In February 2021, The Independent Photographer organized its monthly photo contest around the theme "Street Photography." On this occasion, the renowned photographer Martin Parr was a judge in choosing the best photos.
Martin Parr is one of the most iconic contemporary photographers. A true chronicler of our age, he is known for his iconic photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical, and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world.
Parr has been a member of Magnum Photos since 1994 and was President from 2013–2017. He has had around 40 solo photobooks published and has been featured in around 80 exhibitions worldwide. Parr also acts as a curator and editor. He has curated two photography festivals and was invited as artistic director of the 2004 edition of the Rencontres d'Arles.
Congratulations to the Winners & Finalists of this photography contest!
More info: independent-photo.com | Instagram | twitter.com | Facebook
#1 Joseph-Philippe Bevillard—2nd Prize
"After Church Wedding"—Wexford, Ireland, 2019. Women and girls from the Irish traveling community get together after church. Girls as young as 3 wear high heels, false tan, eyelashes, make-up, and colorful dresses as part of their ritual. Prize: $600. Feedback from Martin Parr: "This image taken at a traveller’s wedding in Wexford in Ireland really catches the atmosphere of such an event, with everyone in the right place. The woman on the left, adjusting her daughter’s dress, with a cigarette in the mouth is exceptional, and this with the layers of pink dresses makes an exceptional image. It is a co-incident that the 2 winners both distilled a complicated real life situation into beautifully balanced images. You will see with my runners up, you often get a strong image with a lot more simplicity, but for me, the real challenge of street photography is to make order out of chaos."
Image credits: Joseph-Philippe Bevillard
#2 Orna Naor
"Children looking through the glass"—Bnei Brak, Israel, 2000.
Image credits: Orna Naor
#3 Marcel Van Balken
"Repair"—Dordogne, France. The car was apparently broken because there is someone underneath. But it’s not clear what she is doing. The woman is perhaps trying to repair the car but her dog is still waiting and less confident in it.
Image credits: Marcel van Balken
#4 Giuliano Lo Re
"The Train for Jaipur"—India. People are resting inside the train that will bring them from New Delhi to Jaipur. For a few hours, the wagon becomes their home. Some of them are resting on the seats and seem immersed in their thoughts, some brush their teeth, shave or prepare food.
Image credits: Giuliano Lo Re
#5 Lorenzo Caten
"La comitiva"—Paola, Calabria, Italy, 2020. "La comitiva" is an Italian term that indicates a group of young friends with a very close bond. I met this group randomly along the seaside and I spent some evenings with them portraying their everyday rituals along the rocky beaches of a small town in the south of Italy.
Image credits: Lorenzo Caten
#6 Florian Lang—1st Prize
"Buddhist Roadside Shrine"—Siem Reap, Cambodia, 2020. People are paying a visit to a Buddhist roadside shrine in the center of Siem Reap. Prize: $1000. Feedback from Martin Parr: "One of the hallmarks of a great street photo is to get every component lined up, so out of a jumble of people, objects with the background, everything has room to breathe. In this rendition of this roadside Buddhist shrine in Cambodia everything is in place, and the people have real presence within the frame. It is difficult to find fault with any of the details in this image, and I know how tricky this is to pull off."
Image credits: Florian Lang
#7 Carlos Antonorsi
"Fantasy Alley"—Hollywood Beach, Florida, USA, 2020.
Image credits: Carlos Antonorsi
#8 Monia Marchionni—3rd Prize
"The gardens from the sky"—Cuba. During a summer day, the three generations of an Italo-Cuban family are serenely spending their time in a period house overlooking the sea. Prize: $400. Feedback from The Independent Photographer Editors: "Theatrical and deeply expressive, Monia Marchionni’s impeccably-timed image eloquently communicates the eccentricities of family life; capturing the unique temperament of each character with rare lucidity, it demonstrates how a seemingly quotidian scene can be transformed by the lens of a skilled street photographer."
Image credits: Monia Marchionni
#9 Andrew Biraj
"Workers in a shipyard"—Dhaka, Bangladesh. Workers in a shipyard by the river Buriganga, on the outskirt of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Image credits: Andrew Biraj
#10 Susanne Grether
"Workout session"—Varanasi, India, 2020.
Image credits: Susanne Grether
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