We're delighted to reveal the names of the 25 talented photographers who won "AAP Magazine #25: B&W"
These amazing photographers come from 11 different countries. Their work reflects the large variety black and white photography can offer. Documentary, portrait, travel, street, wildlife, abstract and fine art are all represented in the winning portfolios.
Regardless of the genre of photography, the selected projects all have different approaches to the unifying theme of black and white.
The top 3 winners will be awarded $1,000.
All winners will have their work showcased on All About Photo Winners Gallery, and published in the printed issue of AAP Magazine #25 B&W.
More info: all-about-photo.com
#1 Untitled © Radoslaw Lowicki (Poland)
"A cat at a window of a house in the old part of my hometown, Śrem."
72points
Using film, analog or digital photography, deep blacks or light grays, each photographer showcases a unique point of view. The chosen work successfully incorporates the literal and metaphorical dichotomy of black and white.
Mysterious, intense, timeless, at times nostalgic, black and white is magical for anyone who loves photography. Clearly black and white photography continues to hold a prominent place in our hearts and imaginations!
#2 "Under An Autumn Sky" © Steve Toole (United States)
Series: Back Roads
"There is a sense of timelessness when I travel the back roads of America. Two-lane blacktops and meandering gravel roads are the capillaries that carry me to those places that modernity has mostly ignored."
67points
#3 "Moon Lily Pads" © David Gray (Canada)
Series 'Light on the Pond'
57points
We chose the image 'Girl on Slide, Indre 2021' from the series 'Riverland' by the Dutch photographer Marjolein Martinot because we felt that this beautiful image displayed poetry and a sense of timelessness.
#4 "Blind Date" © Cuneyt Gumushaneli (Turkey)
"Last year, during the lockdown period, I was only able to leave the house for limited times due to the Covid 19 pandemic, all I could do was take long walks in the secluded spots of the city. A beautiful bronze work of Spanish sculptor Daniel Pérez that I love was placed in one of such quiet places I walk on the coastline of Izmir. During one of my walks, I realized a visual interaction between the statue and a man walking along the coastal road and that reminded me of the exciting first date of a man and a woman who didn't know each other."
43points
#5 "I'm Just A Kid" © Orna Naor (Israel)
"It's often said that animals and children 'steal the show'.
Children instinctively evoke sympathy, compassion and a desire to protect them.
From this understanding, I began this series about the children living under the occupation in Israel; An attempt to overcome the feeling of fear from the 'enemy' by presenting the children, who pay the price of their childhood and to regain humanity to humanity."
From this understanding, I began this series about the children living under the occupation in Israel; An attempt to overcome the feeling of fear from the 'enemy' by presenting the children, who pay the price of their childhood and to regain humanity to humanity."
38points
Rico X. from the United Arab Emirates had, on the other hand, an extremely powerful narrative with his project "The Stubborn Boys" showing fishermen in Gold Coast, Ghana. The project in its all is stunning. You will have to discover it in our printed magazine when it is ready!
#6 "Jennifer And Her Mother, Dykes On Bikes Before The Start Of The Parade", San Francisco, Ca 1985 © Saul Bromberger And Sandra Hoover
Series: 'Hearts of the Movement: The San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade: 1984-1990'
38points
#7 "Bike Shadow" © Francesco Luongo (Italy)
"I took this photo using a drone, I tried to focus the attention on the shadow of the cyclist but also on the context of urban geometries in my city."
37points
The 3rd place was given to Radoslaw Lowicki from Poland for the cutest cat. It just made our hearts melt...
All the other images deserve a special mention, they are all so special, powerful and extremely well balanced. We think a wide variety of genres and techniques reflect the endless possibilities black and white photography has to offer.
#8 "They Call Me Humphrey" © Rajan Dosaj (United States)
"As I was walking toward the Disney Concert Hall on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles one afternoon, I came upon this gentleman standing motionless against the famous architecture designed by Frank Gehry. Dressed in a dark suit and stetson hat, the gentleman's appearance and posture were a welcome return to the character of Sam Spade played by Humphrey Bogart in the 1941 American film noir The Maltese Falcon."
36points
#9 "Hanging On" © Kohei Ueno (Japan)
"Freediving teaches you to let go and surrender to nature, as it is counterproductive to tense up your body to fight the crushing pressure. Whatever nature throws at you, you learn to accept and ride with it.
This is a shot of Pablo from Mexico, hanging on to the line as the ocean current sweeps across him during his FIM (Free Immersion Dive), a discipline where you dive using only your arms to pull down the line, and up."
36points
#10 "The Trangas Of The Bielsa Carnival" © Ashley Suszczynski (United States)
Series: Ancient Basque In The Modern Day
"This project is composed of scenes captured during winter carnival season in Basque Country. Through these photos, we see how the Basque people have preserved their pre-Christian traditions and ensured that they continue to thrive in the modern day.
During the reign of Franco, such Basque traditions were outlawed entirely, as was the Basque language. Yet even through these hardships, the rural communities from villages such as Ituren, Zubieta, and Bielsa have carried their carnival traditions through the centuries."
