In 2022, we hosted a monthly photography competition for all our photography students. Each month we assigned a different theme and students would then submit their entry to correspond with that particular month's theme.
A team of judges from the various Academies would evaluate all entries and then shortlist a selection of ten images. Those were then sent to guest judges who would choose the winner. Each month there were eleven different industry experts’ acting as guest judges. They all expressed their delight in judging the students fascinating work.
In this article, we look at all 2022 winners of the Academy's monthly photography competition plus the 2022 Photograph of the Year.
Photograph of the Year 2022
Photography by Ryan Hurley. Ryan was also the winner of July’s Photography Competition and the theme for July 2022 was ‘Leading Lines’.
Rob Irving shared these words about the winning image:
‘’I nominate this image as the winner.
It fits the competition’s title requirement.
It’s a lesser seen whilst interesting perspective on Tower Bridge.
Considered post-production.”
January Theme: Portrait
Winner: Jim Westlake
Guest judge Jonathan Clifford says this about the winning image:
“It’s a beautifully made, emotive portrait, which although appears to be shot in a studio it’s still managed to achieve that much sought-after authentic moment with the subject, where his awareness of being photographed has faded away and he’s fully immersed in his guitar and the music he’s making. The black and white treatment is very well done and very suitable to the image.
Congratulations to the photographer, and all who were selected as finalists!”
February Theme: Love Story
Winner James Rudoni
Darren Purbrick left a few words about the winning image:
“The image that stood out for me was this one. I liked loved the composition, balance, and lines that ran through the image which made it engaging for me.”
March Theme: Creative editing
Winner: Zahrin Lukman
Alecsandra Dragoi said this about winning image:
“A very clever approach and homage to Andre Kertesz's 1928 Fork photograph. Very well done for the creative and unique approach to this month’s competition theme. I like the simplicity and the reference to one of the classics. It is so easy to over-edit images, so very well done for the simple and smart approach.”
April Theme: Current Events
Winner: David Gambin
Anthony Griffin commented on the winning image:
“This photograph, in the spirit of photojournalism, tells a story as well as or better than one including or accompanied by text. The people, with visible faces, offer a connection to the viewer (the faces of the people are visible), including the action of their inaction, in this particular case.
Focusing on the individual is smart. The image is not dominated by protest signs or by the physical activity of a crowd but rather, a contemplative figure, quiet and somewhat separated from the collective. The location is suitably ambiguous, allowing a universality, relevant to the event and the critical issue it references.
There is enough information to provide a narrative but since the image does not spoon-feed the viewer, we can pause to inhabit the person, acknowledge, and reflect upon the event/issue and come away with questions of our own.”
May Theme: Geometry
Winner: Zheyi Zhao
Hugo Felix had these words to say about winning image:
“Thank you for all the entries. I am quite happy to see that the standard of our students' images is increasing every month.
I've chosen a clever approach for tackling this month's theme - a very simple yet powerful composition that is also well exposed. The conversion to B&W is very well-considered. The eye for detail, with the capacity to choose a common subject to address a theme such as Geometry, is to be commended.”
June Theme: Shadows
Winner: Susan Stokes
Pat Graham left a few words about the winning image:
‘’Shadows in photography help to add drama, depth, and wonder. Going back in the history of photography we can see many iconic pictures that used shadow. It was great to see everyone trying out various techniques find shadow.
This made it very hard to choose a winning image.
I chose this photograph as it considers shadow in highlight. This combined with a stunning composition of simplicity and lines really works. Lastly even though we can’t quite see who the person in the photo is, we do see a human. This creates further intrigue (bonus they are a photographer)
Well done!’’
August Theme: Freedom
Winner: Daniel Oliver
Gabriela Ferreira left a quote about the winning image:
"Laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population."
Albert Einstein
September Theme: Depth of Field
Winner: Tomasz Imiolczyk
Alecsandra Dragoi had these observations about the winning image:
‘’Interesting approach to the theme with a great way of using the depth of field creatively. The winning image demonstrates the power of depth of field and how it can change a story or trick the viewer's imagination. The drops almost look like two eyes. Black and white was a good choice. Well done!’’
October Theme: Colour without Colour
Winner: Josipa Sragalj
Hugo Felix said this about the winning image:
‘’This image caught my attention from the beginning. A good perspective that draws you from the heat of the crowd to the stage, where the singer is correctly exposed. Even though it is in B&W you can still "see" the colours of the lights.’’
November Theme: Fill the Frame
Winner: Peter Livsey
Gabriela Ferreira left a comment about the winning image:
"Filling the frame" it's one of the best well-known composition rules. However, although it sounds pretty easy, it's also one of the most tricky rules to apply in a composition. The purpose? Make your subject the "main character", where it occupies a large proportion of your image. To do that, you need to be close, really close to your subject so that all the surroundings are not important, and the audience can focus their attention on that "one element".
Congratulations to everyone who participated!
If you're interested in taking your photography skills to the next level or starting your own business, we have the right course for you.