Open Call: HIDDEN BEAUTY

This Open Call will showcase the work of 40 photographers, whose images will be featured in an online exhibition and accompanied by various other prizes.

2025 Winners and Finalists Announced!

Beauty can be found in every facet of life. The Lucie Foundation invites you to explore the concept of beauty especially in places less obvious. These forms of hidden beauty can be unconventional, unexpected, and misunderstood but revealed through photography. What is beautiful to you?

STILL-LIFE / LANDSCAPE

Grand Prize Winner

Cris Toala Olivares: Tungurahua

A boy swings at La Casa del Árbol in Baños, Ecuador, as Tungurahua volcano—known as the “Throat of Fire” in Quechua—erupts behind him. According to legend, Tungurahua is a fiery female volcano caught in an eternal love triangle with the towering Chimborazo and the distant Cotopaxi.

Website: toalaolivares.com

Instagram: @toalaolivares

INTERVIEW WITH CRIS TOALA OLIVARES

Cris Toala Olivares was born in Manta, Ecuador, and lives in the Netherlands. He is the author and publisher of his own books Amsterdam being one of his independently produced projects. He is a storyteller deeply focused on themes of human resilience, ancestral culture, and gastronomy. His independent visual stories move, connect, and inspire audiences across the world.

Through his work, Cris seeks not just to capture images, but to open paths—for dialogue, for healing, and for understanding the beauty and complexity of our shared humanity.

This winning image “Tungurahua,” can you please tell us how you came about this moment you captured?

I was in Ecuador working on a story about roses that grow at the feet of volcanoes. One afternoon, while resting at the house of Don Carlos a local guardian who watches over the volcano I heard many stories about his life, his grief, and his connection to the volcano. He had built the famous “tree house” near Tungurahua to monitor volcanic activity and alert scientists, even though he received no salary. For him, it was a moral duty to help protect others.

That afternoon, as we shared chocolates and offered gratitude to the Pachamama (Mother Earth), I gave thanks for everything life had given me. Then, the volcano began to respond. It was one of the most powerful eruptions in Ecuador’s recent history. At that exact moment, I captured this image a person swinging calmly in front of the volcano as it began its eruption. It was a moment of beauty and awe amidst power and uncertainty.

What inspires you to create an image or to start a photographic project?

In my experience as a photographer, I’ve seen the power that images hold—not only in my own work but also in the work of fellow photographers. I’ve witnessed how photography can change lives, bring awareness, help communities, and inspire the world. That deep potential to create positive impact through visual storytelling is what drives me. For me, photography is more than a profession—it’s a responsibility and a calling.

Where do you draw inspiration for your images?

One of the most defining moments for me was in 2010, when a photo I took helped save the life of a child in Gaza. He had leukemia, and at that time, Hamas wasn’t allowing him to leave the territory. But when the image reached NGOs and international agencies, they stepped in to help. That experience made me realize how a single photograph can truly make a difference.

Later, while living in the Netherlands and working in Amsterdam, I drew deep inspiration from the works of Rembrandt. I had a mentor who showed me how Rembrandt played with light and emotion—lessons that deeply shaped my visual storytelling. At the same time, I carried within me the vivid colors of the Amazon, where I grew up—the fresh fruits, the untamed nature. All of these worlds come together in my work: truth, light, color, composition. I call it the gift God gives us to create with purpose.

Can you tell us what other work you are photographing now or a project you will be starting in the near future?

After photographing the image of Tungurahua, I asked myself a powerful question: why do people live so close to dangerous volcanoes? That question led me on a journey around the world that became a personal project I funded myself for over nine years, exploring how humans coexist with volcanoes. That work became my book Living with Volcanoes and also inspired my TED Talk. The book has been well received, and now I dream of creating a version for children because they too should learn that the beauty of nature lives outside, in the real world.

Another ongoing project is my Amsterdam book a photographic work captured from a helicopter over more than ten years, financed independently and created entirely by me. I also continue to document the Wadden Sea and the northern islands of the Netherlands, flying with a female pilot for over six years, studying how people live on islands that constantly move with the sea.

