The Hasselblad Masters is one of the world’s most prestigious professional photographic competitions.
Hasselblad, the famous Swedish manufacturer of medium format handmade cameras and lenses, opens its renowned Masters competition for 2018. Photographers across the globe are invited to submit three images that best demonstrate their photographic ability for the chance
to be named a Hasselblad Master. The Hasselblad Masters is one of the world’s most prestigious professional photographic competitions and gives acclaimed professionals, as well as aspiring newcomers, the chance to make their mark in the world of high-end photography.
Winners will not only receive the coveted accolade but will take home a state of the art medium format Hasselblad camera and have their work published in the Hasselblad Masters commemorative book, to be launched in 2018.
This year’s competition is bigger than ever with 11 categories, including the brand new ‘Aerial’ sector that pays tribute to Hasselblad’s history of aerial photography, with its technology used on several space missions including the first landing on the moon.
The 2016 Masters competition proved to be the most popular to date, with over 10,000 entries. Each of the winners created truly outstanding work for Hasselblad Masters Volume 5 book, drawing on the theme of ‘Inspire’. Their images were displayed at photokina 2016 and across galleries and media publications around the world.
Previous Hasselblad Masters are some of the biggest names in photography; including Anton Corbijn (2001), Rodney Smith (2002), Charlie Waite (2002), Patrick Demarchelier (2003), Albert Watson (2004), Marco Grob (2007), Kevin Then (2008), and Hans Strand (2008).
Hasselblad Masters are judged on their photographic ability, creativity, compositional skills, conceptual strength and technique – and are acknowledged to have made a compelling contribution to the art of photography. Each entrant must submit three images per category, with thejury voting on the images rather than the photographer.
Entrants will first face an Internal Jury of Hasselblad staff, experts in the field of photography and supremely knowledgeable about Hasselblad cameras. The Internal Jury will select ten finalists in each category that showcase a high level of technical skill and creative flair. These finalists will then reach the professional Masters Jury, compiled of 24 of the best names in photography. Together with the public vote, which acts as a 25 jury member, the Hasselblad Masters are chosen.
The 2018 main Masters jury will be unveiled later in the year; past jury members have included world renowned photographers such as Marco Grob, Steve McCurry, and Tim Flach.
“After the overwhelming response we received to the 2016 Hasselblad Masters, we’re excited to see what’s in store this year. The quality of th
e entries in previous years has been simply outstanding and we’re immensely proud to continue to inspire and empower talented photographers
across the globe. Our Masters become part of the Hasselblad family and we want to equip them with everything they need to make their mark on high-end photography,” said Hasselblad CMO, Johan Åhlen.
2018 Categories include: Aerial (New for 2018), Architecture, Fine Art, Fashion/ Beauty, Landscape, Portrait, Product, Project/21 (Under 21), Street/Urban, Wedding, Wildlife.
