Ninth edition with a total of 230,103 entries from 186 countries.
Italy won three first prizes for professionals, three second and three third covering 9 categories.
Further two first prizes went to Anais Stupka, Milanese girl 12 years old, for the Environment category in the Youth contest and to Christian Massari for the National Award which goes to the best image of the participating countries in the Open contest.
The three winners of the Professional categories are: Marcello Bonfanti (Portrait), Alberto Alicata (Posing photography) and Francesco Amorosino (Still Life).
Marcello Bonfanti (born in Milan in 1972) was awarded for the “Ebola Survivors” series. Lover of Italian painting, Bonfanti received a degree in photography at the University of Westminster in London. Already awarded with several international prizes, including the World Press Photo 2005 he collaborates with the most important magazines in the world and signs commercial, fashion and corporate shooting for well-known Italian brands.
The “Ebola Survivors” series was taken in the Emergency center in Sierra Leone. Eradicated in October 2015, the Ebola outbreak has recorded 14,122 cases and claimed 3,955 victims. Bonfanti has chosen to visit the NGO structure to document the traumatic return of patients to normality, a limbo between loneliness and hope.
Series “Ebola Survivors”, Marcello Bonfanti first place Professional Portrait
Bonfanti said of his victory: “Having studied and started my career in London, where I have also received the first significant recognition, the news received by the WPO has brought me right to my first steps in this field, with all the efforts, hopes, frustrations and discipline they have requested. I consider it a sort of new beginning, with a more mature awareness” Marcello Bonfanti.
Alberto Alicata (Palermo, born in 1983) won the Championship with the series “Iconic B“. Fashion and advertising photographer, he graduated at the Scuola Romana di Fotografia e Cinema di Roma (School of Photography and Cinema of Rome) where he still lives and studies. He has already received prestigious awards and titles worldwide.
Series “Iconic B”, Alberto Alicata, first place Professional Staged.
Of this work he explains: “My intention was to trace the history of photography and its great masters using a symbol of modern Western culture: Barbie. Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Guy Bourdin, David Lachapelle, Mario Testino are just some of the names are now part of the collective imagination and have become legendary. ” Alberto Alicata.
Francesco Amorosino, born in Rionero in Vulture (Pz) in 1984, has been awarded for the “Migrant Tomatoes” series. After studying photography at the three-year master of the School of Photography and Cinema of Rome where he lives, he began working as a photographer, journalist, and photo tours organizer, besides holding photography classes for adults and children. She collaborates with the agency Luz Photo.
Francesco Amorosino during photographic exhibition at Casa Museo Spazio Tadini, Milano
“Migrant Tomatoes” is a denunciation of illegal work in Italy, represented for Amorosino by the shameful background of the tomato harvest: “Only in 2015, there have been 13 deaths in the fields, where most of the workers are immigrants, because of the extreme temperatures. On tomatoes purchased by my family to make the sauce, I saw the footprints of those who have picked them up. Since then, I never managed to watch the tomato sauce with the same eyes. ” Regarding this victory: “It’s a dream that comes true and, above all, the proof that you can tell difficult stories even with unconventional means. A simple tomato exemplifies what we ignore (or choose to ignore) in the world, from immigration to exploitation, but also our traditions and the value of family roots. This is precisely the power of photography and Imagination “.
Christian Massari, “The late Holocene Fever”
Christian Massari, won a National Award which consists of 10 contests (Architecture, Art and Culture, Photo Editing, Soft Light, Nature and Animals, Panorama, People, Smiles, Fraction of Second and Travel) and is dedicated to amateur photographers judged on the basis of a single shot. “This win was definitely an unforgettable recognition! Thanks to it I was able to show many of my works in Italy and worldwide. Many people wrote to congratulate with me and I started some interesting projects that I hope to present soon somewhere. Definitely it gave a good impulse to my own creativity!” Christian Massari.
Three other Italian artists have won the 2nd place in the context of the Professional competition:
Andrea and Magda, (Category Current Affairs), series “Sinai Park”; Filippo Venturi, (Category People), series”Made in Korea”; Cristina Vatielli, (Category Staged), series “Picasso’s Women.”
Andrea e Magda Micelli, second place Professional Current Affairs
Filippo Venturi, second place Professional People
Cristina Vatielli, second place Professional Staged
Three also the italian bronze medals:
Simona Ghizzoni, (Category Contemporary Issues), series “UNCUT Pokot / Kenya”; Alessandro D’Angelo, (Categoria People), series “Elefantentreffen”; Andrea Rossato, (Category Candid), serie “Joy for all ages…”.
The exhibition of the winning and finalist photographs was hosted at Somerset House in London, the imposing and fascinating building overlooking the Thames, built in the late eighteenth century in the neoclassical style which is now a major multi-purpose center for visual arts, design, photography, film, music and fashion.
The exhibition also includes a photograph of Anais Stupka, 12 years old from Milan, named winner of the Youth contest (section open to young photographers between 12 and 19) for the Environment category.
Anais Stupka, winner of the Environment category as part of the Youth competition, “Mount Kazbek in frames, Georgia”
“The last week of October, during the half term vacation, I was with my family in Kazbegi, Georgia. One day, while I was going to take the hotel elevator, I looked out the window and I became aware of the spectacular view. From that angle you could see all the contradictions of Mount Kazbek: on the one hand the wonderful church on top and, on the other, the miserable city at the mountain slopes. I had to capture that scene. ” Anais Stupka.
The merit of the Sony World Photography Awards is to give space and visibility to young emerging photographers, as in the case of Anais, the youngest winners in the Youth category:: “This award has changed my life, in particular having received a professional camera! He inspired me to apply myself more seriously to photography. I also decided to create a charity project that consists in giving cameras used to deserving children. I started giving the carmera with which I shot the winning photo. For the time being I only did through my Instagram channel, but shortly I will create a site to launch this project. “Anais Stupka.
The World Photography Organisation offers a full calendar of annual events, including the Sony World Photography Awards, the largest photo contest in the world, and international art fairs such as Shanghai Photo and Photo San Francisco. The aim is to promote the art of photography.
Photo Credits:
© Marcello Bonfanti, winner of first prize in the Portrait category as part of the Professional competition (series “Ebola Survivors”)
© Alberto Alicata, winner of the first prize in the Staged category as part of the Professional competition (series “Iconic B”)
© Francesco Amorosino, winner of the first prize in the Still Life category as part of the Professional competition series “Migrant Tomatoes”
© Andrea and Magda Micelli, winners of the second prize in the Current Affairs category as part of the Professional competition (series “Sinai Park”)
© Filippo Venturi, winners of the second prize in the People category as part of the Professional competition (series “Made in Korea”)
© Cristina Vatielli, winner of the second prize in the Staged category as part of the Professional competition (series “Picasso’s Women”)
© Anais Stupka, winner of the Environment category as part of the Youth competition, (“Mount Kazbek in frames, Georgia”)
© Simona Ghizzoni, winner of the third place in the Contemporary Issues category as part of the Professional competition (series “UNCUT Pokot / Kenya”)
© Alessandro D’Angelo, winner of the third place in the People category as part of the Professional competition (series “Elefantentreffen”)
© Andrea Rossato, winner of the third place in the Candid category as part of the Professional competition (series “Joy for all ages …”.)