Photo Credit (clockwise): Nico C-L (2023 First Place Winner), Roxanne B (2023 First Place Winner), Emma P (2023 Second Place Winner)

In-Sight’s Youth Photo Awards features a regional and national contest!

Regional Contest

Any young person (11 to 18) living within an hour of Brattleboro, VT or the state of Vermont can submit to the Regional Contest.  Living within an hour of Brattleboro includes those living as far north as Hanover, NH, as far south as Northampton, MA, as far east as Peterborough, NH, and as far west as Charlemont, MA.

How to participate:

1. Submit a total of 5  images into 1 or all of the following categories: Analog & Alternative Process, Environments & Animals, Forms & Objects, People & Culture

2. Submission fee is $10, reduced price for In-Sight students and alumni is available, Please email In-Sight staff with questions (info@insight-photography.org)

All fees go to support the award ceremony where participants will receive a participation certificate, their image in the virtual gallery, and the opportunity to win…

1. Gift Card to B&H Photo Video - $600 first place, $300 second place, and $100 third place

2. Cone Editions Press will make a large (24 x 30) print

3. Winner’s Circle Exhibition - Images will be displayed as a group at In-Sight and at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center

Contest Categories & Jurors

In-Sight’s Youth Photo Awards Committee selected local to Brattleboro and nationally renowned photographers to participate on our jury panels.

In each category, jurors will pick three photographers to win top prizes and five photographers to win honorable mentions!

Analog/ Film & Alternative Process

Images must be made in the darkroom or with an alternative process

Michael Kirchoff

Michael is a photographic artist, independent curator and juror, and advocate for the photographic arts. He has been a juror for Photolucida’s Critical Mass, and has reviewed portfolios for several fine art photographic organizations and non-profits in the U.S. and abroad. Michael has been a contributing writer for Lenscratch, Light Leaked, and Don’t Take Pictures magazine. In addition, he spent ten years (2006-2016) on the Board of the American Photographic Artists in Los Angeles (APA/LA), producing artist lectures, as well as business and inspirational events for the community. Currently, he is Editor-in-Chief at Analog Forever Magazine, Founding Editor for the photographer interview website, Catalyst: Interviews, Contributing Editor at One Twelve Publishing, and is the Co-Host of The Diffusion Tapes podcast.

Evie Lovett

Evie Lovett’s work spans cyanotype, digital and analog photography, digital media, storytelling, encaustic painting, teaching, and public art and community art-making and placemaking, in multiple mediums. She is motivated to explore the spaces where people and the natural world meet and interact, to slow down and listen to the stories that emerge when good questions are asked of people and places. Bringing a social and environmental justice and equity lens to her work is a priority. What especially fuels her is putting the tools of art-making in people’s own hands, enabling them to explore aspects of themselves, their families, their communities, and the world around them through art-making and community collaboration, fearlessly and with joy.

https://www.evielovett.com/

Crista Dix

Crista Dix has spent the last two decades as part of and surrounded by the creative community of photography, serving currently as the executive director of the Griffin Museum of Photography and previously as the owner of her gallery, wall space creative. With a passion for visual storytelling, Dix has dedicated her career to promoting and curating photography and lens based art. As the executive director of the Griffin Museum of Photography, located in Winchester, Massachusetts, Dix continues to elevate photographic narratives, offering a platform for diverse voices and perspectives. She has been a member of numerous panels and discussions on the craft of photography, juried creative competitions and has participated in major portfolio reviews across the country in cities like Houston, Portland, Los Angeles, Santa Fe and New Orleans.

https://griffinmuseum.org/

Eric Stewart

Eric Stewart is an interdisciplinary multimedia artist and educator who works predominantly with 16mm film.   His artistic practice invokes photochemical and darkroom processes to investigate landscape, place and cultural identity.  He holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, an MFA from the University of Colorado, Boulder.  He is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Landmark College.

