“STREET LIFE”
ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS
“The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street.” – Robert Doisneau
We’re delighted to present the results of our Street Life theme, judged by the legendary conceptual documentary photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia.
As the French pioneer Doisneau described, the streets are the stage on which daily life plays out uncensored – an infinite playground of interest for the observant, and our view onto the trends defining our times, be they cultural, social or political. We all walk them, and yet it takes a special eye – not to mention photographic and creative skill – to distill this moving theater into a defining frame.
Across 20 images from a diverse set of talented photographers we witness moments of candid humor and wry coincidence, staged portraits, scenes of abstract beauty, and of course commentary on the subjects shaping our collective lives – consumerism, urbanization, and the fight for racial equity. Images to enjoy, to ponder and to challenge, and a reminder that every time we step outside, it’s all unfolding in front of us.
Congratulations to the selected photographers, and thank you to everyone else who submitted. You can join the discussion on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
FIRST PRIZE – JEREMY PEREZ-CRUZ
www.sleepingplanes.com / @sleepingplanes
“It has a real sense of mystery and surprise.” – Philip-Lorca diCorcia
“A marvelous image tinted with mystery, that comments obliquely on the structure of our urban spaces. This man peers through a portal into a world brighter, and perhaps full of more possibility than the drab, empty and repressive one he inhabits. Hard hat lowered to his side, and met by his own reflection, it evokes feelings of longing, escape and might-have-beens quite brilliantly.” – Life Framer
SECOND PRIZE – CHRISTOPHER JONES
“This image is clearly based on a classic model, but wonderfully done nonetheless.” – Philip-Lorca diCorcia
“An image that plays, seemingly effortlessly, with opposites – black and white, coming and going, marriage and celibacy, the profound and the everyday… It’s a candid, opportune moment perfectly captured, that triggers amusement and contemplation in equal measure.” – Life Framer
LEYNA AMLY
“Shot on the busy streets of Marrakesh, Morocco, this image takes a moment to decipher. But the clues are there – the road-markings, huddled crowd, motorcycle helmets and the glimpse of clothing on the floor tell us we’re witnessing the aftermath of a road accident. Some help directly, others look on nosily, and the central man turns his head away, his morose expression hinting at the severity of the scene unfolding in front of him. With people from all walks of life halted for a moment, it exposes the best and worst in us – the impulse to help, and the impulse of morbid curiosity. And Leyna, as witness and documentarian of the moment, asks herself a pertinent, probing question – “Who’s more of an onlooker, them or me?”” – Life Framer
BRYCE WATANASOPONWONG
www.bryce-art.com / @brycewatana
“Brilliantly framed on the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Bryce’s poetic street story plays out in gorgeous primary colors picked out by the setting sun. A construction worker laughs with a police officer as a bus passes by, and the central subject catches our eye. It feels wonderfully illustrative of a place – ordered chaos; busy, vibrant beauty – and of the complexity of life as elements momentarily align before fragmenting off in all directions once again.” – Life Framer
EMRE ÇAKMAK
www.lensculture.com/emre-cakmak
“With framing reminiscent of some of Ron Haviv’s work, Emre captures life on the streets of Istanbul – where men drink and watch the world go by as animals graze against graffiti-covered walls and shutters. This captivating young girl provides a bolt of drama to the easy normality – abruptly cropped by Emre’s composition and holding our gaze with her striking, contrastingly colored eyes. In his description, Emre describes how this reminded him of Istanbul itself and its geographical placement on two continents, but it’s perhaps emblematic of the very magic of Istanbul and its many dichotomies, particularly of tradition and modernity and of bedlam and beauty as we glimpse here” – Life Framer
ARGUS PAUL ESTABROOK
www.arguspaul.com / @arguspaul
“Shot in high-contrast black and white, Argus’ clever, playful composition juxtaposes celebration with tedium quite wonderfully. As exploding fireworks trace huge lines across the night sky, sparks that will soon fizzle out as this lady disappears towards her destination, we’re asked to contemplate her story. It feels symbolic of the cultural distance Argus describes in his statement, and the idea of an infinite number of narratives playing out across the world at once, each person’s as rich and complex as our own.” – Life Framer
SIMON SKIPPER
www.skipperphotography.dk / @officialskippz
“In his lyrical accompanying statement, Simon describes the background to this scene – his time working in Mozambique with the Danish NGO Skate World Better, a charity that builds skateparks in Africa. Here we see 16 year-old Noel, a boy who finds happiness in a challenging life through skateboarding, and who dreams to be a professional. It’s satisfying context to what is a fantastic image in its own right – Noel seemingly escaping the constraints of the world around him through skateboarding, dynamically floating above the dusty concrete streetscape painted in muted colors by the low light.” – Life Framer
FABIEN ECOCHARD
www.fabien-ecochasrd.com / @fabien.ecochard
