2019 Winners

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Travel Photographer of the Year: Katy Gomez Catalina, Spain

Winner’s biography

Born in Ubeda, Spain Katy is an amateur photographer with a doctorate in veterinary medicine. Her job is related to official control in public health, with focus on the interaction between human and animal health. A passionate travel photographer, Katy has visited more than 60 countries, and her images have been exhibited throughout Spain and also in France, UK, Germany, India, Iran and Colombia.

“I photograph the world, not only to testify what I see, but mainly to express a personal perspective, a point of view, an interpretation and not just a representation. My subjects are very varied, with travel photography a common link in all my work. The camera has become an inseparable companion, I cannot ‘see’ the world if it is not through the eyes of a camera, with these images I compose my travel story as a writer with his diary. I do not take pictures for others, but for me, for the pure pleasure of photographing. But, if I can also evoke an emotion in those who view them, my satisfaction is increased.”


Young Travel Photographer of the Year: Indigo Larmour, Ireland (age 11)

Winner’s biography

11-year-old Indigo Larmour is Irish, but was born in Abu Dhabi and has been travelling since she was three weeks old. After living in India for the last two years she currently lives in a van with her family, presently driving from India to the UK. 

“When I was 8 I ‘borrowed’ one of my Mum’s cameras and fell in love with the way I could see the world through a camera. Since then our travels have allowed me to capture many amazing places and the people who live there. Being a child means I often view everyday activities from a different perspective. I have loved living in India because there’s always something interesting happening and the colours are so beautiful.  I’ve enjoyed using my photos for school projects including one highlighting the effects of pollution on wildlife that I did at my school in India last year. Photographing wildlife is difficult at my age though because the lenses are so big and heavy!  When I get older I’d love to be a photographer and highlight environmental issues and to tell stories of the people I meet through photos.”

Young Travel Photographer of the Year – Winner, 15-18 years: Ankit Kumar, India (age 16)

Winner’s biography

Ankit Kumar began his journey in photography when he got his DSLR in 2015. Over the last four years, he has had the opportunity to travel to interesting locations in Africa and Europe, where he has taken wildlife and landscape pictures. Winning the Young Travel Photographer of the Year award in 2016 was a turning point in his passion for photography. It ignited in him a thirst for recording wildlife and the changing environment, with an eye towards conservation especially of hunted species and their disappearing world.

Since then, Ankit has won the Asian Geographic Youth Photographer of the Year 2017, was twice Highly Honoured by Nature’s Best Photography Asia in 2017, and Highly Honoured by Nature’s Best Photography in 2018. He is inspired by photographers such as Paul Nicklen, Brian Skerry, Beverly Joubert and Keith Ladzinski, who care about the protection of animals and habitats. He also puts his photographic skills to use by supporting charities through an initiative that he, along with his sister have founded, called  www.wayto.help.

Young Travel Photographer of the Year – Runner-up, 15-18 years: Alexey Nikitin, Russia (age 18)

Young Travel Photographer of the Year – Highly Commended, 15-18 years: Patria Prasasya, Indonesia (age 17)

Young Travel Photographer of the Year – Commended, 15-18 years: Rama Kaushalyan, India (age 17)

Young Travel Photographer of the Year – Winner, 14 and under: Daniel Kurian, Australia (aged 13)

Winner’s biography

Daniel Kurian is a year 7 student from Perth, Western Australia. He started taking photos using an iPad when he was around eight years old, but passionately started photography when he was 10. This was after a school photography workshop organised by two photography enthusiast teachers.

He loves travelling and capturing what he sees through his lens and particularly enjoys his annual trips back to India. Street and travel photography are his favourite genres.

Young Travel Photographer of the Year – Runner-up, 14 and under: Indigo Larmour, Ireland (age 11) 

Young Travel Photographer of the Year -Commended, 14 and under: Shaylee Moreno, USA (age 14)


PORTFOLIOS

Winner, Art of Travel: Paul Sansome, UK

Winner’s biography 

Paul Sansome is a professional fine art and travel photographer based in the south of England and in Vietnam. His artistic photography is produced to the highest standards and his work, which is released in strictly limited editions, is intended to provide that special focal point. Paul is also an experienced photography tutor and has been leading photography holidays for over 15 years. Destinations have included Italy, Morocco, Kerala and Rajasthan in India, Iceland, Vietnam and Myanmar. 
 
Paul started out as a landscape photographer but says “One of the compelling facets of photography is the diverse range of genres that we are able to give our attention to. I have always enjoyed the challenge of wildlife photography, particularly attempting to photograph birds in flight. More recently, much of my photography has been travel based and here the challenge is to portray the emotion of the subject or to tell a story. One common thread through these genres is that the timing of the shot is critical – a fleeting moment of light in the landscape, a moment of animal behaviour or the flash of emotion on a person’s face”. 

