Another World Photography Day is in the books and once again the community brought some serious competition to our annual contest. Our category regulars like Nature, People, Animals and Urban were joined this year by Film, and with so many incredible submissions, our judges had their work cut out for them.
This year’s contest winners are taking home a MODE Festival Mystery Box that includes 3 Day VIP passes to our inaugural photography festival happening September 18-20 in Minneapolis, MN. We’ll also be featuring their winning photos at the festival for the whole community to enjoy. Each winner is getting a year of Flickr Pro. So let’s meet the people and the photos that took top spots this year!
Nature Category
Bernd Leicht with Dangerous lighthouse trip
Meet the photographer:
Bernd is a passionate hobby photographer from southwestern Germany and focuses his photography on landscapes. He shared with us a bit more about this dangerous trip that brought him to his winning lighthouse photo. “It was a trip with a Zodiac boat from the port of Audierne (Bretagne) to the lighthouse Phare de Tevennec (also called Hell). The trip took place under rough seas and was at the limit of feasibility. The guide had everything well under control, you are not allowed to drive there alone, too dangerous.”
“The tour led through the Raz du Sein, also known as the Cape Horn of Europe. There are a lot of wrecks and drowned sailors here. The tidal current is incredibly strong in the passage. It was not easy to photograph because I had to hold on to not be thrown around in the boat. Taking a picture in Libra was almost impossible. The trip passed the Phare de la Vieille and had a total time of 3 hours. At first we were accompanied by a large dolphin school that jumped next to the boat.”
Animals Category
Per Thyrén with Muskox with calf – Myskoxe med kalv
Meet the photographer:
Per Thyrén is retired journalist who lives outside of Nyköping, a small town 100 kilometers south of Stockholm, Sweden. “I have been interested in animals and nature since I was young and I am often out in nature with my camera. My longest photo trip was to British Columbia where I photographed spirit bears and coastal wolves.”
Urban Category
Giorgio Ghezzi with Man at the window in I3 / Uomo alla finestra in I3
Meet the photographer:
Giorgio lives in Rome, Italy, where he was born 76 years ago. He’s retired after working in the insurance industry and now we are lucky enough to enjoy the photography he takes in these years of retirement. Giorgio loves this building and shares, “I took the photo in St. Julian, Malta, nine years ago. I used an old smartphone. I love this crazy and colourful building!”
Film Category
Byron Segraves with we met in a parking lot…
Meet the photographer:
Byron is a self-taught photographer based in California. “My work is rooted predominantly in the streets of Los Angeles, where I developed my style through endless hours of walking, seeing, shooting, and editing. I shoot mainly candid, looking for the unpredictable theatre of the everyday. My work has primarily been shared and developed through Flickr and online communities, rather than galleries or formal education. I’ve also had my work shown and reviewed on several episodes of the podcast The Candid Frame.”
“As far as the actual photo itself, and like most all my work, it’s a candid street shot. I love the thrill of finding little moments that others seem to miss, and sharing them with my loyal friends on Flickr. I love the community, support and inspiration they all provide. This was made with a recently acquired 1971 Nikon F2 and shot on Tri-X 400. I had noticed the VW and little pug approx 1/2 block away, from my car, as I was sitting at a red light, near Sunset Blvd and Western Ave, in Hollywood, California, where I live. I always have my camera with me, for moments like this, so I fired off a shot from distance. As the light changed, I noticed the little dog was still waiting for it’s owner, legs out, still in the same position as before, so I pulled into the parking lot, I think it was Walgreens, positioned my car directly in front of the VW and prayed the dog would hold it’s position, refocused and fired off one shot, never leaving my drivers seat. The owner of the VW happened to be coming out of the store as I pulled up, laughed at his pups pose, and pleasantries were exchanged. Having never left the driver seat, I then pulled out of the parking lot and headed west on Sunset Blvd.”
People Category
Daniels Stramkaļs with Untitled
Meet the photographer:
Daniels is an up and coming photographer based in Riga, Latvia. “I started out with football photography after ending my players career last year, which lasted for 9 years. Now, I have opportunities that I could only dream of such as photographing Latvian national team and UEFA games.”
“This photo was taken at FK Auda vs FC Dinamo City Conference League, 3rd qualifying round. The atmosphere was moody and it was towards dawn, so I knew that the photos were going to be good. I spent quite some time on this edit but it was definitely worth it, because this is now one of my favorite football photos I ever took.
Celebrating photography everyday!
Congratulations to this year’s contest winners and everyone who participated in the contest. Each year we look forward to seeing the beautiful shots you all share to our World Photography Day contest and this year definitely raised the bar. To see more of our favorites, stay tuned for our Honorable Mentions gallery that will go live here on the Official Flickr site. We’ll also be featuring so many other great submissions in our upcoming September Explore Takeover so don’t miss it!
Until next time!