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Slideshow: 2020 World Press Photo contest winners

17 Apr

2020 World Press Photo contest winners

The World Press Photo Foundation recently announced the results of its 63rd annual World Press Photo Contest. World Press Photo of the Year, Story of the Year, plus winners across all 8 categories were included in Thursday evening’s announcement. Nearly 74,000 images were submitted by 4,282 photographers. 44 winners, 30 which are recognized for the first time, hail from 24 countries.

The jury, consisting of 17 professionals from 6 continents, selected ‘Straight Voice’ by Yasuyoshi Chiba (which was featured in our nominee coverage a few months back) as Photo of the Year. ‘This moment was the only peaceful group protest I encountered during my stay. I felt their undefeated solidarity like burning embers that remain to flare up again,’ says Chiba of his winning photo.

‘Kho, the Genesis of a Revolt’ by Romain Laurendeau, which documented the unease of Algerian youth that led to the biggest protest in decades, was selected as World Press Photo Story of the Year. ‘It was impossible for a part of me not to recognize myself in these young people. They are young but they are tired of this situation and they just want to live like everyone else,’ explains Laurendeau.

Elsewhere, fans of the Tiger King docuseries on Netflix will recognize Kevin Antle in Steve Winter’s ‘The Tiger Next Door’ image, which won Second Prize in the Contemporary Issues – Stories category. All digital storytelling contest winners can be viewed on the World Press Photo homepage.

Winning photographs and multimedia will be on display during year-long worldwide exhibition, which premieres every year in Amsterdam. The launch date has been postponed due to the current pandemic. Those interested in attending events can check in with the World Press Photo event calendar.

World Press Photo Story of the Year: ‘Kho, the Genesis of a Revolt’ by Romain Laurendeau (France)

Caption: Football fans gather in the street and sing during a match that is taking place behind closed doors due to violence, in Algiers, Algeria, on 22 November 2014.

Story: Young people make up more than half of Algeria’s population, and according to a UNESCO report 72% of people under 30 in Algeria are unemployed. Pivotal moments in Algerian history, such as the ‘Black October’ revolt of 1988, have had angry youth at their core. Black October was harshly suppressed—more than 500 people were killed in five days—and was followed by a ‘black decade’ of violence and unrest.

Thirty years on, the effects of that decade are still present. In a traumatized country, high unemployment leads to boredom and frustration in everyday life and many young people feel disassociated from the state and its institutions. In neglected working-class neighborhoods such as Bab el-Oued in Algiers, young people often seek refuge in diki—private places that are ‘bubbles of freedom’ away from the gaze of society and from conservative social values. But the sense of community and solidarity is often not enough to erase the trials of poor living conditions.

In February 2019, the United States of young people from working-class neighborhoods again took to the streets in what became a nationwide challenge to the reign of long-time president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Kho (the word means ‘brother’ in colloquial North-African Arabic) is about the genesis of a revolt. It is the story of the deep unease of youth, who, by daring to challenge authority, inspired the rest of the population to join their action, giving birth to the largest protest movement in Algeria in decades.

World Press Photo Story of the Year Nominee: ‘Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Crash Site’ by Mulugeta Ayene (Ethiopia)

Caption: Onlookers inspect debris at the crash site of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 11 March 2019.

Story: On 10 March, Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, a Boeing 737 MAX, disappeared from the radar six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa airport and crashed into a field, killing all 157 people on board. The impact was so great that both engines were buried in a crater 10 meters deep.

A week after the crash, empty coffins were buried at a ceremony at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, as victims were unable to be identified. Officials gave relatives bags of earth from the crash site. On 14 November, eight months after the crash, the site of the impact was covered and the unidentified remains of victims buried in rows of identical coffins.

Comparisons were made with the crash of a Lion Air aircraft, also a 737 MAX, 12 minutes after take-off from Jakarta in October 2018. Countries across the world, initially with the exception of the US, grounded the 737 MAX. First reports showed that pilots had been unable to prevent the plane repeatedly nosediving, despite following procedures recommended by Boeing.

It appeared that in both cases pilots were struggling to deal with an automated safety system designed to prevent stalling, which was repeatedly pushing the nose of the plane down. It seemed that the system was being activated, possibly due to a faulty sensor, even though nothing was wrong.

It later emerged that American Airlines pilots had confronted Boeing about potential safety issues with the MAX. Boeing had resisted their calls but promised a software fix, which had not been done by the time Flight ET302 crashed. Planes remained grounded into 2020.

Contemporary Issues – First Prize, Stories: ‘The Longest War’ by Lorenzo Tugnoli (Italy) for The Washington Post

Caption: An Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) anti-mine team detonate an improvised explosive device (IED) found on the Ghazni-Kandahar highway in eastern Afghanistan, on 2 December 2019. IEDs are one of the leading causes of casualties among civilians and members of the ANDSF.

Story: The Taliban made significant territorial gains and increased their influence in Afghanistan in 2019. Eighteen years after the US invasion, and five years since the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have been responsible for securing Afghanistan, the Taliban control or contest around half the country, in some districts acting as a shadow government.

Peace talks began in January appeared to be nearing agreement in August, but were scuppered by US president Donald Trump in September. Fighting escalated during talks as both sides tried to gain leverage, while on the ground the talks provided the Taliban with increasing political legitimacy. The frequency and spread of Taliban violence left the ANDSF overstretched and in some cases overwhelmed, with a high casualty rate.

The escalation of the conflict also severely impacted the civilian population, resulting in high casualties, forced displacement, extreme insecurity, lack of access to education and a weakened public health system. A report published in June 2019 by the Institute for Peace and Economics named Afghanistan as the world’s “least peaceful” country, replacing Syria, though by early 2020 it seemed that a peace agreement was once again a possibility.

Contemporary Issues – Second Prize, Stories: ‘The Tigers Next Door’ by Steve Winter (United States) for National Geographic

Caption: Kevin Antle poses with his staff in a swimming pool they use in a tiger show, at his Myrtle Beach Safari entertainment facility in South Carolina, United States, on 30 April 2019. Tourists pay upwards of USD $ 399 each to join a morning tour, during which they play and are photographed with cubs.

Story: Between 5,000 and 10,000 tigers live in captivity in the US. Roadside zoos and other businesses breed tigers and charge guests to pet and pose with them. Individuals also keep tigers as pets. By contrast, there are only 3,900 wild tigers in Asia and 1,659 in accredited zoos worldwide.

Many of America’s exotic pets are not covered by the 1973 Endangered Species Act, which applies only to those taken from the wild, not those bred in captivity. Four US states have no laws on keeping big cats as pets, and in ten others, although a permit is required, once secured for a small pet it can be used to acquire a larger animal such as a tiger.

By the time cubs bought as pets are four months old they become too large and dangerous to keep domestically, and are sold on, opening concerns that this feeds the highly lucrative illegal international trade in tiger parts. Investigations by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is tasked with enforcing the Animal Welfare Act, dropped by 92% between 2016 and 2018.

In June, the US House of Representatives reprimanded the USDA for redirecting its focus from active enforcement to providing ‘teachable moment’ interactions with the public. A federal Big Cat Public Safety Act has now been proposed. It will address the gap in state laws and prohibit the private ownership of big cats, and ensure that if they cannot be returned to the wild, they can be transferred to accredited sanctuaries.

Contemporary Issues – Third Prize, Stories: ‘Exodus’ by Nicolò Filippo Rosso (Italy)

Caption: Migrants crowd onto a truck near the Colombia-Venezuela border, in La Guajira, Colombia, on 6 July 2018.

Story: A political and socio-economic crisis in Venezuela, from 2016 onwards, led to an increasing outflow of migrants from the country. Venezuelans said they were compelled to leave for reasons of insecurity and violence, lack of access to food, medicine and essential services, and loss of income due to the political situation. Colombia feels the impact of this exodus most keenly.

According to the UNHCR, by October 2019 approximately 4.5 million Venezuelans had left the country, of which 1.6 million were in Colombia. Others had moved through Colombia before going on to surrounding countries. Even though Venezuela officially closed its land border with Colombia in February, around 300 clandestine crossing points remained active. More than half of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia lacked regular status, and so had no access to health, education or legal employment.

Charity organizations and NGOs helped supply people with medical attention and food, but many ended up in informal settlements or living on the streets. Early in 2020, the Colombian government announced two new Special Stay Permits that would allow more than 100,000 Venezuelans to stay and work in the country, and ruled that children born in the country to Venezuelan parents could acquire Colombian nationality, but vast numbers of people remain dispossessed.

Environment – Second Prize, Stories: ‘Fading Flamingos’ by Maximilian Mann (Germany)

Caption: Farmers harvest apples near Lake Urmia, Iran, on 14 September 2018. The region is known for its apple production.

