Annual Exhibit 2023: Triển Lãm Nhiếp Ảnh – World Bank / IMF International Photographic Society – Tống Mai

Oct 24, 2023 (TM)

Buổi lễ khai mạc Opening Ceremony của World Bank/IMF International Photographic Society Annual Exhibit diễn ra tối hôm qua October 23, 2023 ở IMF Atrium, Washington DC.

Tôi được giải “Photographer of the Year” và mười một tấm hình được giải trong những cuộc thi ảnh hàng tháng của tôi trong năm có bốn bức được Honorable Mention trong Anual Exhibit này.

Giám khảo của Annual Finalists là Edward (Joe) Willmore của Willmore Consulting Group và Ann Schumard, giám đốc của Portrait Gallery’s Department of Photographs của National Gallery of Art của Washington DC.

Cũng như năm ngoái sau khi biết mình được tuyên dương Photographer of the Year cùng thêm nhiều giải khác, tôi lặng lẽ xúc động khi tên mình liên tục phát ra từ microphone của người giám khảo.

Sau khi buổi lễ chấm dứt, tôi đến cám ơn Joe Willmore những critique rất hay và sâu sắc của ông. Ông hỏi: Mai, I love your whole collection but let me ask if there is a particular one that you like the most. Yes, I like the “Where Silence Sleeps” and “Blue Gaze” the most. Ông nói: For me, the one that really touched me is the “Blue Gaze”, it’s the kind of picture that one would like to hang on the wall. There’s such a peaceful feeling to it.  Tôi nói: When we take a photograph, we make a choice what context we want to include in our frame. I am drawn to landscape with as minimal details as possible and the result is my photos tend to be simple with a lot of negative  space where I can step into and sit down for meditation.  I’m so honored my photos got recognized. It’s not about the awards, but because someone out there who sees what’s in my photographs and feels what I feel, the visuals and the meaning behind the visuals.

Bạn yêu dấu,
Đêm đã quá khuya.
Bonne nuit!

Tôi phải ngưng viết dù có không biết bao điều tôi cần nói đêm nay. Tôi thèm nói và thèm được nghe. Bộ hình của tôi, từng cái một như những giọt buồn rơi. Người ta bàn tán nhiều về bộ hình đó đêm hôm qua, trông rất khác biệt với tất cả những hình khác trong exhibit này, họ hỏi tôi có thấy vậy không. Có, tôi thấy cô quạnh, tôi thấy lặng lẽ, chữ “mood” mà người giám khảo dùng khi nói đến bức “Where Silence Sleeps”, nơi im lặng ngủ yên, rất đúng với tâm trạng của bóng người cô độc trong hình, the lone figure on the water.

Trăng sáng quá trên sàn đá trong phòng, màu trắng lạnh liêu trai, nhưng tôi cần ánh sáng đó, “dưới ánh trăng dịu hiền là nụ cười Đức Phật”, câu thơ đó của em tôi rất hay.

Tống Mai
Oct 25, 2023

 

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2023

Gallery hình của tôi với 11 bức được giải trong năm qua ở World Bank/IMF Photographic Exhibition 2023.
Triển lãm sẽ kéo dài cho đến cuối tháng Mười tại IMF Atrium

My gallery with 11 monthly winning images at the World Bank / IMF IPS Exhibition 2023
IMF Atrium. The exhibit will last through October 30, 2023

Honorable Mention – Dec 2022 – Theme: Open – “Where Silence Sleeps“
Honorable Mention – Annual Exhibit Finalist 2023

Judge Joe Willmore – Annual Exhibit:  And this one, if we have a category, we would call it “Mood”, Mai Tong “Where Silence Sleeps”. Let’s move to that photo and let’s take a look at that photo.  I want to talk about that photo and then I will put Mai Tong in the front spot.

What stands out for us at least for me is the 3 branches on the side, and I think it’s an interesting perspective, not a framing perspective but a focal point perspective that draws our attention to the lone figure on the water.  One other element that I want to mention is the horizon, often times, people tend to place the horizon in the middle,  no, you need to direct your eyes to either the water or the sky.  This photo is a much better choice so I like this composition better.

Now, part of what we like about this picture is there is such a mood to the picture.  We don’t just look at it and say oh it’s a nice picture, instead it captures a feeling, a spirit  element.

