Analog Forever Magazine is pleased to showcase 32 images in this month’s online exhibition entitled "Eye of the Beholder”. Curated by Analog Forever Magazine Editor in Chief, Michael Kirchoff, these photographs explore beauty in all it’s forms as interpreted by photographers around the globe in both traditional and unconventional ways that make you question the very idea of beauty.

Michael Kirchoff writes: This juror statement from me is a bit different than something I would normally write in this instance. This one bears a message - one that was born from the culmination of all of the photographs in this exhibition. Please know that you and your work are all included in these thoughts.

I originally wrote the call for this exhibition quite some time ago, when our world was a different place. It was not conceived with any of the issues circling all around us right now. It came from the heart - a simple note for everyone to appreciate the beauty in our world. How could I know that in this current state of affairs it might be harder to see and photograph what moves us most? Thankfully, you have all risen to the challenge and shown me that all is not lost.

I live in a big city in America where it feels like everything is divided, crumbling, and on fire. It is simply my reality at the moment of this writing. However, I have to remember that what is my reality may not be yours, and I do hope that where you live, things are calmer and stronger right now. My wish with these thoughts is this - find in you that need to view things from both sides of the same coin in an effort to find commonality. What is beautiful to me, may not be to you, and vice versa. I feel that now, with this exhibition, there is a metaphor here for being open-minded with the desire to bring people together. We need each other more now than ever before.

I have a favorite photograph that I think sums up my current disconcerted feelings and brings me a sense of solace to ease my mind, if just a bit. Take a moment to reflect where you are at in all of this while viewing “Josie Learning to Swim in the Lake, Cape Cod”, by Marjolein Martinot. This is a nostalgic moment of not where we once were, but where we should be going. A place to be that feels comfortable during the waning light of day, innocent and serene, but most of all without the pressures and weight of the world a burden on our shoulders. Something inclusive. Something loving. It’s not going to be easy, but with an open heart, I think we can get there.

Thank you all for your entries, you quite literally bring me to tears with the beauty you have bestowed on us all with your photographs.

~ Michael Kirchoff

Gallery 

About the Curator

Michael Kirchoff is a photographic artist, independent curator and juror, and advocate for the photographic arts. He has been a juror for Photolucida’s Critical Mass, and has reviewed portfolios for the Los Angeles Center of Photography’s Exposure Reviews and CENTER’s Review Santa Fe. Michael has been a contributing writer for Lenscratch, Light Leaked, and Don’t Take Pictures magazine. In addition, he spent ten years (2006-2016) on the Board of the American Photographic Artists in Los Angeles (APA/LA), producing artist lectures, as well as business and inspirational events for the community. Currently, he is also Editor-in-Chief at Analog Forever Magazine, and is the Founding Editor for the online photographer interview website, Catalyst: Interviews. Previously, Michael spent over four years as Editor at BLUR magazine. Connect with Michael Kirchoff on his Website and Instagram!