In the Amazon, I’ve been researching ancestral cacao with local communities. With the help of a Peruvian archaeologist, we uncovered what may be the oldest story of cacao in the world. This has allowed me to support Amazonian women in creating fine chocolate bars, which are now served in Michelin-starred restaurants.

Photography has taken me around the world but more importantly, it has allowed me to build bridges. I see photography as a tool for service: to connect, to inspire, and to help where it’s truly needed.

I would also like to share my upcoming project: Guardianas. It is a documentary that I feel deeply connected to both artistically and personally. It takes place in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where I was born and where I began exploring as a child. Together with Mireia P Mayas, the director, we share a vision, and we are currently working to further develop the story and its powerful characters.

My role in Guardianas will be as videographer and multidisciplinary artist, offering a visually sensitive and committed aesthetic. Now living in the Netherlands, I aim to use my international networks to give visibility to the voices of Amazonian women and their fight to protect their land and culture amplifying their message on a global scale.

POTRAIT BIJ INEZ TOALA OLIVARES

Finalists


Mieke Douglas: Equine Landscape

My series, ‘Equine Landscapes’, explores the relationship between the animate and the inanimate. The images do not contain immediately recognisable subjects. They could be landscapes. They could be animals.

Equine musculature and contours are depicted as vast landscapes. But on closer examination, the mountains and valleys of these powerful animals, merge into more intimate textures, colours, light and shadow. I want to draw you closer. Make you linger. Touch the hides. Feel their warmth.

Website: www.miekedouglas.com

 

Glen Serbin: Costa Rica Leaf Study #4

Costa Rica is incredibly lush, but eventually plants die and dry out. Dried leaves transform into beautiful designs that are often over looked to the naked eye.

This dead leaf is part of a series which highlights the patterns, intricate designs and inner beauty that nature has built into each leaf. Creating the proper lighting in the studio was a trial and error process, but it is exciting when everything seems to work out. This image was manually focus stacked for maximum detail.

Website: www.serbin.com

 

Stuart Chape: Mangrove designs

Showing designs in the landscape only visible from the air, this image was taken from a helicopter over the complex wetland ecosystems of Kakadu National Park in Australia.

 

Bear Cieri: Quarry Survey No. 71

Oddly enough, the process of extracting granite from the ground – an invasive process that permanently scars the earth – exposes a beautiful landscape that would otherwise be hidden. The human hand, a reminder of our ingenuity, skill, labor and industriousness is partnered with time and the natural order to create an ever changing and endless number of compositions.

Website: bearcieri.com

 

Esther Garrison: Karaganda

Light falls on the suburbs near the steel mills of Temirtau, in the coal region of Karaganda (Kazakhstan), after a snow shower. One of the most polluted cities on Earth, Temirtau’s residents have long denounced ArcelorMittal’s appalling environmental record. This image is part of my long-term project The Coal Paradox, which explores the contradictions of Paris Agreement governments and their ongoing reliance on coal.

Website: www.esthergarrison.com

 

Xuejun Long: Double Dragons

Drones 500 meters above Utah, USA, found a hidden beauty in canyons and deserts. Does it like a pair of dragons dancing against each other?

 

Liam Man: Eternal Gaze

45 million years ago during the Alpine Orogeny, tectonic forces buckled solid rock, raising mountains in defiance against the ceaseless power of the wind and rain. This mysterious rock formation is a relic of this geological struggle.

By day, the cliff face appears unassuming, a chaotic blend of twisted stone and hollowed cavities. But when lit from above with perfectly positioned aerial lighting rigs, a great skull emerges. Gazing silently over the valley below, it observes the warm glow of a nearby villages as it bleeds into the clear night sky.

Website: www.theliamman.com / Instagram: @theliamman

 

Madiha Abdo: Dream

Website: madiabdophotography.format.com

 

Marie Veran: Twisted

This very unusually shaped tree stands out in this gloomy autumn landscape. The fog emphasizes its beauty by highlighting its unique outline. This tree becomes a symbol of resilience as it has clearly adapted to harsh conditions and has managed to strive in them.

