo's portrait for Assignment 2 (Rock, Paper, Scissors Portrait) was a clear favorite of the judges, and his other assignments were well executed, but didn't exceed the judges' expectations the way Aviles' did.
It was Aviles' versatility that won him the title. Each shot from all of the assignments demonstrated his technical ability and creative drive. One editor called the shot of his name created from sticks "spellbinding," and the entire panel marveled at his pitch-perfect execution of Assignment 3's documentary.
"Each of his five photos from Assignment 3 is technically excellent, visually engaging, and dramatic in their own way was a single photo," remarked one judge, "and when combined, they tell a perfect visual narrative."
"This year's Shoot-Out was a terrific success," says Popular Photography & Imaging's Editor in Chief John Owens. "It was exciting to see so many talented photographers from all over the world compete so enthusiastically in all of the assignments."
To see all of the finalists' work, check out the finalist gallery, and to see photos that caught the judges eyes throughout the competition view the Best of gallery.
Here's what we put the shooters through:
Day 1 Assignment: Use your first name in a photo creatively. You can find or create the letters any way you wish. Composites are fine, but you must capture them with a camera -- no creating the letters with software.
Day 2 Assignment: Take a portrait of a person incorporating the three elements: rock, paper and scissors.
Day 3 Assignments: Capture a day in the life of any job (though not an office job) where you live. And, as a bonus assignment, photograph a unicorn.
2007 Photographer of the Year Finalists
Eddie Baugher, Sand Springs, OK
Hera Bell, Kirkland, Quebec, Canada
Sarah Bryant, Culver City, CA
Amanda Carpenter, Pekin, IN
Travis Cox, Hillsboro, OR
Cara Devine, Kingston, PA
Eric Eley, Athens, GA
Johann "Yo" Espiritu, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Jodi Esplin, Spring Creek, NV
Carlos Ferreira, da Silva Manaus, Amazonas
Robert Fletcher, APO, AE
Sara Friesen, Bonners Ferry, ID
Tyone Hudson, Metlakatla, AK
Ahmer Inam, Charlotte, NC
Nika Jaksic, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Erik Johnson, Augusta, GA
Mary Lou Johnson, Longboat Key, FL
Julie Knight, Huntsville, TX
Alex Kroke, New York, NY
Vincent Lamoureux, Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada
Dante Lindbergh II, Barbosa Paranaque City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Alex Maden Caldwell, ID
Lawrence McElroy, Alexander, AR
Matthew McKenzie, Foothill Ranch, CA
Joshua Parry, Danville, PA
Michelle Peters, Beech Creek, PA
Bryan Rowe, Avon, CO
Roberto Soares-Gomes, Rio De Janerio, Brazil
Michael Soo, Cupertino, CA
Dmitriy Tarasov, Moscow, Russia
Jesse Valley, St. Louis Park, MN
Jessica Vanderpool, Stephenville, TX
Kim Warden, Orlando, FL
Mark Williamson, Yorba Linda, CA
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