Frame of Mind

Find out everything you need to know about Frame of Mind below. If you have any further questions, please email our Campaign Manager, Amanda McArdle, at info@walkinmyshoes.ie.

• Who can take part?

  The competition is open to all students in secondary schools, special education schools, and Youthreach in Ireland. We can only accept one entry per student. Each application has to be submitted on behalf of the student by their teacher or member of school staff.

  Frame of Mind is not open to St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS) or Walk in My Shoes (WIMS) employees, members of the judging panel, or their families.

  Entries for the 2022/23 competition have now closed.

• What photos qualify for the competition?

  Entries to the Frame of Mind photo competition must be photos which reflect the joy and positivity of a meaningful moment in the student’s life.

  Although the competition does not focus on quality and technical ability so much as the subject and message of the entry, the photo does need to be taken on a camera with a clear picture. Most cameras on smartphones would take a high enough quality photo to qualify for entry.

  Each photograph must be in landscape format. It must be a minimum of 2,400 by 3,000 pixels in digital format, or have a minimum file size of 2.5MB and no greater than 5MB.

  No digitally altered images will be accepted.

  Please note that:

  • all photos and imagery must be the total and exclusive work of the student photographer and may not include any element that is the copyright of another
  • photos must not contain logo(s), copyright marks, identifying marks, or any other visible references and/or marks on the image
  • Walk in My Shoes (WIMS)/St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS) accepts no liability for any content submitted by third parties
  • each entrant agrees to their details (name, age and school name and address) being used in promotional material for WIMS/SPMHS.

  Entries for the 2022/23 competition have now closed.

• Who are the judges?

  Ruth Medjber

  Dublin-born and globally based, Ruth Medjber* was encouraged by her father to take photographs from a young age. While in her honours year of a Bachelor of Arts (Photography) at Dublin Institute of Technology, Medjber regularly contributed to Hot Press magazine and, subsequently, NME, Rolling Stone, Kerrang! and Classic Rock.

  Ruth’s portfolio includes portraits of Grace Jones, Hozier, Metallica and the Foo Fighters. Most recently, she documented Arcade Fire on their tour of the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as covering the Glastonbury Festival for the BBC. With close ties to her community, Ruth uses her creative talent to support local charitable causes and has a long-term project, Women of Notes, which celebrates inspiring women in the Irish music industry, in a bid to create a gender balance in music.

  In 2020, when the music industry was paused by COVID-19, Ruth began taking portraits of people at home through their windows in a series titled Twilight Together. This body of work, now published as a book by Penguin, became one of the most iconic portrait series of our time.

  Ruth loves the smell of darkroom chemistry, hates tinnitus, and, until the age of five, thought that her father saw in sepia tones (due to his darker Algerian complexion).

  You can find Ruth as @ruthlessimagery across social media.

  Marc O'Sullivan

  From Ballyhooly in County Cork, Marc has been a professional photographer in Dublin for almost 30 years. After qualifying from the Dublin Institute of Technology, he set up his first studio, shooting commercial and studio work. He soon became attracted to the fast pace of newspaper photography and successfully combined this with his studio work for over 10 years.

  In 2003, he began working with public relations (PR) clients and has been filling the national newspapers, magazines and websites with pictures ever since. With a stylish eye for detail and a wealth of experience, he consistently satisfies both the client and picture editor’s demands. Speed of delivery is key in this age of new media, and he is used to working fast in busy situations, delivering excellent pictures from location.

  Based in his studio, Loft53 on Middle Abbey Street in the heart of Dublin city, Marc currently works on a broad range of PR, commercial and studio projects. The winner of over 15 Press Photographers Association of Ireland awards, when he doesn’t have a camera in hand he is usually Instagraming with his trusty iPhone.

  Follow Marc on Instagram here.

  Tom Maher

  Tom Maher is the Director of Services at St Patrick's Mental Health Services. He is responsible for the development of and efficient delivery of all clinical services, clinical and corporate governance, quality and funding contracts. These services are delivered by approximately 500 clinicians, including social work, nursing, medicine, clinical psychology, occupational therapy, psychotherapeutic staff and the associated administrative staff necessary for such delivery. Tom asked to be a Frame of Mind judge because of his keen interest in creative practices like cinema and photography, and his understanding that these have the power to influence attitudes to mental health, both positively and negatively.

   

• How are the winners chosen?

  We invite a judging panel to review all the entries and shortlist 20 photos, based on the uniqueness of the photos and how truly and accurately they reflect the theme. The judging panel’s decision is final.

  Please note that if there are insufficient entries, the judging panel reserves the right to:

  • decline to make an award
  • disqualify any entry that does not fit the criteria of the terms and conditions.

  The 20 shortlisted photos will be displayed in an exhibition in February 2023, and announced on WIMS social media channels. If your entry is shortlisted, we will let you know by email also.

  The exhibition will be on show in the Art Space of St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin. Service users, staff and visitors in the hospital will vote for their favourite photo, with the top three photos receiving the highest number of votes receiving first, second and third place prizes.

  The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in March 2023. All shortlisted entrants will be invited to attend.

• What are the prizes?

  The Frame of Mind photo competition offers fantastic prizes for schools and students. Prize money is awarded to the winning students, with their schools also receiving token prizes.

  
  The first place prize will see the winning student receiving €1,000, while their school will receive €1,000. For second and third place runners-up, students will receive €500 each and their schools will each get €500.

• Is there other important information you should know?

  Shortlisted entrants are expected to participate in media and promotional activities relating to Frame of Mind and to consent to the use of their names in press materials relating to the competition. WIMS, SPMHS and the competition administrators have the right to showcase all entries submitted to the competition, and to use completed entries for promotional purposes outside of the competition, as they see fit.

  Personal details of entrants will only be used for administrative purposes and for promotional activities relating to the competition. WIMS and SPMHS reserve the right to amend, modify, cancel or withdraw an entry from the competition at any time without notice.