Honorable Mention
The statue
DESCRIPTION
The main challenge in this type of contest is to choose among dozens of photos the one you consider as being your "best" photo and hope to be among the finalists and possibly get an award for your work. I leave the choice to the jury to appreciate the artistic and technical quality of this picture. I chose "the statue" because it best reflects the recent evolution of my style and the way I work in artistic nude photography. First of all, it is the result of team work because a good friend of mine, a photo artist and lecturer, coached me with lighting, natural light for the most part. Second, the choice of color. This picture is also available in monochrome but this color version reflects the atmosphere of the moment and location much better. Third, the location. After having worked in many classical studios with paper backdrops, I now work more and more in less traditional studios to be able to create a story more easily around the picture, here a factory in Budapest that has been transformed in several studios, each one with its own theme. Fourth, the square format that is not used that often in photography allows me to eliminate what is superfluous in the picture and focus on the story. When retouching, my idea was to integrate the model as a statue in the floral setting. The credit for this photo certainly goes to Dorka, a talented model based in Hungary. I asked her to improvise and she chose this pose inspired by the special atmosphere in this studio. AUTHOR
Eric is a French photographer whose work in fine art nudes has earned multiple awards. For more than twenty years, he has dedicated his practice to exploring the beauty and individuality of the female form. His pictures are created primarily in Germany, Hungary, and Croatia.Throughout his artist career, his work has been published in respected magazines, books, and catalogues, and presented in six exhibitions. These milestones reflect his engagement within the photography community. Eric’s development has been shaped by long-term collaborations with his muses, which form the emotional and conceptual foundation of his work. Equally influential were his early training with German photographer Arboulan and his continued refinement under Hungarian artists Szeni Jung and Sandor Benkoe, who still accompanies his artistic journey as a mentor.
Eric's pictures are not about nudity for its own sake. Instead, the female body becomes a vehicle for narratives through which character, presence, and emotional nuance are expressed. In recent years, his style has evolved toward a form of visual storytelling built on a balance between revealing and concealing, where sensuality serves a broader intention.
Although nudity and suggestive poses may appear in his compositions, they function as elements within a visual language focused on narrative depth. His work seeks to celebrate feminine presence while transcending conventional eroticism.
Having worked with more than one hundred amateur models from different countries, Eric has developed a signature style that merges technical precision with emotional truth. His pictures reflect a continuous pursuit of artistic growth and a commitment to his craft.
His passion is best expressed in the words of Richard Avedon: “If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it’s as though I’ve neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up.”
