14th Annual Palo Alto Weekly Photo Contest

Judges

Norbert Von Der Groeben

Norbert von der Groeben joined the staff of the Palo Alto Weekly as chief photographer in July 2003. Prior to working at the Weekly, Norbert spent 17 years as a staff photographer at a daily newspaper, the Contra Costa Times. Norbert earned a bachelor's of art degree from Long Beach State University and majored in visual communications. In addition to his photos being published by the Palo Alto Weekly and the Contra Costa Times in the last two decades, his pictures have appeared in such magazines as People, Business Week and Vanity Fair. Norbert has also published a childrenπs book, "Fire Station Number 4." Author Mary T. Fortney wrote the text and Norbert provided the photos.

Peninsula People
" In my opinion, a great people photo is one that elicits a definitive reaction from the viewer. After looking at the photo, you either want to meet the person or run as far away from him as you can. Chris Marolf's photo - 'Sunflower' -- has that magic. I wanted to know more about who was behind that sunflower. ... The starkness of the black-and-white photograph drew me in completely. I seriously doubt the composition would have worked as well in color; it probably wouldn't have forced the viewer to take a second look."

--Norbert von der Groeben

Dave Hibbard

Fine art photographer David Hibbard traces his career back to age 7 when on a family vacation he attempted to record the magnificent Big Sur coast with a Brownie camera. Encouragement, first from Ansel Adams then later from Marion Patterson helped David find his way as a photographic artist. The forest, coastal, and wetland environments of the Bay Area ãplaces he has explored with great care and patience) are an ongoing focus of his work. His photography has won many local awards (including previous Palo Alto Weekly contests). David frequently exhibits his work and teaches workshops on the art of photography. A sampling of David's recent work can be seen at www.davidhibbard.com.

Peninsula Images
" The lattice work of lines and shapes is intriguing of itself, but our eye is drawn to the dark figure seemingly trapped within it all. The photograph records a simple action -- a person walking across a catwalk -- yet it is so much more than that."

--Dave Hibbard

Joe Quever

Joseph Quever was born and raised in Palo Alto. He attended Cubberley High School, and studied photography at the UC Santa Cruz. He began his professional career producing album covers for Columbia Records, and assisting noted Bay Area photographer George Fry. He opened his own commercial photography studio in downtown Palo Alto in 1989, utilizing medium and large format cameras, and his work has been displayed across California. Many of the photographs produced for his clients (mostly advertising, catalog and corporate) have won design awards recognized in their respective industries. He has relocated to Mountain View, and has had a relatively recent shift to digital -- as requested by many of his clients. He continues to be excited by the ever-changing visual medium, which took him on a two month hiatus, to study filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

Youth
" There was wonderful work, in all categories. What stuck with me most, though, was the youth category. I think of my own photography before the age 16, and to be quite honest, it didn't even come close to the majority of the vision and creativity I saw in this year's entries. The attention to lighting, composition, (selective) focus, mood, and creativity were very inspiring. There were a wonderful variety of techniques - both technical and visual."

--Joe Quever

©Abe Aronow 2003

Brigitte Carnochan

Brigitte Carnochan (a 1993 PA Weekly Photo Contest winner) is both a fine art and documentary style photographer. She has published and exhibited nationally and internationally. In the summer of 2004 she had a solo exhibition with a catalog, "Organic Forms," of her hand-painted gelatin silver photographs at the Albuquerque Museum in New Mexico. Her work and newest catalog, "Myth and the Natural World" can be seen in Palo Alto at Modernbook Gallery, where she exhibited in November 2004. She teaches hand painting, exhibition and photography project workshops regularly through the Stanford Continuing Studies program and serves on the board of the Santa Fe Center for Photography.

Manipulated Images
"Manipulating photographic images is tricky business these days -- in more ways than one. There are many digital tricks to play on the viewer, and it's easy (too easy) to get lost in the buttons, sliders, masks, plug-ins and filters that can turn an image into incoherent neon color and confusion. It was refreshing to see that the majority of entries in the manipulated category displayed a subtle, sure touch. Our three winners each had an idea that was clearly realized -- the manipulations not random but in service of an artistic concept. On reflection, I realize that our choices followed a theme. We chose three images each addressing the question of history, whether personal history, art history, or political history."