FIRST PRIZE – ARGUS PAUL ESTABROOK
 

“This image really caught my attention. I pause to decipher what I’m actually seeing. Is the larger shadowy figure the photographer themselves, or is it another passenger on the subway? Am I looking at a reflection or through a window? It reminds me of an x-ray. I like photos where the viewer can make up their own story.” – BRUCE GILDEN

“Reflections, be it in storefront windows, puddles or shiny car bodywork, are a great tool in the street photographer’s arsenal to add layers of interest and complexity to a frame. Here Argus cleverly plays with the reflection in a viewing window between metro carriages to create a double exposure of sorts, in doing so adding an intensity and a touch of claustrophobia to the scene, and commenting on the anonymity and drudgery of the daily commute. It’s a brilliantly realized moment.” – LIFE FRAMER

SECOND PRIZE – RODRIGO BORTHAGARAY
 

“I love the contrast between dark and the light. How the person riding the bike in the dark is coming out of the darkness, and the people in the light are going in the opposite direction. It almost looks like two photographs in one.” – BRUCE GILDEN

“It’s difficult to tell whether this is a composite of two images, or a single shot. Either way – seamlessly stitched or meticulously composed – it works, creating a sort of visual yin and yang; light and dark, coming and going, with the viewer sat directly center of frame. Rodrigo finds something quite artistic and satisfying in a simple passing moment.” – LIFE FRAMER

KEALA ASHER

“Creating a frame within a frame through clever use of light and shadow, Keala’s striking rooftop view of a Delhi throughfare at night provides a glimpse into its bustling street life. Taken from a remote distance, it creates a wonderful sense of otherness – seen through the tourist’s eyes who’s perhaps yet to venture out of their hotel room and down into the hubbub.” – LIFE FRAMER

JONAS MORTENSEN

“The gift of the candid street photographer is in finding arresting, absurd or profound moments in the mundane everyday. Jonas’ statement describes the humble context of this image – people-watching outside a train station – but in the oft-kilter framing, and the urgent expressions of his subjects dressed in distinctive clothing more synonymous with the American Midwest than North East London, he creates something cinematic. The action unfolds in front of us – a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde racing into the dying light and evading capture. Against the world together. It feels dynamic and alive – “happening” is indeed the word. Wonderful street storytelling.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “Outside my local train station in North East London the late afternoon sun seems to expose all the expression and grit of the characters that pass me by.”

ROKAS JANKUS
 

“Despite being a candid street capture, and Rokas leaving the exact circumstances to our imagination, this moment feels profound – staged even, like a poster for a disaster or superhero movie, his central subject just missing her cape. Highlighting the faces of this tight family unit in rich golden hour sunlight, we study their concerned expressions as something unfolds out of frame. The central subject in particular is captivating – disturbed but defiant, protecting her younger siblings instinctively. It’s a bold and exciting image, in which the ordinary is elevated into something magical and urgent.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “In the city, most people seemed somehow lost to me, geographically, mentally or even physically. It’s that second before they recognise you, making the picture, somehow giving you an intimate moment with a person you never gonna see again in your life. They open up, as if we’re in a most private place, while in fact being in the least private environment I can imagine.

While working in NYC I shot primarily candid street scenes. I am highly interested in people’s interaction with different environments, as an observer. I try to imagine what they’re going to do next, to anticipate their interpersonal behaviour. When producing these pictures, I was just shooting without an aim in beforehand. I photographed everything that touched my mind, subconsciously. Afterwards while editing I realised that I had a lot of pictures of people seeming lost somehow, so maybe I found a way to transport my inner self into my photography without thinking about it too much. If I would prolong the series with that method today, maybe I would get a different product, since my state of mind is different now.”

INGE COLIJN

“Documenting an afternoon conversation between neighbors, it’s only the blue disposable mask held by one that hints at this being an image of Covid times, the remote distance at which the discussion is being held likely necessary rather than coincidental. What strange times we’ve lived through, but as with so many small moments over the last few years, this image reminds us of humanity in adversity, the warm colors enhancing that sense of community and togetherness.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “Neighbourly evening talk in Poti, Georgia.”

