FIRST PRIZE – TATENDA CHIDORA

“This staged shot with Covid masks is an original idea, it is “of this time” and references the impersonality of the pandemic and the loss of individuality, with the somber blue tones of the hospital and clinical environment enhancing the central aim of the image. There are elements of ambiguity which hold the viewer’s attention and provoke thought and reflection. It’s the visual power of this image to comment on the universal human experience of this moment in an original way that wins it for me.” – MURRAY FREDERICKS

“It’s fair to say that the impacts of the Covid pandemic have been felt disproportionately between us – a life-changing turn of events to some, and a minor inconvenience to others. But we’ve all felt a sense of frustration, confinement and restriction to an extent, and Tatenda does a wonderfully creative job of visualizing such feelings in an individual and expressive way. The silhouetted figure here is completely engulfed by face masks and sterile protective sheeting, with seemingly no way out, but their posture remains strong and defiant. And there’s something beautifully defiant in the act of artistic creation – of taking a negative and reframing it into something graceful and charming through sheer imagination.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – From the series if Covid was a Color. “A body of work that I created during the pandemic. It was inspired by the experiences of the pandemic. As a form of remembrance, I used different PPE as forms of Props. This body was created to bring a different visual translation of the pandemic to bring a source of hope and acknowledge the resilience of humankind through this time.”

SECOND PRIZE – UTA GENILKE

“There is something powerful in this image – for its simplicity while hitting the theme of color in a very effective manner.. The use of the ‘Blade Runner’ like color grade turns a seemingly innocuous subject into a dystopian landscape. With the war in Ukraine in everyone’s consciousness, these tank barricades were instantly recognizable and act as symbols of war and destruction. In some ways this shot reminds me of one of my favorite photographic series – Joseph Koudelka’s CHAOS.” – MURRAY FREDERICKS

Photographer statement – From the series The Sweet War. “”Mama, I’m going to be a soldier. How do you like that?” said my younger son to me, then 14 years old. At first I thought this was his form of adolescent protest. My grandfathers were Wehrmacht soldiers, fighting on the eastern front, one is up to now a “missing person”, the pain of this loss can still be felt in my generation. All the young men in my family have since refused military service, and it seemed unthinkable that anyone would ever become a soldier again. But this idea stuck with my son, he has been training hard since then to steel his body, suddenly he only got good grades in school, and with an unfamiliar discipline he is rearranging his room, his free time, his life. I made a dreamlike story about it, in which my primal fear of the war, of the loss of my child are shown, but which are contrasted with the lure of adventure, masculinity and community.

“Dulce bellum inexpertis” (War seems sweet to the inexperienced.) Pindar, 518 – 438 BC”

KAY ROSE

“Kay’s tight framing of these Nepalese women is bursting with patterns and color, a visual feast that the eye can dart around before returning again and again to the centrally-framed subject absorbed in the moment. The closeness makes for something that feels incredibly intimate, but titled simply “Colors of Nepal” it would be interesting to know more from Kay about what we’re witnessing and the context behind it.” – LIFE FRAMER

GERARD HELOISE

“An absolutely stunning desertscape where the rough sand in the foreground gives way to a smooth, hazy wash of kaleidoscopic colors; burnt orange to coral to lemon to jade. The lack of a horizon line adds to the unfamiliar, disorienting quality. Who knew that a landscape so sparse could be so polychromatic? Gerard turns what could be a lifeless scene into something mesmerizing.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “Taken during a hike in the Moroccan desert.”

ZAHRA MIRMALEK

“With its tonal symmetry and monochromatic palette, this almost too good to be true street composition captures a drudgery of modern urban existence. There is a wry humor in how the only spot of color in the greyness is a face-mask – an unmistakable signifier of a pandemic that has constricted us even more than these suffocating surroundings would suggest.” – LIFE FRAMER

DIKKA AFIDICK

“A modern take on the primary colors and rigorous geometry of Piet Mondrian’s abstract art, Dikka playfully arranges the urban environment of Los Angeles around him to create a delightful and satisfyingly minimalist composition from the simplest of elements.” – LIFE FRAMER

SURESH NAGANATHAN

That India (we assume, or at least somewhere on the sub-continent) is chaotic and colorful from a Western perspective is no new insight, but here Suresh captures something of those ideas with real eloquence in a candid still life that is both quiet and reflective, and bursting with detail and visual stimuli. Fabulous technical use of color.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “These are pictures where colors takes center stage. All candid, all shot with natural light.”