Story: Lake Urmia, in northwest Iran, once one of the largest salt lakes in the world, is drying up. In the 1990s, it was twice the size of Luxembourg, but intensified droughts and elevated summer temperatures have sped up evaporation. In addition, illegal wells together with a proliferation of dams and irrigation projects along the lake’s tributaries have diverted water to farm fields.

Research by an international group of scientists conducted in 2014 showed that the lake had shrunk to about 12% of its size in the 1970s. In addition, environmentalists argue that a 15-kilometer-long causeway that cuts the lake in two, built in 2008, contributes to the drying as it inhibits water flow between the two sides.

The exposed lakebed forms a vast salt desert that cannot support agriculture and is susceptible to salt storms which adversely affect surrounding agriculture, and cause eye, skin and lung disorders. Residents in the area, for whom the lake was once a leisure spot, are moving away. The desiccation also affects food sources for migratory birds such as flamingos, ducks and egrets.

President Hassan Rouhani of Iran has pledged US$ 5 billion over ten years to revive Urmia, and the United Nations Development Programme is working with farmers to introduce more sustainable working practices.

General News – Second Prize, Stories: ‘Chile: The Rebellion Against Neoliberalism’ by Fabio Bucciarelli (Italy) for L’Espresso

Caption: Demonstrators resist water-cannon jets during clashes in Santiago, Chile, on 28 November 2019.

Story: In the most extensive civil unrest in Chile’s recent history, people rose throughout the year in protest against economic inequality. Despite being one of the region’s most prosperous nations, Chile is the most unequal country in the OECD group of nations, according to a United Nations report. Just 1% of its population controls 33% of its wealth.

The trigger for the unrest was an increase in subway fares instigated by President Sebastián Piñera on 18 October. A peaceful rally in the capital Santiago sparked further protests leading to a nationwide uprising. Demands grew to include comprehensive economic reform and the replacement of the constitution, which was drawn up during the reign of Augusto Pinochet in the 1980s and which created a legal basis for a market-driven economy and privatized pensions, health and education.

Demonstrations grew in size—the largest comprising more than one million people on 25 October—and became increasingly violent. According to Human Rights Watch, the authorities used excessive force against demonstrators, including pellet shotguns that caused numerous eye injuries, and were accused of abuse, including rape, of people in detention.

Women played a prominent role in the demonstrations, particularly after reports of human-rights and sexual offenses against female protesters by security forces. On 15 November President Piñera announced a referendum on a new constitution to be held in 2020, but unrest continued with demands for an inquiry into human rights violations during the protests and an immediate overhaul of the pension, health and education systems.

General News – Third Prize, Stories: ‘ISIS and its Aftermath in Syria’ by Ivor Prickett (Ireland) for The New York Times

Caption: Two men walk through a destroyed neighborhood in Raqqa, northern Syria, on 4 April 2019. Very few families returned to live in Raqqa after the city’s liberation from IS.

Story: By early 2019, the territory held by the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria had reduced to a four-square-kilometer patch in the southeast, centered on the village of Baghuz. The IS retreat from northern Syria took place under the onslaught of the combined militias of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and supported by an international coalition of primarily US troops.

As IS drew back, tens of thousands of people emerged from the enclave, many of them the wives and children of foreign IS fighters. Numerous IS fighters themselves surrendered or were captured. The Kurds were left with the conundrum of what to do with so many prisoners, many of them under 18 and orphaned or separated from their families. Then, at the beginning of October, US president Donald Trump ordered US troops out of northern Syria.

On 9 October, Turkey—which regarded Kurdish forces on its border as a security threat, given the decades-long Kurdish insurgency against Turkey—invaded northern Syria, aiming to end Kurdish control over the territory. As Kurdish forces refocused their attention on a new opponent, the fate of the many thousands of prisoners grew even more uncertain.

Long-term Projects, Second Prize: ‘Haf?z: Guardians of the Qur’an’ by Sabiha Çimen (Turkey)

Caption: Students sing religious farewell songs, at their graduation ceremony from a Qur’an school in Istanbul, Turkey, on 23 April 2017.

Story: Muslims who completely memorize the Qur’an are allowed to use the title ‘Haf?z’ before their names. They believe that whoever memorizes the holy book and follows its teachings will be rewarded by Allah and will rise in status in Paradise.

The practice dates back to the days when illiteracy was widespread and paper and vellum were prohibitively expensive, so haf?zes were seen as guardians of the holy word, keeping it alive for future generations. The Qur’an has 6,236 verses, and memorizing is usually achieved by repetition and recitation.

In Turkey, thousands of Qur’an schools exist for the purpose and many are attended by girls. Ranging in age from eight to 17 years old, most take three or four years to complete a task that requires discipline, devotion and focus. After graduating, most of these girls marry and have families but still retain the holy text word for word.

The photographer attended a Qur’an school with her twin sister when they were 12, and so is able to reveal a world unknown to many. Her project follows the daily lives of boarders at Qur’an schools and shows not only their emotions as they try to memorize the sacred texts, but how they retain the dreams of young women their age, as well as the rule-breaking practices and fun of school life when they are not studying.

Nature – Second Prize, Stories: ‘Pangolins in Crisis’ by Brent Stirton (South Africa) for National Geographic

Caption: A man reaches for a pangolin that is about to be slaughtered and prepared for a meal in a restaurant on the outskirts of Guangzhou, China, on 4 January 2019. Pangolin meat at the restaurant sells for around US $ 376 per kilogram.

Story: Pangolins are scaly-skinned mammals, and while sometimes mistaken for reptiles, they are more closely related to dogs and bears than anteaters or armadillos. They range through Asia and parts of Africa, and vary from the size of a domestic cat to over a meter long. They are solitary animals, meeting only to mate and produce a litter of one to three offspring, which are raised for around two years.

Pangolin scales are highly prized in some parts of Asia for traditional medicine, and the meat is considered a delicacy. A 2017 report by Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network, states that pangolins are currently the most illegally traded animals in the world, with at least one million estimated to have been poached in the last ten years. All eight pangolin species are protected under national and international laws, and two are officially listed as critically endangered.

Portraits – Second Prize, Stories: ‘Between Right and Shame’ by Tatsiana Tkachova (Belarus)

Caption: Natalia (62) was pregnant at the time of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Although the baby was born healthy, she didn’t dare risk another pregnancy as she feared the effects of radiation. She also felt she could not cope with two children, so had an abortion the second time she conceived. Taken 22 April, 2018.

Story: Belarus abortion laws allow termination on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, and in certain medical or social circumstances up to 28 weeks, which places them among the most liberal in Europe. Nevertheless, abortion is still a taboo for many women, and many are reluctant to admit they have had a termination. ‘No abortion week’ campaigns are held annually, and the decision to have a termination is often accompanied by a sense of shame.

In this project, Belarusian women who have considered or undergone abortion tell their stories. The women had a range of concerns behind their decisions surrounding abortion—from contamination after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to fear of poverty, not wanting to be a single parent, or a background of sexual abuse. As their decisions were often made with difficulty, in this story they did not want to show their faces and their names have been changed.

Sports – Second Prize, Stories: ‘The Gouandé Gazelles’ by Olivier Papegnies (Belgium)

Caption: Bélassé Tchari (left), in Gouandé, Benin, gets up every morning to work in her field to feed her seven children. She works hard to put Virginie and her two sisters through secondary school and encourages their footballing ambitions. Taken 21 February, 2019.

Story: The Gazelles de Gouandé from Gouandé village in northern Benin is one of 16 football teams set up across the country with the aim of giving young women more control over their futures through sport. The project, established by the Plan International organization, aims to empower women by promoting self-confidence, widening educational opportunities, and through advocacy against early marriage.

Following the 2019 Women’s World Cup, there was an international surge of interest in women’s football, and projects like the one in Benin can be seen as part of a wider view of the power of sport to unify and spread social awareness. In January 2019, Benin hosted a delegation from FIFA, football’s international governing body, aimed at supporting a new sports strategy in schools, and Beninese president Patrice Talon announced plans for four new football schools, including one for women.

Spot News – Second Prize, Singles: ‘Nairobi DusitD2 Hotel Attack’ by Dai Kurokawa (Japan)

Caption: Women are evacuated as security forces look out for perpetrators of an attack on the DusitD2 luxury hotel and business compound, in Nairobi, Kenya, on 15 January 2019.

Story: Five attackers threw bombs at vehicles in the parking area before entering the hotel lobby, where one staged a suicide bombing. At least 700 people were evacuated from the complex, with 21 killed and 28 wounded. The Somalia-based Islamist extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, releasing a statement that called it a response to US president Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The DusitD2 complex houses a number of international companies, and is frequented by government officials and foreign visitors, making it a target that would draw media attention. The attack and subsequent security operation lasted 20 hours, and ended with all five attackers being killed.