34points
#11 "August 13, 2017" © Anna Grevenitis (France/United States)
"REGARD is a series of staged, controlled and collaborative self-portraits between my daughter and me. In each composed tableau, I both invite the viewers into a tender mundane scene and look back at them with the same expression I throw at the unwelcome examinations of my daughter from the eyes of strangers in the streets. The crux of what I am showing is that being a teenage girl with Down syndrome is, in many ways, a typical pubescent experience – and actually exists – despite the fact that a lot of mainstream media and entertainment may lead you to believe the opposite."
34points
#12 "Sea Breeze" © Eric Davidove (United States)
Series: California Dreaming
"These photos are from my ongoing photo project, titled California Dreaming, which highlights the quirky, curious, diverse and distinct cultures of San Francisco and Los Angeles. My preference is to take candid and natural photos. The rare exception is when I ask permission to make portraiture. All of my street photos are taken during daylight and without using a flash because I prefer to be invisible and unnoticed by the subject(s). I am now using a full-frame mirrorless camera with a 35mm prime lens."
33points
#13 "Girl On Slide, Indre 2021" © Marjolein Martinot (Netherlands)
"A photo from my photo-series 'Riverland', which I started about 2 years ago while attending a workshop with Vanessa Winship and George Georgiou in the Indre region in France. It's a series depicting various scenes - portraits, stills and landscapes - all taken in and around rivers and waters in the Indre region, and in southern France. With the series, I tried to evoke sentiments and feelings of a meandering river, while noting and drawing parallels to (my) life…"
31points
#14 "Coal Boat With Labourers" © Radana Kuchařová (Czech Republic)
"While visiting Bangladesh, I went to a port on the river, near Dhaka Cities, where workers carried coal from a cargo ship. They carried the coal in the basket on their heads. Despite their hard work, and low pay, they were able to pose for me with a smile and a good mood."
31points
#15 "Armed, Free And Unafraid" © Janice Milhem (United States)
SERIES: Wisest Generation
Armed, Free and Unafraid.
"From the series, the Wisest Generation. A photo documentary focuses on remarkable seniors in Detroit who have inspired us and have contributed to Detroit’s renaissance. Community organizers and catalysts for a stronger Detroit. Seniors Dorothy Aldridge and Harriet Saperstein led a group of young adults to explore the best of Detroit’s present and its past. I met with these two powerhouse women one afternoon to attend a compelling talk on Detroit’s Riverwalk. This image caught Dorothy in a pensive moment while conducting a tour of Detroit's Belle Isle. Her shirt reads, 'Unarmed Free and Unafraid.'"
Dorothy Aldridge 71 with Harriet Saperstein 84. Community activists, historians.
30points
#16 "On The Train" © Svet Jacqueline Goldmeier (United States)
"Caption: A family takes a train toward Lviv as violence increases in Eastern Ukraine. The displacement of over four million refugees has been recorded at the start of the Russian invasion."
30points
#17 "Standing Together" © Jo Fields (United States)
Series - True North
"'True North' is a collection of images that feel aligned with who I am and what I find fascinating, mysterious and timeless.
Photography is place and time, light and shadow and mindful seeking. I'm meant to be in that moment to find, create, learn and grow. Mary Oliver said it best in her poem: 'Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.'"
29points
#18 "The Stubborn Boys" © Rico X. (United Arab Emirates)
Series "The Stubborn Boys" fishermen in Gold Coast, Ghana.
"While on a trip in Ghana I ventured down to the Cape Coast and visited the Anglo-Saxons dark past, aka the slave trade. After a few days of that, I wandered the streets of Cape Coast and down to the beach, where I found a narrow alleyway leading into a sheltered area on the beach 'the fisherman’s hangout' were young men, some looked like young boys, young like they should be at school boys, not here.
This group of males was referred to as 'stubborn' by people on the outside, yet they seem wholesome, chilling, joking, mass making/repairing fishing nets, sharpening fishing knives, having an afternoon nap and playing what seemed like high-stakes AGGRESSIVE card games.
I was set, this was me for the next few hours."
25points
#19 "Let The Prairie Bells Ring" © Lesia Maruschak ( Canada)
KRAÏNA: I am the land
"I am a descendent of immigrants who came to Canada from Ukraine in 1897. They were the backbone of the Canadian government’s economic expansion program aimed at settling Western Canada. A $10.00 filing fee bought them 160 acres of land – a dream come true.
In KRAÏNA: I am the land I give form to an ‘imagined geography’ where time, history and identity are fluid concepts. My relationship to the land and the meaning that my life and work derive from it are captured in the images and coupled with an exploration of immigrant loss, shifting identity and trauma; issues of global significance as we face the largest refugee crisis since WWII with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This image was taken a stone’s throw from our family farm where members of my family rest in the neighboring cemetery."
25points
#20 Untitled © Victor Kataev (Germany)
Series; DAPIO
"My daughter is 3. She came home once and told me about Dapio. Dapio appeared in her life about a year ago and has been with her ever since. My son, age 5, also seems to notice Dapio. Dapio plays with them on playgrounds, sits at the table or rides along on a bike with us. Only we adults do not see Dapio.
Since I became a father, my permanent solitude and melancholia that had always accompanied me in my life seemed to have left me. With this project, I tried finding not only solitude and melancholia but Dapio as well."
25points