Prizes Judges 2016

Michael Reid is a leading Australian art dealer with galleries in Sydney, Berlin and regional NSW. With vast experience in the art and cultural sector working within prestigious art auction houses; Reid has gone to be a well published and respected author who’s commentary on the art industry have been an important contribution to Australian art and culture. Reids work is sought across television, print and social media affirming his role as an ambassador for Australian art. Reid is co- founding director of Art Month Sydney, former director & deputy chair of Sydney Living Museums Foundation, a member of the Law Society of NSW, the Australian Antique Dealers Association and the Berlin Art Galleries Association, and is cited in McCulloch’s Encyclopaedia of Australian Art. Michael received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OMA) on Australia Day 2016 for his services to the arts.

Michael Grecco is an award-winning commercial photographer and film director noted for his iconic celebrity portraits, innovative magazine covers, editorial images and advertising spreads for NBC/Universal, GE, Pfizer, HBO, Kodak, ABC, IBM, Yahoo!, ESPN, Wired, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Premier, MAXIM and more. His distinguished work is regularly featured in prestigious galleries such as Louis Stern, G. Ray Hawkins, Stephen Cohen and Fahey Klein

Susan Dooley is a photojournalist and documentary photographer with 30 years experience. Graduated with a BS in Journalism and Mass Communications and a MFA in Photography, she has worked as a  photographer for newspapers and as a freelance photographer. For the past 25 years, Ms. Dooley has freelanced and taught photography in Arizona, California and New York. She has just retired from her position as a Full Professor and Chair of the Art Department at Nassau Community College in New York. As an artist, Ms. Dooley’s work has been exhibited widely in galleries, museums, libraries and universities, hospitals and churches internationally. She is a founding member of fotofoto gallery in Huntington, NY. Additionally, she has served in curatorial roles in both China and the Us.

Alison Zavos is the Founder/Editor-in-Chief of Feature Shoot and a photography curator. She is also an active member of the photography community, reviewing portfolios for numerous organizations, judging contests, and speaking on various panels discussing topics such as the impact of new media, marketing, press and photography blogs. Prior to running Feature Shoot full time, Zavos worked as a photo editor. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband, daughter and Affenpinscher.

Myles Little is a photo editor based in New York City who the Huffington Post class “a rising leader and visionary in the industry”. He studied photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design and has gone on to produce award-winning covers and features with many of the best photographers in the world. Outside of the work, Myles has lectured on photography internationally and is curating a world-travelling photo exhibit and book about wealth inequality.

Matt Black is an award winning American documentary photographer who’s work focusses on issues of poverty, migration and the environment. His work has been published in many international publications such as The New yorker, Orion Magazine and msnbc.com. He has taught photography with the Foundry Photojournalism Workshops, the Eddie Adams Workshop, Leica Fotografie International, and the Los Angeles Center of Photography. He was nominated to Magnum Photos in 2015 and is represented by Anastasia Photo gallery in New York. He received  the W. Eugene Smith Award in Humanistic Photography in 2015. His work has also been honored by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation, the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Pictures of the Year International, World Press Photo, the Alexia Foundation, The Center for Cultural Innovation, and others. Time Magazine named him Instagram Photographer of the Year for his The Geography of Poverty project.

Sally Brownbill is a highly regarded businesswoman and entrepreneur whose experience and prolific work ethic have helped countless photographers and creatives forge lasting and successful careers. A 25-year veteran of the photographic and agency scene, there are few who haven’t experienced first hand or heard of her passion and drive for all things creative.
Sally is at the forefront of the Australian photographic industry, promoting and shaping the futures of aspiring and professional photographers through her work as a lecturer, mentor and folio consultant.
She is also the owner and founder of The Brownbill Effect, an online creative resource and full time placement hub that is changing the way creative talent is marketed and sourced by agencies and the corporate world.