Spot News – Second Prize, Stories: ‘Australia’s Bushfire Crisis’ by Matthew Abbott (Australia) for The New York Times

Caption: Aluminum, which melts at 660.3ºC, has streamed from a burning car in Conjola Park, a town where bushfires razed more than 89 properties, in New South Wales, Australia, on 31 December 2019.

Story: The annual fire season in Australia began early and was exceptionally severe—following months of record-breaking drought and fanned by strong winds. Far stronger wildfires than usual, mostly battled by volunteer firefighters, raged through New South Wales and Victoria as well as areas in South Australia and Queensland, laying waste to bushland and rainforest and destroying homes.

By the end of January 2020, more than 30 people had been killed, 3,000 homes lost, and around 12.6 million hectares of land burned (nearly three times the size of the Netherlands). Wildlife was harshly hit. Local scientists estimated that up to one billion animals perished, and more than 50% of the Gondwana rainforest traversing New South Wales and Queensland was burned.

In December, while the intensity and speed at which many bushfires were spreading increased, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison went on holiday to Hawaii, and was prompted to return only after the death of two volunteer firefighters. He continued to champion a pro-fossil-fuel policy and held back from linking the fires to the climate crisis.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: PDNedu Student Photo Contest 2020 winners and finalists

10 Apr

PDNedu Student Photo Contest 2020 winners and finalists

The annual PDNedu Student Photo contest gives professional exposure to students currently enrolled in university/college, high school, or a certificate program. This year’s winners and honorable mentions will be published in the Spring 2020 issue of PDNedu – a publication that reaches over 50,000 educators and students. Images and multimedia will also be featured on PDN’s social accounts that boast over 500,000 followers.

Nikon is the main sponsor for the contest that awards the best student images across 7 categories: Fashion & Portraiture, Documentary, Still Life, Travel & Landscape, Fine Art & Personal Work, Multimedia & Video, and High School (Any Subject). Academy of Art student, and third-generation photographer Pratik Parulekar, won both the Grand Prize and Honorable Mention in the Still Life Category.

Grand Prize winners will receive the latest Nikon gear and lenses. Multimedia Grand Prize winner, Zuzanna Rabikowska, will also receive $ 1,500 cash. Other contests, plus conferences, can be viewed here.

Grand Prize, Documentary & Photojournalism: ‘Faith, Custom, Home’ by Arne Piepke

Artist Statement: Every year, from May to September, marksmen’s festivals are held in the Sauerland in Germany. The three-day festivals consist of Marches through villages, church processions, as well as dances and honors. The highlight of each festival is a shooting competition to determine the new annual King.

The origin of these marksmen’s clubs goes back to the civil defense in the Middle Ages and their motto, ‘for faith, custom and home,’ is still written on their flags today. With few exceptions, most of these clubs and brotherhoods have strict rules, do not allow women as members and represent conservative Christian values. The citizens of small villages in Germany have a strong sense of community and a deep attachment to their home, which is shaped mainly by cultivating this tradition and their regional customs.

Growing up in one of these small villages and visiting the local marksmen’s festivals from childhood on has led me to reflect on my personal experiences with this tradition. From 2015 on, I visited 31 festivals in order to use photography to question the contemporary exercise of the tradition and to examine the theatre like procedure of the fest.

Grand Prize, Fashion & Portraiture: ‘Untitled’ by Angel Chai Arviv

Artist Statement: I was born in 1989, in Pardes Hana in the north of Israel. Today I am based in Tel Aviv. I love it here; this place keeps me grounded. I’m into photography since early years and it’s been a long journey which started with taking simple sketches of everyday life and continued with fashion projects.

I’ve tried many genres – from documentary photography to product or travel photography. Finally I found myself in fashion photography where my passions for photographing ‘real people,’ and for storytelling and aesthetics, became the most inspiring combination. Today I am in the last year of my degree at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, and I aspire to be a professional photographer.

In my work I remember all the time that everyone is important, and everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame. It doesn’t matter if the subject is a model or not, everyone wants to be remembered. When the subjects are looking at you in my photographs, I think you can see yourself in them.

Many times I find myself questioning photographic norms, whether or not it’s
acceptable to talk about the concept of masculinity in our time, and pushing boundaries. My work continues to document the perception of the human body as a machine of passion and sculpture in human matter.

Honorable Mention, Fashion & Portraiture: ‘Under the Veil’ by Ney Mila

Artist statement: Fashion photo shoots I created and directed in 2019.

Honorable Mention, Fashion & Portraiture: ‘Under the Veil’ by Ney Mila

Artist statement: Fashion photo shoots I created and directed in 2019.

Grand Prize, Fine Art & Personal Work: ‘#Metoo’ by Carol Record

Artist Statement: The #MeToo movement, which went viral in October 2017, prompted me to reexamine and reprocess my own personal history with sexual assault and harassment.

From 1996 to 1998, between the ages of 13 and 15, I was raped and manipulated by my stepfather, a man I had grown to love and trust like my own father. This series revisits family photographs from this time period, documenting my turbulent state of mind and expressing what I was unable to fully process in the moment. Through the addition and subtraction of various elements, the images reveal the extent of the trauma and begin to more accurately illustrate my life and psyche during this chaotic nightmare.

Working both digitally and physically allows me to create layers of separation and an emotional buffer between myself and the memories. Using the laptopogram process, family photos, legal documents and diary entries were scanned, digitally manipulated, and then exposed to silver gelatin paper via a laptop monitor in the darkroom. The resulting images were then developed and rescanned to create new images that could not have been made through digital means alone.

This workflow allows me to both mentally and physically process my thoughts, exorcising the demons from my past by physically channeling long-held feelings of anger, grief and frustration into the development of the image. The solitude and focus during the practice allow me to reflect upon this turbulent period of my life now that I am no longer inside it.

Honorable Mention, Fine Art & Personal Work: ‘Untangle’ by Sadie Cook

Artist Statement: I want to hold onto my body. I want to understand all its sides and parts. I’m just starting to understand how tangled up desire and photography and power and gender are. Figuring out how to negotiate this tangle, especially as a young, queer girl, feels urgent and exciting and frightening. I take pictures incessantly. I photograph the women around me and the act of touch and myself.

I think about language a lot. I want looking at my photographs to feel like when an acquaintance stops me on the street to say hi and ask how I am doing, and I take a deep breath and I say everything I?m really feeling and thinking with all the stammers and stutters and half-said sentences.

Grand Prize, High School (Any Subject): ‘Above the Rim’ by Losany Doumbouya

About this photo: From a teacher submitting on behalf of Losany Doumbouya, a junior at Ypsilanti Community High School: ‘This photo represents the stereotype that athletics, specifically basketball, are the only way for African American students to get ahead. The idea was Losany’s as well as the composition and camera settings, while his classmate, Jessie Jones, took the photo so Losany himself could be in it.’

Honorable Mention, High School (Any Subject): ‘BW Surf’ by Jack Bober

Artist Statement: My idea behind this series was to create a unique view of surf and waves. By making them black and white, it adds a certain mood that adds solitude and feeling to the ocean.

Grand Prize, Still Life: ‘How Many’ by Pratik Parulekar

Artist Statement: A photographic solution to a curious question.

Honorable Mention, Still Life: ‘Monochromatic Food’ by Pratik Parulekar

Artist Statement: A self-promotion project about Japanese food in the contexts of design, color and minimalism.

Grand Prize, Travel & Landscape: ‘Vacated Vacation’ by Itamar Dotan Katz

Artist Statement: Whether it was caused by the wave of terror attacks (2004), the Tahrir Square uprising (2011), or various economic considerations, this once-promising tourist area has turned into a graveyard of hotels. These enormous monuments have been abandoned and now stand as silent memorials to what might have been.

The South-side of the Sinai peninsula is beautiful, unlike any other landscape, as unique and as barren as Luke Skywalker’s home planet. Its dramatic red mountains tumble down into a turquoise ocean, which is filled with colorful aquatic life. Scattered on the beach are some very low-cost guest houses in the form of straw huts. Only a handful are occupied by those “brave” enough to visit Sinai.

The land itself is inhabited mostly by Bedouin tribes and the Egyptian army. But what looks like a heavenly resort area is almost completely deserted, filled only with traces of humans. Some of those resorts are in a fully operational state, with beds in the rooms and running water in the sink; others are in different stages of construction—but all are empty.

Over the past three years I have been documenting these resorts to show the wastefulness of men, the consequences of conflict and economy, and how present humans can be without being present at all. This is an ongoing project and the aim is to present it as a mock ‘travel guide to abandoned hotels.’