Website: marieveran.com

PORTRAIT

Category Winner

Stef King: Portrait of Katie

Beauty is not skin deep, This portrait invites you to explore the depth and complexity of human beings, emphasising the importance of inner qualities and personal growth. This Portrait of Katie was taken after a reconstruction Cranioplasty procedure to fit a new plate in her skull. “”The graft site on my scalp will never be capable of growing hair as it does not contain follicles to do so, this is something I am learning to accept.

Some would call it a permanent disfigurement to my appearance, I like to say ‘it’s a story to tell’

Website: www.stefking.com.au

Stef King: Portrait of Katie

Beauty is not skin deep, This portrait invites you to explore the depth and complexity of human beings, emphasising the importance of inner qualities and personal growth. This Portrait of Katie was taken after a reconstruction Cranioplasty procedure to fit a new plate in her skull. “”The graft site on my scalp will never be capable of growing hair as it does not contain follicles to do so, this is something I am learning to accept.

Some would call it a permanent disfigurement to my appearance, I like to say ‘it’s a story to tell’

Website: www.stefking.com.au

Finalists


Carmen Ballve: Ashley and Neneta

Ashley is 15 and cares for her mother, Neneta, who lives with mental and physical disabilities in a batey in the Dominican Republic. Born of abuse, Ashley has been her mother’s support since childhood. She attends school, though her future is uncertain. Despite poverty and hardship, Ashley shows quiet strength and deep love. This portrait is not one of tragedy, but of resilience—a girl who grew up too soon, yet never stopped caring.

Website: www.carmenballve.com

 

Chih-Hao Chuang: On The Way Home Series, Mother And I

My inspirations mainly come from my hometown, Yilan. In this photoshoot, I asked my mother to write a letter on “what she thinks home means to her”. Acceptance, tolerance, bravery, and compassion. These are the things my mom taught me. I took selfies with my mother on the outside and the inside of the house, seeking the relationship between my mother and me via the uncertain changes of the environment.

Website: www.jeremyhao.com

 

Miraal Zafar: My Grandparents

Matriarchal power and matrimonial dependency are two things that have consistently been entangled in my family history. This portrait of my grandmother were taken in my ancestral home in Lahore, Pakistan, following my grandfather’s death last year. Leaving her parents’ house to move into his at the age of 16, this is a documentation of her first time living alone as a single woman. This work moves beyond just her and extends into a conversation about a generation of women who embody strength and resilience: a depiction of love, grief and the ways in which life continues despite loss.

Website: miraalzafar.com

 

Su Cassiano: Sisterhood

Hélène cofounded a collective which fights against discriminations in french basketball. She poses with Léna,her teammate who joined out of solidarity after she saw that Hélène could no longer play due to her headscarf.In France, recent laws have been restricting visible Muslim women and policing their bodies, excluding them from playing basketball. This law might soon be extended to all sports. The consequences are dramatic on their wellbeing.These women chose to cover for spiritual reasons, and should not inspire fear in a French society that pretends to uphold values of equality and freedom

Website: www.sucassiano.com

 

Louie Perea: I Forgot the Color I Came From

This work examines the dislocation and fragmentation of identity within the diaspora. It reflects on the loss and reconstruction of origins, where memory and belonging are both obscured and persistent. The piece considers how Blackness exists outside of imposed definitions, finding beauty in its resistance to being fully defined or contained.

Website: www.louieperea.com / Instagram: @perea.photo

 

Eva Chupikova: Muses

Beauty often arises from the delicate interplay between nature, human perception, and the art of creation. The organic form of the female body serves as a canvas for perfect curves and angles. Artists, particularly sculptors, have captured this essence, transforming it into timeless sculptures that embody both beauty and idealism. My series is inspired by living bodies — muses that provided the creative spark needed to translate emotions into tangible masterpieces. These living models once breathed, laughed, and loved. Today and forever, they remain shrouded in the dust of history.

