The Emerging Talent Award by The Independent Photographer is designed to bring exposure and discover the best upcoming photographers of all ages, backgrounds and working in all photographic fields. Fine art, landscape, street, documentary, portrait, still life: There were no boundaries and we wanted you to release your creativity in as many inventive ways as you could imagine! MaryAnne Golon is the Director of Photography at The Washington Post. Before joining The Post in 2012, MaryAnne was the director of photography at Time Magazine and a senior photography editor there for more than 20 years. Before joining The Post in 2012, MaryAnne curated Look 3: The Festival of the Photograph and help guide the 2-year product build of a digital asset management system for a major non-profit organization. Golon was also director of photography at Time magazine where she co-managed the international newsweekly’s photography department for more than 15 years. Golon has received multiple awards from the POYi(Pictures of the Year International) and NPPA‘s (National Press Photographer’s Association) Best of Photojournalism competitions. She was twice selected for American Photo magazine’s list of the 100 most important people in photography. Winning Photographer is Junko Akita from Norway.
1ST PRIZE: Junko Akita
“The girl in a cabin window with the reflection of the magnificent Norwegian landscape beyond is a gorgeous metaphor for both childhood and identity. Beyond the extraordinary light and composition, the gaze and expression captured here at once combine innocence and strength. Locking eyes with this girl through her sister, the photographer, is a powerful experience and a privilege.” – MaryAnne Golon
2ND PRIZE: Sirli Raitma
“This series of Eha, an older person suffering from depression, is sublime. This particular portrait, with the modern device and clothing adorning a regal white-haired woman, is a profound statement regarding technology and aging. The soft lighting and curls against the alien devices and red lips are truly haunting. The creativity and love that created this series through the artist is a wonderous experience and memorable feat.” – MaryAnne Golon
3RD PRIZE: Matthew Bagley
“Mathew Bagely’s subaquatic portrayal of a sea lion is truly astonishing, a somewhat surreal, and deeply cogitative image that effectively articulates the rare poignancy of the moment. Profoundly moving, it perfectly expresses Bagely’s intense appreciation of his subject, whilst engendering the same sense of joy and awe, as all great depictions of the natural world.“ – The Independent Photographer Editors