Honorable Mention, Travel & Landscape: ‘A Salted Land’ by Beihua Guo

Artist Statement: ‘A Salted Land’ explores the escalating environmental disasters triggered by human activities at the Salton Sea. Located in Southern California, the Salton Sea was accidentally created by engineering failures and was once a popular tourist destination. However, agricultural runoff and other pollutants resulted in fish and bird die-offs as well as rapidly increasing salinity, destroying homes and resorts.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Photos: SkyPixel 5th anniversary aerial imagery contest winners

23 Mar

SkyPixel 5th anniversary contest winners

SkyPixel, in partnership with DJI, Nikon, SanDisk, and Western Digital Corp, launched its 5th Anniversary Aerial Photo & Video contest on December 3rd. Entries closed on February 3rd and the results were announced earlier this week. The 56 category winners and finalists were awarded prize packages worth over $ 117,000. Since launching in 2014, the SkyPixel platform has attracted over 18 million aerial photographers and content creators from 140 countries.

‘I feel really grateful to be chosen as part of the winning crew of talented people who entered the SkyPixel contest. Taking first place in Sport was totally unexpected. I knew I had a good image but also understood I was going up against thousands of talented people in the community,’ Andy Leclerc, First Prize winner, tells DPReview.

‘The emotion and drama captured in this image (is) very powerful. Fantastic composition and post production,’ says judge Chris McLennan about the Grand Prize-winning image from Tony Wang.

Nominees are currently featured on the recommended photographers section, an area that receives over one million page views according to SkyPixel. They’ll also be considered for the role of DJI Creator. Winning photographs and videos will be showcased at DJI Flagship stores around the globe this Spring. To view all selected photos and videos, visit the SkyPixel 5th Anniversary Aerial Photo & Video Contest page.

Grand Prize: ‘Top of Java’ by Tony Wang (China)

About this photo: ‘Indonesia has the reputation of a volcanic country. Among the more than 400 volcanoes, 129 are active volcanoes. At 2 am, my team and I drove to the most unique viewing platform of Mount Bromo National Park. After shooting the Milky Way volcano, the sky gradually brightened. I decided to use the perspective of a DJI drone to overlook the sunrise of this volcanic park.

When the first rays of sunrise hit the volcano, there was nothing more beautiful than this moment. In the future, Mount Bromo in the foreground has been active for a long time, while the prospect of Mount Semeru is not always in an eruption state, and this picture of the eruption was fortunately captured by DJI.’

Gear and specs: Not available

First Prize: ‘EdgeRider’ by Andy Leclerc (US)

About this photo: ‘I captured my image “Edge Rider” with a Mavic 2 Pro. This particular photo was tricky to plan and execute, I had to get the sun position just right and have his shadow cast the perfect riding position. I used the PhotoPills app to plan for the sun’s position and the burst mode in my camera settings to be able to capture the “WOW” moment. It took 256 attempts to get it right but the results paid off,’ Leclerc reveals to DPReview.

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F5.7, 1/500s, ISO 100

First Prize: ‘The Epic Moment’ by Vincent Chen (Zambia)

About this photo: ‘I took this special selfie with Mavic 2 pro in Dolomites National Park, Italy. The setting sun hit at the peaks and clouds at sunset, it was really epic moment, I then used the pano mode to take the amazing whole scene.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F5, 1/500s, ISO 100

Second Prize: ‘Xiyun Buyun Pavilion’ by Yisan Xiao (China)

About this photo: ‘This is an aerial perspective of Xiyun Wetland Buyun Pavilion in the morning mist.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F5, 1/400s, ISO 100

Second Prize: ‘Family’ by Ben Mack (Australia)

About this photo: ‘A sight to see on Australia’s East coast. A mother whale with her newborn enjoying their migration South.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F3.6, 1/200s, ISO 100

Third Prize: ‘Aiken Spring’s Undead’ by Dreamland (China)

About this photo: ‘Aiken Spring is located on the vast ground at the foot of the Snow Mountain, with a wide horizon. Viewed from the air, various beautiful pictures have been formed around the eyes of the spring due to the long-term sulfur precipitation. Because there is no comprehensive detailed and reliable survey of Aiken Springs to date, this geological wonder has been cast a mystery.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F6, 1/240s, ISO 100

Third Prize: ‘Margaret River Surfing’ by Shaneri (Australia)

About this photo: ‘Margaret River, in Australia, is renowned for wine and the big winter swells that hit the coastline. This shot was captured last Winter.’

Gear and specs: DJI Phantom 4 Advanced, F5, 1/1000s, ISO 100

5th Anniversary Prize: ‘The Beauty of Greenland from Above’ by Albert (Netherlands)

About this photo: ‘Greenland is a truly magical place. We explored this place with our little red sail boats that made great contrast with the white and blue ice chunks everywhere. By using a drone I am able to show the immense size of of these ice bergs compared to our boats. At some point you forget that they’re pieces of ice. I used to just call them mountains.

It’s incredible to fly your drone above these giants. But Greenland’s atmosphere is incredible in general. The midnight sun colors lasting all night and casting their beautiful light on the ice and water. And not to mention the whales that I saw everyday. I enjoyed watching them play right from the coastline of Ilulissat.

You only realize how beautiful this place is when you’re actually there. There’s something magic about the whole atmosphere. It’s a place we should really cherish in the future and that will hopefully not lose its magic because of global warming.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F3.4, 1/100s, ISO 100

5th Anniversary Prize: ‘Populus Euphratica’ by Wang Hanbing (China)

About this photo: ‘In Western China, there is an ancient tree that condenses the heavens and the earth, crosses the ancient floods, stands proudly in the desert Gobi, and interprets the meaning of survival in a brilliant way. With the body of the cricket, it forms an eternal landscape and an eternal statue. It is Populus euphratica in the desert!

Populus euphratica, a hero tree in the desert, is not afraid of the sand and the heat with a tenacious character, a tenacious body, a stubborn destiny, a persistent spirit, and guarding his homeland, he has constructed the eternal theme of Populus euphratica and life; it With tenacious life and indomitable will, compose a song of life.’

Gear and specs: DJI Mavic 2 Pro, F6, 1/60s, ISO 100

Nominated Entry: ‘Coexistence’ by Dipanjan Pal (India)


About this photo: Captured in Iceland, ’it’s wonderful to see how nature and human can coexist together to create beauty, if we change our perspective a little.’

Gear and specs: Not available

Nominated Entry: ‘Autumn Memories’ by Yamaguchi

About this photo: ‘Located in the “Red Steel City” of Qingshan District, Wuhan, there are a number of staff quarters built by WISCO Group in the 50th century. They are all brick-concrete red roof tiles. The layout is regular and the floors are the same. “Double Happiness” has become a permanent memory of the older generation of WISCO.’

Gear and specs: Phantom 4 Pro, F5, 1/60s, ISO 100

Nominated Entry: ‘Boat Carrying Flowers’ by Tu?n Nguy?n (Vietnam)

About this photo: ‘The monk carried a flower boat in the river, flower pots are transported to the temple to decorate for Tet holidays, the shadow of the cloud shining on the river feels like a boat going in the clouds. I took this picture in Thap Muoi wetland, Vietnam.’

Gear and specs: Mavic 2 Pro, F5, 1/30s, ISO 100

People’s Choice Prize: ‘”Circle” Dream Guangzhou’ by Garrett Liu (China)

About this photo: ‘A night shot of the Guangzhou Yuan Building in China.’

Gear and specs: Mavic 2 Pro, F5, 1/8s, ISO 100

People’s Choice Prize: ‘Walls of Gold’ by Joe Orsi (US)

About this photo: ‘Here is Hohenzollern Castle during the golden hour.’

Gear and specs: Mavic 2 Pro, F4, 1/120s, ISO 100

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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World Press Photo cancels 2020 Photo Contest award show, festival due to COVID-19 concerns

13 Mar

The World Press Photo Foundation has announced it is canceling its awards show and festival, originally planned to take place in Amsterdam from April 16–18, due to COVID-19 (the coronavirus).

The decision comes after following the assessments of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and coming to the conclusion that World Press Photo ‘can not hold events where international guests are invited to join local participants in a mass gathering.’ Due to ‘on-going uncertainty about the scale of the COVID-19 virus,’ World Press Photo has decided to altogether cancel the event rather than postpone it until later in the year.

Despite the two events being cancelled, the show will go on. The winners of the 2020 Photo Contest and the 2020 Digital Storytelling Contest will still be announced on April 16, 2020, and shared online for the world to view. The nominees will also continue to be shown as part of World Press Photo’s worldwide exhibition tour, with the next exhibition set for a showing at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam on April 18, 2020.

To see the nominees for the 2020 World Press Photo awards, visit our previous gallery.

