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In the Seams

Zili Zhang

United States of America

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Moon last night, remnant snow from last year.
A river never breaks, is recreated by the receding tide, every day.
The winding tree sings along, a silent song.

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Nominee

Moon River

A worker was dragging hot air balloons in place to be ready for taking off.

Honorable Mention

I was fascinated by a group of photos of grass against sky from the acclaimed photographer Harry Callahan. Now it is the perfect time to replicate similar composition by capturing grass buried in the snow when the winter storm covered much of the landscape around me.

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Silver

Homage to Callahan

A typical example of how I apply juxtaposition and minimalism to street photography. Taken fourth floor above, there happened to be a moment of only one man walking crossing the famous Shijuku Crossing. To his right, there is a lone manhole, completing the image.

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Crossing(One)

I determined to seek for Blue and White, the national colors. In Santorini, I found them in abundance. The Cycladic tradition of white forms endures in its architecture, blending with the vast blue. Embracing minimalism, I explored how shapes connect. Each photo reflects the joy of discovery.

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Blue and White

The 10 o'clock sun casts the shadows of two birds on the red curtain of the fish market in Venice, Italy. It appears as though they are engaged in a conversation. Actually, there is nothing related between them. They were standing about 5 feet away.

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Two Birds

Each photo in this series involves at least two pairs of subjects. The basic concept of this approach is juxtaposition. When I find an interesting subject or two, I patiently wait until another subject enters the frame, completing the image in my vision --- and to convey a sense of tenderness.

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Two Of Everything

The series arranges autumn leaves on a plate by a pair of chopsticks. By altering the configuration, each image imparts different implications and invokes varied imaginations. The core idea is that the vibrant colors of autumn serve as a visual feast, almost as if they could be enjoyed as a meal.

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Autumn on a Plate

Two shadows of passengers cast on the red band of a train carriage at the Roma Termini Train Station. The prevalence of the red color, found in the frescoes of Pompeii's ruins to the Italian high-speed trains, symbolizes Italy for me.

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Two Shadows on Red

“If you see a tree as blue, then make it blue.” – Paul Gauguin. The first time I saw this photo on my camera screen, I had this vision that the background should be this color, and then I spent almost two months to achieve that.

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Golden Leaves

The 10 o'clock sun casts the shadows of two birds on the red curtain of the fish market in Venice, Italy. It appears as though they are engaged in a conversation about love.

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A bubble, and two ripples from small to large, render the concept of the beginning of everything.

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The Beginning

Glen Canyon Dam. The other side is Lake Powell, once the largest reservoir in U.S. In recent years, the water level dropped at times to 40% of full scale. What you saw is a worker operating on a bed of algae. Look how small a human is, yet how huge impact humans can make on environment.

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Bronze

Far Above Dam

5 photos put together, with the same background of an empty window on Madison Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan. Look the way how the photos across the corners link to each other and how the silhouettes line up. The title has double meaning: they were passing by the windows and also each other.

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Passing By

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People's Vote Award

Blackberg Variations

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Overlook

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Benji