ZEI Photography Award: Announcing the Winner of the ZEI Photography Award 07

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 14.03.2017. The winner of the ZEISS Photography Award has been chosen: Kevin Faingnaert from Belgium impressed the international Jury with his photo series F royar in which he offers a portrait of life on the Faroe Islands located between Scotland and Iceland. "There is a wonderful completeness to Kevins series," says Claire Richardson, Picture Editor at the Lonely Planet. "Epic landscapes mix with tenderly composed portraits, tied together by a soft muted palette, which immediately draws you in. Everyday events in these remote communities are captured by the lens, from a parishioner sitting quietly in a local church to a village football game. But look closely at this unforgiving and wild environment and you realize that these are ordinary people living in extraordinary circumstances, hanging on at the edge of the world."

Hundreds of people used to live here, now there are just five or ten people left

Kevin Faingnaert lived amongst the local inhabitants on the Faroe Islands for a month, couchsurfing and hitchhiking. "The Faroese were very warm and welcoming," he says. To show his appreciation, he made breakfast for his hosts, shoveled snow and went out to sea with the fishermen. On his trips across the islands he passed by small villages. "A few decades ago they were inhabited by hundreds of people, but now there are often just five or ten people left because the young people have moved to the cities in search of better opportunities. They don't see any future in the places they were born in."

The thirty-year-old is delighted by his win: "Im incredibly honored by winning the award and that my photos get recognized in between the endless amount of other wonderful stories being told. Most importantly it gives me strength and motivation to continue my work and to take up new ideas which have been in my mind since forever." As his prize, Faingnaert will receive camera lenses from ZEISS worth a total of 12,000 euros as well as 3,000 euros for a photo trip. The awards ceremony will take place in London on 20 April 2017.

30,000 submissions from 130 different countries

"Meaningful Places" was the theme of the ZEISS Photography Award 2017 which ZEISS conducted in collaboration with the World Photography Organisation (WPO). 4,677 photographers from more than 130 different countries submitted more than 30,000 photos. Experts from the world of photography served on the jury: in addition to Claire Richardson, Sarah Toplis from the online art dealer The Space and the photographer J rgen Schadeberg Dr. (h.c.) judged all the entries. The following photographers made the short list:

Anna Filipova, UK

Mario Adario, Italy

Christopher Roche, UK

Sonja Hamad, Germany

Ben Bond Obiri Asamoah, Ghana

Frederik Buyckx, Belgium

Nicholas White, UK

Fabian Muir, Australia

Nicky Newman, South Africa

Faingnaerts winning photo series as well as a selection of other images from the competition will be on display at the Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr - 2017 Exhibition at the landmark Somerset House, London from 21 April to 7 May 2017.

You can have a look at the winning photos from Kevin Faingnaert here, please find an overview of the shortlisted photo series here.

Downloads

Presskit winner Kevin Faingnaert

(two winning photos, short biography and portrait)

Press photos shortlist (two photos from each series)

We would be happy to arrange an interview with the winner for you. Please contact us if you are interested in more photographs.

$DAM-1F5E547631E08999C12580E3002F738A

$DAM-861A3FE97855F93DC12580E300367EC5

$DAM-BF6A090881098B24C12580E300369D6E

Press Contact:

J rn Leonhardt

Camera Lenses

Phone: +49 7364 20-4694

Fax:

joern.leonhardt@zeiss.com

World Photography Organisation

Jill Cotton

Tel. +44 20 7886 3042

press@worldphoto.org

www.worldphoto.org/press

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. The ZEISS Group develops, produces and distributes measuring technology, microscopes, medical technology, eyeglass lenses, camera and cinema lenses, binoculars and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. With its solutions, the company constantly advances the world of optics and helps shape technological progress. ZEISS is divided up into the four segments Research & Quality Technology, Medical Technology, Vision Care/Consumer Products and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. The ZEISS Group is represented in more than 40 countries and has over 50 sales and service locations, more than 30 manufacturing sites and about 25 research and development centers around the globe. In fiscal year 2015/16 the company generated revenue approximating 4.9 billion with over 25,000 employees. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. Carl Zeiss AG is the strategic management holding company that manages the ZEISS Group. The company is wholly owned by the Carl Zeiss Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation).

Further information at www.zeiss.com

Consumer Optics

The Consumer Optics business group combines the companys business with camera and movie lenses, binoculars, spotting scopes, hunting optics, virtual reality headsets and planetarium technology. The business group is represented at sites in Oberkochen, Wetzlar and Jena. The business group is allocated to the Vision Care/ Consumer Products segment. In fiscal year 2015/16 the segment generated revenue of 1.1 billion with around 9,300 employees.

About the World Photography Organisation

The World Photography Organisation is a global platform for photography initiatives. Working across up to 180 countries, our aim is to raise the level of conversation around photography by celebrating the best imagery and photographers on the planet. We pride ourselves on building lasting relationships with both ind

LINK:	http://applications.zeiss.com/C1256A770030BCE0/WebViewTopNewsAllE/2C3A...
	See more stories from zeiss

Most recent headlines