It was with these words that Marc Riboud, accepted his award as honoree for photojournalism Monday night at the Lucie Awards.

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Marc Riboud

It seemed to sum it all up, as his charm and humble demeanor bespoke of the qualities he brought to his art. His photographs of course said it best ,as the audience was treated to a retrospective of his and all of the other honorees.

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Elliot Erwitt presented to Marc Riboud

But that was just one of the highlights at the Lucie Awards held Monday night at the American Airlines Theater in NYC.

Wait…you don’t know what the Lucie Awards are?

In its’ 4th year, the awards were founded by Hossein Farmani, collector and gallery owner. Photographers in all categories are honored and awarded by a judging panel of 54 experts in the field of photography: Sports, Portraiture, Visionary, Documentary, Fashion, Photojournalism, Fine Art and of course a Lifetime Achievement award.

As one who has been to quite a few award shows, it was beautifully produced. A good time was had by all as Caroline Rhea entertained as MC and an incredible who’s who of photography graced the theater both on and off the stage.

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Neil Leifer

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Bruce Weber

One thing was very clear though, from all of the honorees: their passion for the art and the recognition for those who have helped them or worked for them through the years. Yes, they also paid tribute to those that inspired and/or mentored them. Bailey made a huge point of credit due to the assistants he’s had through the years. Well done sir.

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David Bailey

Each honoree and winner brought grace, style and more that two of them, a great sense of humor.
And they were lucky enough to have a live band for the rim shots. When they worked (Sorry Duane).
Sarah Moon even had a stunning film as a framework for her images.

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Sarah Moon

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Albert Watson

The lifetime achievement award winner, Willy Ronis, unfortunately couldn’t be there in person, but a close friend, photographer Jeff Dunas, presented a film starring Willy that explained his philosophy and path in photography.

The honorees were:

David Bailey – Fashion
Eikoh Hosoe – Visionary
Neil Leifer – Sports
Roger Mayne – Documentary
Duane Michaels – Portraits
Sarah Moon – Fine Art
Marc Riboud – Photojournalism
Willy Ronis – Lifetime Achievement
Albert Watson – Advertising

And as most awards shows do, it did run a little long. So we’ll stop running long here and recommend visiting the Lucie Awards site for all of the coverage.

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The Day Before: Eikoh Hosoe,Duane Michaels, Gerd Ludwig,
Susan Baraz and Douglas Kirkland

In the coming weeks we hope to share some of the materials that were presented that night.

Cheers!
Damon Webster