BYU students who attended international study programs over the last year can submit photos to the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies' annual photo contest until Nov. 1.
The contest has existed since 2002, and this year, the total award money is over $5,000. Winners receive $1,500.
Students can submit up to three photos from their international experience. There will be an award ceremony open to the public at the end of the fall semester.
Cory Leonard, assistant director at the Kennedy Center, has been involved in the program since its kickoff. He said they usually expect 1,000-3,000 entries, depending on the year.
“The idea of the photo competition has always been to capture the learning experience that happens abroad,” Leonard said.
They receive entries from all different majors and international study programs. They’ve accepted photos taken from professional cameras, cell phones, drones and even microscopes.
“Different forms of photography come up year to year and we’re always kind of grappling with that,” Leonard said.
He said the competition does not have specific categories, but rather focuses on what students have learned academically, spiritually and culturally.
“If you look at something you’re taking a picture of and you’ve seen it before on Instagram, that’s not a winning photo,” Leonard said. “You want to find the photo that you’ve never seen before.”
Meilan Rhoton, a first-year master's student in the accounting program, has been working for the Kennedy Center for two years.
“I think it’s great,” Rhoton said, referencing the contest.
Rhoton participated in an accounting study abroad last year.
“If I had the idea of the contest on my mind, I would’ve taken more pictures,” Rhoton said.
Emma Olson is a senior photography student at BYU and a photographer and photo editor for the Kennedy Center. This is her second year helping with the contest.
“It’s amazing how far reaching the Kennedy Center is,” Olson said. “I had no idea that we sent students out to so many different places, so that’s really cool to see.”
She helps narrow down the entries for judging and she gets to attend the judging meeting. She said they’ve received more applications than last year.
“We always love more submissions, because that just means the photos get better and better,” Olson said.
Olson said she only makes minor edits to the photos if needed, like adjusting exposure, but otherwise they are displayed exactly how they are submitted.
After Olson narrows down the pool of photos, she prints them on 5x7 cards for the official judges. The judging committee, composed of the chair of the photography department and two professors with relevant experience, meet together to pick the winning photos.
“It’s a judging process, it’s sometimes really subjective, but it’s fun to watch that happen,” Leonard said.
He mentioned that the contest started with DVDs and printing at Costco, but has grown so much since then.
“Our tagline is ‘expand your world,’ so we’re really trying to find ways to do that. Photography is a pretty powerful medium,” Leonard said.
More information on the contest can be found on the Kennedy Center website.