Women and Photography: Ways of Seeing and Being Seen

A strong photo that appears funny and very telling at the same time. It captures straight-forwardly the impact of social media and today's plethora of images on young women. The young girl's pose for the camera suggests that she views herself like a photographic object for consumption. Whilst sharing the photographer's uneasy feelings, the judges were also surprised and somewhat impressed by the girl's confidence. The photo was ranked highly by internationally acclaimed British artist Cornelia Parker and art curator Lena Fritsch.

A strangely Surreal and mysterious photograph that raises questions about portraiture, female identity and the photographic medium. Going through a large number of photographs, five out of six members of the judging panel independently chose this memorable image. Good work!

The judges felt that this image and the series from which is comes "Dammit Janet I Love You", reflects the theme of Photo Oxford particularly well. Emma Wlison’s approach is thoughtful and engaged and she has clearly spent a great deal of time getting to know and understand her subject. The image that we selected is particularly poignant and is a reflection of the trust that developed between the photographer and her subject. It captures an intimate moment with sensitivity and clarity. The series challenges perceptions of class and gender in modern day Britain and is a powerful reminder of the physical and emotional challenges that transgender people face on a daily basis.

Powerful, natural and deeply moving.

A beautiful, Surreal photo that plays with art historical references, and classical portrait painting and photography genres, whilst elegantly promoting diversity. The jury liked the colour scheme too. Nice work!