The Judges - 2009

The Chairman of the Judges
A position created in 2008, the Chairman of the Judges is appointed to make the judging process as democratic as possible. The main purpose of the role is to uphold the briefing guidelines and ensure that a heartfelt consensus is reached across the panel.

The Chairman of the Judges for the 2009 Awards was Max Forsythe, a veteran of jury panels such as the DADA and the Roses Awards as well as previous AOP Awards. He has served on the AOP Council twice and has also been Chairman of the AOP twice.

Max oversaw both the Personal and Commissioned judging days and as a calm, professional mediator he led the judges through the whole process, allowing sufficient time for debate when differences of opinion arose.

Max Forsythe
“I grew up in Northern Ireland and studied Graphic Design at Belfast College of Art. From there I went to the London College of Printing for a postgraduate course. I switched from art direction to photography in 1972 and specialised in location and reportage.

“I have always extolled the virtues of colour in photography – even when it was deeply unfashionable in the 70s and 80s – and I published a book called ‘Colour Prejudice’ containing a collection of images that could not work without colour. I often shoot in countries that are uninhibited in their approach to and use of colour, like Ireland, Morocco, Africa and the Caribbean.

“I had my first one-man show at Hamiltons Gallery, London in 1984, where I also exhibited in 1992. ‘Incidental Images’ was shown at the Association of Photographers Gallery, London in 2001 and ‘Drive by Shooting’ was first exhibited at the Lupe Gallery, London in 2004. A book of the same name was published in 2004.

“I joined with a small group of other photographers in 2006 to form a high quality image library called Lensmodern. My work is in the collections of The Royal Photographic Society and The National Museum of Photography.

“At the AOP I think we have one of the best judging systems: there is always the opportunity for any judge to call back a piece of rejected work and make a case for it, then re-vote. Alternatively the jury can review its decisions and remove work it finds inconsistent with the overall standard in that category. This flexibility allows for a lot of discussion and to my mind a better and fairer result than most Awards achieve.

“Both juries this year were impressively diligent, no decisions were taken lightly, there was lots of discussion, everyone had their say and no-one dominated the process.

It was a pleasure to be Chairman.”

The Judges

Bonnie Doman, Art Director, Abbott Mead Vickers
After graduating from Camberwell College of Arts, Bonnie began a three year stint at Euro RSCG where she cut her teeth as an Art Director on campaigns for COI Smoke Alarms, Peugeot and the Mayor of London. She moved to Abbott Mead Vickers six years ago and has created campaigns for the economist, Volvo, Maltesers, DFT Road Safety and Wrigleys. Her work has been featured at the one Show, BTAA and D&AD. She has worked alongside her identical twin and partner Charlotte for the last thirty-one years.

Mark Dickens, Creative Director, iris
Mark is a Creative Director at iris, working across a wide range of disciplines for clients including Shell, Philips and Sony Ericsson. He has worked in the industry for nearly twenty years at agencies such as Springer and Jacoby, Leagas Delaney and HHCL. During his career he has been fortunate enough to commission Mary Ellen Mark, Jeanloup Sieff, Nick Knight and Nadav Kander. “Commissioning and working with really talented people is what makes every day in this job such a privilege.”

Lauren Heinz, Editor, 8 Magazine
For over five years Lauren Heinz has been working as editor of 8 Magazine, the highly respected biannual publication of photo- journalism and documentary photography. as editor, Lauren regularly receives and reviews photographic work, constantly seeking out new and inspiring photography. She has also been instrumental in the establishment of London’s first dedicated gallery of photojournalism, HOST. Working as a freelance writer, picture editor and most recently as a researcher for photography publications, lauren aims to continue to publish and promote meaningful photography throughout her career.

Carolyn Kerr, Curator (British Art), Tate Britain
As a Curator of British art at Tate Britain, Carolyn’s particular area of expertise is contemporary art including photography. Her twenty-year career has included curation of numerous exhibitions, from the Turner Prize to the ongoing triennial exhibitions – major group shows of up to thirty artists amongst which photography has always featured. She also worked on Tate Britain’s first major photography survey show ‘how We are’ in 2007 which spanned the whole history of photography from the nineteenth century to the present day, and is currently working on a forthcoming Muybridge exhibition. Carolyn works with photography in the context of fine art alongside other media and is interested in the conceptual and visual possibilities of photography and the manipulation of its unique capacity to reconsider representation.

Kate Mahon, Artbuying Director, Saatchi & Saatchi
After brief forays into the world of journalism, music management and running the video arm of Metro Tartan films, Kate Mahon settled into a career as an Artbuying Director. Now back where she started at Saatchi & Saatchi, she has what she describes as the dream job working with all the agency’s clients and carrying out creative research where needed. Added to this is her remit to keep abreast of exciting new talent which takes her to photography festivals around the world.