Email:

World Press Photo Foundation cancels the Awards Show and Festival because of COVID-19

We have decided, after intense deliberations, that the global situation surrounding the COVID-19 virus, requires us to cancel the World Press Photo Awards Show 2020 and the World Press Photo Festival 2020, due to be held in Amsterdam on 16-18 April.

We are devastated that we will not be holding two of our major events that honor and showcase this year’s contest winners in person. Both events have become pivotal occasions for the visual journalism community to come together and we are all going to miss this moment.

We were well advanced with the planning for these events and to bring that to a stop is not an easy decision. Combined with the on-going uncertainty about the scale of the COVID-19 virus, this means it is not possible for us to postpone the events until later in the year.

However, the safety of our community, staff and society outweighs all other considerations.

We have been following the assessments of trustworthy sources such as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and they report that in the coming weeks there is a moderate to high risk of more countries reporting more cases and clusters. ‘Social distancing’ is the way the risk of the COVID-19 virus is being managed, and we have concluded we can not hold events where international guests are invited to join local participants in a mass gathering.

The winners of the 2020 Photo Contest and the 2020 Digital Storytelling Contest – including the winner of the World Press Photo of the Year and the three other major awards – will be announced on the evening of 16 April 2020 (under embargo until 22:00 CET) and presented to our global audience through a wide range of online and media channels.

We will be working hard to give those winners the recognition they deserve. The nominees for those awards can be seen now at worldpressphoto.org, the worldwide exhibition tour continues, and we are also looking forward to finding new ways of fulfilling our mission: connecting the world to the stories that matter.

Important dates

  • 16 April 2020 22:00 CET: 2020 Contests winners announced
  • 18 April 2020: World Press Photo Exhibition 2020 starts its worldwide tour at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. See all confirmed exhibition locations at worldpressphoto.org/calendar. More locations are added regularly.

Connecting the world to the stories that matter.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced

21 Feb

The post Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced

The Winners of the Tamron 100-400mm (model A035) in winner’s choice of Canon or Nikon mount, and a Tamron SP 35mm (model F012) in winner’s choice of Canon or Nikon mount are…

A HUGE Thank You to everyone who entered our recent contest from our friends at Tamron.

Yet again, the response was AMAZING with thousands of shares and over 500 entries! But now…onto the winners! Drum roll please, and the winners are:

Grand Prize

Image: Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD

Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD

The grand prize winner is:

Laurel H.

Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD Ultra Telephoto Zoom Lens – Value $ 799.

Winner’s choice of Canon or Nikon mount.

 

Second Prize

Image: Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD

Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD

Second Prize Winner is:

Mitzi H.

Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD SP Series 35mm lens produces stunning high-resolution quality across a wide range of focusing distances – Value $ 599. Winner’s choice of Canon or Nikon mount.

 

We were all thrilled with the entries! You tugged at our heartstrings, made us laugh, and made us smile. But most importantly, you made us keep wanting to do more of what we are doing – providing you quality information and guidance to become a better photographer.

We were so pleased to see that you came from every part of the world – young adults to grandparents, and everyone in between. Thank you all for your entries!

Winner’s entries

Here are the posts from the winners of the Tamron 100-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD, and Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD, respectively.

Laurel

Wow! What a great lens! I would love to win a new lens like this. Over the past ten years, as my skills have greatly improved, I have upgraded my DSLR three times. I need to replace my aging 50-500 telezoom with a faster, more responsive AF lens with vibration compensation. Sadly, at this time, I cannot afford it. My passion and dedicated hobby is bird photography in all seasons. I love sharing the bird photos with my homebound parent and with others.

Should I win the A035 lens, it would be a dedicated lens for bird and wildlife photography. The challenge of shooting birds, who are mostly never quite still to flight shots of raptors and hawks, requires a rapidly focusing lens to clearly focus on the bird’s rapid wing movements of the tiniest hummingbirds to the largest raptors. I have reviewed the specs of the A035, and these are the strong selling points that stand out to me: highly responsive AF, APSC format for Nikon, handheld ability, moisture resistance with leak-proof seals throughout the whole lens barrel, the eband for reducing glare and ghosting, minimum distance of 1.5m, smoother background blurring, the USB connection to update lens firmware (never had that before on a lens), f stop of 4.5-6.3, the fluorine coating on lens. I also like the detachable mount for tripod, as I do use one from time to time. I am extremely impressed by this lens’ capabilities, which far exceeds my current telezoom lens. Thank you for reading my entry.

Mitzi

After a hiatus of many years, I am re-engaging in digital photography. Going through two major life transitions has pulled me back to my camera: I got sober in early 2016 and entered long-term alcohol recovery, and my Dad, an avid photographer for his whole life, developed ALS/MND in late 2016 and died in mid-2017 after a terrifyingly fast progression.

Something about these events made me want to get behind the lens again. The combination of the technical and creative aspects of photography helps with recovery (substance, as well as trauma/grief) by giving my brain something new and demanding to do, and the process makes me feel closer to my Dad.

Having a fast 35mm prime for my full-frame DSLR is a dream of mine. Travel and street photography are highest on my list of interests, and the ability to give context even to close shots would be fantastic. In this new stage of shooting, I find that I want to get close to my subjects more often than not (a change from my earlier days, when I loved to zoom), and the close focus distance would be brilliant for that. As well, my family has started a new tradition of traveling together at Christmas, and it would be so rewarding to have this lens to capture our memories for Christmas 2020. Finally, this is a new focal length for me and one that would spark new development/learning — which, as noted, I’ve discovered to be excellent therapy.

Thank you for running this contest and letting me tell these parts of my story.

Special offer for dPS readers

Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced

Now, for those of you that didn’t win, Tamron has invited ALL dPS readers to take advantage of their Tips and More section. You can find them here.

The winners will be emailed with details of how to collect their prizes. Please make sure to look for our email.

Thank you again for all the wonderful submissions and to Tamron for sponsoring this competition.

Tamron Rebates

For all of you residing in the USA, when you do purchase your next Tamron Lens, make sure to take advantage of the rebates* up to $ 200 off through March 1, 2020. Find additional information HERE!  

 

*Current rebate offers end March 1, 2020. US RESIDENTS ONLY.

Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced

About Tamron   

 

Disclaimer: Tamron is a paid partner of dPS.

 

 

The post Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.


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Slideshow: Agora’s #Urban2020 photo contest winner and finalists

15 Jan

Agora’s #Urban2020 photo contest winner and finalists

Agora, a free-to-use mobile app, hosts weekly competitions with cash prizes based on different themes. They just announced the winner of their #Urban2020 photo contest. 50 of the top entries were judged by Roc Isern, a Barcelona-based architectural photographer. Darren Reichel (@dlr on Agora), from Australia, was selected as the winner for his image of Brisbane’s Inner City Bypass freeway interchange. It was taken with a DJI Mavic 2 Pro at dusk in March 2019.

“I chose @drl’s photo in first place for its futuristic look with his incredible road junction in the foreground and the downtown in the background. The light, colors and contrast are just gorgeous,” said Isern about his selection. Read more about Reichel’s inspiration behind capturing this image, here. He’ll use the $ 1,000 prize to take his wife on a much-needed vacation from the stresses of raising their two-year-old daughter.

Agora is currently running photography contests based on the themes of Love, Celebration, Winter, Change the World, and Friends. It is available for iOS and Android. The title of the photo followed by the Agora username of the photographer and their home country. Captions are the photographers own words about their inspiration behind the image.

#Urban2020 Winner: ‘Myriad’ by @dlr (Australia)

About this photo: With his photo, @dlr shows how Australia’s third-largest city is adopting a very futuristic and forward-looking feel: “My wife, daughter and I were driving through this area late one evening, and we both commented on how complex this freeway interchange seemed. I thought to myself that this would look particularly amazing from the air, so I decided to go back the following weekend with my DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone, to capture the scene from above.

This freeway interchange runs over the top of a local waterway known as Breakfast Creek, which is renowned for its mosquito population. Needless to say, I came home covered head to toe in mosquito bites. My body was itchy for a week! I was super impressed with how well this image turned out though, so I think that the pain of the mosquito bites was more than worth it. I’m hoping that Brisbane residents see this photo and feel a sense of pride, and realise just how quickly this amazing city and its urban infrastructure is growing.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ’Untitled’ by @banudiker (Turkey)

About this photo: @banudiker snapped this picture while sailing on the Nile River, Egypt: “We were sailing away from Cairo’s noisy neighbourhoods. There is a lot of monotonous, colorless tall buildings along the Nile River in downtown. When I saw this building that is totally different from the others, I started to imagine the life of people living there.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ‘Organised Chaos’ by @leemumford8 (UK)

About this photo: British photographer @leemumford8 snapped the incredible architecture of Hong Kong view from above: “Sometimes you don’t get the same sense of scale until you look at something from above. As the day turns too dark, I captured the hustle and bustle of the city streets.

