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September in August

For an August festival, the pond was drained, turning the exposed mud into a vast solar oven. The White Lotus—meant for September—was forced to wake early under the heat. What looks like a shimmering water path is in fact a thermal scar, where human schedules quietly overwrite nature’s rhythm.

Awards

Art of Storytelling Contest

2025

Bronze

Conceptual/Abstract

Non Professional

Honorable Mention

Natural World

Non Professional

September in August

For an August festival, the pond was drained, turning the exposed mud into a vast solar oven. The White Lotus—meant for September—was forced to wake early under the heat. What looks like a shimmering water path is in fact a thermal scar, where human schedules quietly overwrite nature’s rhythm.

About Artist

Leebaeck Choi

FFor over thirty years, my photography was rooted in black and white, using boundaries, structures, and silence to question existence and disappearance. While black and white traditionally relies on stark forms and precise distinctions, my recent transition into color allowed subjects to dissolve, spread, and embrace uncertainty. Now, I am expanding this experimentation back into monochrome, breaking down forms using only the raw essence of light, shadow, and texture. Through this continuous evolution, my long-standing questions about being have found a new language in abstraction. To capture this, I rely entirely on pure optical physics, explicitly rejecting digital manipulation and AI. By utilizing vintage lenses at maximum aperture, embracing intentional lens flare, and pushing the boundaries of out-of-focus blur, I explore how existence proves itself through traces, intervals, and the physical interaction between light and time. Whether in color or black and white, my photography moves away from direct representation while remaining deeply connected to physical reality. This pursuit is difficult, but that difficulty is exactly what makes photography endlessly compelling to me.

Leebaeck Choi

Photographic Areas of Focus

Abstract, Minimalism, Minimalism, Nature, People, Portrait, Travel

Location

South Korea

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Pavlo Fyshar

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Conceptual/Abstract

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Sara Camporesi

Sara Camporesi

Conceptual/Abstract

Nominee
Kate Bilton

Kate Bilton

Conceptual/Abstract

Honorable Mention
Jo Ann Chaus

Jo Ann Chaus

Conceptual/Abstract

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