Duggal Visual Solutions congratulates Eric Tomberlin, Grand Prize Winner of our 2021 Capture the Moment Photo Contest!
Eric lives and works in Asheville, North Carolina as a photography professor at the University of North Carolina Asheville. He worked for a number of years as an editorial photographer in New York City before moving to India, where he became a founding faculty member at the first photography school on the subcontinent. Eric earned his MFA from the University of Texas at Austin and has exhibited his work throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Eric s winning image, Lifeguard, comes from his extensive travels to India. Learn more in this brief Q&A.
How did you hear about Capture the Moment?
When I was working in New York City in the late 90s, I used to bring my chrome film to Duggal, so I was already familiar with the company when I saw Capture the Moment. So with this award, my relationship with Duggal has really come full circle, and I can t thank them enough for supporting my work. I would also like to thank the jurors as I know it take a lot of time to go through so many images and arrive at a handful of finalist.
Tell us the story behind your winning image, Lifeguard.
I had the good fortune to spend a month in Puri, India, along the Bay of Bengal. There is a small fishing village just on the outskirts of Puri where I often walked the beach talking with locals. Every morning, fishermen row boats carrying about 10 men through large waves to go out fishing and return just before dusk to sell their catch on the beach. This man, the lifeguard, is there to help pull men from the crashing surf as boats often capsize as they push through the waves. When I asked him if I could photograph him, he replied with an enthusiastic smile. Eventually, he grew bored of my interest in him, and that allowed me to get this image of him: simultaneously unassuming and regal.
What s running through your mind as you think back to the moment you took the photograph?
First, this was 27 years ago, and that in itself is pretty hard to believe. While not the very beginning of my career, it was certainly a seminal moment in terms of my understanding of photography, and specifically portraiture. Now, as a professor of photography, I spend most of my days articulating how the medium functions within culture technically, aesthetically, and conceptually, so this image really takes me back. In those days, I was essentially a street photographer, responding to what I came upon, and seeking to understand how to collaborate with the world to distill an image that might tell a story or ask a question.
