Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever in this life. Like waves on the ocean, moments come and go, never in the same way. Some of them are meaningful and others just look so irrelevant for us. 

But life gave a chance to make those moments immortal. Life gives us a chance to beat time and beat our fragile memory. Photography opens you the door of perpetuity, and lets us grab those moments with our hands without letting them running away.

Ashland University is not only encouraging students to develop their artistic abilities but also giving them the opportunity to see and share another face of the world. Rebecca Parillo, Director of Global Education, started The International Photo Contest in 2001.

“It is nice way to promote Study Abroad and travel in something besides information sessions or a poster pasted on the wall,” Parillo said.

Parillo explains the contest consists of two categories, people and place. It is divided in two divisions; staff and faculty, and students, with a total of four winners. The photos must be taken in the last year from any part outside the United States.

The photos are judged by a panel of three main judges: Fahmina Rahman, President of the International Club, Dr. Rene Paddags, faculty member of the International Program Committee and Jessica Wascak, faculty member of the College of Arts and Sciences with a specialization in photography.

The judges are looking for three main characteristics in the photos, including artistic expression, creativity and quality of image. The pictures are rated in those categories on a scale from one to four.

A good picture is when your eyes are not enough to appreciate the beauty of the image; when your true feelings are shown by the goosebumps in your arms; when your eyes cannot believe what you are looking at and the only word that fits is “magic.”

“I was impressed at how naturally beautiful these locations were,” said Zach Lindesmith, AU student, astonished by what Costa Rica let him appreciate. “It was actually really quite beautiful.”

A picture should be rated by the story it tells, by the words pronounced by it. When words are not enough, images are the ones taking place.

“The picture of the Berlin Wall evokes a feeling of hope while looking back at a darker part of German history,” said Julianna Hritz, participant of this year contest. “The Wittenberg pictures display the quaint and pleasant atmosphere of the town.”

It is when you become one with the camera, where everything appeared to be arranged just in the perfect way for you to take that shot.

“I was on one of the bridges and I saw the geese coming toward the bridge so I stood on the bridge and I waited for them to pass underneath,” said Ray Jacobs, management professor at AU, describing his award winning picture of 2011. 

“I went down as soon they did it too,” he said. “I like the fact that the buildings were reflecting in the water and the geeses were going through the reflection.”

Pictures transform simple moments into unforgettable ones.

“I liked capturing the small moments that would have been forgotten if it weren’t for the picture,” said Hritz. “A couple was getting their wedding pictures taken. The photographer was lying on the ground looking up at the women in her wedding dress. I would have never remembered this if I didn’t have a picture of it.”

That’s when you know you are witness of a real picture.