LEAD JUDGE

Founder/Editor of Visual Thinking Collective, Director of Photography Emerita of National Geographic Partners (USA)

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 specialised 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.

Photographer (India)

Rema Chaudhary is a photographer based out of 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 like Google, Nike, and Gucci. Her works have been published in magazines such as 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.

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.

Photographer, filmmaker (Bangladesh)

Ismail Ferdous is a Bangladeshi photographer and filmmaker who is based in New York, with an interest 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 other major awards in photography.

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.

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 or 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 theatres and art museums to music videos such as Chaka Khan, commercials (Air France, Pocari Sweat, Chanel, Cartier), and fashion films (Kenzo, Dior, Givenchy).

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 audio-visual 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 organisations.

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. Ketpradit 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).

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 of the Shiogama Photo Festival (Miyagi, Japan), and the curator of Kanzan gallery (Tokyo) and Sado Island Galaxy Art Festival (Niigata).

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.

Director (China)

Jing Ning is a director of TV commercial and film, who graduated with a BFA from Beijing Film Academy in 2011. Between 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 has created have received various awards, such as the London Independent Film Awards June 2017, Best Horror/ Thriller/ Sci-Fi Short. The experience between commercial and art, eastern and western culture create a conflicting and mixed taste in her work.

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 (USA). 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.