Website: www.evachupikova.c / Instagram: @eva_chupikova

 

Kenny Lemes: The cross of the Eros

Byung-Chul Han says that without the terrible, without a “wound” in the image, beauty atrophies and becomes only a polished surface and death. True life, risk, passion, do not dwell in beauty. Life drives from the ugly. And he states: the heart of beauty is broken.

My work focuses on a certain poetics of the ugly, the broken and the imperfect, subtly handling the threads of violence to construct with profound tenderness a very personal narrative where beauty appears unexpectedly, timidly shining in contexts of chaos, loneliness and pain.

Instagram: @kennylemes

 

Felicia Simion: As it is in heaven

Self-portrait depicting the duality between earth and sky, flesh and spirit, human nature and the constant endeavor to overcome it.

Website: www.feliciasimionphotography.com / Instagram: @feliciasimion.photographer

 

King-David Olajuwon: BLOOM

My pregnant sister and her daughter, Grace, stand against a wall of butterflies in their apartment in Scotland. Having recently immigrated to Glasgow, my sister and her husband are now preparing to welcome their second child. The hidden beauty in this moment is not just in the visible—motherhood, childhood, and transformation—but in the unseen journey that brought them here and the future that remains unknown. The butterflies symbolize quiet yet profound change, much like the growth of a family, the resilience of new beginnings, and the beauty of a life unfolding in unexpected ways.

Website: thesunbeamng.com

CANDID / COMMUNITY

Category Winner

Syed Mahabubul Kader: Harmony in Harvest: The Resilience and Beauty of Rural Bangladesh

This image highlights the resourcefulness of Bangladesh, where livelihood, traditions, and values are shaped by the rural landscape. It reveals the hidden beauty of a Bangladeshi village, capturing the harmony between people, nature, and tradition. The friendly villagers, engaged in their simple yet meaningful way of life, embody resilience and unity. Collecting and transporting paddy straw—an everyday routine—becomes a visual story of hard work and togetherness, where warm smiles and shared labor reflect the strength of human connection, cultural richness, and the quiet beauty of rural life.

Website: syedmahabubulkader.com

Finalists


Jason Au: Social Distancing

On a quiet Sunday in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic, sunlight streamed through the mall atrium, painting luminous rectangles on the floor as distanced clusters of people sat apart. A compliance officer moved silently between them. This scene had an unexpected beauty: the precision of space, the patience in separation, and the unspoken solidarity. The harsh rules, meant to protect, also revealed a hidden elegance in collective resilience. A fleeting moment where necessity and unity intertwined, turning sterile rules into something quietly profound.

Website: jasonaucs.com

 

Angelica Briones: Land of the Strays

There are about 200 million stray dogs worldwide, living in varied conditions. Some are embraced by communities, receiving food and care, while most face hunger, disease, abuse, and neglect.

Dog sanctuaries like Land of the Strays in Costa Rica are havens of love and compassion; they offer safety and love to unwanted dogs. Rescuers see beauty in dogs often ignored – older, disabled, or those considered ugly – giving them a second chance. With patience and kindness, they prove that every dog, regardless of its past or appearance, deserves love.

Website: angelicabriones.photo / Instagram: @abrionesphoto

 

Marcia Prentice: A Special Connection

I spent a weekend staying with this beautiful Italian family in their villa on Lake Como. I wanted to really understand Italian culture and I knew that everything starts within the family. The grandparents were very proud to show me their personal memories and family heritage. As they turned the pages of the photo album, it felt like they fell more in love while reminiscing on their lives together.

Instagram: @marciaprentice

 

Marco Serventi: Elsewhere

Sonia Hyland walks on a treadmill in White Cliffs, a remote community in the heart of the Australian Outback, where people live in underground homes to escape the heat of the desert.

Once a mining settlement, today White Cliffs has evolved into a sanctuary for those seeking an alternative lifestyle.

Living here requires adapting to solitude, harsh climate and limited services, but under the surface locals built themselves a slow and peaceful life.

As one resident puts it: “This place is not for everyone. Some people come here, and all they see is a dust bowl. Others come here and find a home.”

