The winners of the prestigious Paris Photography Award have captured the beauty and tragedy around use from a feeding whale in Mexico to the frenzy of a coronavirus ward.
The Photographer of the Year Award was presented to Alberto Giuliani whose series of portraits titled, ‘San Salvatore,’ captured front line medics during hellish shifts at the San Salvatore Hospital in Pesaro, Italy.
‘I photographed them at the end of their shifts—twelve hours without a break during their fight in an unequal war. In the deep imprints left by their protective masks, I found a symbol of their sacrifice, but above all, I found evidence of the pain, fear and helplessness of standing before an unknown enemy.’ Giuliani said.
Other images captured the stunning power of nature; from thundering torrents at Victoria Falls in Africa, to the shimmering ice caves of Iceland and the magnificent valleys of Ethiopia through which ancient prayers echo.
Many of the shortlisted photographs were of majestic beasts, such as a 3,000-stone whale shark inhaling fish eggs off the coast of Mexico and elephants in Africa.
Italian photographer, Alberto Giuliani, was awarded the coveted prize of Photographer of the Year. His series of photographs, titled ‘San Salvatore’ featured Italian medical workers wearing full PPE and with impressions left by face masks on their faces during hellish shifts on coronavirus wards at the height of the pandemic
‘The Holes in Water’ by Jacob Degee. The Polish-born photographer captured a 3000-stone whale shark inhaling fish eggs near Isla de Mujeres, Mexico. Excellent timing and position of Degee’s lens allows us to sea the sunbeams through the water and down the shark’s throat which is reflected above on the waves
‘Challenge The Limit’ by Hsu Ming Ching features members of China’s Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit during ‘hell week’ training
‘Blue Insularis 7’ by Chin Leong Teo features two endangered pit vipers in Indonesia wrapped around the branch of a tree, one of the snakes has a frog in its mouth, the legs of its prey dangling in the air
‘Dance’ by Naoya Yoshida earned the photographer a gold award. Yoshida’s image captured the alight fireflies of Japan’s mountainous regions. ‘The flash of the fireflies is very fast and beautiful. It’s something I look forward to every year,’ she said.
‘African Shower’ by Paul Giggle as part of his series ’12 Natural Wonders.’ Giggle travels to a different country each year to capture 12 images to be published in a book, as well as to be exhibited around the world
‘Uncanny Workmanship’ by Hsiaohsin Chen. The ice cave was photographed in Iceland
‘Inferno’ by Aidan Williams. The photographer from New South Wales, Australia, took the picture as fireworks went off during slack line walking at the Zurichfest in Switzerland
‘Lights and Shades’ by Bence Mate. The Hungarian wildlife photographer’s picture of a pair of wild dogs playing in the twilight
‘Dancing Nets’ by Thien Nguyen. A drone shot of fishermen casting their nets in a circle around their boat
‘Our Oceans, Our Lifeblood’ by Vanessa Mignon. Mignon, from Brittany, France, says she has always had an affinity with the coast. She says her photographs ‘are just a tiny representation of what lives under the waves, but I do hope they inspire the viewer to learn more about our oceans and how to protect them.’
‘Marks of Devotion’ by Natalia Mroz. Mroz’s series explores Orthodox Christianity in Ethiopia where prayers are chanted across the stunning valleys. Faith remains strong in the country where ancient churches are still centres for worship and pilgrimage
‘Chaos sur les Plaines du Kansas’ by Frederic Couzinier. A supercell storm with its mesocyclone pierced by lightning, captured during Couzinier’s last solo outing into America’s Tornado Alley
‘Righty’ by Reiko Takahashi. Takahashi, an underwater photographer from Japan, says the locals on Phi Phi Island, Thailand, call this turtle Righty because he doesn’t have a left hand. The cause is unknown
‘Glacier’ by Xuehua Jiang. Heavy snowfalls have turned this normally jagged glacier icefall into soft and rounded shapes, the series of images was taken from Jiang’s helicopter over the Alaskan mountain range and Greenland
‘Africa’s Oldest Land Mammal’ by Andrew Palmer. Palmer said: ‘The Hluhluwe Imfolozi park is the oldest game reserve in Africa and is also the birthplace of rhino conservation and is the reason the white rhino can still be found in high numbers today! Sightings in the park and in Zululand are not uncommon but typically photos are very similar i.e. they are either eating or sleeping. On this occasion the mother took her young calf, ran out on the road in front of us zig-zagged towards the car and disappeared in the bushes! I have been on many safaris and seen and photographed many rhinos but I will never have another image like this in my lifetime’
‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ by Louis Constant. Two trekkers look over at Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall in the world, between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The mist from the waterfall is seen rising into the sunset, the name for the waterfall in the local Lozi language is ‘Smoke that Thunders’
‘Sea Eagles on Drift Ice’ by Chin-Fa Tzeng taken in the Okhotsk Sea off the coast of Rausu fishing port, Hokkaido, Japan
‘Segmentation’ by Chungyu Yang features the isolating and complex architecture of a residential building in Taipei, Taiwan. Yang said: ‘The walls segment hundreds of tiny properties in this crowded modern city. The neighbours may not see each other all the year, most of the residents are strangers’
‘God’s Eyes’ by Jan Smid, a Czech landscape photographer based in Prague. The stunning coastline was pictured in the Lofoten Islands of Norway
‘Story of Tree Family’ by Sukeun Kim. The South Korean photographer’s series studies the surreal trees of Sumba Island, Indonesia