#1 Open, Honorable Mention: Arrival By Fenqiang “Frank” Liu
Bored Panda reached out to Kateryna Polishchuk, who won 2nd place in the Aerial category for her image ‘Shadow Basketball III.’ We wanted to gain more insights from Ukrainian photographers about their awarded work. Polishchuk began by sharing what initially inspired her to photograph this unique basketball court, featuring a tree growing at its center: “I have always been looking for unusual photo spots since I started to fly drones a few years ago. This basketball court is part of a so-called urban park, the first one of the three urban parks built in my city of Kharkiv, Ukraine in 2020-21 and I've never found any information about other courts like this one elsewhere in the world. (Are there any?)”
#2 Landscape Photographer Of The Year: Arctic Silence 5 By Patrick Ems
#3 Fine-Art, 3rd Place Winner: Dancing Trees By Marleen Van Hove
We were curious about Kateryna's approach to minimalism in photography, and she explained: “It has been my experience that the typical urban environment offers rather limited opportunities for minimalistic aerial photography. But outdoor sports facilities and basketball courts in particular always make for interesting photo spots. They have certain conciseness and also dynamics, of course. I consider it best to visit them not in the golden hour but during the sunny day when the shadows can be used as additional elements of composition or optimally positioned like the shadow of this oak tree in the middle.
#4 Aerial, 2nd Place Winner: Shadow Basketball III By Kateryna Polishchuk
#5 Aerial, 3rd Place Winner: Pink On Pink By Magali Chesnel
The color of the greater flamingos varies according to seasons. Almost white in summer, their plumage becomes flamboyant, with a very pink color, during winter time. This is indeed during this season that they engage in courtship displays to attract their future partner.
Their bright pink color comes from beta-carotene, a red-orange pigment that’s found in high amounts within the algae, brine fly larvae, and brine shrimp that they eat in this wetland environment. As this diet is nearly exclusively carotenoid, the birds have no problem coloring themselves.
This pink color of the water is due to dunaliella salina, an algae rich in beta-carotene which takes all its intensity from above, especially during the summer time.
Thanks to the natural beauty of this French colorful area, which never ceases to amaze my pupils, and together with my aerial shot, I like creating a confusion between reality and illusion, photography and painting, based on Rothko’s principles: insisting on the primacy of raw emotion, to push the boundaries of form and color, to make photos appear as “painting-like” as possible.
Next, Kateryna shared more about the symbolism of the tree she captured and what it represents within the urban setting: “What I see here is respect for nature, and it’s inspiring to witness how societies are becoming more responsible over the years. This scene exemplifies a successful solution that harmonizes both urban and natural aspects of life in a big city. Some of my minimalistic works feature people or objects in natural surroundings, but this scene represents something completely different.”
#6 Landscape, Honorable Mention: That Lonely Tree By Helen Trust
#7 Abstract, Honorable Mention: ROJA By Benjamin Quadflieg
Lastly, the photographer explained how this award-winning image fits into the broader context of her work: “Before aerial photography I specialized in landscapes, both urban and natural, while nature has always inspired me most. Until now, nature has been present in most of my works, one way or the other. I cannot say I purposefully explore the themes of nature coexisting with man-made environments but this sure interests me a lot and I would be happy to do it more often in the future, I have new ideas.”
#8 Landscape, 2nd Place Winner: Winter Cottonwoods By Andrew Mielzynski
#9 Photo Manipulation, 2nd Place Winner: Going Home By June Yunjung John
#10 Abstract Photographer Of The Year: Color Conversation By Gleici Rufatto
#11 Conceptual, Honorable Mention: The Heart By Christian Hopfensitz
#12 Abstract, 2nd Place Winner: Magic Angles By Matthias Yamakasino Brandt
#13 Architecture, 2nd Place Winner: White On White By Janet Capling
#14 Night, Honorable Mention: Eyes On The Prize By Wai Hoe Mok
To hide from the sharks, prey hid amongst the cracks and crevasses in the corals. In this photo, a fusilier was detected, which attracted a shiver of sharks to break through the corals to flush the fusilier out. What followed was a high speed chase in the pitch darkness of the night. I kicked my fins as hard as I could and followed the chase with my camera furiously firing and was fortunate enough to capture this image.
#15 Long Exposure, Honorable Menion: About Decision Making By Jan Pudil
#16 Abstract, 3rd Place Winner: Waterworld (Oil & Water Studies) By Beth Buelow
#17 Aerial Photographer Of The Year: Winter Drawings By Yevhen Samuchenko
I created this aerial series in the Carpathian Mountains in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine. In these parts of Ukraine, the houses are sparsely placed on low mountains, sometimes close to the forest. This allows me to see more minimalist scenes of rural life. The snow-covered mountains resemble a blank sheet of paper, and a combination of elements of rural life and nature creates simple but no less amazing sketches resembling pencil drawings. This is especially noticeable from above, which is why I chose to work with a drone for this project. I spent many days hiking in the winter Carpathian Mountains looking for interesting subjects for this series.
#18 Fine-Art Photographer Of The Year: Delicate By Hilda Champion
#19 Architecture, Honorable Mention: Windows By Manfred Gruber
#20 Aerial, Honorable Mention: Beach Bliss By Simon Heather