Joan O’Beirne

Joan O'Beirne is an artist and educator, holding an MFA in photography from the University of New Mexico. Currently, she heads the photography department at Greenfield Community College and serves as the director of the GCC South Gallery. She has taught photography at various institutions, including UNM, New Mexico State University, Central Michigan University, Marlboro College, and Keene State College. Joan's work has been exhibited extensively throughout New England including the Herter Gallery, Landmark College Art Gallery, Brattleboro Museum and Arts Center, Vermont Center for Photography, Drury Gallery, the Spheris Gallery in Hanover, NH, and the Thorne-Sagendorph Gallery.

Beyond her academic and artistic pursuits, Joan was employed at the Greenfield Jail, teaching photography classes, facilitating group meetings, and curating exhibits of artwork created in her classes. She has also served as a juror for the Scholastic Art & Writing awards. Joan O'Beirne's life reflects a blend of artistic passion, dedication to education, and a commitment to making a positive impact through photography.

https://www.joanobeirne.com/

Aline Smithson

Aline Smithson is a visual artist, editor, and educator based in Los Angeles, California. Best known for her conceptual portraiture and a practice that uses humor and pathos to explore the performative potential of photography. She received a BA in Art from the University of California at Santa Barbara and was accepted into the College of Creative Studies, studying under artists such as William Wegman, Allen Rupersburg, and Charles Garabedian. After a career as a New York Fashion Editor working alongside some the greats of fashion photography, Smithson returned to Los Angeles and her own artistic practice.

https://www.alinesmithson.com/

Jon Gitelson

Jonathan Gitelson received his MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago in 2004 and is a Professor of Art and Design at Keene State College in NH. He works in a variety of mediums that include photography, artist books, video, installation, and public art. Jonathan is a member of the Cake Photography Collective and his work has been exhibited at institutions throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe including MASS MoCA, the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and Galerie f5,6 in Munich.

Jonathan has received public commissions from the Chicago Transit Authority, the deCordova Sculpture Park, For Freedoms, and more, and his artwork is in the permanent collection of numerous institutions, including the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the Fidelity Investment Collection. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, Art in America and Art New England. Jonathan’s recent project Sonic Blanket received grant funding from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts and the Arts Council of Windham County.

https://www.jonathangitelson.com/

Julian Lucas

Julian Lucas's photographic practice explores subjects that evoke social commentary and recognition of the inevitability of nature, its beauty and decomposition. 

Julian is a purveyor and collector of photobooks. In 2015, Julian co-founded Mirrored Society, a bookstore that focuses on photobooks from all over the world. Julian has since worked as a solo owner, continuing to curate titles from across the globe. In 2018, Julian founded Print Pomona Art Book Fair. 

http://www.julian-lucas.com/

Erica Lansner

Erica Lansner (b. 1958) is an American photojournalist and contributing photographer to Redux Pictures, currently focusing on news, issues and stories in New York City. Since 2020, she has covered countless events surrounding social justice; documenting protests and activism ranging from the Black Lives Matter Movement, the Israel-Hamas War, transgender liberation and LGBTQ+ rights, the influx of migrants, climate change and abortion rights. Her photos were included in the 2022 book published by Aperture, Revolution is Love: A Year of Black Trans Liberation. She has lived and worked in Paris, Rome, and Barcelona but has spent most of her career working as an editorial photographer in her home of New York City. She was a member of the Black Star Photo Agency in the 1990’s, which she joined after covering the Tiananmen Square Democracy Movement in China in 1989. Whether photographing a protest on the streets of New York, an artist in the studio, or a conference of hi-tech entrepreneurs, Lansner is in her element when connecting with people in front of the camera.

https://www.ericalansner.com/

Lynne Weinstein

Lynne Weinstein is a photographer and teacher. Her work has been supported by the Vermont Arts Council and The Vermont Community Foundation Arts Fund. Before teaching at The Putney School, Lynne was a long time volunteer at The In-Sight Photography Project and The Vermont Center for Photography. She also worked as a photo editor at Life Magazine and as a freelance editorial photographer. She has experimented with many formats from alternative processes to 4 x 5 cameras to an iphone. Lynne lives in Putney, Vermont.

https://www.putneyschool.org/faculty_profile/lynne-weinstein/

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I submit? Click here to create a CaFE profile and fill out the application.

