Hopes and fears expressed by young photographers

...seen on 5 February 2014 at the shortlisted images of the 'Youth'-category of this year's Sony World Photography Awards.

Since yesterday, the shortlist (categories Professional, Open, Youth) is published online. 'Youth' centers around experiments with photography, catching daily life and the production of meaning through images. The pictures on this page are from the 'Youth' sub-categories 'Portraits' (right) and 'Culture' (below).

fig. right: The ghostly image of a girl with hands in front of her face was photographed and later re-worked by South-African Laura Schmid. Is this existentialistic image about the fear to loose identity, does it refer to keeping one's privacy? The expression is strong; but the interpretation lies in the viewer's eyes. Laura Schmid explains the making of 'Hide and Seek': "I layered two photographs over each other getting the effect of the girl's face over her hands, converted the photo to BnW and changed the contrast and brightness." Photo: 'Hide and Seek' (C) Laura Schmid, South Africa; shortlist 'Youth' (Portraits), Sony World Photography Awards 2014.

fig. below: "I went to take pictures of children ballet," is the short statement of Russian photographer Anastasia Zhetvina about her authentic 'Young Talents' snap shot of young girls who are dancing their Prima Ballerina-dream. It is shortlisted in 'Culture' where photographers' impressions of daily life scenes are on view. Photo: 'Young Talents' (C) Anastasia Zhetvina, Russia; shortlist 'Youth' (Culture), Sony World Photography Awards 2014.

The winner of the 'Youth'-category will be announced on 18 March 2014.

Annotation on 20 March: Anastasia Zhetvina is the winner in the category 'Culture' of the Sony World Photography Awards Youth Award 2014 (description of the image above, image below).




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