Website: www.marcoserventi.com

 

Tiziana Amico: Nunca Fui Adolescente’ (‘I Never Was A Teenager’)

‘Nunca Fui Adolescente’ challenges the stigma surrounding adolescent motherhood in Argentina, revealing resilience, tenderness, and strength in lives often overlooked. Through intimate portraits and personal testimonies, this project explores moments of self-discovery and care that defy conventional narratives. A collaborative approach allows them to reclaim their own representation, while imagery of flowers symbolizes growth in unlikely places. This work urges us to see beyond stereotypes and recognize what flourishes in the unseen.

Website: tizianaamico.visura.co / Instagram: @yalla_______h

 

Lizette Flores: Untitled

This dress belongs to my mother, and my grandmother made it especially for her when she was a child. One day I found it and, without thinking twice, decided to take it to the forest. As I was playing, the light showed me a very beautiful scene, which I decided to capture. Besides the light, there’s something in this image that evokes something and that’s beautiful to me. I think this photograph also represents for me the undeniable connection with my maternal lineage and with nature itself.

Instagram: @eloisaflo

 

Annie Marie Musselman: Where We Come From

Here I explore the profound connection we all share with nature,the ancient instinct within us that recognizes and bonds with wild creatures. I believe this deep kinship, woven into us, holds the power to transform our lives. I experienced this firsthand while rescuing injured wild animals at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Washington State, where I found profound healing from trauma. When I became a mother, I longed to pass this experience on to my kids, leading us to a small rural town where we could leave behind the busyness and immerse ourselves into a more untamed existence.

Website: www.anniemusselman.com

 

Ruben van Schalm: Change – The Young Male Nude Seated Beside the Sea

The series Change explores the deep connection between humanity and nature. Through black-and-white photography, I invite viewers on a transformative journey, exploring themes of beauty, power, vulnerability, and the inevitability of change. Inspired by a fascination with the delicate interplay between humanity and nature, my work serves as a visual dialogue, reflecting our interwoven existence with the environment. Each photograph is a testament to the transformative power of life’s only constant: Change—mirroring my path through grief, transformation, and inspiration.

Website: www.rubenvanschalm.com / Instagram: @rubenvschalm

 

Angela Cappetta: Glendalis, the life and world of a youngest daughter.

Shot exclusively in the pre-gentrified blocks, fields, and buildings of the Lower East Side, the family photographed occupied a multigenerational tenement house on Stanton Street. Their story is told through a protagonist named Glendalis. I was raised in a similar family system, surrounded and embraced by an ever-present cast of relatives and friends. Like me, she was the youngest, and, much as I did, whispered out in the voice of a last-born — the messenger of a family. This work is informed by my own beginnings. I percieve it as a search for my one’s own community and girlhood.

Website: www.angelacappetta.com

B / W

Category Winner

Jaume Llorens: Starlings Take Flight

This is a negative image of the moment when a flock of starlings took flight from poplars near the lake of Banyoles. Every day at sunset, a flock gathers here for a short period of time until they decide to take flight again to the place where they spend the night. Every day, the same routine at the same time and in the same place, moving in synch as if they were a single organism.

Website: www.jllorens.com

Jaume Llorens: Starlings Take Flight

This is a negative image of the moment when a flock of starlings took flight from poplars near the lake of Banyoles. Every day at sunset, a flock gathers here for a short period of time until they decide to take flight again to the place where they spend the night. Every day, the same routine at the same time and in the same place, moving in synch as if they were a single organism.

Website: www.jllorens.com

Finalists


Felicia Simion: Aurora’s dream

My daughter, Aurora (5-year-old), lying beside animals at the small family farm where we lived this year, during our transition from the city to the countryside.

Website: www.feliciasimionphotography.com / Instagram: @feliciasimion.photographer

 

Farshid Ahmadpour: Hunter

“Frozen trees stand still in the misty silence of winter, a testament to the timeless bond between humans and nature. A man from the village walks through the boundless whiteness, a hunter returning empty-handed. He is a father, his life intertwined with the earth, snow, and sky. This photograph is part of the ‘Mother Earth’ series, a reflection on the relationship where humanity is not the master of nature, but its child.”

