THE WINNERS
Zac Technique in the Street
A "Zac" shot conveys the essence of the story while only showing a piece of it.
"Zac" is an intriguing Italian onomatopoeic word that aptly captures the sound of scissors cutting through the material. This term is thoughtfully applied to images that skillfully isolate and present only a portion of a scene, thereby inviting the viewer to imaginatively expand upon the captured fragment and complete the image. I have been reflecting on the difficulty and potential misunderstanding surrounding this challenge.
In truth, some photographers seamlessly incorporate this challenge into their work due to their innate curiosity, keen observation skills, and ability to capture striking images. These photographers specialize in capturing intricate details which can also be found within the realm of street photography, as evidenced by the submissions in this competition. Throughout the competition, we've been exposed to photographs that are more conceptual, inspired, or thought-provoking, which has made it a truly enriching experience despite the initial challenges.
Our judges had different opinions about this category. Michael Dressel thought it was the simplest, while Kevin Lim suggested that a photograph that immediately grabs the audience's attention should imply a story through the use of a fragment of a scene. Michael Kennedy said that in the "Zac" category, the motif of ambiguity informs all these photographs, which can otherwise stand on their own.
Some photographers have shown their skill in this technique, with more than one photo among the finalists. This includes the winner, Eric Davidove, and Massimo Russo, who came in third place. Federico Borobio also captured images that can tell a great story from a small detail. Other notable photographers are Daniel Dunlop, Laura Leijnen with her conceptual shots, Raffaele Maglione, and Pepe Alvarez Rogel. Then there are photographers like Niklas Lindskog and Ilhan Sen, who used the natural zac, and created the fragment that tells us about the total structure itself.
Eric Davidove FIRST PLACE
Ami Strachan SECOND PLACE
Massimo Russo THIRD PLACE
Eric Davidove - The body language is sensual, the colours and frame beautiful. Exquisite. (Keef Charles) –Eric has a flair for seeing quirky and humorous moments, as evidenced by this one. The ethereal image of the pink dress, the barefoot, and the abandoned shoe evokes the timeless spirit of Marilyn. Despite the presence of the man's shoes, he almost fades into the background, leaving the spotlight entirely on her. The floor seems to harmonize with her pink attire. I believe the Zac technique perfectly fits him, and he deserved to win this competition. (Batsceba Hardy)
Ami Strachan – The back of a person is always a mystery; hidden expression and heightened emotional perspective from such a point of view. (Kevin Lim) – I like this one a lot. This is an image were the ‘Zac’ aspect adds to the effectiveness and doesn’t appear contrived. We don’t need to see his head to get the impression he is most likely a wealthy man stood apart from the ‘masses’ – the common man. Of course, it is most likely just someone waiting at the road crossing but it leaves scope for the viewer to create their own meaning. Often the more effort the viewer has to put in to create meaning or symbolism the more powerful the meaning becomes. (John Gill) – Simple but beautifully executed, there’s a tension building (Keef Charles)
Massimo Russo – Strong impact, clever storytelling. (Keef Charles) – The grab, a kiss perchance? (Kevin Lim) – A Perfect Zac: The contrast between the hand holding the man's body and the man's helpless arm made me think of a farewell hug, a story that ended badly. Even the contrast between a too banal jacket and the hand with long vermilion red nails protruding from a sleeve of black fake fur made me think of two people too different to be a couple. How many reflections can a simple zac make? (Batsceba Hardy)
FOURTH AND FIFTH PLACES
FOURTH AND FIFTH PLACES
Eduardo Storch - FOURTH PLACE – I find this Zac very witty. I imagine a young man spying on someone, regardless of the suffering he causes to the poor figurines ;) . (BH)
Ilhan Sen - FOURTH PLACE – this is a natural zac: the fragment that tells us about the total was created by the structure itself. (BH)
