Seventeen-year-old Kodia Allen, a sixth-form student at Manchester High School; Gerald Gordon, fine art photographer; and Joshua Gordon, a third-year student at the University of Technology, Jamaica, emerged winners of the JN Foundation Jamaica 60 photo competition.

The awards ceremony took place recently at the JN Group corporate offices on Oxford Road in
Kingston.

While winning a major competition of this nature is not new to Gerald Gordon and Joshua Gordon, who are both unrelated, this is the first time Kodia has emerged a winner.

“I feel elated, and it has taught me patience. The patience was worth it as I came out on top and I’m excited,” said Kodia, winner in the ‘Greatness in Community’ category. Her winning image, titled ‘Uncountable Badges’, captured her friends helping the newly elected Jamaica Prefects Association (JPA) president, Gabrielle Bryan, with her badges on the joyous occasion. She said for her, that moment of friendship and unity was a very powerful form of advocacy.

“I was inspired by friendship at its finest. I followed my friend to support her in being elected JPA president and just seeing the process, especially behind the scenes, I just decided not to wait on the limelight but take the picture behind the scenes, working up to the moment that we all looked forward to seeing,” she said underscoring the value of friendship.

Kodia’s words of advice to persons interested in photography are simple- ‘always be armed with your camera’. She hopes to, one day, take up photography as a business.

Gerald Gordon is not new to winning. He was the winner of the Prime Minister’s Calendar Photo
Opportunity Competition in 2021, and The Gleaner’s Capturing Kingston Photo Competition in 2018.

“I was in a car with my friends returning home, and when I saw the scene, I said to my friend
‘stop the car’ and when I saw the shot, I said ‘this is it’. In fact, I took the photo on the morning
of the deadline for submission of the photo,” he revealed, noting that Vanessa’s action of
earning an honest living was a form of advocacy.

Gordon, who has a photography business, said that the knowledge gained from participating in
the competition will help him to produce better quality work.

“Photography is my bread and butter, and I’m happy to have gained further knowledge about
my craft through the masterclasses conducted by the trainers. My mind is now rushing with
ideas and the knowledge that was imparted,” he said.

“As a fine arts photographer, myself, I dive into the theory of photography telling stories
through my lens, and I’m seeing it from a different perspective now,” he said.

Joshua Gordon, who had previously emerged second place winner of the JN Resolution
Project COVID-19 Jamaica Photography Competition in 2020/21, said that he was happy to be a
winner again. He won the People’s Choice Award with his piece, titled ‘Salute to 60’, which
captured a cadet from Clarendon College as he raised his hand to his head in salute at an event
to mark the high school’s Founder’s Day on February 2 this year.

“This image stood out mainly because of the significance of the ceremony, the patriotism, and
the angle. The cadet’s salute represents us Jamaicans showing respect and love to our country,
which was simply iconic,” he said.

Congratulating the winners, Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation, expressed
hope that the competition would spark more advocacy for causes that will positively impact the
country.

“We wanted this competition not to be just something that you came across on social media where you enter, and you win some money, but we wanted to leave with you a lesson. We wanted to build the capacity for the skill and art of photography but also advocacy,” she said, noting that the competition attracted close to 500 entries.

“We hope that you heard something that will reassure you and give you hope. But we hope you heard something that made you uncomfortable and feed that thing inside you to bring you out of the box that you are in and to tell your story differently,” she said, noting that the competition provided a platform for the participants to amplify their voice and advocacy.

The JN Foundation launched the Jamaica 60 Photo Competition in 2022 in celebration of Jamaica’s 60th year of Independence. The competition invited persons passionate about photography and community advocacy to enter.

The aim of the competition was to equip and train Jamaicans in the art of photography and advocacy. The competition focused on celebrating Jamaica’s 60th year of Independence, under the theme ‘Greatness Through the Lens’, an ode to the national theme ‘Re-igniting a Nation for Greatness’.  

First place winners received a cash prize of J$100,000, second place J$50,000 and third place J$25,000. Other winners in the competition were: Javan Sutherland, who placed third in the ‘Greatness in People’ category, and Sharlene Higgins, who placed second in the ‘Greatness in Community’ category.