Happy New Year!!!
This month’s theme is “Viniculture & Wine”. We invited a new Judge to critique and select this month’s images.
Claire Visalotte is a name synonymous with insightful, balanced, and technically grounded photographic critique. Born in the rugged coastal landscapes of Portugal, Visalotte developed an early appreciation for the interplay of light, shadow, and emotion within visual storytelling.
Her career began not behind the lens, but within the darkroom, mastering the nuances of light sensitivity and composition. This technical foundation became the bedrock of her critical approach. After earning a master’s degree in Photographic Theory and Curatorial Practice from the London College of Communication, Visalotte began writing for prominent art journals.
Visalotte quickly gained recognition for her unique ability to dissect complex compositions and technical choices while remaining sensitive to the emotional intent of the artist. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between emerging digital artists and traditional fine art institutions. She has served on numerous international judging panels, curated major exhibitions on topics ranging from viniculture to urban exploration, and published the widely read book, The Unseen Frame: Context in Contemporary Photography.
Today, Claire lives in Lisbon, splitting her time between writing and lecturing globally, always advocating for the power of an image to connect, inform, and transform.
We thank Claire for her feedback and time! Well done to everyone who took part, and congratulations to those who were selected and are featured in the current January 2026 edition of the Algarve Plus Magazine.
The next theme for Algarve Plus for February will be: “Showing Affection” and our judge will be announced soon,
Selected & Published Images
Words of Wisdom
1st Place: 08 Vine Leaves by Fred Bos
This image is the top choice because it excels on all criteria. It has high photographic quality, strongly captures the wine theme, and crucially, features a bottle of wine (Condelipa) that identifies the specific location as a known Algarve winery (Adega Cooperativa de Lagoa). It beautifully represents the local wine experience.
2nd Place: 06 Grapes to Glass by Daryl Gabin
A commercially viable and aesthetically pleasing lifestyle shot. The high production value and clear connection to a known Algarve winery (Quinta dos Santos) make it a strong contender. It represents the modern wine tourism aspect of the region very well.
3rd Place: 09 Back Street Vine by Jan Chapman
This photo is highly artistic and atmospheric. It implies an Algarve location through its use of traditional architecture and a rustic aesthetic. It meets the theme through the clear presence of grapes and the thriving vine. Its visual quality and narrative strength overcome its less explicit location marker compared to some of the other images.
4th Place: 07 Portuguese Wine by Glyn Parry
This image is arguably the most technically perfect and artistically composed photograph of the group. Its use of light and minimalist style is superb. It clearly meets the “Wine” theme. It ranks lower than the others because its studio nature makes the specific “Algarve” location nearly impossible to prove, which is a key in this matter.
5th Place: 03 Alentejo Vineyard By Robert Pool
A beautiful, sweeping landscape photograph with excellent composition and technical execution. It powerfully represents viniculture. It is placed 5th because the location is in the Alentejo region, not the Algarve. Other than that, wonderful image!
Main Gallery
