PARK RIDGE, N.J.—In a year of monumental changes around the world, photographers in 2020 filled a vital role in creating a visual record of the times.
Park Ridge photographer Julia Chang-Lomonico is one of many photographers who have focused their lens on the integral value of family.
The artists’ work on the subject has been recognized by the leading international photography competition and the only live juried competition of its genre, The Documentary Family Awards (DFA).
Exploring universal themes of home and community, relationship, humor and tragedy, the images awarded by the DFA reflect the complexity of daily family life.
Chang-Lomonico’s work has been selected from thousands of entries and more than 70 countries to join a collection of award-winning photos that represent the best documentary family photography from around the globe.
The DFA’s two 2020 Call For Entries included 11 categories with themes ranging from relevant social issues to portraits, photo series to birth photography.
Awarded third place and an honorable mention the “Pandemic” category, Chang-Lomonico’s work has been showcased by the DFA in an online gallery featuring all award-winning photographs from the eight rounds of the competition since its inception.
One of the only photo competitions in the world to offer transparent live-streamed judging, the DFA concludes each round of awards with a two-day online critique-based event led by a panel of top documentary photographers and photojournalists.
Chang-Lomonico’s work was viewed and discussed alongside contending finalist submissions and chosen as one of the most outstanding examples of documentary family photography in 2020.
With the aim of the DFA to “educate, elevate, and celebrate,” the live-judging serves to provide educational feedback about the photographs submitted and inspire photographers to elevate the genre of documentary family photography, the organization says.
Personal stories, clients’ stories
On her website, juliachangphoto.com, Chang-Lomonico notes she is the first person in her family to be born in the United States, her extended family hailing from Taiwan.
She also discusses yoga, singing, entrepreneurship, and the adventure of motherhood.
She says, “Each family has a story to tell. A story that is worth remembering for all of its parts—the chaos, laughter, and every day minutiae of family life. A story, that despite the good, bad and ugly, is ultimately driven by love.”
Her own story, she says, is “an intricately woven tapestry filled with colorful people and experiences that have shaped me into the person I am today.”
Of her contest showings, she told Pascack Press on Feb. 15, “I feel honored to be recognized in a genre that celebrates the reality of everyday families, especially during a time when everything seems so insular because of the pandemic.”
She said, “Many of today’s images consumed in the media often only emphasize a very limited narrative of what families look like. In a culture where everything is aspirational and competitive, I think it’s important to recognize that everyone’s reality, while uniquely individual, are also quite universally connected.”
Her third-place image, “In the Woods,” was taken in July 2020, Chang-Lomonico’s first major outing since the pandemic shutdown in March. “It was a desperately needed trip, though there was much anxiety leading up to our annual camping trip. No one knew the rules, and like the rest of the country we were making them up as we went along. No amount of pre-planning could fully relinquish the anxiety of taking this calculated risk,” she said.
She added, “This image is a peaceful moment of my daughter being enveloped by nature, bathed in this beautiful light cast from the reflection of the lake. And yet there is a faint yet unmistakable layer of tension; a feeling like I was holding my breath.”
She explained, “I was drawn to this question of how one re-engages with the world after being forced to hide from it for a while. I was drawn to watching children navigate the ‘new rules’ of social interaction while their parents were learning them at the same time.”
For the honorable mention image, “Living Room Scene,” the image was taken at home during the first week after everything shut down in March.
“All the structures that had traditionally existed within society had been deeply fractured. Productivity had become a farce, and ultimately, it became a game of just trying to figure out how to co-exist in the same space,” Chang-Lomonico said.
She added, “Having their father at home was still a novelty at that point, and no matter where he tried to escape to do his work, the kids still managed to find him. When escape is not an option, it’s best to just join them.”
She said “Finding this moment with my camera reaffirmed that they may tune you out at times but kids are always watching, and our productivity is not always linear. Letting our kids into our world makes way for new opportunities.”
A gallery of 2020’s awarded images is shared at documentaryfamilyawards.com/awards.