 

Instagram: @f.ahmadpour

Amy Heller: Time/Motion Study Multiples

I love motion & 19th century photo experiments of Étienne-Jules Marey & Eadweard Muybridge that inspired me to experiment with moving film stroboscopy technique of shooting motion. My new series of reimagined Time/Motion Study Multiples combines old (analog) & new (digital). The first time I shot photos with b & w film & printed panoramic images. Now I am collaging & layering those earlier analog images in the digital world, creating new works of art. Through my photographs I examine the idea of motion and reality and seeing the unseen: what exists and yet cannot be perceived by the naked eye.

Website: www.amyheller.com / Instagram: @amyhellerartist

 

Olivia Mazzola: Sensu

This image is part of my photographic series entitled “La Danse des Lumières” where I use light-painting as my main technique to portray my subjects. I love the mystery light-painting creates, a subtle play between the concealed and the discretely revealed allowing the magic of light to penetrate deeply into the soul of emotions. I actually make very fluid movements like a small dance around my subjects and the outcome of this dance is always such a surprise, it is like literally applying brushstrokes to dark canvas allowing the light to emerge.

Instagram: @liv_art_photography

 

Bastiaan Woudt: Champions

Champions redefines beauty by capturing strength, dignity, and hope in communities affected by HIV. Shot in Zambia with Orange Babies, the series portrays young advocates who rise above adversity to educate and inspire. Through striking black-and-white portraits, the project reveals beauty not in perfection, but in resilience and purpose—challenging the viewer to see beyond the conventional and recognize the power of human spirit.

Website: www.bastiaanwoudt.com

 

Jim Guerard: Distant Shores

A solitary cross and the distant shores of a loch in the Scottish Highlands appear as the fog begins to thin.

Website: jimguerard.smugmug.com

 

Greg Gulbransen: FATHER’S VIGIL

As a Pediatrician documenting the lives of a poor family living in a trailer park of WV I am often asked to care for the children’s ailments. On this particular morning In knew this toddler was having trouble breathing so I raced over to the trailer. When I arrived I was immediately struck by the beauty of this “Walker Evan’s” scene so I snapped a quick photo before we went inside to examine the child. Not only does the camera give me incredible access to people but so does my skill set as a physician.

Website: www.gulbransenphoto.com

 

Chris Borgia: City Station

This photograph was made of a gas station in Astoria, NY. The gas station has long represented the American dream of owning a house in the suburbs with two cars in the garage. Here the gas station is contrasted with the elevated train line and a taxi. With the invention of the automobile Americans fled the city for what was advertised as a more peaceful life. This photograph captures the city’s hidden beauty and hints at what could have been. If politicians had focused on public transportation and city life rather than highways and the suburbs would the America dream be more attainable today?

Website: www.chrisborgiaphotography.com

 

Jamil Baldwin: Tenacity

“Tenacity” is an ode to friends and family lost: Jabari Benton, Jonathan Sandoval-Aleman, Millard Frazier Jr., and Olivia Lee. The images follow the chronology of their passing, created collaboratively with relatives who chose who and where to honor their loved ones. We gathered at sites of life or death, often bringing mementos.

Each image reflects a collective act of holding one another up, bearing the weight of shared history. Though grief is deeply personal and often isolating, I hope the images offer comfort and a reminder of a quiet beauty underneath the spectre of death.

Website: jamilbaldwin.com/ / Instagram: @juh_mile

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUBMITTED

GRAND PRIZE / ONE WINNER:
Winner will be the photograph with the highest score overall in any category. 

◦ Featured interview on the Lucie Foundation website
◦ Part of Lucie Foundation Online Exhibition for competition
◦ Cash prize $1,000
◦ 16×20″ print of the Winning Image from Paper and Ink Studio (printed and shipped worldwide)
◦ Pick of one (1) Lucie Honoree Poster (unsigned edition)

CATEGORY WINNERS / 3 WINNERS:
Winners will be the highest score in the remaining categories. Categories remaining will depend on Grand Prize winner. 