As the street lights turned on, the roads lit up in this bright yellow-orange which I like to call the city’s veins. As the light was fading, a longer shutter was needed as I wanted to keep the ISO fairly low to help reduce noise. As this was an aerial shot, it was a fine balance before camera shake was an issue. The visibility on this particular was so clear, conditions I’ve been unable to replicate since.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ’Mind The Gap’ by @_kennyc_ (UK)

About this photo: @_kennyc_ entered the competition with an iconic shot from the London Tube: “Heading out later at night in London was something I loved to do – it’s a stark difference to the hustle and bustle of the day, giving photographers with completely different scenes to work with. The underground in particular, is eerily peaceful compared to the mayhem of rush hour.

At the time I had recently been inspired by a number of street/urban photographers who had captured some stunning scenes from various subways around the world – so one evening I picked up my camera and ventured below ground. This particular shot is an idea I’d had in my head ever since I watched the fantastic short film ‘Mind The Gap’ directed by Luke Flanagan.

This iconic message/recording is played out throughout the Underground network and heard by millions of Londoners every day. It’s a message instantly recognisable to anyone that has lived in this incredible city, and something I wanted to capture in a picture. I knew the message wasn’t just played out through speakers, but painted in bright yellow paint on the floor of many tube stations. I thought getting a close-up shot of this while capturing the speed of a moving train would make for a pretty cool shot – I wasn’t wrong! While the Tube is iconic to many people around the world, ‘MIND THE GAP’ is iconic to Londoners.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ‘Trapped’ by @laboussole.seon (France)

About this photo: French expat @laboussole.seon took this photo of the legendary Yick Fat building in October 2017: “Hong Kong is the most exciting and most contrasted urban environment I know. With this photo, I wanted to transmit the feeling to be trapped in a city, in the middle of tall buildings with a high density of apartments, and the sky seems so far away. I took the photo at sunset so that the colours of the sky are an invitation to peace and warmth, to contrast with the main subject.

It is challenging to take a photo in this place, as it is a famous spot, mostly for Instagramers. I went a couple of hours before sunset secure a good spot. Shortly after this shooting session, the management of the building has added a sign forbidding photo taking as it became too disturbing for the people actually living in the building. unfortunately for them, it doesn’t seem to have stopped tourists.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ’Untitled’ by @anhtrungqng (Vietnam)

About this photo: Every day, thousands of motorcycles and cars crowd the streets of Ho Chi Minh City also known as Saigon, the largest city in Vietnam where @anhtrungqng snapped this shot during the evening rush hour.

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ‘Eyeshape’ by @marcelvanbalken (Netherlands)

About this photo: Dutch photographer @marcelvanbalken said: “It was very bad weather, a lot of rain. So I had to take this picture with my camera in one hand and an umbrella in the other. The urban space in a play of light and shadow form shows an almost surrealistic decor. Pure black-and-white, in which the photography of architecture begins to take on abstract forms, reinforced by the apparently disproportionate addition of the man. If I win, I want to purchase a drone to be able to photograph urban spaces from a height.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ‘Ship city’ by @azimronnie (Bangladesh)

About this photo: @azimronnie (no longer on the app) shares some facts about this picture taken in his hometown, Dhaka: “The 500 enormous vessels used to transport bricks, sand and other goods, are either being built or are docked for maintenance work in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Shipbuilders in Bangladesh began exporting their ships to other countries in 2009, and it has since become a growing trade in the area.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ‘Saigon-Vietnam’ by @nguyenvuphuoc (Vietnam)

About this photo: @nguyenvuphuoc spotted these two female workers on Saigon’s under-construction new metro line: “When they saw me taking pictures, they asked me: Why? We are not beautiful, you should go and photograph beautiful girls instead.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ‘Nightscape in Rome’ by @henrydo (USA)

About this photo: The majesty of Rome’s iconic symbol was perfectly captured by @henrydo: “Rome has been completely urbanized but they still kept many historic sites to preserve the history. I think it fits quite well with the hashtag. This shot was a composite of 2 separate images taken at different times in the same location. Many people thought a drone is capable of capturing the lit-up night sky but the technology isn’t that advance, yet. If I. win, I will donate part of my prize to a charity to fight plastic pollution in the ocean and save the marine wildlife.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ‘Radioactive ??‘ by @notanothermica (Belgium)

About this photo: @notanothermica snapped this impressive shot while exploring the urban area of Charleroi, Belgium: “This is one of the most famous spots in Belgium for urban exploration. The door to enter this power plant is sometimes closed, which makes it not easy to get in. On that day, I was lucky because the door was open and there was some good light, which caused the cool glow on the metal of the powerplant. I wanted to place a person inside the power plant to had a reason for the viewer to relate to the photo.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ‘/–\’ by @wunderbilder (Germany)

About this photo: @wunderbilder captured this photo on a trip to Rome: “During our visit, we stayed in a flat in this building and I found the staircase geometrically very interesting. There was no elevator in the building.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ‘Sinking in the fog’ by @borsch (Russia)

About this photo: Russian photographer @borsch entered the competition with a foggy aerial view of his hometown, Moscow.

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: @paulaaranoa (Argentina)

About this photo: Argentine photographer @paulaaranoa loved to explore the mysterious streets of Barcelona’s gothic neighbourhood: “The story behind the photo shows a character who is walking through a dark path, however the light is wrapping itself around him. On this day, the light was perfect. I watched how the people walking by were wrapped by the light, I spent at least an hour in the same place until the light changed… it was a unique spectacle and I consider myself privileged to have witnessed it.”

#Urban2020 Top 50 Finalist: ‘Can’t stop won’t stop’ by @theliamman (UK)

About this photo: @theliamman shot this photo nearby the telephone box outside St Paul’s Cathedral, London: “I wanted to transmit a sense of adventure. Cities come alive at night and I wanted to capture that bustling energy as the day turns to night. The top of this phone box was filthy, if you want to do the same photo I recommend wearing clothes that you don’t wear often.”

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple’s 2020 iPhone photography contest seeks best Night mode shots

09 Jan
Shot on iPhone 11 Pro Max in Night mode by Eric Zhang.

Apple has announced another iPhone photography contest, this one soliciting photos shot using the company’s Night mode feature found on the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. This new contest follows the first ‘Shot on iPhone’ competition announced by the company in January 2019. The new contest is open to submissions through January 29.

The 2020 iPhone Night mode photography contest opened to submissions on Wednesday, January 8; the five winning images will be announced by Apple on March 4.

Interested iPhone 11 owners can submit their favorite shots on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #NightmodeChallenge and #ShotoniPhone, as well as on China’s Weibo service using the tags #NightmodeChallenge# and #ShotoniPhone#.

Shot on iPhone 11 Pro in Night mode by Austin Mann.

Apple is also giving competitors the option of emailing a high-resolution version of their images to its shotoniphone@apple.com; in this case, photographers must use the following file naming convention: ‘firstname_lastname_nightmode_iPhonemodel.’

Social media submissions should include a note about which iPhone model was used to capture the image in the caption. Apple says contestants can use third-party and Photos app editing tools to edit the images. Submissions must be submitted by 11:59 PM PST on January 29 to be eligible. As well, contestants must be at least 18 years old.

The company has offered multiple tips on using the Night mode feature, including paying attention to the capture time displayed in the Night mode icon and using a tripod to keep the shots steady. Winning images will be showcased in a gallery on the Apple website, Apple Newsroom and Apple Instagram account; they may also appear in Apple’s digital campaigns, among other promotions.

The full list of judges and other details can be found in Apple’s announcement.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: These are the winners and finalists of the ‘Hasselblad X You’ photo contest

20 Dec

Hasselblad X You grand prize winners and finalists

Over the past 3 months, Hasselblad X You, a competition put on by the camera company along with partners Peak Design and PolarPro, has been showcasing the best of what photographers have captured with Hasselblad’s X System cameras. 12 winners have been selected each week. The final grand prize winner is Chicago-based photographer Clarissa Bonet for her striking urban capture.

“For me, this image stands out because of the mixture of subjects and genre – fashion vs street – all while maintaining a clear focus on the model. So much to take in and yet there is still a strong focus when viewing this image. Very nicely done,” said 2018 Hasselblad Master Jorge de la Torriente. Creative content duo, and Hasselblad content partners, Daniel Rueda and Anna Devís remarked, “As architects, we really appreciated the effort of the photographer in building – no pun intended – a connection between fashion and architecture with her photography.”