Ron Haviv is an Emmy nominated, award-winning photojournalist and co-founder of the photo agency VII, dedicated to documenting conflict and raising awareness about human rights issues around the globe.
In the last three decades, Haviv has covered more than twenty-five conflicts and worked in over one hundred countries. He has published three critically acclaimed collections of photography, and his work has been featured in numerous museums and galleries, including the Louvre, the United Nations, and the Council on Foreign Relations. President H.W. George Bush cited Haviv’s chilling photographs documenting paramilitary violence in Panama as one of the reasons for the 1989 American intervention. Haviv has also directed short films for ESPN, People Magazine, Doctors Without Borders, Asia Society and American Photography. His film work has also appeared on PBS’s Need to Know and Frontline as well as NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight. 

Dr Doug Spowart has been extensively involved in creative media areas for over 45 years – his practice includes: artists’ books, photobooks, artist, critic, judge, writer and educator. 
His research investigates the contemporary photobook and has published and presented papers on the topic at national and international forums. Spowart’s work has won awards and been purchased for inclusion in regional and state public galleries, national and international collections. Spowart completed a Doctrorate of Philosophy from James Cook University researching the topic of the hybrid photobookin the context of the artists’ book. 
He was the 2014 Siganto Foundation Artists’ Book Research Fellow at the State Library of Queensland and is a Master of Photography and an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP)

Alyx Gorman is Editor of Time Out Sydney and fashion editor at The Saturday paper. Gorman boasts an impressive collection of editing posts at publications like Oyster magazine, Elle magazine, Mamamia and The Vine. With a degree in Social Science and Political Economy Gorman has gone on to become a social media pro with a vast following and regular readers of her The Saturday Paper, Fashion column. Gormans sharp eye for all things fashion and culture mean she is at the forefront of contemporary Australian popular culture.

Olly Lang moved to London from Sydney in 2013. He started taking photographs with an iPhone in 2008 and created the first mobile photography course in 2012 at the Australian Centre for Photography. He now teaches in London at the TATE, V&A Museum and Science Museum. He runs the @MobilePhotoNetwork and curates exhibitions of mobile photography at leading photography festivals including Head On. He believes that mobile photography is more of a performance art than a fine art. 

Louise Whelan is a Sydney based freelance photographer. With a business degree and a certificate in photography, Louise continues to develop herself as a contemporary Australian photographer.Her experience includes work for The State and National Library of Australia. Louise’s versatile approach captures a myriad of subjects, resulting in a creative portfolio, which spans aerial photography, fine art, social documentary, advertising, stock libraries, and stills on Australian films and documentaries. Louise has been described as “the light magican” by well-known Australian film director, Peter Butt. Louise is known for her “vintage and retro” style of photography. Louise is currently working on a 2-year project with the State library of NSW photographing different ethnic communities in NSW

Dimitri Beck has been part of the executive management of Polka since 2008, contributing to the development of the magazine, gallery and website. 
During his spare time Dimitri gives lectures on photojournalism at conferences and educational institutes such as photojournalism courses in the journalism department at SciencesPo in Paris. He participates in international photo juries. He also hosts a radio programme about images on France Info.
Prior to working at Polka, Dimitri was the Director of the Aina Photo Agency based in the Afghan capital Kabul from September 2004 to December 2006, where he was also the Editor-in-chief for the Anglo-French feature magazine “Les Nouvelles de Kaboul – New Afghanistan”. His thirst to travel to Afghanistan was inspired when he was working as editor-in-chief of Reza Deghati’s photo agency “Webistan”.
His love for photojournalism started in the Caucasus mountains of central Asia at a young age when he started out as an independent journalist filing reports to French and international media outlets.

Moshe Rosenzveig is the founder and Creative Director of Head On Photo Festival, Australia’s leading annual photography festival, showcasing the work of international and local photographers of all genres. Moshe’s career spans over 40 years as a photojournalist, commercial photographer, educator and an award-winning television producer/director at SBS Television. Moshe’s work has been screened, published and exhibited in Australia and overseas. Moshe has led the judging panels for the annual Head On Awards since 2004 in Portrait, Landscape, Mobile, Moving Image and Student. Moshe has also judged for numerous awards including the City of Sydney’s Art & About and Walkleys Prize for Photojournalism and is a nominator for Joop Masterclass. He also teaches photojournalism at the University of Technology, Sydney.