Free Weekly Photography Contest | Photographer of the Week 17, 2026

From April 20, 2026, to April 26, 2026

Photographer of the Week | Photographer of the Week

Italy

A Gentle Light from series ChiaroScuro © Marina Dego

Behind the Shot: A Gentle Light

"Varanasi: The city that illuminates truth and reveals reality." - Swami Vivekananda

It is in the dance of opposites that life unfolds. In the embrace of light and shadows a variety of colours, shapes and stories are born. There is something surreal, in the literal meaning of the world - sur (beyond and above) real- about the city of Varanasi, one of the world’s oldest inhabited centres. Reality here is ever shifting across a multitude of levels, trying to explain it or understand it is pointless, one can just observe, and accept it. In a world of deceit and power games, the rawness and authenticity found in the narrow lanes, on the ghats by the Ganges, in the eyes of the people who seem to walk on a tightrope between life and death, day and night, within and without, is a silent yet powerful lesson.

Expert Juror

Sandrine Hermand-Grisel

Photographer, Founder & Editor All About Photo

www.hermandgrisel.com | @allaboutphotocom

Sandrine Hermand-Grisel is a photographer, curator, and editor of All About Photo, an international platform dedicated to supporting photographers worldwide. Born in Paris, France, and raised between Paris and London, she moved to the United States in 2006, where she further developed her connection to the global photography community.

In 2013, she co-founded All About Photo with her husband, creating a space designed to give photographers greater visibility and exposure. More than a cultural guide, the platform has become a trusted resource for photographers and photography enthusiasts alike, featuring curated exhibitions, competitions, and editorial content.

A central part of the platform is the All About Photo Awards, which she has helped shape over the years in collaboration with renowned photographers and curators such as Liu Bolin, Ann Jastrab, Ed Kashi, Eli Klein, Jules Maeght, Aline Smithson, Ami Vitale, Stephen Vanfleteren, Sabine Weiss, Frank Horvat, Elizabeth Avedon, Laurent Baheux, Ian Berry, Claudine Doury, Denis Dailleux, Hiroshi Watanabe and many others. She has also served as a juror and curator for numerous international galleries and organizations.

Her own photographic work has been published in books and magazines and exhibited in galleries and museums internationally.

Today, while continuing her personal work, she focuses primarily on discovering and promoting emerging and established photographers through All About Photo. She is also the editor-in-chief of AAP Magazine, a publication dedicated exclusively to showcasing outstanding photographic portfolios.