Chris Maillard, Editorial Director, Tullo Marshall Warren
Chris Maillard is Editorial Director of leading marketing agency Tullo Marshall Warren. an award-winning journalist and editor, he leads the company’s publishing division, conceiving and commissioning visual and verbal content for a vast range of on- and off-line projects. He has worked with many talented and well-known photographers, sometimes simultaneously.

Tim Morris, Photographer
Tim has over twenty years’ experience in advertising and editorial photography. His first job was as a staff photographer for the Atomic Energy Authority, where he developed his no-nonsense style. this has often been described as ‘irreverent’ and ‘raw’; a style that captures beauty in the mundane. He can now be found working for the likes of Chiat Day, Conde Nast, The Observer and The Independent. His unique approach has won him awards and plaudits both here and in the United States. Tim feels very fortunate to be doing something he is very passionate about, something that still gives him the same buzz as the day he started.

Katy Niker, Photographers’ Agent, Burnham Niker
After graduating from Blackpool & The Fylde College with a degree in photography, Katy moved over to the dark side and started working with the legendary agent David Burnham. Work experience turned into a permanent position, and seven years later Katy took the helm of Burnham Niker when David retired in 2000. In 2005 Katy became an ambassador for PhotoVoice, a charity that encourages the use of documentary photography as a medium to give a voice to those in disenfranchised and marginalised communities.

Sarah Pascoe, Head Art Buyer, Bartle Bogle Hegarty
Sarah Pascoe has an eclectic and expansive knowledge with a skill for recognizing, developing and commissioning great image makers from all disciplines within the world of advertising and design. She has held senior positions within several major creative agencies. As Head of Art Buying at BMP, later DDB, she worked on countless award-winning campaigns for VW, Harvey Nichols and The Guardian. For three years now she has headed BBH’s Art Buyers within a broader project management department, encouraging and mentoring work with an eye to maintaining the agency’s great output.

Perou, Photographer/Director, perou.co.uk
Graduating from the Polytechnic of Central London in 1994, Perou quickly learned how to create pictures while running a hire studio at ‘Click.’ Here he got to meet great photographers, their clients and those responsible for ‘Dazed and Confused’ magazine. After a couple of years on the ‘Dazed’ picture desk, Perou found himself shooting more than editing. He now travels the world working as a photographer and director, shooting for editorial, music, fashion and advertising. editorial clients include 125 Magazine, Esquire, Planet, Flaunt, XXl, Filter, Saturday/Sunday times Magazines, OMM, Guardian Weekend, Arena, FHM, Grazia and Glamour. Advertising/Commercial clients include Vivienne Westwood, Reebok, BT, Cutler and Gross, Canon and Heineken. Perou has also directed videos for Marilyn Manson and KT Tunstall and even finds time to judge and mentor on the TV show ‘Make Me A Supermodel’.

Garry Simpson, Photographer
Pictures have influenced Garry from an early age. At sixteen he saw an image on the cover of a Royal Marines recruitment brochure that persuaded him to join. Eight years later he embarked on a photographic career, moved to London and assisted some of the top names in the industry. He started to shoot for himself in 2001 and has since shot advertising campaigns for agencies in London as well as Paris and the US.

Sarah Thomson, Art Buyer, DDB London
After completing a History of Art Degree, Sarah’s career began at photographers’ agents Catherine Collins and Renate Decker-Berry. Five years later she left to do production for Nadav Kander, working on many notable campaigns that he photographed worldwide. the next few years she spent with Zelda Cheatle at her Mayfair Gallery, selling fine art photography prints, helping curate exhibitions and publishing a number of photographic books. She joined AMV BBDO’s Art Buying Department in 2001 and most recently DDB London in 2005. The absolute pleasure of working with so many talented and creative photographers remains undimmed for Sarah, commanding her untold admiration for what they can achieve, often in the most challenging of circumstances.

Carolyn Trayler, Photographers’ Agent, The Carolyn Trayler Agency
“After over twenty years as a photographers’ agent, I still get confused, excited, depressed and elated by the business of supplying photography to the advertising industry. If my job was not so complex, it would not have kept me interested for this long. I love the visual image; I love negotiating; I love meeting new people; but mostly I love nurturing talented artists. I think I am incredibly lucky to be in a business that feels as good as this does. I have passed this enthusiasm to my assistants over the years, and quite a few have gone on to become very good agents in their own right, which makes me extremely proud. The Carolyn Trayler Agency does all the usual stuff like production and we get work from all the top agencies and clients around the world.”

In addition, the following people judged during the first round and due to unavoidable circumstances were unable to attend the second round. We would just like to thank them for the time they were able to give.

Katy Barker
Agent

Ben Callis
Creative Partner
Ogilvy

Sophie Chapman-Andrews
Head of Art Buying
McCann Erickson

Samantha Johnson
Picture Editor
Penguin Publishing