Reviewers taking part in the 2012 PhotoNOLA Portfolio Reviews chose Debora Schwedhelm, a Tampa, Fla.-based fine art photographer, as winner of the 2012 PhotoNOLA Review Prize.
Second and third place photographers were also chosen by reviewers, including Brandon Thibodeaux of Dallas, and the Connecticut-based Sandi Haber Fifield. respectively.
Winners of the PhotoNOLA review prize are selected by reviewers taking part in the annual PhotoNOLA Portfolio Reviews. At the end of this event, each reviewer is asked to select three favorites from reviewed work, and the photographer with the most “favorite” mentions wins. The main prize includes a solo exhibit at the NOPA gallery for December of the next year, as well as a cash award of $1,000 and the opportunity for winners to produce 50 copies of their own book through the Blurb self-publishing service.
Second and third-place photographers are recognized with image galleries at the PhotoNOLA website.
The prize winner, and placing photographers, are listed below:
Review Prize Winner: Debora Schwedhelm
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Schwedhelm is Tampa, Fla.-based fine art photographer Fla. Her series
“From the Sea,” was inspired by her love of the water and watching her children swim. A selection from her project, “Ryder, Tampa,” is shown above.
2nd Place Winner: Brandon Thibodeaux
Dallas-based Thibodeaux is an editorial photographer. His “When Morning Comes and Coon Hunting” explores explores the South with the PhotoNOLA site calls an “eloquent balance of the gritty and the sublime.” An untitled selection from his series is shown above.
3rd Place Winner: Sandi Haber Fifield
Haber Fifield, a Connecticut-based fine art photographer, was cited for her project, “After the Threshold.” The series features four and three-photo composites, with work fulled from her archive. Her “Night Station, 2012,” is shown above.
You may also read more about these photographers, as well as information about past winners and the festival’s annual portfolio review, at the PhotoNOLA website.
PhotoNOLA, New Orleans’ annual festival of photography, is an event coordinated by the Photo Alliance, in in partnership with galleries, museums and other venues citywide. The festival celebrated its seventh year with the 2012 event, which took place from November 29 to December 2.