THE FULL PANEL OF JUDGES FOR THE NIKON PHOTO CONTEST 2022-2023 HAS BEEN DETERMINED THE FULL PANEL OF JUDGES FOR THE NIKON PHOTO CONTEST 2022-2023 HAS BEEN DETERMINED

The judges for the Nikon Photo Contest 2022-2023 have been decided. The Nikon Photo Contest, which began in 1969, has been supporting creators from around the world for more than half a century. The previous Contest received 65,000 entries from 150 countries and regions.

For the Nikon Photo Contest 2022-2023, the 39th Contest since its inception, a diverse, international panel of judges has been selected from experienced and knowledgeable professionals, including photographers, content creators, movie producers and curators that are active in a variety of fields, such as photojournalism, advertising, fashion and nature conservation. For Lead Judge, we have welcomed Sarah Leen, an artist with great influence whose accomplishments include becoming the first female director of photography for National Geographic magazine. Guided by Sarah, the panel of judges will review entries to unearth new talent and contribute to the development of imaging culture.

Judge Profiles:
*Titles have been omitted; judges are listed in alphabetical order.

Lead Judge
Sarah Leen, Founder/Editor of Visual Thinking Collective, Director of Photography Emerita of National Geographic Partners (U.S.A.)

While at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Sarah Leen was the first woman to receive the College Photographer of the Year award. In 2013, she became the first female director of photography for National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Partners. In 2020, she established the Visual Thinking Collective, a community of female editors, teachers, and curators specialized in creating and managing visually driven projects. Sarah believes in sharing her knowledge through mentoring and teaching photography and photo editing workshops, while consulting and editing visual projects and books.

Rema Chaudhary, photographer (India)
Rema Chaudhary is a photographer based in Mumbai, India. Fascinated by spaces and people’s lived experiences, her practice spans across the genres of portraiture, fashion, fine art and advertising. She studied photography and film in Massachusetts and has since worked with notable clients including Google, Nike and Gucci. Her works have been published in Magazines like Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Verve and many more. She has also been part of group exhibitions in India and London including the India Art Fair in 2022.

Andrew Esiebo, photographer (Federal Republic of Nigeria)
Andrew Esiebo is a photographer based in Nigeria. He started out in photography by chronicling the rapid development of urban Nigeria as well as the country's rich culture and heritage. He has explored new creative territory, integrating multimedia practice with the investigation of themes such as sexuality, gender politics, football, popular culture, migration, religion, and spirituality. He is a winner of the Musee du Quai Branly Artistic creation prize. His work has been widely exhibited in a variety of photo festivals around the world, and has appeared in several major publications, including the New York Times.

Ismail Ferdous, photographer, filmmaker (Bangladesh)
Ismail Ferdous is a Bangladeshi photographer and filmmaker who is based in New York, and interested in social, cultural and humanitarian stories of the contemporary world. He began photography while studying business in Dhaka. He is a member of Agence VU’, a photography agency in Paris, and has enjoyed working with important international newspapers, magazines and corporate clients, including National Geographic Magazine and Hermes. His work has received many major photography awards, such as the Best of Photojournalism Award of National Press Photographers Association (U.S.A.), World Press Photo and many others.

Esther Horvath, photographer, Nikon ambassador (Hungary)
Esther Horvath was born in Hungary and earned her master’s degree in economics from West Hungarian University. In 2012, she followed her passion for photography and moved to New York City to attend the International Center of Photography (ICP), where she graduated with a degree in documentary photography and photojournalism. After living in New York, Esther moved to Germany in 2018. In 2022, she received the Infinity Award from the ICP for her work in raising awareness about conservation, environmental justice and climate change. As a Nikon Ambassador, a contributor photographer for National Geographic, and photographer for the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, she continues to contribute to photography.

I COULD NEVER BE A DANCER, choreographers, creative directors, video makers (France)
I COULD NEVER BE A DANCER is a Paris-based duo, consisting of artists Carine Charaire and Olivier Casamayou, who work worldwide as choreographers, creative directors  and video makers. They are interested in how images can impact everyone’s vision of the world, and “exporting” dance into genres such as fashion, contemporary art and advertising. The scope of their projects ranges from performances in theaters and art museums to music videos of such as Chaka Khan, commercials (Air France, Pocari Sweat, Chanel, Cartier), and fashion films (Kenzo, Dior, Givenchy).

