This year, the challenging part of the festival at Progressive has come to an end. Although we were unable to replicate the first festival, we have made great progress in the overall organization of the event. We have big surprises in store for the next edition! I am always amazed by the variety of votes. Fortunately, we have images that capture the votes of many jurors. However, judging from the number of images that were still classified, it's evident that the votes varied. While some judges took the time to add comments, others were unable to do so. Nonetheless, their input was valuable, and I thank them once again. The self-portraits section was definitely the most challenging, but we are determined to move forward with this project. Stay tuned for more updates.  Batsceba Hardy

We always get a good response to the ProgresFestival challenges and this year was no different in that respect. The night theme, perhaps the easiest of the three categories, included a number of fine images that I found evocative. I was pleasantly surprised by the images that zac elicited, given how hard it is for many to understand the principle of telling a story with just a segment of a scene, without resorting to a simple close-up. The self category was the one people found most challenging but some people understood the need to be more imaginative and excelled. Keef Charles

Night theme: Incorporating emotional elements elevates night photographs from mere documentation to a compelling storytelling medium that deeply resonates with viewers. Zac theme: An implied story through the use of a fragment of a scene requires a photograph that grabs the audience's attention immediately. Self theme: An awareness of one's identity, encompassing their thoughts, experiences, beliefs, and emotions; one's sense of individuality. Kevin Lim

As a photographer, I am looking for images that, besides good composition, will captivate me with their style, color and subject matter.  A good image should keep the viewer interested and provoked; it should tell a story as well as create questions rather than give answers. Many of the photos submitted captivated me and I want to congratulate all the photographers for their excellent work.  Margarita Mavromichalis

The Night picks were mostly instinctual. It's a pretty diffuse theme, so I picked the ones that I felt were not just one dimensional and gave me some associations. The Zac picks seemed the easiest. There were quite a few that made me think about different scenarios and stories. I found this to be the strongest pool of images. The most difficult part was finding the self-section. Michael Dressel

It's always hard when it comes down to the last and becomes almost arbitrary, but I think I'm pleased with the selections. In the Night section, some potentially great photos failed because the photographer didn't know how to make them sing. It was interesting to reflect on the Self section. Richard Bram

In the Zac category the motif of ambiguity informs all these photographs, which can stand on their own.  Michael Kennedy