Striking street shot from Iran wins top prize of 2022 ColorPro Award

The older adult symbolizes long life, and the yellow color in number 3 represents hope. Minimalism, surrealism, and street photography are all wrapped up into one seemingly simple image at first glance. However, the changing size of the doors, the central positioning of the subject, and the pop of yellow ensure the image doesn’t become flattened. Creativity doesn’t always have to be loud.

The photographer ventured into Kyrgyzstan in search of eagle hunters skilled in their hunts and horsemanship. He wanted a never-done-before shot, a breakthrough perspective of the horsemen and eagle that is able to demonstrate the speed and control of the rider-animal dynamics. He lay flat on the ground (with no protection) and waited for the horses to gallop and jump very close and over him.

Illuminated by the sun’s golden light, the elderly priest stops on the narrow and dangerous path that, overlooking the valley and along the rocky wall of the mountain, leads to the 12th-century rock church, of which he has been the guardian for 60 years. This Orthodox church, carved into the rock atop a mountain in northern Ethiopia, houses frescoes of biblical stories and ancient relics handed down to the present day.

Marco is a Paralympic athlete competing for his province to join the International Olympics representing the Philippines. The photo captures the positivity of a person in the face of adversity and the pursuit of his dreams, a breakthrough that inspires us all.

The diver dives into the freezing waters of the White Sea through the ice hole onto the top of the Beluga Whale Rock covered with tousle of laminaria seaweed. The support person holds a rope in her hands to help the diver to find her way home. We live on dry land, which is just one-third of our planet; two-thirds of the surface is covered with water. I hope humans will not only explore but find a sustainable way to live in harmony with the environment and nature.

Last year, I took this photo in Grindelwald, located in the Swiss Alps. The drone hovers above me and what I see on my screen sums up the whole moment. A breakthrough moment because everything can change in one day. A breakthrough moment because you suddenly feel so free and small, standing there above the clouds and on top of the world. Every time I look at this photo, that feeling comes back—one of the happiest moments of my life.

The “Well Of Death” is a junction of life and death & breakthroughs are inevitable in the space between those two phenomena. This photograph is of Daredevil Stuntmen at a “Well Of Death” performing in their car. Hundreds of spectators are always found crowding around a circular pit to witness daredevil drivers in cars & motorcycles performing stunts in a vertical pit. The human capacity to evolve and survive in the name of an adrenaline rush was just a fraction of what my camera and I witnessed as we captured this moment. A daredevil stuntman is collecting his livelihood perched on a moving car as he flirts with the idea of gravity being faithful.

This last year, I’ve tried to hone in on this style of launch photography. This specific shot feels great to showcase the NASA Crew4 launch over Indialantic Beach. SpaceX Crew Dragon w/ a Falcon9 booster at 3:52 am, capturing a full 5:00 minute exposure time. The composition has been sitting in my head for quite a while but had been waiting for everything to line up correctly.

The struggle for LGBT rights is old and far from over. People continue to die for simply having a different sexual orientation from the norm imposed by society or for identifying with another gender. These LGBT pride marches need to keep happening so that these people are not afraid to express their love freely.

Remote photography changed this and has been a massive ‘breakthrough’ in the world of portrait and studio photography. My shot ‘Abyss’ was taken during the lockdown period. It was shot at a venue called Tankspace, a ‘breakthrough’ in underwater photography. I had complete control of both camera and lighting settings via screen sharing and could communicate with the model via video conference.