cizucu Presents: 'A Refrain Calling' Award Announcement | Challenge #392

'A Refrain Calling' is a global online photo contest organized by cizucu, open to any creator registered on cizucu. Outstanding submissions are curated from all entries, with the aim of discovering new talent as a platform and supporting the community as a whole.

This edition's theme was 'Repetition'.

Identical shapes, colors, sizes, orientations—while walking outside, we sometimes notice things that appear repeatedly. Rows of bicycles, a series of windows, flocks of birds, people sitting in a line. These repeated elements, though individually small, connect, overlap, and are spaced in such a way that they create a rhythm throughout the photograph.

'Refrain' refers to a phrase repeated in music or poetry.
We invited submissions that evoke this sense of refrain—whether through regular arrangements or serendipitous overlaps, works that call out to the viewer like a recurring motif. Now, let us introduce the submissions and the selected works.

Sara Lim

cizucu Editorial Team
The familiar windows of an apartment complex are repeated once again through their reflection on the water, transforming an ordinary urban landscape into something almost dreamlike. The alternating lit and dark rooms suggest the passage of different times within each, evoking the condensation of countless lives into a single frame.

Saki

📷 OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1

cizucu Editorial Team
People standing at equal intervals, facing the same direction in the same place, yet each seems absorbed in their own screen or thoughts. The repetition of their forms and the long shadows they cast evoke the recurring, yet isolating, moments of urban life—together, yet apart.

atticusfoo
Some refrains are stitched in cloth.
Shot on film (Lucky Color 200)

cizucu Editorial Team
The repetition of identical balconies adorned with the same flags brings forth a sense of community enveloping the building. Yet, the way the flags flutter, the presence of residents, and the plants or laundry all hint at individual lives. Rather than enforcing uniformity, the repetition here accentuates subtle differences, leaving a lasting impression.

Yosuke0312
minions vs walrus

cizucu Editorial Team
The repetition of blue and pink hats along the bottom of the frame creates a strong color field and sense of order, naturally guiding the viewer’s gaze toward the walrus and its handler. The composition, which divides the audience and stage vertically, along with the interplay of color and the contrast with the central large form, organizes the entire scene into a cohesive, graphic composition.

YUKI YOSHIDA
Which is the real one...?

cizucu Editorial Team
The repetition of curves and the symmetrical composition created by the mirror transform the architectural space into a geometric visual motif. The yellow lines and figures continue seamlessly across the mirror’s boundary, blurring the line between reality and reflection, exhibition and audience, and generating a complex, beautiful rhythm throughout the image.

We hope you enjoyed this feature.

Repetition in our surroundings, when viewed from a new perspective, can reveal landscapes imbued with order, fluctuation, and intricate rhythms. We hope this contest inspires you to notice the repetitions hidden in everyday life, broadening your creative vision. We look forward to your participation in the next contest.