11th POLLUX AWARDS

Juried by Julio Hirsch-Hardy

In this edition 405 photographers from 52 countries participated in the Award submitting 4410 images. Given the quality of works, the juror, assisted by the team of curators of The Gala Awards have decided to award three photographers in this edition, that will share the First Prize. The prize of $3,000 will be divided among the three winners of the Award.

We're proud to announce that Michael Knapstein from Middleton, Wisconsin, USA, Annette Bonnier from Miami, Florida, USA, and Julia Fullerton-Batten from Bremen, Germany (living and working in London, UK), were selected as winners of the 11th edition of the Pollux Awards.

Their work will be exhibited in the 5th Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography to be held in Barcelona this October.

The winners represent not only three different schools of thought but are also a vivid example of the broad field covered by photography and how alive is it today. No matter shots are done with a 4x5" plate camera or a tiny mirror-less digital camera, all three winners demonstrate a visual insight with a unique mastering of the light. We believe the staged, almost cinematic, images of Julia Fullerton Batten that reminds us of Hopper, as well as the colourful documentary project of the 'Vanishing Identities', and the anthropological study on landscapes of the US Midwest shot by Michael Knapstein, are three awesome representations of the current trends in photography.

Scroll down to see the galleries of the Category Winners

WINNER. ANNETTE BONNIER, 'Vanishing Identities'

https://annettebonnier.com/

"Indigenous Tribes in the Southern Omo Valley of Ethiopia have existed for hundreds of years with limited outside influence. They have cultivated their customs and rituals and have survived nature and mankind’s brutality. Yet today the outside world has infiltrated their balance and their survival is at risk."

winner: julia fullerton-batten, 'old father thames'

https://www.juliafullerton-batten.com/

"The River Thames is not even the longest river in the British Isles and a mere pygmy in comparison with other rivers in the world, but its significance to British and world history is immense. The river starts as a small trickle in hills north west of London and travels for 346 km through the heart of some of England's most picturesque towns, it passes through the centre of London and out into the North Sea."