Part of Grand Prize Winner Clarissa Bonet’s award includes a trip to Hasselblad’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Bonet will travel to Hasselblad’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, where she’ll tour the factory to see how their cameras are assembled. She’ll also get a tour of the Hasselblad Foundation and the Gothenburg Museum of Art. Prizes awarded will include a 907X Special Edition camera, travel bag, and accessories from the competition’s partners.

Hasselblad’s 970X Special Edition camera.

All captions for the following slideshow photos are the photographers own words. You can view all Hasselblad X You weekly winner features, in their entirety, here.

Grand Prize Winner: Clarissa Bonet – Chicago, Illinois, USA

About this photo: In Bonet’s own words: ‘This image is part of a fashion editorial I shot for Chicago Magazine that celebrates both the Bauhaus movement and architect Mies van der Rohe. The assignment was shot on location at multiple Mies buildings throughout the Chicagoland area. When thinking through the assignment, I knew the images must reference the Bauhaus style – minimalist, graphic, with bold lines and shapes.

After scouting the location at multiple times of the day, I knew exactly when a slim beam of light would open on the west side of the building, creating a bold, graphic band of light for our model to stand in. This specific image was made in Federal Plaza, which has three Mies buildings next to each other. To capture all three buildings in the same frame, I used the 45mm lens and stood in the middle of the street during a red light. An assistant watched for cars so I could focus on nailing the shot.’

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D-50C, Focal Length: 45mm (XCD 3,5/45); F9,5; Shutter Speed: 1/350 sec.

Weekly Winner: Julius Hirtzberger – Vienna, Austria

About this photo: This image was captured at the first morning light on 2 January 2019 on the glacier of Margherita Peak (5109m above sea level), right before reaching the top of the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda. This scenery, with this very intense light and the breathtaking landscape, was reward enough for endless hours of tedious hiking through mud and rough terrain during the 8 days before and the 1am wake-up call on the peak-day (at -15 degrees Celsius).

These moments were so intense – I had tears in my eyes while taking this photograph, which made it a bit difficult to compose and nail the focus. As with all of my images in general, this image is by no means overdone in post. The intense morning light actually brightened the ice, giving these magenta and red tones!

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D-50C, Focal Length: 45mm (XCD 3,5/45); F3,5; Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec.

Weekly Winner: Brian Love – Los Angeles, California, USA

About this photo: For this series we really wanted to have a minimal, mono theme where Vivica would really stand out but also be in harmony with the colors selected. For light, I wanted a daylight look with a little more pop, so I created more of a shaded daylight with strobes and v-flats. It was also important to have a team who shared in the same vision, so the color of lipstick that the makeup artist used and the clothing we chose all came together perfectly in the end. Just enough texture and color harmony to keep it simple yet stunning.

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D-50C, Focal Length: 90mm (XCD 3,2/90); F4,5; Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec.

Weekly Winner: Björn Ceder – Jönköping, Sweden

About this photo: Two years ago, I spent my summer vacation in Canada where I flew to the Great Bear Rainforest from Port Hardy with a sea airplane. I wanted to explore the temperate rainforest and found this amazing floating lodge where you made daily bear excursions with guides. One early morning rowing through the river delta in this unique Canadian environment, we found this bald eagle guarding his territory. It was a truly majestic nature experience that the X1D helped me capture.

All the people in the boat were using extreme telelenses to get really close to the animals but I wasn’t interested in photographing the animals this way. It’s in the context of the nature and the weather that makes the shot special. I ended up photographing bears, dolphins, eagles and other animals on this trip. When adjusting the focus of the X1D in this quiet surrounding, the minimal noise the camera makes is really rewarding, almost like cracking the code on a safe. You really experience the quality of the camera in the moment and it’s special when you end up with a shot like this.

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D-50C, Focal Length: 90mm (XCD 3,2/90); F3,2; Shutter Speed: 1/180 sec.

Weekly Winner: Jean Michel Voge – Millancay, France

About this photo: Crossing through Iceland before arriving to Greenland, I found myself in front of this very inspiring landscape. After taking two horizontal photos with the XCD 120 to capture the exact gradient of the sky, the snow and the rest of the vegetation, I had the idea to take 6 or 7 vertical photos (handheld) trying to capture the same horizon with each view. The raw files allowed me to combine these photos very easily.

To my pleasant surprise, the well-designed XCD optics gave results that kept the perspective uniform throughout the different shots. I also discovered throughout the past month on this trip that the XCD 120 is perfect for finding lines and framing in a wide landscape with the feeling of being neither too close nor too far – perfect!

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D-50C, Focal Length: 120mm (XCD 3,5/120); F6,3

Weekly Winner: Jacob Degee – Warsaw, Poland

About this photo: The first challenge with this photo was being able to take my Hasselblad underwater. There is no branded housing on the market, so I custom-built one for my use. It took me 6 months and many underwater trials to have a X1D housing fully operational. The second challenge was to find an interesting wildlife subject. A few years ago, people discovered a congregation of whale sharks in the north of Isla Mujeres in Mexico. Once a year, some of the biggest fish in the world are drawn to this area for food.

The final challenge was to approach the animal and position myself properly. I was freediving and photographing whale sharks when I was lucky enough to spot a manta ray circling around. This manta was so happy with the huge amount of food that she was even swimming upside down continuing her feast. I needed to get closer to minimise the amount of water between the subject and the lens and to be angle my shot from the right side in order to catch the sun beams. I wanted to present the manta as if it was flying in the sky, framing the photo in such a way that the surface is at the bottom and the crystal-clear water seems like the sky.

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D-50C, Focal Length: 21mm (XCD 4/21); F4; Shutter Speed: 1/2000 sec.

Weekly Winner: Saeed Nassouri – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

About this photo: I live in a city located on the outskirts of the desert and the sand dune formations have a special poetry about them that registers well with many people. The details in this series of photographs can be captured really well using medium format. The main reason I created these images was to show detailed impressions in the sand dunes. Little insect footprints in such a vast space fascinate me.

When I walk through the dunes, which is usually in hot and humid conditions where the temperature can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius, I come across little details such as the footprints of small insects and desert wildlife. I positioned my camera directly above a small portion of the ripples and captured 3 different footprints going in different paths in one shot. Although I seldom see any of these creatures, their impressions lift my spirits, knowing that there is such diverse life in the empty desert and their footprints are renewed every day just like the prints I leave behind.

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D-50C, Focal Length: 45mm (XCD 45); F19; Shutter Speed: 1/180 sec.

Weekly Winner: Matthew Ng – Hong Kong

About this photo: I was walking around Hong Kong, and I decided to explore the Polytechnic University campus. It brought back memories of when I attended university back in Canada. The exact building that this staircase is in is the Jockey Club Innovation Tower. When I took this image, I had the idea in my mind that it would look great in black and white.

The colour temperature of the interior lighting was daylight so nothing special. When I post processed the image, I converted it into black and white but it didn’t feel right, so I converted it back into colour and still had this picture in a monochromatic style. I started moving the sliders until I found a cool blue tone that I liked. I do a lot of my editing without presets and just edit freely depending on how the photo speaks to me.

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D II 50C, Focal Length: 30mm (XCD 3,5/30); F4; Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec.

Weekly Winner: Rajiv Bhambri – Melbourne Beach, Florida, USA

About this photo: The Quiraing is a massive landslip located in the Isle of Skye in Scotland. There are breathtaking views, with spectacular cliffs, hidden plateaus and pinnacles of rock. I started my hike early so I could watch the sunrise, and I was not disappointed. The sun shone through the clouds to light up this mountain and loch with sheep grazing at the foothills. I used the 135mm lens to better capture this gorgeous mountain scene.

True to the unpredictable Scottish weather, there was intermittent rain, and at some point, the sun disappeared completely. Because of the large dynamic range of the X1D camera, I did not need to spend time with ND graduated filters because of which I was able to take pictures quickly in between the periods of rain and also enjoy my walk.

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D-50C, Focal Length: 135mm (XCD 2,8/135); F29; Shutter Speed: 1/25 sec.

Weekly Winner: Martin Kube?ka – Pezinok, Slovakia

About this photo: This image was created while testing my new lighting gear, which allowed me to also put the sensor of the X1D II 50C to the test. My aim was to shoot a simple portrait where the emphasis was put more on colours and the face of the model. As I wanted to make this simple portrait unique, I took inspiration from the show “Stranger Things”, specifically the character Eleven’s usual dark expression.

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D II 50C, Focal Length: 45mm (XCD 3,5/45); F4; Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec.

Weekly Winner: Frédéric Bastin – Brussels, Belgium

About this photo: Mostly it’s teamwork with the stylist, makeup artist and the hairdresser. They know that I like to shoot new faces in the fashion industry – the uncommon beauty. I’m at war with the obvious. As soon as I find a new interesting model, I submit a project and we work on it together. Last summer when the model, Heloise, entered the studio, she had this vivid, transparent skin full of freckles.

