PHLEARN MagazineMonoVisions Photo Awards 2018 Winners Color the World in Black and White

MARCELO REBRO

MonoVisions Photo Awards 2018 Winners Color the World in Black and White

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After a successful first year in 2017, the MonoVisions Photography Awards made a much anticipated return this year, inviting international photographers to portray their visual language through black and white photography.

Photographers of all backgrounds and levels, professionals and amateurs, were encouraged to enter, the main goal was to give recognition and reward these artists for their work. The photographers competed for $5,000 in cash and two main prizes: Black & White Photo of the Year and Black & White Series of the Year.

Colombian photographer Daniel Garay Arango used iconic monuments to defy gravity and took the Grand Prize home for Black & White Series of the Year 2018. While Italian photographer Pietro Di Giambattista captured the reality of immigrants in his home country, giving him the award of Black & White Photo of the Year 2018.

With 12 categories ranging from Abstract to Street Photography, you can see the winner of each one below.

SERIES CATEGORY WINNERS

ARCHITECTURE

BLACK & WHITE SERIES OF THE YEAR 2018 & 1ST PLACE, ARCHITECTURE

DANIEL GARAY ARANGO
Colombia
“GRVTY2”

GRVTY2: dark black-and-white composite of the Colosseum split into tiers that float apart

© Daniel Garay Arango – Click to see full series.

ABSTRACT

1ST PLACE, ABSTRACT

HIRONORI NAKAMURA
Japan
“.Rhythm”

.Rhythm: black-and-white photo of white lines crossing on dark tarmac under streaked clouds

© Hironori Nakamura – Click to see full series.

CONCEPTUAL

1ST PLACE, CONCEPTUAL

ORIANO NICOLAU
Spain
“Projections”

Projections: black-and-white photo of a nude woman in profile with striped light patterns projected across her body

© Oriano Nicolau – Click to see full series.

FINE ART

1ST PLACE, FINE ART

LEILA FORÉS
Spain
“Promenade”

Promenade: textured black-and-white portrait of a woman in a dark coat and masquerade mask among dark orchids

© Leila Forés – Click to see full series.

LANDSCAPES

1ST PLACE, LANDSCAPES

AYA IWASAKI
Japan
“Ippon-One Pine Tree”

Ippon-One Pine Tree: minimalist black-and-white photo of a lone pine tree on a snowy slope

© Aya Iwasaki – Click to see full series.

NATURE & WILDLIFE

1ST PLACE, NATURE & WILDLIFE

LUISA LYNCH
Spain
“Conversations”

Conversations: black-and-white photo of two small birds, one flying above the other, mirrored in still water

© Luisa Lynch – Click to see full series.

NUDE

1ST PLACE, NUDE

FIDEL COMAS
Spain
“19 Dreams”

19 Dreams: black-and-white studio photo of a nude woman kneeling on a cube and leaning on a tilted second cube

© Fidel Comas – Click to see full series.

PEOPLE

1ST PLACE, PEOPLE

WEI TAN
China
“Waiting in Limbo: Kashmir’s Half-widows”

Waiting in Limbo: black-and-white photo of an elderly woman in a headscarf sitting up under a patterned quilt, looking away

© Wei Tan – Click to see full series.

PHOTOJOURNALISM

1ST PLACE, PHOTOJOURNALISM

RUI CARIA
Portugal
“The refugrants”

The refugrants: black-and-white photo of a young man gripping a boat rail and looking up, with other men behind him

© Rui Caria – Click to see full series.

PORTRAIT

1ST PLACE, PORTRAIT

MARZENA KOLARZ
Poland
“Contrast”

Contrast: black-and-white fashion portrait of a model in a striped hooded outfit against a white wall of black dots

© Marzena Kolarz – Click to see full series.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

1ST PLACE, STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

SEVIL ALKAN
Turkey
“Stray with me”

Stray with me: black-and-white photo of a man at a sea wall under a flock of gulls, a bicycle parked behind him

© Sevil Alkan – Click to see full series.

TRAVEL

1ST PLACE, TRAVEL

BENJAMIN DECOIN
France
“Atomic Commuters”

Atomic Commuters: black-and-white photo of men in dark jackets seen through the window of a crowded tram

© