Like every year at this time, the Lens Culture artistic platform has released the result of one of its popular photography contests; in this case of Street Photography Awards, dedicated as its name indicates to the thriving genre of street photography. And we are in luck because in one of the two main categories a Spanish woman has won: Bego Amaré.
If already last year we commented on the important influence that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the contest, this year, on its 42nd edition, was raised with the doubt of how the images presented would be: if they would show the joy at finally being able to freely go out into the streets after so much confinement, or if the photographers would continue to bet on images where loneliness and silence reigned.
And the result, according to the organization, is “a very vast world trapped somewhere between before and after the pandemic with hundreds of images revealing the hustle and bustle of daily life as in the old days but in new spaces, often socially distanced […] From Seoul to Sydney, from Rio to Manhattan, from Istanbul to Yangoon City, talented photographers show us their daily habitat brilliantly captured with light, shadow, color, drama, serendipity, and often a sense of humor.“.
Translated into numbers, 38 photographers from 19 countries some prizes were taken, and 25 additional finalists were chosen. Of all of them six are the main winners, the first three of the two categories that make up the contest: ‘Single Images‘ and ‘Series‘, which reward unique photos or bodies of ten photos (respectively).
Well, as we have advanced, the first prize in single image It is for a Spanish photographer. We have not put your photo on the cover because, due to its vertical format, it would have been totally unworthy; but you have it up here and, as you can see, it is a very original and striking image. Its titled ‘In the Shadow‘(“A la sombrica” in its Spanish version) and shows two waiters on a break from their work, taking shelter (half) thanks to a yellow awning in one of the bars in the well-known Plaza Mayor in Madrid.
As for the category that awards series of photographs, the winner has been the South Korean Argus Paul Estabrook by ‘Reflections Inside the Seoul Metro‘, a compilation of brilliant black and white snapshots taken (as the name suggests) on the subway in the Korean capital.
As always, we congratulate the winners (especially Bego Amaré) and we leave you with some of the winning photos but we invite you to visit the contest website because there you will find many more interesting images of this attractive genre.
What is ISO sensitivity and how to use it in your photos
2021 LensCulture Street Photography Awards Winners
Category Series
First Prize: ‘Reflections Inside the Seoul Metro’ by Argus Paul Estabrook (South Korea)
Second Prize: ‘In Visible Light’ by Sam Ferris (Australia)
Third prize: ‘Out of the Shadow’ by Anna Biret (France)
Individual Category
First prize: ‘In the Shadow’ by Bego Amaré (Spain)
Second Prize: ‘Social Distancing’ by Jason Au (Hong Kong)
Third prize: ‘Goat Auction in Nizwa’ by Maude Bardet (Netherlands)
Juror’s Picks
Series ‘Águas de Ouro’ by Sandra Cattaneo Adorno (United Kingdom)
Series ‘Independen Mysteries’ by Michael Magers (USA)
Series ‘Our Encounters’ by Shane Gray (UK)
Series ‘What Was Lost to 2020’ by © Alana Colville (USA)
Sittichai Maikupandin series ‘Ordinary Place’ (Thailand)
Li Chen’s ‘Tactile’ series (China)
Series ‘In Search of it’ by Murat Harmanlikli (Turkey)
More information | LensCulture
Cover photo | ‘Untitled’ from the ‘In Visible Light’ series © Sam Ferris. Second place in the Series category of the LensCulture Street Photography Awards 2021