My makeup artist had the brilliant idea to reveal and accentuate her personality with black vinyl dots – something organic, like a second skin with a high contrast of black and white. I wanted to shoot this portrait with an extremely soft light, a mix of daylight and flash to capture this alternative beauty. That’s how I describe her identity.

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D-50C, Focal Length: 90mm (XCD 3,2/90); F6,8; Shutter Speed: 1/180 sec.

Weekly Winner: Ellen McDermott – New York, New York, USA

About this photo: While on an editorial assignment shooting interiors for CTC&G (Connecticut Cottages & Gardens) Magazine, our Editor in Chief DJ Carey introduced us to our lifelong friends at Hound House, CT – Collin Robison and Trent De Berry. I mention this because DJ’s skill at pairing the location with the photographer is significant in how an assignment is realized. Our continued friendship and collaboration with Collin Robison Design led us to this photograph with Nailah, the Ocicat.

Incorporating animals into our interiors can add a warmth and humanness that is more approachable and visually interesting. I’ve always loved photographing animals. There is a moment of stillness when the subject becomes engaged with the camera. There is a connection. It is paramount to have the proper gear to capture these transient moments. The X1D’s excellence in handling low light situations with an elusive subject matter made this image possible with superior results!

Gear and specs: Hasselblad X1D-50C, Focal Length: 45mm (XCD 3,5/45); F8

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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DJI and SkyPixel launch contest to celebrate 5th anniversary

05 Dec

SkyPixel, which can be accessed in DJI’s consumer apps, as well as online, has attracted over 18 million aerial photographers and content creators from 140 countries to its platform since launching in 2014. To celebrate their 5th anniversary, they’ve partnered with DJI, Nikon, and Western Digital Corp to award 56 category winners and finalists prize packages worth over $ 117,000 combined. The SkyPixel 5th Anniversary Aerial Photo & Video Contest launched on Tuesday, December 3rd, and concludes on February 3rd.

This year’s contest features 9 storytelling categories spanning two disciplines, videography and photography. In honor of the competition’s 5th anniversary, an additional category, Aerial Story, which invites users to share their journeys from a drone’s perspective, has been added. Here are more details for each category:

Videography

  • Nature: Capture footage of natural scenery, wildlife, and landscapes
  • City: Showcase the beauty of urban landscapes and man-made architecture
  • Sport: Document moments in movement – the power and energy of humans doing sports
  • Travel: Stories about humanity, culture, or an unforgettable adventure (people should be included in these videos)

Entires should not exceed 5 minutes and must contain at least 30 seconds of aerial footage.

Photography

  • Portrait: Capture a person’s expression, actions or passion in the beauty of their surroundings
  • Nature: Reveal the natural beauty of the world
  • Architecture: Show off impressive structures from a new perspective
  • Sport: Capture the energy and excitement of an athlete in action
  • Aerial Story: Consisting of 5 images, they should document adventures from a drone’s perspective.

Photos must be captured by a drone. Although DJI is a major sponsor, entries captured by any brand of drone are eligible. Each image must be at least 3 MB with a resolution of 300 dpi (in this case, pixels per inch).

All winners will be featured as SkyPixel recommended photographers and be considered for the role of a DJI Creator. SkyPixel claims that entries from winners and finalists have received over 1 million views in past competitions. Winning entries will also be showcased at exhibits in DJI Flagship stores around the globe in Spring, 2020. Entries will be judged by a panel of award-winning experts including Jamie Hancock, Jarred Seng, Chris McLennan, and Thomas Chu. Results for this year’s winners and finalists will be announced on March 3rd. To enter, visit SkyPixel’s official contest site.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: These are the winners of the 2018-2019 Nikon Photo Contest

07 Aug

2018-2019 Nikon Photo Contest Winners

Nikon has announced the winners of its 2018-2019 international Nikon Photo Contest. The contest, which started in 1969 ‘as an opportunity for photographers to share their unique visions and enrich photographic culture,’ celebrated its 50th anniversary with its highest number of annual submissions since its inception.

Nikon received 97,369 submissions from approximately 33,000 people across 170 countries and regions around the world. The entries were split up into three categories this year: Open, Next Generation and Short Film, the first two of which are split into single photo and photo story subcategories. Below is a brief description from Nikon for each of the categories:

  • Open: a single photo or photo story representing the theme of ‘Change’
  • Next Generation: a single photo or photo story expressing the idea of ‘Identity’ open to photographers aged 25 or younger
  • Short Film: a video submission that tells the story of ‘Hope.’

One additional submission has received the Participants’ Choice Prize, while another has received the Nikon Photo Contest 50th Anniversary Prize, a new prize implemented this year. These will be included in our gallery of the main category winners.

The winning images were selected by a panel of international judges from different disciplines in the world of art. Nikon says the ‘recipients of the gold, silver, and bronze awards from each category were selected based on a variety of aspects, including their suitability to the category’s theme, the strength of the message, and level of creativity.’ Below is a short video Nikon put together about the judges and their outlook on the images and the contest as a whole:

The Grand Prize winner, which is selected from the Gold Prize winners in each of the categories, will be announced at the awards ceremony on August 23, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.

The accompanying gallery is a collection of the Gold Prize winners for each category. Additional Silver and Bronze prize winners can be found on the Nikon Photo Contest website.

Open Single Photo Winner

Alma and Alzheimer’s — Open Award Single Photo Gold Prize

Photographer: Jason Parnell-Brookes (United Kingdom)

Story: Donald?90, sits alone in the background consumed in his suffering with Alzheimer’s and unaware of his wife, Alma, 84 having dinner just feet away. He came back from World War II, changed from the kind caring man she had married, suffering with shellshock (PTSD). After a violent 60-year marriage with Alma, Donald was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. In the last few years of his life there was a sudden and rapid change of his demeanor rendering him placid, back to the man she had married.

Open Photo Story Winner

hope — Open Award Photo Story Gold Prize

Photographer: Thaib Chaidar (Indonesia)

Story: I took a photo of this series while on assignment about free cataract surgery for people who are not able in remote areas in West Papua, Manokwari Regency, and one of his patients was a mother named Sorina Ullo, who was lucky because after decades she could finally returned to see clearly, the cataract that had long suffered will heal soon

Next Generation Single Photo Winner

Ayimpoka — Next Generation Award Single Photo Gold Prize

Photographer: Sara De Antonio Feu (Spain)

Story: Ayimpoka lives with her family in a little town in Bolgatanga (Ghana). Albinism has been a cause of discrimination and persecution during years, and murders have been committed against albino children because of the popular association with magic and witchcraft. At Ayimpoka’s house, everyone gives her love and protection and a local NGO provides her weekly care. That day?she was recovering from malaria and she had a lot of sunburns because she was in the sun all day.

Next Generation Photo Story Winner

??(Fanghua – Moments in Our Youthful Days) — Next Generation Award Photo Story Gold Prize

Photographer: ? ?? [Jinghan Tu] (China)

Story: The camera I always have hanging around my neck is like another pair of eyes, and has essentially become a part of my body. Having the camera doesn’t affect how I engage with other people of the same generation. I am a part of the things that take place in each moment I capture. For me, pointing the lens at something is the same as taking screenshots of my own personal life. Every drop of rain, every smile, every quick motion, and every droplet when water is sprayed. The things I capture are nothing more than ordinary, yet they are all an important part of moments in the dazzling youthful lives of people, including myself. I continue to take photos to preserve the memories of those precious days which I have experienced.

Short Film Winner

Exulansis (link to video) — Short Film Award Gold Prize

Artist: Sara Crochet (United States of America)

Story: Exulansis n. the tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it. I made this film in one day to display a haunting memory and how I choose to see that as an experience I can share to bring light to women and men around me. Bringing us all together with understanding and love.

Participants’ Choice Prize Winner

The phoenix — NPC 50th Anniversary Prize

Artist: Helena Pelletier (Canada)

Story: As a young women, Halifax resident Holly Fox survived a terrible house fire?that took her young husband and left her with extensive scars after she ran into the flames to save their infant baby who made it out without injury thanks to the bravery of his mother. The child has grown now an adult man?and her scars a beautiful reminder of her courage and strength. Out of the ashes she will rise, stronger and more beautiful than before. Marked with evidence of such and wearing it with pride.

Nikon Photo Contest 50th Anniversary Prize Winner

????(Harvesting Season) — Participants’ Choice Prize

Artist: ? ?? Huaming Zhao (China)

Story: Fall is the season of harvesting. The tall green bamboos can be cut into strips for creating various crafts. They are dried, disinfected, then made into chopsticks to become a part of people’s everyday lives and bring joy to them.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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