PRIZE:

• High & Wild trip to Dharamsala, India, with the opportunity to photograph the Dalai Lama
• £2,500 TPOTY bursary
• Apple MacBook plus Aperture software
• Adobe CS3 Web Premium
• Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio book

JUDGES' VERDICT

Cat Vinton's portfolios in Thrill and One Planet Many Lives beautifully tell stories within the all important category briefs.
The judges were drawn to her clean, crisp imagery. The first portfolio, shot in Norway, brings a fashion feel to the travel theme and is beautiful in its simplicity. The second portfolio documents the story of an important event in Nomadic family life; packing up home to move on.

BIOGRAPHY

After graduating from Camberwell School of Art and Design in 1997, Cat Vinton worked as a freelance photographer in the People’s Democratic Republic of Lao, working for the United Nations, UNICEF and Redd Barna, amongst others. Now based in London, she travels all over the world as a freelance photographer, shooting personal projects for exhibitions and commercially for clients.

“Since I was a small girl, I have treasured imagery. I was lucky enough to live in a village, amongst three old-school documentary photographers, Michael Ward, Brian Wharton and Christopher Angeloglou. They inspired me enormously, and helped me buy my first Nikon.”

PRIZE

• Adventure Ecology Exhibition in London
• £500 TPOTY bursary
• Wacom Intuos3 A5 Wide pen tablet
• Adobe Photoshop CS3 + Lightroom
• Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio book

JUDGES' VERDICT

Once again there were many fine entries in the Young TPOTY category, themed Fragile Earth. Luna's clever portfolio is a fascinating interpretation of the theme and showed a wonderfully fresh approach to a highly topical subject.

BIOGRAPHY

Luna Malka is the third generation in a family of photographers scattered over the globe. She has been taking photographs since a young age, traveling to Europe and the United States and shooting with her father’s Elph film camera. In late 2006, she received a Panasonic Lumix digital camera and takes it everywhere with her, taking portraits of her friends, cityscapes, street scenes, landscapes and nature.

PRIZE

• Adventure Ecology expedition
• £1000 TPOTY cash bursary
• TPOTY Exposure exhibition
• Photo Iconic photography and digital imaging course
• Adobe Photoshop CS3 + Lightroom
• Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio book

JUDGES' VERDICT

Amongst many good entries in this category, Charlie Mahoney's portfolio stood out. His attempts to work with light, perspective, viewpoint, movement, shape and form are commendable and he shows great potential to be able to take the leap to a successful photographic career.

BIOGRAPHY

Following a 15-year career in finance and investment, Charlie Mahoney completed a Master’s in Photojournalism at the Universidat Autonoma de Barcelona in July 2006. The following month he began a three-month trip through Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo.

He has subsequently traveled to St. Bart’s in the French West Indies, Prague, Albania, Montenegro and Corfu, Greece. He is currently working on a documentary project about the life of illegal immigrants in Spain.

PRIZE

• An Intrepid trip to China
• HP Designjet Z2100 printer plus inks & media
• Adobe Photoshop CS3 + Lightroom

JUDGES' VERDICT

The final decision between Timothy Allen's winning portfolio of Bhutan and India and Larry Louie's portfolio of Tibetan Worship was hard to make as both have strong merits. However Timothy Allen was awarded the prize for his clever use of colour, line, viewpoint and shape.

PRIZE

• Photographic safari to Tanzania with African Safari Roots
• Wacom Cintiq 21UX
• Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio book

JUDGES' VERDICT

As anyone who's been there will testify, Jean-Claude Louis' haunting portfolio perfectly captures the sense of 'no man's land' that still exists in parts of Berlin.

PRIZE

• Photographic tour of the Swiss and French Alps with YokmoK Adventures
• Fujifilm S5 Pro, lens & 2 x 4GB memory cards
• Adobe Photoshop CS3 & Lightroom

JUDGES' VERDICT

Maciej's stunning black and white portfolio gives a tremendous sense of scale, with the figure of the climber and the house dwarfed by the towering mountains. Exciting moments, majestic light, beautifully captured.

PRIZE

• Mamiya 7ii camera plus two lenses
• Peli 1510 case
• Sekonic L758 meter
• Giottos MT9371 tripod
• Adobe Photoshop CS3 + Lightroom

JUDGES' VERDICT

Richard's image of the 84 year-old snail gatherer in Cambodia beautifully depicts a truly amazing face. This lady lives in the small boat shown behind her in the photograph, and spends seven hours a day in the chest-deep water.