Competition Rules & Jury for the MEMBERS COMPETITION
Judging Panel
Christine Averberg
Christine Averberg, educator and aspiring wilderness educator, has been at home in nature photography for ten years. Starting with classical photography, she attended countless workshops with various instructors in her early days. Over time, she found that she did not feel at home in the classical field of nature photography and that the results were not satisfactory for her. She began to break away from conventional guidelines and swung more and more into an experimental and abstract way of photographing. In this field, she expresses how she herself perceives nature. It is important for her to be able to use her photography in any place and not to be dependent on extraordinary animals or impressive landscapes. For her, the beauty of nature lies above all in the everyday. Together with her partner Daniel Böttcher, also a nature photographer, she lives in Beckum, Münsterland. Together they mainly explore and photograph the local nature or prefer to travel within Germany and Scandinavia.
www.christine-averberg.de
Felix Wesch
Felix Wesch (*1980) is a freelance photographer. His nature photography journey began during his studies in the Danube floodplains near Vienna and then deepened in Marburg an der Lahn. In the meantime, he is searching for his motifs near Bonn.
His interest in nature photography is mainly focused on nature in the immediate vicinity of his home. There, he is always on the lookout for motifs that may seem unspectacular at first glance, but which he wants to photograph under "perfect" conditions.
With his photos, Felix does not necessarily want to provide documentation of his excursions into nature; he always tries to include his personal interpretation of the experience, influenced by his own emotions, in the photos.
He runs a YouTube channel, gives workshops, writes articles and has already been successful in the GDT Nature Photographer of the Year competition, among others.
Stephan Amm
Born in 1972 in Kronach, Upper Franconia, he was introduced to the local flora and fauna by his father as a child, and his many Sunday hikes took him to the most diverse corners of his native Franconia. His father's Leica was always with him, so he developed an interest in photography at an early age.
During his studies, he bought his first own SLR camera and developed his first black-and-white films in an improvised photo lab. Although he found life in the big city interesting, there was an increasing desire to spend his scarce free time in nature, so moving back to his rural hometown was the next step for him. Later, this proved to be the ideal balance to his work as a pharmacist and he recognised photography as his true vocation.
In the meantime, he covers all areas of nature photography, always paying special attention to unusual and atmospheric views. The majority of his pictures are taken in the various natural areas of his native Franconia and are published in magazines, books, calendars and national and national and international competitions all over the world. In 2014, he ventured into self-employment as a photographer, with nature remaining his main focus. Architecture and reportage are two of his other mainstays.
www.stephan-amm.de