ERNESTO SUMARKHO

“Ernesto presents a creative and poignant tribute to his late grandmother. This shimmering fabric dancing in the wind captures something of a person’s spirit and vibrancy, but also the fleeting nature of life and, against the vast backdrop of the desert, a sense of the miniscule but not insignificant place each of us inhabits in the cosmos. A beautiful, well executed homage to what we assume was a life well lived.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “My grandmother passed away from cancer during the Covid-19 pandemic and I wasn’t able to see her before or after her death. I felt a sense of stewardship and duty over her story and its continuation. I wanted to photograph her posthumously. She always dressed well and looked so elegant. This image is for her and wherever her atoms may be.”

EDUARDO NAVE SILVESTRE
 

“”Watching a volcano erupt is hypnotic, monumental, wondrous…” goes Eduardo’s eloquently written accompanying statement, but the beauty of this perspective is that we see the after-effects rather than the event itself – the ghostly quiet after the eruption where everything is coated in a layer of thick black ash, draining all color away. The top-down perspective works perfectly for this, rendering the environment as something totally unfamiliar, where only the familiar outlines of man-made objects – a car, a cement mixer – help contextualize the scale. It reminds us of the immense and dispassionate force the natural world can display, and our fragility in the face of it. A unique perspective.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “The idea of dominating nature, however much it pains us, has been and is a utopia. Since the start of the scientific revolution, we have tried to predict, and as such control, but the sublime is uncontrollable. The ancient worship of the natural world has, in the 21st century, become an act of quantifying, and therefore commercial and cold. Although we may not want to, we continue to be nature, we have never stopped being it, but the lack of communication with such is one of the main reasons behind its rapid deterioration.

The last time a volcano erupted on this planet was on 19 September 2020. It happened on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain), and once again we were shown that humankind’s struggle against nature is a losing battle. For 85 days, the volcano did not stop demonstrating how this world was created. Watching a volcano erupting is hypnotic, monumental, wondrous, tremendous, sublime and captivating, today and always. Human beings feel something ancestral on observing the essence of the creation of the planet they inhabit.”

GREG MO
 

“Through off-center composition and the inclusion of the yellow doorway in his frame, Greg finds a deft visual balance of color and ensures a distance between himself and subject that feels respectful of the prayer session we witness. A profound moment in beautiful surroundings, skilfuly captured.” – LIFE FRAMER

AGATA MENDZIUK
 

“In this wonderfully atmospheric scene, Agata renders a dreary and imposing tower block into something beautiful – made so by the gorgeous pink tone and the juxtaposition of brutal concrete with the femininity and elegance of the passer by. It creates a quiet tension and unease, but also emphasizes the humanity that exists behind each of these many windows in view.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – From the series Closer. “The theme of “Closer” is a threatened sense of security in the personal and social dimensions. A starting point for the series is my strong belief that threat emerging in seemingly distant places eventually affects all the world’s societies in a chain reaction. In this sense hardships experienced now in external environments are close to us, getting closer every minute.

This is why the project is composed of portraits of diverse people in domestic or urban spaces – familiar and safe, in which, however, a disturbing dissonance is present. The glow of the fire visible in the background of an idyllic scene or the shattered glass of the window that creates composition for the whole image emphasize the tension between reliable repetition of everyday life and the shock created by imminent danger.”

BOB HAMBLY
 

“A fabulous combination of colors and well-framed geometry, emphasized by the pristine snow-covered foreground and flat sky. Despite the imposing nature of this industrial building, it feels like a welcome refuge against the empty nothingness. And that Bob titles it “Fairground”, providing no further context of what or where it is, amps up the level of intrigue.” – LIFE FRAMER

CLARA GARRIDO
 

“This stunning cratered landscape may look digitally altered, such is the seeming unearthliness of the rich golds and oil-slick blues that permeate it. But it’s very much real, and in fact the rough, volcanic terrain of Lakagígar in Iceland, the distinctive golden color created by sulfur-rich sediment in the soil. Clara’s high vantage-point composition celebrates its breath-taking scale and unfamiliar magnificence.” – LIFE FRAMER