ALAIN SCHROEDER
 

“Magic realism is the term Alain uses in his statement and it’s apt for what’s depicted here – a fairy-tale-like European street scene at twilight, and two strange, luminescent figures navigating it. It makes you look twice – the subjects too small in the frame to properly examine, adding to the intrigue. Taken from a series documenting the traditional carnivals of Belgium, Alain finds a beautiful and absorbing place somewhere between documentary and surrealism.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “From the series Angels Passing. Belgium, Walloon Region, Hainaut province, Carnival of Estinnes. Two “Gilles” going back home in a small village after the carnival. There is a saying in French, << un ange passe >> (an angel is passing), often used to describe a pregnant pause in conversation. This series explores those moments when something unusual, somewhat extraordinary, even magical, happen in daily life.

These moments of magic realism appear when a realistic photographic scene is invaded by something too strange to believe. Given my Belgian background and the influence and close contact with surrealism, I clearly feel these moments with my camera, even with my entire body, as suddenly material reality switches to something else for a split second. I try to capture people and places all over the world to create unique stories with this sensibility.”

JARED BUNN

“What a breath-taking image. Depicting a lone business man walking beneath a looming statue of Christ on the cross, the composition and lighting expertly observed, it conjures powerful ideas of religion, surveillance, and the monumental structures we build in service of our faith. We often forget to look up as we navigate city streets, and this image is a reminder of why sometimes we might.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “A Ray of Hope: A resident of Chicago walks past St. Peter’s Catholic Church during his mid-afternoon commute in downtown Chicago, IL on May 10, 2021. St. Peter’s was founded in 1846; uncharacteristically for a church, it immediately abuts the sidewalk and therefore blends in at ground level with surrounding buildings.”

KRIS VERVAEKE
 

“A shot of color in an otherwise monochromatic scene, this cable car rises through an impossibly large cityscape – a Chongqing of endless apartments that sprawls in all directions. It’s a dramatic vista that highlights the enormity of this megacity, and brings to mind ideas of just how small we are in the grand scheme of things, how we can get so easily lost in the immensity. “Change is not synchronised” is how Kris puts it, and with so much grey concrete in sight and these people rising through it in a tiny metal cubicle, we’re inclined to agree.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “China: the cable car brings people from one side of the Yangtze river into the city. Chongqing is one of China’s biggest cities today. For most people it is just a matter of coping with all the fast chance in their every day’s life and finding their space and value in this new world. People and buildings that sometimes seem lost in their environment because change is not synchronised.”

YURIY DANCHENKO

“Public protests – be they driven by racial injustice, politics or public health – have dominated the news cycle these past few years, a fundamental aspect of how we make our voices heard and use our public spaces. This is a powerful frame of two halves – the billowing smoke grenade on one side, slowly obscuring the crowd of activists on the other – that offers a view into the Ukrainian marches of 2019, but in such as way as to feel universal, depicting the very act of protest as opposed to the specific events. Cropping the photographer on the right-hand side might at first strike the viewer as clumsy, but it’s a clever touch. We see two hands in the frame – one wielding the smoke grenade and another a camera, the former a tool of protest, and the latter a tool of dissemination. It’s a clever image, that is cleverly shot with each element adding to the story, and can be universally understood.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “Depicting the street march called “No Capitulation” in October 2019. This march gathered together tens of thousands of people under the slogan “Ukrainian president will not dare to surrender to the Kremlin.” Despite the fact that it was a political street action, I consider all these photographs to be purely street photography. I am not a professional photojournalist and these photos have never been published before. Photo with a fired smoke grenade and a crowd of people and photographers around, but no discernible faces. In my opinion, this photo is the quintessence of mass street events.”

GUNAWAN SIDIK

“Locking eyes with his subject, bending forward towards the lens, Gunawan creates an arresting intensity to this image, an unbroken connection between photographer and subject as life races by on either side of him. Covered in splashes of paint – orange on the elbow, green in the hair – and with a seemingly similarly decorated man behind, we’re left to question the context. Is he dragging something? Is he making his way home after Holi? Or is it something altogether more mundane, elevated in the instant? Gunawan leaves us guessing. It’s a colorful, striking, and intriguing image.” – LIFE FRAMER

ROBERT GOJEVIC
 

“Capturing this little girl at the entrance to an imposing, graffiti-filled alleyway, and with an adult – perhaps a stranger, perhaps an impatient parent – racing by, Robert juxtaposes hardness and softness in a quite arresting way. Standing there, innocent and curious, it harks back to a bygone time when children could freely explore the streets. And the graffiti is a reminder of how they can impose their mark when further exploring boundaries at an older age.” – LIFE FRAMER

