Show Judges
Quick Link to Judging notes | Judges Panel
Judging notes
Judging will be conducted by a panel of Photography and ADS Daffodil Judges selected by the Photography Chair. Photos will be judged by the panel on originality, composition, technical excellence, overall impact, and artistic merit.
Role of the Judge
Photography judges can be considered in the same light as a reviewer or critic of movies, books or other art forms. The judge should have knowledge of the subject and be able to articulate specifics about the work. The primary purpose of the review is to educate. Certain criteria are established for each photography exhibit and after meeting the criteria, what remains is a subjective appraisal of the work. The judge should be qualified by way of knowledge and experience and with this background be able make informed selections and offer constructive criticisms in a helpful and inspiring manner.
Criteria for Judging
A first consideration would be conformity with the rules of the competition. Next would be the four C’s – composition, creativity, craftsmanship, and communication/content. The judging should be a learning experience for everyone involved, including the judge. Negative aspects should be minimized while focusing on the positive attributes of the work. Originality, uniqueness, feeling, mood and capturing the moment would hold a prominent place in the selection criteria.
Judges Panel
Please reference the following biographies for each of the Photography Show Judges at the 2020 Fall Forum Daffodil Photography Show;
Karen Alesch is an avid photographer. She specializes in nature, bird, and landscape photography. She has exhibited at the Plymouth Art Center, Museum of Wisconsin Art, Sharon Wilson Arts Center, Hardy Gallery, and other WI galleries and has won numerous awards. Karen teaches week-long photography retreats in northern Wisconsin, as well as one-on-one mentoring and online webinars. She is passionate about photography….“When I am with my camera, time stands still. All the demands of real life take a back seat. Photography, and seeing the world through my camera, allows me to breathe deep and be fulfilled.”[Central Region]
Photography has been part of Linda Benzon’s life since she played with a Brownie camera as a child and then moved on to her Pentax film camera as a high school yearbook photographer. Eight years ago, Linda retired and resumed her love of photography with passion. A great deal of informal instruction and experimentation has resulted in popularity in a number of galleries in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and the Adirondack Region of New York. Linda’s favorite subjects are found in the natural world, with abstract as well as traditional expression. Her work is known for its timelessness and calming simplicity. Linda has participated and received awards in group and solo exhibits in New York and Pennsylvania, including five recent years in the prestigious Pennsylvania Art of the State. [Northeast Region]
For the past twenty years Rebecca Brown of Gettysburg, PA has grown, shown, and mostly drawn daffodils. Her husband, Richard Ezell, grows lots of them, providing her with plentiful material. Her many years of studying and participating in the visual arts have prepared her for the number of daffodil photographic competitions she has helped to judge for the American Daffodil Society. [Northeast Region]
Teri Carter of Ferndale, WA was brought into the Daffodil World by her husband, Bill Carter, when they met Bob Spotts of Oakley, CA – by touring his backyard daffodil growing field in 2014! Teri has been a photographer since she was 8 years old when her great uncle let her use his Hasselblad camera. Over the years she has worked photographing weddings, sports teams, school classes, and families, but most enjoys documenting travel adventures, gardens, and people. She is rarely without her camera. She has volunteered to oversee the ADS Murphys, CA Daffodil Show Photography Section. Teri co-chaired the 2016 World Daffodil Convention – ADS National Show Photography Section, hosted by ADS in St Louis. She is always ready to assist with setting up and judging other ADS photography shows. Teri says, “Daffodil growers nurture beautiful blooms for photographers to preserve!” [Pacific Region]
Zolt Levay of Bloomington, IN has been pursuing photography and astronomy most of his life. As far back as high school he was observing the sky and taking photographs through a home-built telescope and processing photographs in the darkroom. He earned university degrees in astronomy and worked with several NASA space science missions. Until his retirement he was responsible for translating science data into images to illustrate the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope. In the meantime he has pursued a wide range of photographic interests, exhibited in galleries and won awards in photography competitions. Current, ongoing personal photography projects include seeking out dark, clear skies to explore and photograph the relationship between landscapes, the night sky, and the cosmos.[Midwest Region]
My name is Andrew Niewiara I am an amateur photographer for 45 years starting with film and darkroom to the latest digital gear. Most of the time I was a member of a camera club in a Chicago suburb, where monthly competition was a way to hone my skills and love for photography. As a club we did reciprocal judging for other clubs. At present time I am a president of a camera club in Princeton IL where I have lived in a rural area since retirement. My passion is nature photography including birds, butterflies and flowers which are abundant on our property. Also delight in creating travelogues.[Central Region]
Sophie Niewiara is an avid serious amateur photographer for the past 40 years, member of Photographic Clubs over the years in which she was involved in many competitions. She has attended seminars on judging criteria for photos as well as those on how to improve her photographic skills. Her interest leans mainly towards nature photography, especially flowers. She has also been an avid gardener for many years which goes hand in hand with photography. Current passion is native flowers and restoration of native habitat on her 13 acre rural property. We have been given the designation of Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary by the Illinois Audubon Society. As you have noticed, her husband Andrew shares the wonderful hobby of photography and have done so for many years. We have done many interesting photo explorations as a team.[Central Region]
Lisa Powers is an award-winning nature photographer, writer and herpetologist/contract biologist. She received her B.S. degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science with minors in Botany and Plant and Soil Science from Tennessee Tech in 1991. She continued her studies at Austin Peay State University where she studied Field Biology with an emphasis in Herpetology (the study of amphibians and reptiles).
Her main focus is on amphibians and reptiles, but any living creature is fair game for her camera! Her photos can be found in nature centers across the United States. Web sites around the globe have requested and use her photographs. Lisa has had many of her photos published in the Tennessee Conservationist Magazine and Tennessee Wildlife Magazine. She has photos in the Salamanders of the Southeast from the University of Georgia Press, The Salamanders of Virginia by the Virginia Division of Game and Inland Fisheries, The Turtles of Alabama from University of Alabama Press and the Reptiles of Tennessee, UT Press.
She is a Biologicalical Consultant for Project Noah where she also serves as a PN Ranger. Lisa has served as a photography judge for the Middle Tennessee Daffodil Society and the Middle Tennessee Iris Society and the Pennyroyal State Park.[Southeast Region]
As an an avid photographer for over 40 years, Ellis Rosenberg thoroughly enjoys the art form. He previously served eight years as Chair of the Reston Photographic Society (RPS), and a board member of The League of Reston Artists which includes the RPS. He also continues serving The Nature Visions Photo Expo (naturevisions.org) as a board member and other capacities. These positions have provided him with an excellent exposure in the area of judging. Mr. Rosenberg enjoys photography competitions and as a graduate of The Joe Miller Seminar on Judging, he endeavors to put the knowledge gained from that seminar together with his experience to be a competent judge. He has judged many competitions and participated in numerous critiques and hope the participants have benefited from and enjoyed the competitions as much as he has. [Middle Atlantic Region]
Karen Spotts is a resident of Loveland, Colorado, where she is a retired art educator of more than 20 years. She is an exhibiting artist who works in both soft (chalk) and oil pastels. She and her husband, Mike, have a blended family of six grown children and four grandsons. Karen enjoys traveling, cycling and collecting Native American arts and handicrafts. [Pacific Region]