2025 Judges

Yueheng Duan – Specially Appointed Art Consultant

Mr. Yueheng Duan is a two-time recipient of the American Benny Gold Award, earning the honor at the 62nd and 70th ceremonies. His accolades include the Sino-Canadian Cultural Outstanding Contribution Award from the Canadian government (2017), the Lifetime Achievement Award at the first Canadian IPF International Photography Festival (2015), and the Gold Award at the 5th China Printing Awards.
Mr. Duan’s photographic works are held in the collections of numerous art institutions and private collectors. He has also served as a judge for international photography exhibitions, directed photography art festivals, and published three photography art albums: Black and White World, Black and White Vision, and Black and White Realm.

John Fan – Chair

John Fan, PhD is a medical physicist in radiation oncology. Besides his outstanding professional career, John is also a world renowned photographer. He is the winner of many prestigious photography awards. His work has been published extensively in international magazines, books, and galleries. His books “Rational Inspiration” and “Talks about Photography” were published in 2017 and 2019 respectively. He is also a curator of the online photo gallery 1X.com and its China ambassador, and the co-founder of the acclaimed 4Aperture fine art photography group.

https://johnfanphotography.com

Ian Plant

Whether hanging over the rim of an active volcano or braving the elements to photograph critically endangered species, Ian Plant has spent the past two decades traveling the globe in his never-ending quest to capture the beauty of our world with his camera. Ian has reached hundreds of thousands of people in his mission to inspire and educate others in the art of photography. Ian is the author of dozens of books and instructional videos, an instructor for KelbyOne and other photography education outlets, and founder of Photo Masters, a site dedicated to photography education and inspiration.

https://ianplant.com/
https://www.photomasters.com

Hazel Meredith

Hazel Meredith is an award-winning photographer and a sought-after teacher, speaker, and competition judge. She began teaching in 2007, and now does seminars at camera clubs and conferences across the U.S. – both in-person and virtual. She offers her own workshops and webinars, and has done webinars for several software companies.
She has written two eBooks on working with textures, and released two creative courses. She and her husband, Dave, produce the “Virtual Creative Photography Conference” with attendees from around the world. Hazel loves the creative aspect of photography and post- processing, especially the use of textures and software to create unique images.
She is actively involved with the photographic community, and has held leadership roles and received honorary distinctions from several organizations. In the Fall of 2020 she was the recipient of the Ashbrook Award for Digital Imaging Instruction from the Photographic Society of America.

www.MeredithImages.com
www.MeredithImages.wordpress.com
www.Facebook.com/MeredithImages

Jin Gong

Former senior consultant of the Federal Reserve Board, Jin Gong, has over 20 years of experience as a landscape photographer. His pictures have received many awards and been published. He believes that photography is a continuous process of challenging oneself and pursuing perfection, as well as a dialogue between humans and nature.

Shicheng Huang

Shicheng Huang is an advisor to the Atlantic Photographers Association (APA), former Vice Chairman of the North American Mobile Photography Association (NAMPA), and an art mentor. He is a member of several photography associations in North America and serves as a photojournalist for the Manitoba Chinese Tribune. His works have won numerous awards in various photography competitions. He is the founder of a practical mobile photography course and a senior lecturer, as well as a certified landscape photographer by Tuchong. He has served multiple times as a judge and head judge in photography competitions. In 2021, he was one of the panel speakers for the Xinflix Media “Poems in Dream, Hand in Hand, Heart with Heart” TV Photography Forum.

Enpu Yang

Retired Professor at Beijing Film Academy, Honorary Dean of Huaguang Photography College, and Advisor to the China Overseas Chinese Photography Association.
He graduated from Beijing Film Academy in 1961 and has devoted his career to film and television production, creating a large number of documentaries and educational films. Representative works include The Maritime Silk Road and Photography Guide.
Since the 1990s, he has also been involved in screenwriting and directing television dramas. A notable work is The Years of Studying with Zhou Enlai, which won the Second Prize of the Flying Apsaras Awards (Feitian Awards) and the Excellent Short TV Drama Award at the Golden Eagle Awards.
He previously served as Chair of the Theoretical Committee of the China Photographers Association and has frequently been a judge for both national and international photography competitions.
He has authored several influential books, including Fundamentals of Photographic Aesthetics and Introduction to Photographic Appreciation.
He has published over a million words of articles and hundreds of photographs in newspapers and magazines both domestically and internationally. His academic papers, such as An Analysis of Chinese Academic-Style Cinema, have won awards at home and abroad.
In 2006, he was honored by the China Photographers Association as one of the “Outstanding Photographers of the 50th Anniversary of the Founding of New China.”

Emma Zhao

Currently residing in Toronto, Canada.
Certified interpreter in Ontario,
freelance photographer,
real estate photographer,
owner of Emma Photography Studio.
Former Vice President of the Atlantic Photographers Association.
Former Art Instructor for the North American Mobile Photography Association.
Photography works have won numerous awards in domestic and international photography competitions, including:

• 2020 RHCC Black and White Macro First Prize
• 2019 TIPF Best Folklore Award
• 2019 TIPF Vanguard Photography Medal Award
• 2019 Canada Dream Cabinet Cup Photography Competition Silver Award
• 2018 North American Mobile Photography Competition Art Category Gold Award
• 2018 TIPF Vanguard Photography Medal Award
• 2017 TIPF International Photography Festival Excellence Award
• 2017 JEPA Fall Competition Gold Award
• 124 Toronto Photography Salon Excellence Award
• 2017 PSA Art Category Excellence Award
• 2017 CAPA Art Category Excellence Award

Some works are included in renowned photography art galleries ：1x.com/emmazhao