Seymour Licht is a psychiatrist and fifth-generation photographer from Germany, now based in New York. His new book, Halloween Underground, features images he made every Halloween for 20 years of costumed revelers in the New York City subway system.

Maryam Saedpoor is an Iranian photographer. Her latest series of theatrically staged portraits explores the suffering and melancholy of women in Iranian society, following the historic protests over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022. This interview was translated by Maryam’s nephew Alireza Khaki.

The annual time of review also coincides fittingly with the season of contest entries. While some competitions, including the BarTur Photo Awards, are ready to announce their winners, others are just starting to accept submissions.