Runner-up, Art of Travel: Ignacio Palacios, Australia/Spain

Highly Commended, Art of Travel: Ted Lau,Hong Kong

Commended, Art of Travel: Trevor Cole, Ireland

Best Single Image, Art of Travel: Geoff Shoults, UK

Special Mention, Art of Travel – left to right: Trần Tuấn Việt, Vietnam, Pavol Straňák, Slovakia, Ingrid Vekemans, Belgium

Special Mention, Art of Travel – left to right: Jose Fragozo, Portugal, Ted Lau, Hong Kong, Trevor Cole, Ireland


Winner, Endangered Planet: Alain Schroeder, Belgium

Winner’s biography 

Alain Schroeder is a Belgian photojournalist. In 1989 he founded Reporters (http://www.reporters.be), a well-known photo agency in Belgium. He has illustrated over thirty books dedicated to China, Iran, the Renaissance, Ancient Rome, the Gardens of Europe, Thailand, Tuscany, Crete, Vietnam, Budapest, Venice, the Abbeys of Europe, Natural Sites of Europe, etc.  Belgian book titles include Le Carnaval de Binche vu par 30 Photographes, and Processions de Foi, Les Marches de l’Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse.  Publications include National Geographic, Geo and Paris Match. He has won many international awards including a Nikon Japan award for the Who Will Save the Rohingya series, Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 with two series - Living for Death and Kushti – and a World Press Photo 1st Prize Sport Stories for the series Kid Jockeys, and participated in numerous exhibitions worldwide.  

Runner-up, Endangered Planet: Florian Ledoux, France

Highly Commended, Endangered Planet: Amit Eshel, Israel

Commended, Endangered Planet: Will Burrard-Lucas, UK

Best Single Image, Endangered Planet: Jason Edwards, Australia

Special Mention, Endangered Planet – left to right: Ignacio Palacios, Australia/Spain, Jason Edwards, Australia, Robert Gondek, Poland

Special Mention, Endangered Planet – left to right: Amit Eshel, Israel, Erin Donalson, USA, Ignacio Palacios, Australia/Spain


Winner, People & Cultures: Trevor Cole, Ireland

Winner’s biography 

Trevor Cole was born in the city of Derry, Ireland, but has lived most of his life outside the bounds of Ireland; in England, Singapore, Togo, Italy, Ethiopia and Brazil. He returned to Ireland (Donegal) in 2012.  
 
“My photography, together with travel, have become two of my life’s passions. My photography focuses predominantly on culture and landscapes; images which reflect a spatial and temporal journey through life and which try to convey a need to live in a more sustainable world. I seek the moment and the light in whatever context I find myself and endeavour to use my photographic acumen to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Capturing inimitable moments today to reflect upon tomorrow. My own ‘take’ as a geographer photographer!” 

Runner-up, People & Cultures: Victoria Dempster, UK

Highly Commended, People & Cultures: Ben McRae, Australia

Commended, People & Cultures: Zhiyuan Liao, China

Best Single Image, People & Cultures: Debdatta Chakraborty, India

Special Mention, People & Cultures – left to right: Robin Yong, Malaysia, Robert Newman, USA, Harry Fisch, Spain 

Special Mention, People & Cultures – left to right: Trevor Cole, Ireland, Jinzi Song, China, Brian Hodges, Australia, Beniamino Pisati, Italy


Winner, Thrills & Adventures: Brian Clopp, USA

Winner’s biography

Brian Clopp spent his birthday week in 2019 living amongst the Onaqui wild horses in harsh desert conditions, capturing these stunning images. On recent travels, his hard drive containing a year’s worth of photography was stolen when thieves hacked his rental car, but becoming a TPOTY finalist encouraged him to continue his art.

His portraiture photography subjects include President Jimmy Carter, Ted Turner, Jessie Jackson, James Earl Jones, and more. His work has often been featured as CNN’s Travel Photo of the Day. He is a ‘purist’ photographer who doesn’t edit his shots, striving to capture every setting perfectly.

Brian co-produced the Golden Globe nominated film ‘First They Killed My Father”’directed by Angelina Jolie. He recently completed his directorial debut on a short film about Penelope Stout, the first surviving settler of New Jersey, and the Lenape natives who save her life during a time of war. An Eagle Scout, Brian’s project instilled a collection drive in his small farm town of Cranbury NJ that continues to this day, collecting tens of thousands of winter clothes, hygiene items, and art supplies for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. Now, Brian is co-launching The Giving Herb, a wellness CBD company that gives half to charity.

Runner-up, Thrills & Adventures: Beniamino Pisati, Italy

Highly Commended, Thrills & Adventures: Dan Giannopoulos, UK/Greece

Commended, Thrills & Adventures: Marco Grassi, Italy

Best Single Image, Thrills & Adventures: Quanhou Lu, China

Special Mention, Thrills & Adventures – left to right: Russell Millner, UK, Uli Kunz, Germany

Special Mention, Thrills & Adventures – left to right: Enrique Lopez-Tapia, Spain, Marsel van Oosten, Netherlands


Winner, TAPSA Travel Documentaries: Kiran Ridley, UK