ANNA BIRET
 

“The classic street interplay of light and shadow, creating interesting depth and geometries through which Anna’s subjects pass. It’s a simple moment, but a well observed one.” – LIFE FRAMER

MICHAEL K SUN

“Shot in vibrant analog tones, Michael plays with scale and perspective to create a delightful image – a simple document of a quiet balcony moment, in which it looks like the smoker could pick up and rearrange the scooter drivers that fill the road below. It’s a satisfying, unexpected street scene.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “Every day I look forward to capturing images from the seemingly mundane aspects of daily life. Something that may seem unmoving or unexciting at first, but something from that moment lingers and stays with you for just a little bit. The little bits and details in life that make me love going out and exploring each day.”

JEFF LARASON
 

“There are many elements competing for attention in this image – the handshake, the eye contact of the passer-by, the tree branches and skyscraper towers reaching towards the center of the scene – and yet each holds their own place in the frame, Jeff finding a semblance of orderliness in the complexity. Creatively composed – through the glass of a bus stop it appears – there’s a real sense of the multi-sensory nature of the urban experience, a feast of information to process.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “Capturing life on Mass Ave in Boston.”

MAXIMILIAN GOTTWALD
 

“Shooting on the streets of Cambodia, Maximilian uses a slow shutter speed to accentuate the boundless movement of the city, the rush and buzz of thousands of people going about their daily lives. Elegantly composed, we witness the interaction between static and dynamic forces – cars, lorries and tuk tuks racing by as street sellers wait patiently for their next customer. It’s a wonderful image that makes tangible the energy of a place.” – LIFE FRAMER

EMMANUELLE BECKER
 

“From a series titled Gotham Visions, the reference point for this image is obvious – evoking the brooding, vast and impersonal nature of Batman’s city. Shooting in NYC we presume, the inspiration for the DC city, Emmanuelle shots in black and white with clarity, using smoke and a vertigo-inducing angle to create real drama. It’s an image that describes at once how awe-inspiring and cold our cities can be, none more so than New York.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “From the series Gotham Visions. A portfolio of surreal and unsettling urban landscapes. These are dark, moody, apocalyptic images of cities from which man is voluntarily excluded. The absence of any human presence in these highly cinematic images contributes to the sense of exclusion and isolation which emanates from the work. The last living human is in effect the viewer. My work is greatly influenced by German expressionist cinema and its stylistic characteristics, as one can observe in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, but also in the films of F.W. Murnau and Erich Pommer. I use many of their techniques, such as exaggerated and dramatic lighting, distorted shapes and velvety blacks. I emphasize architectural form and magnify details, use strange camera perspectives to amplify heights, focus on sharp architectural angles and create ominous shadows to construct set-like streets which convey a sense of fear, suspense and psychological unease.”

JONATHAN JASBERG
 

“Taken on the streets of Cairo, and with a beautiful muted color palette, this is a quintessential candid street scene, documenting the small drama of daily life. The off-kilter framing creates some dynamism, complementing the energy of the scene. The two women argue, the separation of cream and black colors behind them subtly figurative of the separation between them in their disagreement perhaps, while a young girl watches on – finding an enjoyment in watching events unfold just as we do.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “Two women get into a skirmish in an alleyway while a girl observes from her home in Cairo, Egypt.”

MATTEO BERTINI
 

“A moment of calm in a small pocket of greenery. A fun, simple image capturing one of our odd rituals.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “Battery Park City Esplanade, New York.”

SIMONA KALA

“This is a subtle image, but there’s something in the composition of paths branching out into the misty suburbia, and the way in which all five people are alone, walking away, that makes for something that lingers in the mind. Simona talks of memories in her statement, but this image is imbued with mystery and a sense of the anonymity of the individual in vast surroundings.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “South City is on the outskirts of Prague, the capital of Czechia. It was built in the second half of the 1970s during the communist era. I grew up here in 80s. It looks like a prehistoric concrete animal undergoing a slow but constant evolution. It changes its colour, rearranges and grows. Raw gray panels are rarely seen anymore, but the atmosphere of the periphery is the same. You can still come across large construction sites, sledding children and wild vegetation. For me, the South City is city of memories. I can hear their echo on every corner.”