“A marvellous Parisian street scene that has the feeling and intrigue of a film noir – the viewer’s imagination can run wild as they ponder who this silhouetted man is, where he’s going and with what under his arm. Painted with expertly-controlled light trails – at once sharp and blurred – it is rich with atmosphere and quiet drama. Titled ‘Le Splendid’ for the club emblazoned with neon, it is splendid indeed!” – Life Framer
TOM TREVATT
www.tomtrevatt.com / @tomtrevatt
“Framing this young girl through the window of a police car, we may not be able to see the words on her placard, but the context is clear. Shot with clarity through the reflections and obstructions in the frame, her expression is manifest – distilling so much of the fight for racial justice, and the optimism we should have in the young people at the forefront of it.” – Life Framer
VICTOR MARIN
www.victor-marin.at / @victormarinroman
“A simple moment captured with pleasing framing and atmospheric golden lighting, Victor’s image is a reminder to both look upwards as we explore the urban realm, and of the other species that inhabit our cities – repurposing our creations to their own needs as we continue to crowd them out.” – Life Framer
SAMUEL LEBON
www.samuel-lebon.format.com / @i.m.not.simon.lebon
“A fabulous ‘slice of life’ playing out in front of Samuel in the murky darkness – the parallel lines of the pleated dress and stilettoes of this stranger tallying brilliantly with the metal escalator she climbs. Elegance meets grit. It’s a wonderful example of a street photographer’s curiosity and eye for detail – spotting the little appositions and quiet dramas unfolding around us, and to which most of us remain oblivious.” – Life Framer
SERGIO CASTRO SAN MARTÍN
www.castrosanmartin.com / @sergiocastrosm</a
“You can feel the chill in Sergio’s Russian street scene, creatively and deliberately framing a single subject against a non-descript, repetitious building and dreary sky, blurring her slightly as if to emphasize the shivers. The result is highly evocative and immersive, capturing a sensation as much as a place” – Life Framer
SANDRA CATTANEO ADORNO
www.sandracattaneoadorno.com / @sandracattaneoadorno
“A wonderful frame within a frame, the mirror here providing an effective visual device to capture an abstract sense of place – the earth, silhouettes and sky of Egypt rendered in magical ochre and gold.” – Life Framer
GEORGE BYRNE
www.georgebyrne.com / @george_byrne
“George’s carefully composed image of a sparse street in Culver City, California captures the American dream and the American nightmare side-by-side, or rather one above the other. With a satisfying compositional rigour and tight color palette it packs a strong aesthetic punch to match this wry commentary. Even financial disaster looks good under perfect blue skies!” – Life Framer
PATRICK FRASER
www.patrickfraserstudio.com / @patrickfraserstudio
“Titled simply ‘Window Shopping, Indiana’ Patrick’s portrait, whether candid or posed, is a beautiful evocation of urban ennui – perhaps seen as an apathy towards consumerism, but more likely the boredom of being a certain age in a small town of dusty furniture shops, soulless gas stations and limited possibilities. Brilliantly done.” – Life Framer
HENDRIK BRAET
www.hendrikbraet.com / @hendrikbraet
“Taken on one of his walks in his hometown of Ghent during the Coronavirus lockdown, Henrik presents a lovely little visual coincidence – a quirky reminder that these uncanny, tender and magical moments are all around us, gone as quickly as they appear. It invites us to slow down and appreciate what’s around us – something especially important in these restricted times.” – Life Framer
IAN BAGUSKAS
www.ianbaguskasphoto.com / @ianbaguskas
“Dressed in unconventional, cartoonish clothing, Ian captures this one-of-a-kind character on the streets of Taiwan, pouting for his camera and intensely holding his gaze. They’re a glimmer of individuality in a world that becomes ever more homogeneous.” – Life Framer
TALES YUAN
www.talesyuan.com / @talesyuan
“With piles of demolition rubble juxtaposed against shiny new tower blocks, and with a layer of rundown buildings in between, it is as if the cycle of urban regeneration is playing out in real time – structures rising out of the ground, only to be absorbed back into it to make way for more. With a sole figure watching the drama unfold, it asks questions of loss of culture and traditions in the relentless pursuit of progress – something Tales ponders directly as his community becomes engulfed by Chongqing’s business district. It distils so much into a single frame.” – Life Framer
POLLY TOOTAL
www.pollytootal.com / @pollytootal
“Shot as an ode to the “everyday heroes of Hollywood”, Polly’s environmental portrait of a young fast food worker has clear parallels to Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s own series Hustlers – here asking questions of our era’s mass-produced, minimum wage culture where diCorcia’s examined prostitution and the AIDs pandemic of the 90s. With her subject bathed in neon light and staring melancholically into the distance, surrounded by drab concrete and watched on by a relentlessly optimistic fast food mascot, it conjures questions of opportunity, dreaming and escapism.” – Life Framer
DANIEL CHRISTIE
www.ofanafternoon.com / @ofanafternoon
“A passing portrait of an eccentric sun-worshipper, the bare legs and sun reflector at odds with his thick jacket and scarf. It’s a charming example of taking life’s simple pleasures – seemingly perfectly contented in this public spot as the city moves around him.” – Life Framer
