Congratulations to the following special selections chosen by our wonderful jury.
2025 Daylight Photo Award Jury Highlights:
Caroline Gutman (Bridget Harris)
Nathalie Bertrams (Elizabeth Avedon)
Justin Carney (Emily Bogle)
Chanell Stone (Asha Iman Veal)
Brian Lau (Oscar Rivera)
Nathalie Bertrams
"Nathalie Bertrams' photographic series offers a powerful visual exploration of the devastating impact of gold mining and the toxic legacy it leaves behind. Through striking imagery, Bertrams captures the profound human cost of environmental degradation, focusing particularly on children suffering from severe developmental disorders such as cerebral palsy. Her portraits are both tender and sorrowful, offering an intimate glimpse into lives irrevocably shaped by this injustice."
Elizabeth Avedon, Independent Curator
Justin Carney
"Justin Carney's work investigates how grief shapes his life and familial relationships. This project documents the experience of losing his grandmother with images that are deeply personal. Justin's photographs resonated with me because they immediately felt universal to anyone who has lost a loved one. His use of self-portraiture along with still lifes and portraits of family members embodies his multilayered visual approach of investigating grief. I felt an emotional connection"
Emily Bogle, Senior Visual Editor, NPR
Caroline Gutman
"Caroline Gutman’s Buried Memories brings to light a part of American history still overlooked, immersing us in the Charleston, SC communities where unmarked African American burial grounds have been paved over, forgotten, or erased.
Gutman tells the story from all sides — documenting not just the burial sites themselves, but the volunteers, community members, descendents, artists, and scientists connected to them. We see people collecting DNA samples, searching for familial ties, preserving physical remnants, and advocating to have these sites formally recognized and protected. These portraits of action ground the work in the present, reminding us that this is not just a story of the past, but relevant now.
Her photographs carry a quiet power — the way she uses light adds softness and beauty to scenes that are heavy with grief, loss, and reckoning."
Bridget Harris, Director, Photography Creative, Airbnb
Brian Van Lau
“Brian Lau’s work perfectly encapsulates the notion of living grief, a quiet, devastating beauty that lingers long after the image. The series invites viewers to sit with mortality, not as an abstract fear, but as something textured and intimate. Through a blending of artifacts, gesture, and memory, Lau builds a narrative that doesn’t shy away from pain. Instead, it holds space for it, making room for loss, forgiveness, and the slow, imperfect process of healing. This body of work truly stood out to me and was my favorite of all the applicants.”
Oscar Rivera, Managing Director, En Foco
Chanell Stone
"The lush scenes and obscured self-portraiture of Undulation of a Rupture are described by the project creator Chanell Stone as ‘quieter impressions of presence’ and ‘poetic evocation.’ This artist has indeed achieved her compositional ambitions."
Asha Iman Veal, Faculty, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
OUR 2025 DAYLIGHT PHOTO AWARD JURY
 | Elizabeth Avedon, Independent Curator Elizabeth Avedon is a photography book and exhibition designer, independent curator. She is a consultant for photographers; editing, sequencing, and advising towards their exhibition, book, and portfolio projects. She continues to teach Photo-Book Design Workshops, as well as "Book and Branding" in the Masters in Digital Photography at the School of Visual Arts, NY and received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Griffin Museum of Photography. |
 | Emily Bogle, Senior Visual Editor, NPR Emily Bogle is a senior photo editor and art director who is passionate about telling visual stories. She loves working with photographers and illustrators on projects that highlight and investigate the world we inhabit. Emily is a Senior Visual Editor at NPR where she frequently collaborates with audio and digital reporters on stories across the country and around the world. She works with the investigations team and the long form podcast unit at NPR. Emily also manages NPR's Instagram account, which has over 7 million followers. |
 | Bridget Harris, Director, Photography Creative, Airbnb As Director of Photography Creative for Airbnb, Bridget has led the visual identity and execution of photography across the Airbnb brand and products, globally, since joining the company in 2014. In former lives she was a Senior Photography Producer at TIME Magazine, Norman Jean Roy Studio, and Jed Root Inc. As a photography director, producer, and consultant, she has worked across all aspects of visual storytelling, in editorial outlets, news publications, advertising and the non-profit space. She is passionate about building teams, growing creative talent, and supporting emerging and diverse photographers. |
 | Oscar Rivera, Managing Director, En Foco Oscar J. Rivera (he/him) is a Brooklyn-based artist, writer, and curator with a background in photography from Parsons School of Design, New York. His work is deeply rooted in his Puerto Rican heritage, queer identity, and familial history, serving as the foundation for his artistic and curatorial practice. As En Foco’s former Grants and Development Manager, he secured over $1 million in grant funding in 2022. The following year, he was appointed Managing Director of En Foco, continuing his commitment to fostering artistic communities and supporting underrepresented artists. |
 | Asha Iman Veal, Faculty, School of the Art Institute of Chicago Asha Iman holds a dual appointment as faculty in the Department of Arts Administration & Policy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her recent large-scale exhibitions Beautiful Diaspora / You Are Not the Lesser Part (MoCP 2022) and LOVE: Still Not the Lesser (MoCP 2023) brought together cross-diasporic conversations between global artists, and celebrations of love and desire. Her Chicago Architecture Biennial 2021 partner program and exhibition, RAISIN (vol. 1), commissioned new artworks and generated community among more than 35 global artists. Throughout her tenure at MoCP, Asha Iman has introduced an array of new acquisitions into the museum’s permanent collection. She frequently serves as a jury reviewer, panelist, and guest lecturer for cultural programs in the US and abroad. |
