Dale Yudelman and Hansie Oosthuizen receive top honours in Profoto Awards
The Profoto Awards, presented by Sony Alpha, were bestowed on top professional photographers and photography students at a gala dinner hosted at the Wanderers Club in Illovo, Sandton on March 19 2009.
The event, attended by many luminaries in the photographic industry, saw 152 single entries being awarded gold, silver and bronze 2008 Profoto Awards certificates in 16 different categories, and 140 portfolios awarded gold, silver and bronze certificates in the professional and student categories.
Two Capetonian were among the top professional photographers and photography students who were presented with the Profoto Awards.
Dale Yudelman, who recently exhibited his work in Cape Town at the Photographers Gallery, won six awards. He was awarded two bronze, two silver and two gold Profoto Awards certificates. His portfolio, 'I am...' was awarded Professional Portfolio of the Year.
Hansie Oosthuizen, a resident of Hermanus, won a bronze and two gold awards. He also received the Image of the Year title for one of his entries.
The 2008 Profoto Awards, the only competition for all categories of professional photography in Southern Africa, is a combined effort of Sony South Africa and the Professional Photographers of Southern Africa (PPSA) to promote professional photographers, and to acknowledge their talents and dedication.
The awards this year attracted the largest number of participants since their inception in 1989, with more than 4 000 images being submitted. Also, for the first time in the competition's history, entrants were required to register online and post their photographs digitally.
The gala dinner was the culmination of a series of electronic messages that created much excitement and interest within the photography industry. This programme of electronic communication enabled the organisers to keep participants informed about each stage of the competition, such as the call for entries, the closing date, the announcement of the judges and the judging process.
The public was also involved in the competition, as they were invited to predict the 'Image of the Year' online. Maritsa Botha voted for the correct image and by doing so won a Sony α350 DSLR kit, which included a camera body and lens.
The electronic format of the Awards enabled judges to view and judge entries anywhere in the world. Four international judges formed part of the judging team, which comprised specialists in various fields. The top finalist images, selected from over the 4 000 images, were selected on Saturday, 7 February 2009. The final judging was conducted live on Sony High Definition BRAVIA LCD TV's at Sony South Africa's head office in Midrand.
According to PPSA President, Pieter de Ras, the 2008 Profoto Awards came at the right time, as many photographers hadn't had the opportunity to have their work judged by their peers.
He added that it became very apparent at the live judging of the Profoto Awards that there are two distinct camps with regards to where professional photography is going.
�On the one side, there is the 'traditional' outlook where some of the judges totally dissociated themselves from any form of manipulation of the image. The other camp felt that the final result was what counted, with total disregard to 'image manipulation'.
This is, and is going to be more of a debate, as we move further into the digital era. If a photograph has been manipulated, can we still call it a photograph, or should it then be referred to as an image?�
Following the awards ceremony, the finalists' images will be exhibited at shopping malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town, where members of the public will be able to view the work of Southern Africa's top photographic talent.
From 21 to 28 April, the winning 2008 Profoto Awards images will be on show in the Banking Mall Court at Sandton City, and will also be exhibited in the Upper Stuttafords Court at Canal Walk, Cape Town from 26 May to 1 June.
These images will also be promoted in leading print publications, as well as on the internet and on the Profoto Awards website www.profotoawards.co.za.
