People nominee

Amongst the locals but forgotten, below the Tatra mountains of Slovakia and on the edges of Tirgu Mures, Romania, stewing sweet veggies with spicy peppers using long wooden spoons like witch brooms. Hand me down violins, American sports jerseys, and soccer balls. A village bathing in a single communal outdoor tub. The Roma: A people tucked away behind the last, white, cement, communist apartment building. Rough and tumble and giddy with life. I have 8 stitches on my forehead from a long ago fistfight with a pair of local Roma over a misunderstanding in a bar. I've chased a horse drawn caravan up a hill wondering where in the Carpathian mountains it is headed. Witnessed a burial where I could kick myself for running out of film. I've played soccer with Roma next to "The Pentagon" housing projects on the edge of Bratislava, Slovakia. It seems that deep in my blood I have nomadic tendencies. I use the camera both selfishly and to spread joy. I look forward to looking at my photographs as an old man, but I dread viewing all the different lives I could have lived.

Chicagoan of Czech Descent who is the Director and photographer of "I AM CHICAGO" which was written about in the New York Times, Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Reader. It is a Chicago neighborhood photography project. Portraits were taken in a mobile studio documenting 30 Chicago corners/neighborhoods spanning 2 years and all seasons.
Co-directed “CITIZEN HAVEL WORKS IN A BREWERY” (2009) with Jan Novak, a 74-minute documentary that was shown on Czech National television on the 20th anniversary of the Velvet revolution and watched by over a million viewers. “SHOT IN CHICAGO” (2017-Present) - www.shotinchicago.org a work in progress documentary depicting gun violence by interviewing its victims in Chicago. Director and Producer. Adam Novak is the owner of PRINTWORTHY -- a Chicago based printing business using wide format Canon IPF8400 printers to print museum quality photographs for all sorts of artists and photographers. Adam Novak enjoys playing Chess and has a rating over 2000 in blitz and is an avid hockey player.