Winners of All About Photo Awards, the Mind’s Eye, 2020
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The 5th Annual Mind’s Eye competition from All About Photo attracted submissions from all over the world. Even though a majority of the entries were color photographs, 4 out of the 5 top category winners are black and white and came from women. The Photographer of the Year 2020 was awarded to Monica Denevan (United States) for her image ‘Across the River, Burma’ from the series ‘Songs of the River: Portraits from Burma.’ She received a $ 5,000 cash prize.
A panel of 7 jurors selected the 40 winning and finalist images. Compared to previous years, they were more inclined to choose calming images compared to those depicting unsettling or violent situations. ‘Perhaps a subconscious need has arisen in each one of us to escape the terrible events that are happening in the world right now,’ reads the official press release.
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| In a field dominated by men, women received a majority of the top honors in this competition. Elena Paraskeva was recognized in the Particular Merit Mention category for her image ‘The Lost Swimmer.’ |
Winners will be showcased on the daily fine art photography site Lenscratch, art streaming platform Daylighted, All About Photo’s online gallery, and in the print edition of AAP Magazine. All About Photo hosts a variety of competitions, year round, that can be found on their ‘Photo Contests’ page.
1st Place Photographer of the Year: ‘Across the River, Burma’ by Monica Denevan (United States)
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Artist Statement: From the series ‘Songs of the River: Portraits from Burma.’
2nd Place Winner: ‘Florida’ by Gabriele Galimberti (Italy)
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Artist Statement: Avery Skipalis (33) – Tampa, Florida / THE AMERIGUNS – In the States there are more guns than people. ‘120.5 registered firearms for every 100 residents’ and the statistic doesn’t count ‘not-registers firearms.’ As a European, I started wondering if owning many weapons by a single person or family is a common habit in the US. I traveled across the US and created a series of 45 portrait of families or single individuals, including all races and beliefs, together with their firearms.
3rd Place Winner: ‘Philomena’ by Rebecca Moseman (United States)
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Artist Statement: A little Irish Traveler girl looks out of her family car before going home to her family’s Illegal encampment.
4th Place Winner: ‘Sustenance 4’ by Nadia De Lange (Switzerland)
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Artist Statement: Desert: ‘a waterless, desolate area of land with little or no vegetation, typically one covered with sand.’ And yet, there is life in the desert. More than most people realize. In the Namib this is thanks to the wonderful miracle of fog – the clouds that roll in from the Atlantic Ocean bring with them moisture that sustain the fauna and flora living in this beautiful, harsh landscape.
5th Place Winner: ‘Jump of the Wildebeest’ by Nicole Cambre (Belgium)
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Artist Statement: Annual migration of the wildebeest at Northern Serengeti, Tanzania. This wildebeest did not wait for its turn and jumped on top of the others.
Particular Merit Mention: ‘Polarbearpet’ by Marcel Van Balken (Netherlands)
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Artist Statement: Climate change, and the loss of sea ice habitat, is the greatest threat to polar bears. More and more polar bears are being forced ashore, away from their sea-ice hunting grounds. But it does not make sense to make your home (or bathroom) available as a haven for the polar bear. It’s better to spread awareness about the real and pressing threat of climate change.
Particular Merit Mention: ‘Untitled’ by Kosuke Kitajima (Japan)
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Artist Statement: A monkey entering a Japanese hot spring. Had various expressions like a person.
Particular Merit Mention: ‘Break Away’ by Tony Law (Australia)
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Artist Statement: A man falling off a bull in a rodeo event held in Taralga, Australia.
Particular Merit Mention: ‘Untitled’ by Yoni Blau (Israel)
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Artist Statement: This image was taken while on a trip to the Suri tribe in the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia.
The model was not dressed, simply recorded as is. No artificial lighting was used.
The picture was taken within a dark tent with the light coming in from the entrance of the tent.
Particular Merit Mention: ‘Woman Mursi’ by Svetlin Yosifov (Bulgaria)
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Artist Statement: The Mursi tribe are an African tribe from the isolated Omo valley in Southern Ethiopia near the border with Sudan.
Particular Merit Mention: ‘Eye Sea’ by Anuar Patjane (Mexico)
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Artist Statement: A school of Bigeye trevaly and divers at Cabo Pulmo National Park, Mexico.
Particular Merit Mention: ‘Beyond the Wall’ by Francesco Pace Rizzi (Italy)
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Artist Statement: Sometimes a shot cannot contain emotions, memories, moods…you need more … you have to ‘chisel’ the image to make that evolutionary-creative leap necessary to reach the right size.
This photo is intended as a small tribute to a great Master: Henri Cartier Bresson, the one who first knew how to show me the reality of ever with new eyes: more human, artistic, poetic. His photos taken between the 1950s and 1970s in Basilicata (my homeland) and around the world have changed the perspective of things in me, creating a fantastic ‘imprinting’ and becoming a source of great inspiration.
Particular Merit Mention: ‘Untitled’ by Chin Leong Teo (Japan)
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Artist Statement: The Wallace’s Flying Frog is a moss frog found in Malaysia and western Indonesia. It is generally quite photogenic given its large size, brilliant colors and calm temperament. This is a shot taken of a specimen swimming in water, with full extension of its beautiful long legs.
Particular Merit Mention: ‘Step by Step’ by Mustafa AbdulHadi (Bahrain)
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Artist Statement: Impression Lijiang is a cultural show which demonstrates the traditions and lifestyle of local Naxi, Yi, and Bai ethnics of the area. It is the second outdoor production of famous film director, Zhang Yimou, which debuts an open-air performance at the foot of Yulong Xueshan (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain) about 3,500 meters above sea level. The performance stage is specially designed to showcase the mountain as the best backdrop of the show. More than 500 local people from ten ethnic groups (participate).
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)