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This week's chat is a little different. In celebration of her 9th Annual International Photography Competition, gallery owner Catriona Fraser will discuss four finalists in the running for the $500 Grand Prize. "I have a hard time critiquing work that is bad," says Fraser. "But if it's something that I think is good, then I can talk about it."

"Untitled No. 1" by Anita Licis-Ribak of Amherst, Mass.

Catriona Fraser: I just thought it was very sophisticated in the way that she had shot it, very interesting and clean. Initially, you don't know what that is when you're looking at it. I like things that you have to look at again to figure out. I think it would have worked as a black and white because then, you just would have had the shape and design. It just has a nice softness to it. It's very ethereal.

"Grass and Pond, Isle of Skye, Scotland" by Allen Russ of Silver Spring.

CF: That is just beautiful. I mean it's a very lovely, interesting landscape. He's obviously manipulated it, but I don't think about that. It's all about how successful the image is at the end. It's hard to get that color in nature. I like all of his work. That's the thing — when you find a photographer you really like, it's easy to pick all of their work. But then there's a photographer who submitted 14 images which all were rubbish, so I didn't pick any of them.

"Midnight Cirrus" by Shaun van Steyn of Falls Church

CF: You look at that and it has impact. Then I think it's a really unusual way of shooting a close-up of a flower. Because you see a lot of that all the time. I just thought he had done it in a unique way. It's got everything. It's got good composition and it's visually interesting.

"Exploding Rust Spot" by Michael Wilson of Hainesville, Ill.

CF: Really striking. Again, one of those things that you have to look at a few times. If it's not titled "Exploding Rust Spot," then what am I looking at? Is it a huge thing, or something that's very small? He was very happy that this was selected. I'm not looking at their resumes. I'm just picking their work based on their work.

Winners of the 9th Annual International Photography Competition will be announced Friday at a reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Fraser Gallery, 7700 Wisconsin Ave., Suite E, Bethesda. The exhibition runs through April 3. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 301-718-9651 or visit thefrasergallery.com. Read the entire story in the Scene Section of Wednesday's Gazette.