Alexander Palacios – FIFTH PLACE – Sometimes we don’t really need to see the face to create an impression of the person’s life. The home-made weapons and squalid surroundings create a powerful story. The clothes give the impression he is quite young (late teens, perhaps) but there is something quite childlike in the trousers (pyjamas?) – it’s a powerful and disturbing image. (John Gill)
Bettina Arens Kardell - FIFTH PLACE – I think this was a very difficult category to take part in and a difficult category to judge. My wife, Bridget and I looked at all the images in the various categories independently and in most cases we came to similar conclusions. In the ‘Zac’ category we hardly agreed at all. This was the picture we both agreed was the winner in the category. It’s very difficult to get the balance right between telling just enough and telling too much. This works perfectly – Martin Parr meets Ralph Gibson. (John Gill)
Ploutarcos Haloftis - FIFTH PLACE – How will she be dressed above? (BH)
Lynne Kaplan - FIFTH PLACE – An old coupe who after many years still desire each other like the first time. (BH)
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Alain Van Hille – An intriguing image that evokes a sense of prayer or repentance. Beautiful composition, hands/feet. (BH)
Alberto M Melis
André Bogaert – Disorienting and graphic. BH
Andrzej Kidaj – Simple but beautifully executed, there’s a tension building. (Keef Charles)
Avi Nahum
Benjamin Broekema – Conceptual
Bettina Arens Kardell
Bruce Saille – An allusion to the famous six-word story: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." (Kevin Lim)
Chris Talbot – Love this moody perspective. (Keef Charles)
Craig Whitehead – More than just a close up, this reveals enough to tell a story, without revealing too much. (Keef Charles)
Daniel Dunlop
Daniel Dunlop
Daniel Kashi
Don Scott
Edwin Carungay
Eduardo Storch
Eric Davidove
Eric Davidove – Provocative; a Chevy Impala lowrider and the tattoo on her legs. (Kevin Lim)
Federico Borobio – A Zac created with wisdom, which expresses the desire to still be able to dance holding a beautiful woman in his arms. (BH)
Federico Borobio – The intriguing detail is nicely complimented by the bokeh, the b/w is just right. (Keef Charles)
Federico Borobio – Suggestive of domination. (Kevin Lim) - I think this image is a perfect zac, we can imagine the whole scene. Federico will deserve recognition for these three images (BH)
Gavin Libotte - First, the observer´s eyes goes to the toes, being this the main subject of the picture. Second, the ones who looks at the photo finds the eyes of the person. The unusual framing and the different context makes it an interesting capture. (Ana Abrão)
Sandra Fine
Frase Shein
Giovanni Candida
Guido Klumpe
Guido Klumpe – Umbrella; a strange scene, what's going on here? (Kevin Lim)
Ishay Lindenberg
Khaldon Khalil – A question mark; what happened here? Broken arm, punk doodles. (Kevin Lim)
Laura Leijnen
Laura Leijnen – A witty minimal, the grimy traffic cone contrasts well with the classy coat, nicely colour matched. (Keef Charles)
Luca Regoli – I like this image, a kind of conceptual zac. Snow White triggered on the body's shadow. (BH)
Luigi Di Gioia
Lynne Kaplan
John St
Massimo Russo
Marcella Mastrotocco – Hands on a bareback horse/hairy wall rug. (Kevin Lim)
Mikael Carlsson
Massimo Russo – Wonderfully minimal, allowing so many stories to be interpreted. (Keef Charles)
Niklas Lindskog
Niklas Lindskog
Raffaele Maglione – - Love this one; crown of thorns, scorn, and humiliation. (Kevin Lim)
Raffaele Maglione
Raffaele Maglione
Paul Courdrier
Pepe Alvarez-Rogel – A classy shot, the story left to the viewer’s imagination. (Keef Charles)
Pepe Alvarez Rogel
Pia Parolin
Serra Kemmer
Sergey Khodanov – A knee injury as a result of genuflection to the Yegorov print? (Kevin Lim)
Swee Hoe Lim
Thomas Hackenberg
Thomas Hackenberg
Thomas Hackenberg - Great fuck world Zac image! Congratulations on having three images in the final
Ushi Grant - Excellent use of angles, shapes, light, shadows and a solid composition. (Michael Kennedy)
Yash Dave - The high contrast, the diagonal white line over the black floor and the framing is very powerful in this image. (Ana Abrão)