Solms, Germany—The first prize in this year’s Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2010 prestigious photographic competition goes to the Swedish photographer Jens Olof Lasthein. His award-winning portfolio, “Waiting for the future – pictures from Abkhazia,” tells the story of the people of the Republic of Abkhazia in the Southern Caucasus.
The second winner in this year’s competition is Andy Spyra from Germany. His portfolio, “Kashmir,” shot in the region of the same name, is the winning entry for the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award 2010.
This year’s competition achieved a new record with a total of over 1,700 entrants, with professional photographers from over 79 countries participating. The winner of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award receives approximately $6,100 or Leica camera equipment of the same value. The winner of the Newcomer Award receives $3,000. The prizes will be presented on July 6, 2010, as part of the photographic festival in Arles.
Although the Republic of Abkhazia has gained its independence after a period of civil war, it is still considered to be a part of Georgia under international law. The future of the people there is just as uncertain as that of their home country and it is precisely this uncertainty that Lasthein has captured in his photography, as life in Abkhazia has come to a standstill. “For me, it is much more important that my pictures capture visual insights into life in all its facets than to simply record the bare facts. To capture life as far as possible in all its complexity and diversity, so that my pictures tell their own, sweeping and varied stories,” says the photographer, who was born in Sweden in 1964 and grew up in Denmark.
After graduating from the Nordic Photo School in Stockholm, Jens Olof Lasthein worked as a freelance photographer for various magazines. His best-known projects include a collection depicting the war in the former Yugoslavia, and a visual documentary of the countries along the border of Eastern and Western Europe. His works have been shown at 40 solo exhibitions throughout Europe and Asia.
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Print | posted @ Monday, June 07, 2010 1:03 PM