AOP Awards

The 2012 Judges

The AOP Students Awards is the photography competition that annually showcases the best images from the next generation of photographers. Students are asked to enter their best digital photographs and they can choose from four different categories: Lifestyle & Portraiture, Fashion & Beauty, Landscape, Interiors & Exteriors and Still Life.

This year the judges will comprise a panel of five highly acclaimed industry professionals, including award winning photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten,�Harry Hardie, founder and director of Here,�Michael Regnier, Editor Panos Pictures,�Perry Curties, Editor 125 Magazine and AOP Photographers Awards Gold Winner, Nick Meek.�

Julia Fullerton-Batten�
Photographer�

Julia Fullerton-Batten is predominantly a fine-art photographer. Her work is exhibited worldwide to wide acclaim. Her photographic work was first recognised in the AOP assistant awards in 1998. Every year since then the AOP has featured her work in their awards, most recently her latest project, "Awkward", 2011. She won the HSBC award for her fine-art series "Teenage Stories" in 2007, and was a Hasselblad Master in Fine Art in 2008. She has won innumerable international awards and has a permanent collection of her work at the National Portrait Gallery, London and the Musee de l'Eysee, Lausanne. She has judged the Sony World photography awards, the AOP assistant awards, Terry O'Neill award, the D&AD awards, and the Taylor Wessing Awards. A book titled, "Teenage Stories", by Actes Sud, was published in 2007.

www.juliafullerton-batten.com

Harry Hardie
Founder and Director, Here

Here is a company that publishes, exhibits, teaches and supports photography. Harry has been working with photography for 10 years, starting as the assistant to the director of photography at The Times, London, then as the photo editor for The Times Luxx Magazine. After The Times Harry worked as director of HOST Gallery, London, before founding Here, an online resource that publishes, exhibits, teaches, and supports photography. Harry is also a lecturer in photography at University College Falmouth, UK, an independent curator and also works with renowned U. K photo agency Panos Pictures on exhibition and book projects.

hereontheweb.co.uk�

Michael Regnier
Editor, Panos Pictures

Michael started his academic career at the Sydney Rabbinical College and went on to study at the Lubavitch Rabbinical College in Brooklyn, NY. He decided against completing his theological studies and studied History and Politics, graduating with a BA Honours from London�s Guildhall University, now Metropolitan University. After university Michael worked at Der Spiegel as picture researcher and editorial assistant to the magazine�s foreign correspondent. Leaving Der Spiegel in 1998 he became assistant to the director of the Independent Photographers Group (IPG), a core group of photographers at Katz Pictures, including Tom Stoddart, David Modell and Zed Nelson. In 1999 Michael started working for Panos Pictures and has been working for the agency ever since except for a 10 month break in 2010 where he left to explore other interests and travel across Europe. Michael speaks fluent German and Hebrew.

www.panos.co.uk

Perry Curties
Photographer and Editor of 125 Magazine

After graduating from art college in 1996 Perry spent 5 years assisting a number of high profile photographers in London and New York and has since become a highly regarded fashion photographer working with a wide mix of commercial and editorial clients who appreciate his ability to visualise narrative themes and combine them with exceptional lighting and subtle post production. Perry�s desire to experiment eventually led to the realization that window-space for new ideas in contemporary editorial photography was very limited, so in 2001 he launched 125 Magazine which is now a highly successful �gallery space in-print� offering photographers an open and unbiased platform for new and inspiring work. Now available in 20 countries around the world 125 and has grown from something of a cult title into an essential source of inspiration for the wider public, publishing the work of hundreds of established and emerging photographers. On top of his busy workload as a photographer and publisher Perry also lectures at universities around the UK, inspiring the next generation of photographers to produce exciting new work and instilling them with the drive to succeed.�

www.125magazine.com�
www.perrycurties.com �

Nick Meek
Photographer

Nick Meek lives and works in London. His �Yosemite� series recently won Gold at this year�s AOP awards. He has also won awards throughout Europe and the United States. He regularly shoots for clients such as VW, Toyota, Nissan, British Airways, American Airlines, IBM, Range Rover, The Times, PlayStation, BMW and Heineken.
Represented by Siobhan Squire