Winning Photographer Candy Lopesino

Title: “Boys on the day of their First Communion” - Portugal Description: “The Iberian Peninsula is a geographical concept formed by Spain and Portugal, two geographically united countries but separately by an invisible border. The essay ‘The Iberians’ focuses on my travels in these territories throughout the first two decades of the 21st century. Visually narrating the things that happen while wandering around Iberia, how to write in a sketchbook. Knowing a specific territory gives depth and meaning to my project; that is why my work is a continuous journey through Spain and Portugal. These are places where I explore the concepts of territory, borders, light, memory, and identity through observing the other.” © Candy Lopesino

Second Prize Nicola Ducati

“Moon Compass”, From series “Shades of white” - Yamal peninsula, Siberia, Northern Russia The air is thin and the polar day is very short, for four and a half hours the light becomes magical, the colors of everything are perfect, pastel shades with delicate and unreal shades. The pale sun always remains low on the horizon line, on the opposite side of the vault the full moon dominates it with a warmer light. Sometimes they get confused and it is not clear who is one and who the other. It is difficult to take your eyes off that absolute, clean, primitive, raw and sharp sky. Every segment of the horizon hides wonders, here nature becomes poetry and offers images that the best photo or the best pen cannot tell. Sun and moon: observing them becomes a game for children that over time also teaches them the secrets of orienting themselves in the labyrinth of the tundra devoid of walls and paths. The thousand shades of white told through a trip to the Yamal, the icy Siberian peninsula in the far north of the Russian Federation. This land is inhabited by the Nenets people, nomadic reindeer herders who, guided by the seasonal cycles and the needs of their herds, migrate incessantly in an infinite circle of movements between ice, frozen rivers and incessant winds in search of new pastures in the most remote tundra. The hostile environment did not stop their innate adaptability and gave them prosperity for millennia. © Nicola Ducati

Third Prize Gauthier Digoutte

“Polo Player” - Gilgit river, Northern Pakistan In the Gilgit river, northern Pakistan, a polo player is resting and taking care of his horse with a bath. On the shore of the river, many young Pakistani are training their horses for polo competitions. The Polo game was originally developed in central Asia and is still very popular and widely practiced in these areas. © Gauthier Digoutte

Finalist Yunxi Li

“Emily” This series is an ongoing project. All of the photos were taken in a film set. Each of them was the moment of quietness before the director says “Action”. This series is exploring the distance between the actor or actress with their characters and how they connect themselves within. Emily: Emily was born and grew up in Australia, who curious about her self-identity as a Chinese or Australian. Her role was a woman who lives in Shanghai in the 80s and lost herself in her life. © Yunxi Li

Finalist Mike Murphy

“Untitled” - New Mexico, USA 2020 A cemetery in New Mexico showing century-old tombstones adjacent to a recently built refinery. A powerful and subjective visual correlation between life, death, and the power of man. © Mike Murphy

Finalist Tamara Arranz

“Low tide digger” - Jambiani, Zanzibar On the Jambiani coast, in Zanzibar, changes in tides are extremely significant. Low tide leaves a beautiful and weird landscape because the sea disappears over a few kilometers. While low tide happens sailors and fishermen work in their boats sitting on the sand preparing everything. Abdoul is looking for worms for fishing digging in the sand. © Tamara Arranz

Finalist Luke Oppenheimer

“Mother Totu” - Kyrgyzstan Totu (60), the wife of one of the hunters, remembers when people were being attacked by wolves in front of their own houses in the late ‘80s. “The wolves are a real problem, but us women just worry that our husbands come back home safely.” © Luke Oppenheimer

Finalist Istvan Kerekes

“Transylvanian shepherds” - Romania Alexandru and Peter are shepherds near Romania’s largest chemical plant producing fertilizers in Târgu Mureş. The chemical plant producing fertilizers has been polluting the environment and the people living here in Targu Mures and its surroundings for decades... © Istvan Kerekes

Finalist David Taffet

“Country Christmas” - Ohio, USA For years, the Community Harvest Church, which is located in rural Ohio, has staged outside a live nativity that attracts thousands. As part of the live depiction, the church congregants corral animals and dress in period costumes. Although the congregants attempt to recreate as best they can their conception of Christianity, following Jesus’ trajectory from birth through his resurrection, the realities of country life married to cultural appropriation lends an air of humor and irony evident in striking juxtapositions and poignant poses. © David Taffet

Finalist Justin Dingwall

“Ascent” This art series is a commentary on our current situation, and the unexpected roads we must navigate. It focuses on travel, and how restrictions on our movement affects every aspect of our lives. Found objects (such as tin cans and other waste) have been used in the creation of the metal toys, so those in themselves are also forms of art that evoke images of exploration. The idea of change that is portrayed in the altered objects links to the altered pathways we face in our current situation. Fashion is also an important feature in this series. The artworks are a collaboration between a fashion designer and fine art photographer, and became a visual journey for them both, as they each investigate what travel means to them. © Justin Dingwall