Introduction
‘Stay a While’ is a global online photography contest hosted by cizucu and open to all creators registered with cizucu. By curating outstanding submissions, the contest aims to discover emerging talent through the platform and support creators as a community.
This edition’s theme was 〈Losing Track of Time〉.
Sometimes, before we know it, the sun has set; at other times, we find ourselves captivated by the beauty of a single moment.
There are moments when we become so deeply absorbed in something that we forget even the movement of the clock’s hands.
Perhaps this is because what unfolds before us envelops our senses, gently carrying us away from the bustle of everyday life.
Each of the submitted works vividly captured a profound and richly felt moment through the photographer’s distinctive perspective.
We are delighted to present the submissions and selected works.
Submissions
Photo by ゆ〜き
ゆ〜き
PLANET
In the silence, the light of the stars illuminates the way. I desperately wished the night would never end.
cizucu Editorial Team
Above a mountain range still touched by faint light, the majestic Milky Way rises as though piercing the night sky. Deep-green ridgelines, dreamlike gradations of cloud, and the seemingly infinite expanse of the cosmos create a contrast that holds the gaze. Confronted with a sublime scene that seems to reveal the very breath of the Earth, who could help but lose all sense of time?
Photo by PAPALIN
PAPALIN
📷 RICOH GR DIGITAL IV
cizucu Editorial Team
Beneath a blue sky, golden seed heads ripple in the wind. Through the grasses and foliage, swaying as though tracing the currents of air, a pale landscape appears in the distance. The scene carries a nostalgic warmth, evoking even the pleasant atmosphere and sound of the wind. By bringing an unassuming expression of nature into dialogue with the viewer’s own memories, the work gently draws the mind away from the haste of everyday life.
Photo by 김태욱
김태욱
📷 RICOH GR III HDF
cizucu Editorial Team
A vast firework stains the night sky red as people stand in the street, gazing upward. The sight of strangers—who would ordinarily hurry past one another—turning their eyes in the same direction is particularly striking. One can almost sense their breath and the charged atmosphere as they lose themselves in the spectacle above. This work captures a singular moment in which the clamor of daily life falls away and the heart surrenders entirely to the beauty before it.
Selected Works
Photo by reinm
reinm
cizucu Editorial Team
Dazzling light shimmers within a field of deep emerald green. It appears at once like the surface of water and like softly draped silk. The irregular lines of light, continually shifting and changing form, invite prolonged contemplation, as though dissolving the passage of time itself. Precisely because this abstract composition withholds a definitive outline, it gently loosens the viewer’s senses and draws them toward another world.
Photo by 김태욱
김태욱
📷 SONY α7C II
cizucu Editorial Team
A girl races barefoot along the water’s edge, her face alight with an irrepressible smile. Unconcerned with the modern cityscape and sweeping bridge in the distance, she is wholly absorbed in playing with the sea before her. The scene may suddenly awaken memories of childhood or inspire affection for such innocence. This work reminds us anew of the preciousness of becoming so immersed in something that time itself disappears.
In Closing
We hope you enjoyed the selected works.
The submissions gathered for this contest captured enthralling moments that could only have been encountered through each photographer’s individual perspective.
By preserving them as photographs, perhaps it becomes possible to summon not only the atmosphere of those moments but also the emotions they stirred. Each work, in turn, may gently capture the heart of its viewer.
We invite you to continue photographing the scenes and experiences in everyday life that make you lose all sense of time. We look forward to seeing you in the next photography contest!