The Technician Image Competition: A Closer Look with Jaye Ross
With the deadline for entries to the 2025 Technician Image Competition under one week away, I caught up with last year’s winner, Jaye Ross, to find out more about the winning images. Jaye is a recent biology graduate, but in 2024 she was working as a Research Technician Intern at the Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility (ECRF), based at the Western General Hospital.
Jaye Ross
Jaye first heard about the image competition after being asked to take some photographs around the lab during her internship. When her colleagues saw her photos, they suggested that Jaye might be interested in submitting entries to the competition. Their reasoning was that it would be more publicity for the lab, it’s great for awareness and they also thought that she might enjoy it.
Jaye’s first entry is entitled Unseen Technicians. It’s a picture of the sample processing lab at the ECRF, where Jaye completed her internship. The image depicts a typical-looking lab with benches and shelves of equipment, boxes, and bottles. What makes this photograph unique is the presence of transparent technicians filling the room, going about their work.
“But the big thing was, it was just kind of in this basement hidden away. And there was so much bustling activity and so much kind of change and moving about in a day. So I wanted to capture the whole day in a photo.”
The winning image of the 2024 Technician Image Competition by Jaye Ross
Jaye observed that although the lab was constantly busy with work throughout the day, it was tucked away in a basement, and the work was largely unseen by anyone except the staff. Jaye wanted to capture the full scope of that hidden activity in a single photo. What started as a plan to capture one day became multiple days, and Jaye ended up taking the photo from the same spot in the lab over the course of a week. She duct-taped the camera in place on a stand in the corner of the lab, and then had to coordinate with everyone who might come into contact with it to ensure it wasn’t moved.
Photos were taken every hour during the workday for a whole week, carefully balancing exposure levels. Jaye ended up with 60 photos, of which about 50 were used to construct the final image submitted to the competition.
“What I really wanted to show was just how much work goes on constantly, just hidden away in a basement.”
The photo captures how many technicians feel about their roles—hidden away in basements and labs, doing essential work that mostly goes unseen. It shows how busy and dynamic the technician role can be: a frame full of people making things happen.
Jaye’s second submission, entitled Technician Through The Looking Glass, was a direct contrast to the first image. The process for this photograph was more spontaneous. Jaye was working with another intern when she saw an opportunity for a beautifully framed shot. The black-and-white image shows a single technician in a lab coat, viewed through a glass door. This door is part of a box used by technicians at the ECRF to transfer samples from the sample processing lab to the genetic reading room.
“I also wanted to kind of capture the isolation of working alone in the lab, because at that point it was just him in there. And so it can be really, really busy, but you can also just be working by yourself for hours.”
Technician Through the Looking Glass, runner up of the 2024 Technician Image Competition by Jaye Ross
Both of Jaye’s images were awarded prizes: Technician Through The Looking Glass was awarded Runner-Up, and Unseen Technicians won the competition. The winning images were displayed at the Edinburgh College of Art Technician Showcase at the end of Technician Week 2024. Jaye happened to visit the gallery while they were setting up and placing their image into the runner-up space.
“So I thought I just won runner-up and I was chuffed with that because I wasn’t expecting it. And then I got the full email through and I was like, wait, I also won 1st place. So that was a shock. It was a nice surprise.”
Jaye’s advice for anyone thinking about entering this year, or in years to come, is to take more photos. Don’t be afraid to ask if you can bring your camera to work and take pictures. The worst someone can say is no.
“I’m not a photography student. I’m a biology student going into medicine. I was not expecting to win. It was great. Just take photos. And if you have an idea, try it. If it doesn’t work out the first time, try again.”
Jaye’s winning picture highlights why image competitions are so important for raising the visibility of technicians. It’s vital to have a visual representation of the work that technicians do, to illustrate the conversations taking place through the Technician Commitment.
“100%, because it’s all this work that you don’t see and you don’t think about unless you are a technician doing it. And I really think events like these, where you can take moments of that and bring it out into the public view, are important—to raise awareness of all technicians and the work they do.”
The Technician Steering Committee encourages all technicians and technical staff to enter an image into our annual competition to showcase what it means to be a technician. Winners will receive a voucher and certificate, and the winning images will be professionally printed and displayed at the Edinburgh College of Art Technician Showcase in September 2025.
“If you’re an intern, if you’re the manager of the lab—anyone can enter. Just because your title isn’t specifically ‘technician’, if you’re working in the technician field or area, you might as well try and enter. I was an intern, and I entered.”
More information:
- Deadline for entries: 18 July 2025, 5:00 PM
- Submit your image via our website
- Terms and conditions: Available on our SharePoint and website
- Past images: View on SharePoint for inspiration
- Questions? Contact: Technician.network@ed.ac.uk
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