H. Allen Benowitz
USA

2nd Place - Merit of Excellence

"Cigar Lady II"

Adhering to her native roots, wearing Afro-Caribbean Santeria whites this lady smokes a huge cigar; Havana, Cuba. 2008 [On a mission to Cuba with the Boca Raton JCC, on Citadel Square, I noticed this lady napping in a chair against a beautiful golden yellow wall. As I approached, kneeling, to gain a vantage point of accentuating her very long Cuban cigar [which did not need accentuating], I snapped this photo as her eyes slowly began to open, not quite aware of my presence, thus qualifying as a candid shot. A precious moment. The photo became one of my most iconic.]

Biography: H. Allen Benowitz, a self-taught award-winning cultural photographer, born and raised in Brooklyn, is a graduate from the Interboro Institute of Business in Manhattan. He migrated to Miami, in the 1960s, where he currently resides. As an evolution of his professional court reporting & legal videography career, the camera became a natural segue to photography. He has been featured in the ARTnews, The International Contemporary Artists art book, The Andrews Journal, SE Florida Style & Design, Marquis Who's Who, Art & Beyond magazines, and Musee du Louvre. His fine art photography...