2. What are the image requirements? Images must be… jpegs, 3000 pixels on the long side, 300dpi, sRGB or Adobe RGB (1998) color space, 3MB max

3. What should I name the files? Include your first initial and last name, image title

4. Who can enter the Regional Contest? Any young person (11 to 18) living within an hour of Brattleboro, VT can submit to the Regional Contest.  That includes people living as far north as White River Junction, VT, as far south as Northampton, MA, as far east as Peterborough, NH, and as far west as Bennington, VT.

5. Who can enter the “Your Perspective Series” National Contest? The “Your Perspective Series” is a national contest that any young person (11 to 18) living within the United States of America can participate.

6. Can I submit into both the Regional and National contests? Yes, but you must live within Vermont or an hour of Brattleboro (as described in question 5) to submit into both contests.

7. Can I submit images into more than one Local Contest category? Yes! In the local contest, you can submit up to 4 images in total and submit them into one or all of the categories. For example, you can submit 4 images into just the Environments & Animals category. OR you could submit 2 images in the Analog & Alternative Process category, 1 in the Environments & Animals category, and 1 in the People & Culture category. 

8. Can the same photo be submitted into more than one category? No.

9. Can I submit the same image in each contest? No.

10. Can I submit photos I took on my smartphone? Yes! As long as the image meets the image size and aspect ratio guidelines.

11. Do I retain my copyright? Of course! In-Sight will always credit the photographer when reproducing an image digitally or physically. All images submitted will be included in our virtual gallery. Top images may be used in future contest promotional materials. In all instances, In-Sight will give the artist credit, using their first name and last initial, image title, year made, town of residence, and contest placement.

12. When will I know if I won? Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony & Exhibition on September 28th, 2 to 4pm, at The Latchis Theatre (50 Main St, Brattleboro, VT) and will be lived streamed by Brattleboro Community Television.

13. How can MY photo win? Jurors are looking for images that have a strong relation to the category, show the photographer is dedicated to bettering their craft, and demonstrate technical and creative skills.

14. Can I enter an AI-generated image? No, AI images cannot be submitted as we want to showcase the talents of humans. In-Sight reserves the right to reject an image suspected of being AI generated or to ask for proof (original file) that the image was taken by a human.

15. Can I edit the images or use filters? Yes! Please use your human creativity and skill to create an image that you find pleasing.

16. What can I win by participating? Every image submitted will be included in our virtual gallery and all participants will receive a certificate for their participation. Jurors in each category will select three image to win top prizes. Five images from each Regional Contest Category will be selected to receive honorable mentions to be printed for the Award Ceremony. One “Your Perspective” series will receive an honorable mention. Top images and honorable mentions will be printed for the Awards Ceremony at The Latchis. After the Award Ceremony Exhibition, the images will be on display in In-Sight’s gallery during October and November. In December, participants can take home prints chosen for exhibition.

Top Prizes in each
Regional Contest Category

First Place

• $600 Gift Card to B&H Photo Video

• 24 x 30 print from Cone Editions Press

• Winner’s Circle Exhibition at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center

Second Place

• $300 Gift Card to B&H Photo Video

• 8 x 10 Print from In-Sight

• Winner’s Circle Exhibition at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center

Third Place

• $100 Gift Card to B&H Photo Video

• 8 x 10 Print from In-Sight

• Winner’s Circle Exhibition at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center

Top Prizes
“Your Perspective Series”
National Contest

First Place

• $600 Gift Card to B&H Photo Video

• 24 x 30 print from Cone Editions Press

• Winner’s Circle Exhibition at Brattleboro’s Museum & Art Center

• Solo Exhibit at In-Sight

• Portfolio Review by a jury member

Second Place

• $300 Gift Card to B&H Photo Video

• 8 x 10 Prints from In-Sight

• Portfolio review by In-Sight staff

Third Place

• $100 Gift Card to B&H Photo Video

• 8 x 10 prints from In-Sight

• Portfolio review by In-Sight staff

Thank you to our Lead Sponsor!

Thank you to our Supporting Sponsors!

802 Credit Union
Brattleboro Savings & Loan
C&S Wholesale Grocers
Chroma Technology
Community Bank

Cone Editions Press
M&T Bank
The Richards Group
Vermont Mutual Insurance