Yolanda Escobar Jiménez, photographer, editor (Mexico)
Yolanda Escobar Jiménez is a Mexican documentary photographer based in Ecuador. Yolanda focuses her documentary work on social issues, travel and portraits. She has been published in various media, including Americas Quarterly (USA) and HuffPost (USA). She has also collaborated on photographic and audiovisual projects with UNICEF and WWF. Yolanda is editor and photographer of Everyday Latin America, a community of photographers committed to using images to combat stereotypical perceptions. Currently she exercises photography independently, working on assignments for international media and non-governmental organizations.

Jatenipat Ketpradit, photographer (Thailand)
Jatenipat Ketpradit is a professional photographer based in Bangkok. He had the opportunity to live with a Nomad family during a trip to Mongolia, and was impressed by their cultures, personalities and traditional attire. Jatenipat has since continued to document various tribes and their cultures. His works have received many awards such as the Overall winner of the International Portrait Photographer of the Year 2022, and European Photographer of the Year 2022 of the European Photography Awards (EPA).

Mikiko Kikuta, curator (Japan)
Based in Tokyo, Mikiko Kikuta is an independent curator. After working in commercial production, she moved to Italy to study photography history and Italian art history at the University of Bologna. She has since planned and managed photo exhibitions and contemporary art exhibitions in Japan and Europe. Currently, she is the director of the “European Eyes on Japan” photography project, as well as the director Shiogama Photo Festival (Miyagi, Japan), and the curator of Kanzan gallery (Tokyo) and Sado Island Galaxy Art Festival (Niigata).

David Lombeida, photographer, filmmaker (Republic of Ecuador)
David Lombeida is an independent photographer and filmmaker currently based in Istanbul. His work focuses on the effects of conflict, migration, and identity on communities throughout the world. His work has been featured in the Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters and other publications. An alumnus of the Eddie Adams Workshop in 2021, David was a finalist in the 2022 Arnold Newman Prize for his portrait project “Resistencia”, documenting the Colombian national strike.

Jing Ning, director (China)
Jing Ning is a director of TV commercial and film, who graduated with a BFA from Beijing Film Academy in 2011. From 2014 to 2017, she stayed in Los Angeles to study film and to work in the film industry, directing TV commercials for brands including BMW and Toyota. The films that she created have received various awards, such as the London Independent Film Awards June 2017, Best Horror/ Thriller/ Sci-Fi Short. Her experience in commercial and art, as well as Eastern and Western culture , creates a conflicting and mixed taste in her work.

Nestor Pool, photographer, cinematographer, content creator (Dominican Republic)
Nestor Pool is a fashion photographer, cinematographer, and content creator born in the Dominican Republic and based in New York City (U.S.A.). With over 10 years of experience in commercial production, he has worked with brands and clients including Google and Aputure. As the founder of the production company Yellow Film Inc, Nestor seeks partnerships with brands looking to expand their digital presence and create premium content with an impact.

The Nikon Photo Contest 2022-2023
The Nikon Photo Contest 2022-2023 will consist of a Photo Competition and a Short Film Competition. Each Competition is divided into two categories—the Photo Competition includes  the Single Photo Category and Photo Story Category, and the Short Film Competition includes  the Short Film Category and Super Short Film Category.
Entries will be accepted from October 27th, 2022 (from 4:00 AM UTC) until February 13th, 2023 (from 4:00 AM UTC).

See the Nikon Photo Contest website for further details.
>Nikon Photo Contest website: https://www.nikon-photocontest.com/en/

About Nikon 
Nikon Inc. is a world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and technologies for photo and video capture; globally recognized for setting new standards in product design and performance for an award-winning array of equipment that enables visual storytelling and content creation. Nikon Inc. distributes consumer and professional Z Series mirrorless camera, digital SLR cameras, a vast array of NIKKOR and NIKKOR Z lenses, Speedlights and system accessories, Nikon COOLPIX® compact digital cameras and Nikon software products. For more information, dial (800) NIKON-US or visit www.nikonusa.com, which links all levels of photographers and visual storytellers to the Web's most comprehensive learning and sharing communities. Connect with Nikon on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Vimeo and Flickr.

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*Judges may be added or changed without notice.