And now for the third of six winners of our inaugural Best In Show prizes for the 8th annual Exposed DC Photography Show. We invited a panel of distinguished Washington-area photojournalists to pick, in their esteemed opinion, their favorite photograph from our group of 49 images. Each Best In Show winner receives a $100 prize made possible by the Corcoran College of Art + Design.
We’ll be announcing the winners each day through next Monday. Tickets for the show, which opens next Wednesday, March 19, are available now.
Today’s Best in Show image is “Chinatown King” by Veeresh Inginshetty. Congrats Veeresh! His photo was chosen by judge Lucian Perkins, a staff photojournalist with the Washington Post and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner.
Exposed: There is so much activity in your image, and so many engaging expressions. Can you share with us where this was, and what was happening?
Inginshetty: This was photographed at a parking lot on H St (close to the Gallery Place / Chinatown Metro station) during the 2013 Chinese New Year celebrations. I was close to the stage waiting for fireworks to begin when I saw this family having a good time. I liked the way the ladder framed and emphasized the kid’s face, but the frame in totality seemed incomplete. I decided to wait for some time to see if I could get another element of interest in the picture and after couple of minutes, I saw a gentleman with a kid on his shoulders trying to get to the other side. I found the missing piece and was fortunate that everything came together to make for a very interesting composition. The “King” part however was a very lucky co-incidence, I had missed that part of the frame while composing as everything was happening so fast as it is with most street photographs.
Exposed: What made you choose this image to enter into the show?
Inginshetty: I have been entering images for the past 2-3 years and this is the first one that made it through. The layers in the photograph along with the expressions is what I like about the photograph and for these reasons I thought this would be the right entry for Exposed DC.
Exposed: Your Best In Show prize was awarded by Lucian Perkins, a photojournalist with the Washington Post. Are you familiar with his work?
Inginshetty: Honestly, I wasn’t aware of Mr. Perkins’ work before this. I did look up his work and I must admit I am surprised that I didn’t come across his name earlier. It’s a big confidence booster to have had my photograph chosen by a two-time Pulitzer prize winner and I have to thank Exposed DC for it.