◦ Part of Lucie Foundation Online Exhibition for competition
◦ Cash prize $250
◦ 16×20″ print of the Winning Image from Paper and Ink Studio (printed and shipped worldwide)
◦ Pick of one (1) Lucie Honoree poster (unsigned edition)

MEET THE JURY

Ami Vitale

Photographer, Filmmaker and Founder of Vital Impacts

Ami Vitale’s career stands as a testament to her deep dedication to documenting and addressing global crises. As an acclaimed National Geographic photographer, writer, and documentary filmmaker, as well as the founder of Vital Impacts, Ami has consistently spotlighted critical issues affecting our world. Her journey began in conflict zones, where she observed firsthand how environmental degradation—from resource scarcity to climate change—intensifies human suffering and conflict. This early exposure shaped her understanding of the profound connections between human and environmental crises.

Vitale’s work focuses on the stories of individuals living on the front lines of war, climate change, and extinction, who refuse to let cataclysm define their futures. Through her compelling journalism, she highlights stories of resilience and innovation, emphasizing the delicate balance between humanity and wildlife and the urgent need for conservation. Vitale’s work connects viewers to critical local conservation issues of global importance, underscoring our interconnectedness with one another and the natural world.

In addition to her journalism and filmmaking, Vitale is the founder and Executive Director of Vital Impacts, a non-profit organization that leverages the power of art to inspire and mobilize youth as agents of change. Vitale and her non-profit have raised over $5 million to support vital conservation projects.

Ami is an honorary fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and a recipient of the prestigious Lucie Humanitarian Award, the Missouri Honor Media for Distinguished Service, and an inductee into the North Carolina Media and Journalism Hall of Fame. She has also received the Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting, been named Magazine Photographer of the Year at the International Photographer of the Year awards, and is a six-time recipient of World Press Photo awards.

Instyle magazine featured her alongside Jane Goodall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in its series “Fifty Badass Women,” celebrating women who exemplify courage and action. Ami is currently serving as Conservation International’s 2023/2024 Lui-Walton Innovators Fellow. A sought-after speaker, she continues to share her experiences and insights with audiences worldwide, and in 2025, she will be featured on the National Geographic Channel Explorer TV series.

Sarah Leen

Editor and Co-Founder, Visual Thinking Collective

For nearly 20 years Sarah Leen worked as an independent photographer for National Geographic magazine until 2004 when she joined the NGM staff as a Senior Photo Editor. In 2013, Leen became the first female Directory of Photography for National Geographic Magazine and Partners. As a photographer she published 16 National Geographic magazine stories, one book and produced five covers for NGM. She has won numerous awards for both her photography and photo editing from the Pictures of the Year and the World Press Photo Awards and the International Photography Awards.

Leen teaches visual storytelling and photo editing at the Eddie Adams and Missouri Photo workshops and her own Female Perspectives in Visual Storytelling. She has edited ten photobooks since 2020 including Ukraine: A War Crime, the POY Photobook of the Year in 2023, HABIBI by Antonio Facciolongo, We Cry in Silence by Smita Sharma the 2022 Lucie Book Award for Independent Book, The Phoenician Collapse by Diego Ibarra Sanchez and A Troubled Home by Anush Babajanyan.

Leen is the Co-Chairperson of the Board of the International League of Conservation Photographers, is a member of the Lucie Awards Board of Advisors and in 2024 she received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from her alma mater the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Cat Jimenez

Founder, DALA Photo Festival

Ms. Jimenez has worked at the intersection of photography, technology and culture as producer, programmer and curator for over 20 years.

She is the former Brand Studio’s Head of Production for Lucid Motors where she was responsible for overseeing all creative content production from TV commercials and social-first content to developing a custom font for the Brand. Prior to Lucid Motors, she held the role of Executive Producer for Imprint Projects, a creative agency. She was responsible for producing short-form content, social content, printed matter and experiential activations for brands such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Levi’s, Sonos, Everlane, method, Dropbox, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Allbirds and many more.

