Photography News | Issue 39 | absolutephoto.com
33
Interview
Strength for Life UK charity Age International focuses on the needs and rights of older people in developing countries. Having announced the winners of its first photography competition Strength for Life communications manager and judge Judith Escribano tells us more Competition special
competition provided a way for others to connect with the work we do and to tell stories through imagery. AndyWLangton won the amateur category with his Mermaids in South Korea image; what was it about this image that caught the judges’ eye? This image caught our eye immediately. We loved the positive and joyful faces of the older women in the image – showing a life well lived, but also showing older women in a pose seldom seen. We loved the reflection of the colourful buoy in the shimmering water, and the clarity and sharpness of the shot. But we also loved the story behind the image. What about Robin Bath’s winning image in the professional category? The panel loved the framing of this image, all the more remarkable when we discovered that it was a candid image that Robin had captured as he passed the woman’s home. We also liked the fact that the image demonstrated both dignity and pride in the face and pose of the older woman. How were the winners awarded? Andy won the opportunity of shadowing award-winning The Guardian photographer, David Levene, for a day. We hope this will provide Andy with invaluable experience. Robin won £500 in Calumet Photographic vouchers. Both of their images were also displayed in an exhibition at St Martin in the Fields, London, and on The Guardian website. They are included in an Age International calendar, which is currently on sale in Age UK charity shops. Will we see the competition running again ? As the first photography competition held we were delighted with its success, so we hope to run one in the future. What advice can give you for people wanting to enter? The best advice I can give is to follow the brief! We were looking for colour photos of older people from around the world but received a surprising number of black & white images or shots of children and animals which simply didn’t meet our criteria.
Interview by Jemma Dodd
Why was the competition set up? We ran the competition to raise awareness of what life is like for older people and their families living in poverty around the world. Age International works in more than 30 developing countries, helping older people with emergency relief and long-term development programmes. The charity helps older people in these countries to escape poverty, receive the right kind of healthcare, survive emergencies and have their contributions to families and communities recognised and valued. We also wanted to challenge people to think about older people in a different way. All too often, older people are invisible, ignored, taken for granted. We wanted to get to know the photographers out there who had captured images of older people that demonstrated strength and dignity. How did you come up with the theme? Most of us hope and believe that retirement will be an enjoyable and relaxing time of life. But retirement isn’t an option for most older people in the poorest countries in the world. With few or inadequate pensions, most people in later life must continue working until the day they die. When you have to keep going and every day is a struggle to survive, you need strength for life. At Age International, we see older people as an asset to their families and communities, making a contribution that is often not recognised. We want everyone to see that older people around the world embody both strength and dignity; providing not only for themselves, but for their families; inspiring andassisting other people in later life aswell as people from younger generations. We hoped that photographers entering the competition would share our vision. How important do you think images are in terms of helping to raise awareness? I think images are essential for raising awareness. At Age International, we know there are many older people in developing countries. We know that they are incredibly valuable to their families, communities and societies as a whole. We feel it is vitally important to share what we know, and the
Above Silk by Amy Sinead Moran. This grandmother lives and works from her stilted home on Koh Dach (Silk Island). Below The drummer by Kenneth Gray. Kenneth Gray captured this image of an older man drumming at a cultural show in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
ageinternational.org.uk
Powered by FlippingBook