For the next L.A. Photo Curator competition, The Shape of a Father, I invite photographers to explore the many forms fatherhood can take.

When reviewing submissions, I will be looking for photographs that move beyond traditional portraits and familiar narratives. A father may be a source of love, protection, guidance, expectation, distance, loss, mystery, or memory. He may be present or absent. He may be a biological parent, stepfather, grandfather, mentor, teacher, or someone who shaped a life in unexpected ways.

I am interested in work that explores the complexity of fatherhood and its lasting impact. Images may be documentary, conceptual, autobiographical, archival, or symbolic. A father does not need to appear in the photograph.
Consider what fathers leave behind: stories, habits, objects, landscapes, traditions, beliefs, dreams, wounds, or gifts. What traces remain? How does a father continue to influence who we become?

I welcome diverse interpretations of this theme and encourage photographers to approach it with honesty, imagination, and personal vision.