LIEVEN ENGELEN
 

“On first glance, one might be mistaken for thinking this is a happy image, such is the vibrancy of the yellow tones that dominate the frame. But the subject’s troubled expression and nervous posture tell a different story. Lieven’s statement talks of the shocking realization for many of us that “witch camps” could be part of our modern existence, and she’s right – it’s difficult to understand how the concept of witchcraft is still something by which women can be persecuted. Her subject’s story is a tragic one, but Lieven photographs her with respect and decency, helping in a small way to raise awareness of this injustice.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “In contrast to the cheerful orange of the backdrop, picked up in the elderly woman’s skirt, this is a portrait of someone who has suffered great hardship in life. Kobana Fatimah photographed for the series Cursed, lives in a camp for women in Ghana who have been accused of witchcraft. Accused of killing the child of her husband’s second wife she has spent the past 4 years at Kpatinga Witch camp and had to leave her family behind. This sensitive picture portrays Kobana Fatimah as an individual with her own story to tell – one that for many of us in other parts of the world is shocking to believe has a place in our modern existence.”

JULIAN C. STEINER
 

“Julian’s beautifully realized frame has a cinematic quality; the model’s nonchalant gaze and the empty diner setting drawing on the visual language of the big screen. The slight haziness created in the balance of shadow and natural light gives a dreamy quality to the scene, imbuing it with a sense of intrigue, and the subtle use of primary colors adds an extra level of pop and finesse.” – LIFE FRAMER

ANH DANG HOAI

“As drone technology has improved and dropped in price, the number of photographers employing it to take flat, top-down environmental shots of the world’s surface has ballooned. Anh is one of many, but the perspective he creates here feels vibrant and unexpected. Under this canopy of pink cherry blossom, luminous in the sunlight, we see two young people (one being him perhaps?) enjoy the view of the open sky – taking simple pleasure in the world around them. It’s an image imbued with an innocence and wide-eyed wonder.” – LIFE FRAMER

TOMAS DERNER
 

“A creative response to the theme, Tomas presents an environmental portrait of a shipyard worker in Bangladesh, paid to maintain and repaint the hulls of ships. The narrow depth of field brings focus to the main subject while contextualizing his work, and the muted color palette of reds and blacks helps unify the image aesthetically, while emphasizing the hard nature of the work that’s also etched on this man’s face.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – From the series Shipyard. “Taken on my last trip to Bangladesh.”

KAROLINA ALAMA MARUTA

“The immense power of this storm is palpable – the brooding atmosphere rendering the scene monochromatically brown as the dust is picked up by the swelling clouds overhead, and visible life is constrained to a thin strip between asphalt and sky. Nicely done.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “Just before. This photo was taken on the runway at Bolivia’s airport. Shortly afterward, a huge storm broke out, grounding all flights. The sky, the flora and the runway have taken on a palette of beige, brown and smoky yellow.”

MANU GIM
 

“There are two shots that many many photographers will have – a sunrise / sunset and the view from an airplane window. There’s therefore nothing original about those visuals, but Manu manages to combine the two with enough artistry to cut through the cliché. Cutting the frame perfectly in two, and with the dusk or dawn light outlining the sleek curves of the metal wing in front of him, it’s not immediately apparent what we’re witnessing – you could mistake the foreground for sand dunes or the roofs of buildings on first glance. But it all becomes clear when you spot the second plane tracing its way across the mid-ground sky – its passengers on an unknown trajectory separate to ours. Painted in a limited palette of blues, it’s a lovely shot that captures the great expanse of the sky and a certain tranquillity and sense of reflection one associated with being above the clouds in flight.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – “A plane seen from another plane in full view of the horizon(tal plane).”

ADRIANA FERRARESE
 

“A gorgeous shot redolent of Constantine Manos’ work in color, where any people in the frame are secondary to tone, light and form. The subject here, resting on a quiet street sidewalk, is dwarfed by the wall behind him and the swathes of shadow that hint at the urban environment he inhabits. It’s an immersive “slice of life” – of life unhurriedly passing by.” – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – From the series Cuban Variants. “When going to Cuba I was pretty much expecting to be confronted by a stereotyped image of a colorful and joyful culture. While there, I could not avoid being dazed by the harsh life condition of the Cuban people and their cruel lack of freedom. If felt like this condition was almost swallowed by the voluntarily staged and stereotyped scenery for tourists. Despite deceiving appearances, color becomes a sort of trap where things, beings, people and even shadows get stuck.”