* * * * *

Judge Scott Lassman:  There’s so much depth in this photo and the calmness of the whole scene makes you feel peaceful. It looks like a black and white photo but the yellow color at the top makes it pop and gives depth to the photo.

Mai: Thank you Scott for choosing this.  I took this one on Lake Champlain in Essex New York in an early morning when the sun just came up at the golden hour.  I was standing on the edge of the street shooting down at the pier.

Scott Lassman:  Thank you for sharing.  It’s really beautiful.

First Place – Giải Nhất – Sept 2022 – Theme: People – “Blue Gaze”
Honorable Mention – Annual Exhibit Finalist 2023

Judge Scott Robinson:  This just blew me away.  Oh, do I wish that was mine.  It got such a beautiful moment there and it got mystery.  You don’t know who the person in the photo is, a man, a woman or a child but compositionally, they’re in the perfect spot. Then you have the water out there with the clouds with so many details around the edge of the shadow, and it looks like maybe  a little bit of wind blowing on the hair. All of those with the bird in the corner with the  perfect wing span is just really beautiful.
I hope the photographer who took this picture went home with that photo shoot feeling good about it because this is really nice.  It’s super, it looks like it can be a painting. I can’t find anything wrong with it.  I can’t even think of anything that I can add to it. So, Mai, just step back, step into your victory,  enjoy your mystery, and bravo, that’s really nice.

Mai: Thank you Scott.  I’m so honored that you awarded this photo.  I took it on Lake Champlain in a very early morning when the lake was placid and calm.  I come here often, at least twice a year and it’s always beautiful.  I got home with a lot of nice shots from this lake.

Scott Robinson: I can’t imagine you got anything nicer than that. It’s so peaceful and I bet it can be a beautiful print on the wall so you can just take a deep breath and relax and enjoy it.

Honorable Mention – Nov 2022 – Theme: Street Photography – “Joie-de-vivre“
Honorable Mention – Annual Exhibit Finalist 2023

Judge Gary: The two girls with the huge smiles on their faces jumping ropes are just so endearing.  The color is just fabulous throughout.

Mai:  Thank you Gary for choosing this picture.  I took it in an old quarter in a poor neighbourhood in central Vietnam. The joy on the children’s faces just caught my attention against a background of poverty.  This is one of my favorites.

First Place  – Mar 2023 – Theme: Animal – “Osprey Family on Leesylvania Potomac“
Honorable Mention – Annual Exhibit Finalist 2023

Judge Tom Mullen:  Yes, wonderful image, this cycle of life all in one picture, and street photo level is so timing I have to say. It’s an outstanding image and it speaks for itself. I couldn’t make it better myself.

Mai: Thank you Tom for selecting this picture. I took this at the Leesylvania State Park on the Potomac River. There was a huge Osprey nest on the river and every year a family of ospreys took refuge there. That day, I stood there the whole morning and used a 400mm tele lens and observed the activities of that family on the river. They are just like humans, the father would fly away and get the fish back to the family and then the mother fed the children with meat and ate the leftover bone. The children waited there, flapping their wings to practice flying while their father flew away to fetch food. It happens almost every year in July. I have to thank the long lens for being able to catch their actions.

Tom Mullen: Patience pays off, Mai. That’s a great image.

Honorable Mention – Mar 2023 – Theme: Animal – “Tenderly“

Judge Tom Mullen:  I like the exposure. The silky look reminds me of Chinese silk painting.  It’s sort of a commentary on the mother that looks a little weary.  The baby looks happy. It’s a very sweet picture.  I like the classical influence of it.  It’s a really classic image.  Again, National Geographic would love to have it.  It seems to be on a cliff base inclining some fancy footwork to be able to get to this to take the picture.

Mai:  It was taken in Cambodia in a temple in the Angkor Wat region.  It’s actually not on a cliff,  it’s in an open area in the temple where animals run free.  I was lucky to catch this, especially the eyes of the mother who moved me a lot.  It’s so sad and tender.  Thank you Tom for your comments,  they said all that I felt about the picture.

Tom Mullen: Thank you Mai for giving us this picture.

Fergal: Amazing photo, Mai.  Very nice.

Mai:  Thank you.  I took it from far away and zoomed a lot.  I had to do a lot of cropping.  Initially, I wanted to crop more to just focus on the mother’s eyes but I was afraid people might not like it.

Tom Mullen:  No, I think you got it cut right.

