Photography News Issue 39

Photography News | Issue 39 | absolutephoto.com

Interview

TheWinners

Images, clockwise fromtop Mermaids of SouthKorea by Andy W Langton, amateur winner; Memories of Rajasthan by Pam Turner; The fishing village by Robert Jones; Companions by Robin Bath, professional winner. AndyW Langton, amateur winner “Defying convention when it comes to how the older generation are perceived, I had a strong feeling that these women perfectly epitomised the ‘Strength for Life’ competition theme. Song Ja Kang and Su Ja Hyun are Haenyeo, or diving women. At 71 and 72 they have each been fishing the waters around Jeju for more than 50 years. “Free diving through all seasons to catch abalone, octopus, oysters and sea urchins, these women endure the extremes of cold, water pressure and risk of drowning to eke out a living from the sea. Each year between seven and ten women are lost whilst diving the island waters on the southern tip of South Korea. “An occupational hazard, burst eardrums have left Su Ja Hyun (seen on the left) deaf. What stands out above all is the women’s energy, zest for life and sense of humour which enables them to maintain such a challenging way of life, particularly poignant when you consider their age. “Seeing my work profiled in this way through the competition has been very exciting. Being able to showcase these remarkable women and provide an image that could be used to promote older age in such a positive and inspiring way has also been a wonderful feeling. “Winning the competition has certainly raised my profile and enabled my work to be viewed by a much wider audience. Being part of a month-long exhibition in central London, global social media coverage and a centre page spread in The Guardian newspaper will help open up future assignment opportunities.” Robin Bath, professional winner “My image was while on a trip to Myanmar early in 2016. The change from the UK winter to the warmth and brightness of South East Asia sparked my energy to capture images in a country I’d long wanted to visit. Here to my delight the people were open, friendly and at ease with being photographed and the landscapes were wonderful. “Surrounding Lake Inle are a number of villages, built on stilts above the shallow waters, that nurture local crafts, and in a window above a weaving room I spotted this dignified lady and her cat catching the morning sun. They were bathed in slanting light that contrasted with the darkness within the house, and the moment felt very special. A quick gesture with the camera to ascertain if it was all right to take her photo was greeted with a modest smile of approval… while the cat just simply ignored me. “It was a complete surprise to be called up with the announcement that I had won in the professional category. I felt so thrilled particularly since I’ve never been competitive as a photographer. I’ve never had to hustle for work, as I could also support myself with graphic design, so I somehow kept my love of seeing the extraordinary and unusual in the world around and the pleasure of recording things irrespective of whether they were of commercial use. “The competition galvanised my desire to keep on photographing. I am still a relatively new convert to digital cameras and processing software, but continue to marvel at the fine tuning that can be done to enhance the creative intent. “A while back someone said to me that you should always make time to keep going out with your camera, as you never know what you might encounter.”