Prior to her post at Imprint Projects, she led the Los Angeles-based, non-profit organization, the Lucie Foundation, as the Executive Director. In 2009, Ms. Jimenez co-founded the annual, city-wide initiative, Month of Photography Los Angeles which presents 30 days of programming. MOPLA’s mission is to create a comprehensive, citywide, collaborative effort that brings together media partners, galleries, institutions and museums in celebration of the photographic form. From outdoor building projections, artist talks and lectures, to exhibitions and screenings, MOPLA provides a platform for the enthusiast, collectors, emerging photographers, and the seasoned and master shooters. 2019 marked the last year of the festival.

Since 2015 to date, she has acted as the Photography Director for the National YoungArts Foundation Young Arts Week in Los Angeles and now sits on the Photography Panel for Young Arts Week in Miami, Florida. The organization’s mission is to identify the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, and provides them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. Notable alumnae include poet laureate Amanda Gorman, Viola Davis, Doug Aitken, Jason Moran, Billy Porter, Kerry Washington and hundreds more.

Most recently, Ms. Jimenez has created a new photography festival in Los Angeles entitled DALA, which will debut in the Fall of 2025.

Lynn Johnson

Photojournalist and Educator

Lynn Johnson photographs the human condition. Johnson has worked for LIFE and Sports Illustrated and published 40 feature stories in National Geographic Magazine. She is known for finding beauty and meaning in elusive, difficult subjects—threatened languages, zoonotic disease, the gender spectrum, and the many mysteries of the brain—Science of Touch, Blast Force Injury and Profound Autism. Hate Kills, her master’s thesis as a Knight Fellow at Ohio University, probed the impact of hate crimes. And at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, she helped develop CORE— a program that challenged master’s students to push past their comfort levels. She is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the Robert F. Kennedy Award, the Chris Hondros Fund, and has been a Pulitzer finalist on two occasions.

FAQ

Who can apply?
Anyone can apply worldwide. All mediums of photography are acceptable. All submissions must be within the theme: HIDDEN BEAUTY. Those images submitted that do not fall within the theme will not be considered.
Is there a limit to the number of Open Call submissions per artist?
No, you can submit as many images as you would like to however each image is a separate fee.
Is there a submission fee? 
Yes, $20.00 per submission (single image), 20% discount to submit the same image in multiple categories. Early Bird Discount of 20% until December 15, 2024. Discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

What images should I submit?

Submit the best images you feel represent the theme Hidden Beauty within the category of your choosing.
Can I submit AI images?
At this time, we do not accept AI generated images as part of the competition.
How should I prepare my files?
Please prepare your files according to the specifications below:
JPG only (NO TIF, GIF, PNG, PDF files will be accepted.)
Can I send print materials, books or CD’s?
No, Lucie Foundation accepts online submissions only.
When will the prize winners and finalists be announced? 
Winners and finalists will be announced by email in April 2025.
How will I know if I was selected? 
If you were selected for the Open Call, you will be contacted directly through the email which you provided in the submission form. The finalists will also be announced via the Lucie Foundation newsletter, website, and social media. Unfortunately, due to the volume of submissions, we are not able to notify if you were not selected.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR

Paper & Ink Studio

Based in Missoula, Montana, Paper & Ink Studio is a fine-art print house that has been printing for artists and commercial clients since 2016. With over two decades of professional printing experience, exhibition presentation and artist mentoring, our goal is to help bring into the print form the creative vision and intention of our clients.

USE & OWNERSHIP:
The photographer must be the sole author and owner of the copyright of photos entered in to the competition. Copyright and all other rights remain that of the photographer. Any photograph used by Lucie Foundation shall carry the photographer’s credit line and will not be used for any other purposes other than the exhibition and promotional material for the exhibition including online and through social media and email newsletters. Images may be displayed on the Lucie Foundation website and social media platforms for promotion of the Open Call.
For additional questions, please contact: info@luciefoundation.org