Honorable Mention – Sept 2022 – Theme: People – “Little Monk and His Poetry“

Scott Robinson: This is both simple and complicated at the same time.  To me, a good picture make you think about it, about what’s going on.  In this case, you don’t know who the person is, a monk?.  I don’t know what the book is about, it’s kind of mysterious, but the composition is just so simple I just love it.  There are details in the background but not too much, light is soft and on the person.  It leads me to want to know more.  There’s so much light and darkness arount it but there are enough details to bring your eyes to it.  The composition is perfect leading your eyes to the subject and the details that support the subject.  It’s so nice a picture for sure.

Honorable Mention – April 2023 – Theme: Open – “Be Tranquille”

Judge Wondemu: It’s a beautul image, melancholic and sober, especially the candles and the bowed head of the figure.  It’s very touching and makes one wonder what’s behind it.

Mai: Thank you for choosing this picture:  It’s a snap shot as I walked by an old district and saw this light and shadow of the whole scene. The person bending her head on the candles in the amber color of her room hit me so hard that the image kept lingering in my mind until now.

 

Honorable Mention – Feb 2023 – Theme: Open – “Light Across the Ocean”

Sofía Sebastián: It’s a beautiful image. The pier, the horizon line, I really enjoy it a lot. Well done and congratulations.

Mai: Thank you Sofia for selecting this picture. I took it in the early morning on Lake Champlain when the sun hadn’t come up yet. It was a misty morning. You can see the mist hovering at the horizon.

Honorable Mention – Oct 2022 – Theme: Open – “Into the Setting Sun”

Judge Sam Kittner: I love this picture, and actually lose sleep and keep thinking about it.  I love it so much,  it evokes so much. I love the motion, the waves, the reflections in the water, the smoothness and softness of the waves,  the silhouette of the person walking.  I really do love this image and it can be nunber one easily.
Lovely, really one of the most provocative images.

Mai: I took this picture on Huntington beach in California after the sun went down to the horizon. It was in the blue hour when all the colors in the sky popped out and reflected on the water.

Honorable Mention – May 2023 – Theme: Landscape – “The Palouse”

Judge Kharlamova: Oh yes, I love it. The picture is so beautiful, the color palette is absoluty calm and peaceful.  When I look at it, the only word that I can say is “peace”.  I love to hear what the author say about this picture.

Mai: Thank you Katrina. I took this in Palouse, in a region in Washington State a few days ago.  I just got back from there. There are a lot of barns in the region and it’s very idyllic, peaceful and has a quiet beauty and I think this is the most beautiful place on earth for me

Kharlamova: Wow, beautiful, beautiful.  Mai, can you talk about the green fields and the dark grey mountains in the back?

Mai: Actually, they are not mountains, they are fields, wheat fields, barley, chickpea, canola and other crops. This region is the top producing county for wheats and barleys in the U.S.  It’s an immense area, about 6000 square miles of gentle rolling hills of fields of wheats and other crops.  That creates the various colors that change as the seasons change:  green, purple, cyan, magenta….  When the sun casts its light and shadows on them, it’s gorgeous and ethereal.  I took this one in the late afternoon when the sunlight was calm and soft

Kharlamova:  Beautiful, beautiful.  I’d love to see your other pictures because they look so unique.

Mai:  I will be publishing an article on my website.

Kharlamova:  I would love to see that.  Thank you.

Honorable Mention – May 2023 – Theme: Landscape – “The Palouse II”

Kharlamova: Oh yes, exactly.  What I can say about this picture.  It’s beautiful, it’s sharp, it’s eye catching. I love it. You can see the beauty of this region.  It’s so interesting. The hills went up like the earth ocean,  do you feel that?  Sometimes people say that you can look at the water forever and this earth looks like water.  I kept looking at this image, looking and looking and wow, this is a place to meditate and have some wine and cheese.  I’d love you to share the location with us.

Mai:  It’s called the Palouse. It’s in Washington State about four hour drive from Seatle. It’s beautiful in any season, the end of May will be green and in the fall there will be multiple colors as the crops ready for harvest. I was standing on the top of the highest point looking down the whole panorama and used the 400mm telelens to catch the details, the textures of the fields.

Kharlamova: Wonderful, Thank you so much. Beautiful job.

 

OPENING CEREMONY
IMF ATRIUM – October 23, 2023

The exhibit features 93 winning images that have placed during IPS monthly competitions,
encompassing a variety of themes and genres