When the Spirit Moves

• Prize
• Photographer
  Justin Maxon, United States
• Studio
  Prospekt
• Website
  http://www.justinmaxon.com

Those living in Chester, PA, grow up in an environment where forces everywhere are against them; where gravity seems to be stronger and less forgiving. It is a place where pollution alters development, where violence and crime are commonplace and people with nothing take from others who have little. People are forced into carrying this burden of weight and thus are required to be strong to withstand it.

Justin Maxon was born (1983) in northern California and currently splits his time between San Francisco, CA, and Philadelphia, Pa. Maxon was born in a small town in the woods of northern California, called Orleans. Nothing but trees and hippies sorta thing. He first got into photography at an early age, but then only took pictures of mountains and other woody features. Today, he is mainly interested in pursuing long-term projects that examine the complexities of human struggle.

Maxon has received numerous awards for his photography, from competitions like UNICEF Images of the Year, POYi, and NPPA's Best of Photojournalism. He won first place in the 2007 World Press Photo Daly Life Singles category, along with winning the Deeper Perspective Photographer of the Year at the 2008 Lucie Awards. Most recently, he was named one of PDNâ??s 30 Emerging Photographers to Watch.

His clients include TIME, Newsweek, Fader Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and NPR.