Photo: © Alys Tomlinson, United Kingdom — Professional, Discovery, Photographer of the Year, 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
British photographer Alys Tomlinson was named the 2018 Photographer of the Year by the World Photography Organisation. For her winning photo series Ex-Voto , she received $ 25,000 (USD) at the awards ceremony. The jury praised the work for its beautiful production, technical excellence, and sensitive portrayal of pilgrimage as a journey of discovery and sacrifice for a higher power.
The 11th edition of the competition received a record 320,000 entries from photographers in more than 200 countries and territories. Tomlinson was chosen from the ten category winners in the Professional competition, who were announced alongside the second- and third-place photographers in each Professional category. The overall winners of the Open (best single image), Youth, and Student Focus competitions were also revealed.
Ex-Voto is a personal project by London-based photographer Tomlinson, then aged 43. The winning work comprises formal portraits, large-format landscapes, and small, detailed still lifes of ‘ex-votos’—offerings of religious devotion—made at pilgrimage sites in Lourdes, France; Ballyvourney, Ireland; and Grabarka, Poland.
Tomlinson responded: “I am very surprised to have won; there is so much great photography in this competition. This is an enormous boost, both personally and professionally. It is a project in which I have invested so much, so this recognition makes it all worthwhile.”
Bulgarian photographer Veselin Atanasov was selected as the Open winner from the 10 category winners for the world’s best single image. He was recognized for his work Early Autumn and received a prize of $ 5,000 (USD). The IT specialist is a self-taught photographer who began taking pictures in 2014.
The Student Photographer of the Year was Samuel Bolduc, then aged 20. The Canadian photographer was selected by the judges for his image The Burden. The work illustrates the physical burden of plastic waste on the environment and the urgent need to stop plastic pollution. Bolduc won € 30,000 worth of Sony photography equipment for his school.
That year, German photographer Candida Höfer received the Outstanding Contribution to Photography award. Her powerful images of expansive, empty spaces form part of major collections worldwide and are exhibited in leading international museums.
All winning and shortlisted images were exhibited at Somerset House in London from April 20 through May 6 that year.
More information: www.worldphoto.org.
