A photography competition that judges entries based on the images alone is akin to a blind audition for musicians.
Moshe Rosenzveig thinks leaving names off submissions is a more egalitarian approach that enables up-and-coming photographers to make their mark.
"The majority of portrait competitions are judged on the celebrity of the photographer or subject, meaning so many incredible works are not seen," the creative director and founder of Sydney's Head On Photo Festival said.
Years ago, Rosenzveig became frustrated with a now-defunct photographic competition run in conjunction with the Archibald Prize and decided to start his own festival and award.
"The idea at the beginning was really to give people a chance - not necessarily the famous, it just has to be good work," he said.
"So we get a lot of up-and-coming people who never thought of submitting to anything."
Images from more than 700 photographers from around the world are on display from Saturday at Bondi Beach and other locations in the city as the entries compete for $70,000 in prizes.
"The nice thing about this story is that they're very personal," Rosenzveig said, pointing to French-British photographer Chloe Sharrock's work, Of steel and dust, an intimate portrait study of the only two biker clubs in Iraq.
"There are very specific difficult stories that you really have to have access to these people," he said.
"Sometimes an exhibition shines light on a group of people most of us hardly ever think about."
This year, Alain Schroeder's image of a baby orangutan semi-conscious on an operating table took out the environmental category, while the portrait prize was won by David Cossini's colourful depiction of Ugandan man Godfrey Bagum.
An underwater garden "dreamscape" by ocean photographer Talia Greis came first in landscape, while Lucia St Leon won the student category for her moody image of a lighthouse at night.
Rosenzveig said well-established photographers still submitted their work, although he jokingly added that one - documentary photographer and artist Stephen Dupont - was eventually told he had to judge the prize instead of entering it.
The public are able to purchase prints of works exhibited as well as attend a series of talks on photography, with the public galleries running until December 3.
