Submissions – Snapshot

In October, I entered the RPS Monthly Photo Competition. The theme was Snapshot and I interpreted this as being an image that would create a sense of immediacy and closeness that would allow the viewer to feel present when viewing the image.

I selected an image taken during the summer when I got lost walking in London and which unexpectedly led me to discover beautiful sunflowers in the middle of the city. This is a flower that brings me fond memories of my childhood, growing up near Johannesburg, in South Africa where it was a common sight to see them growing in the fields.

The image is taken looking up at the tall sunflowers to emphasise their height and replicate my memories and perspectives of seeing these flowers as a child, but in contrast they are set against the backdrop of the city environments that are my adult world. I always enjoy photographing interesting juxtapositions in the world around me.

The competition closed at the end of October and I was delighted to discover I had been shortlisted. The shortlisted images can be viewed here.

London Sunflower © Juanita McKenzie

Submissions – Cranes

Cranes at Prince’s Wharf, Bristol – February 2019, taken with Sony Xperia ©Juanita McKenzie

In late June 2019, fellow students doing their MA studies in Photography at Falmouth University were tasked to produce a zine, compiled of images from interested participants. The theme they chose was industrial cranes with images shot using a smartphone. I knew I had some eligible images and submitted these in support of their project. The final zine has been compiled and has some stunning images of various cranes. It is well worth a look and can be viewed here: crane-machine.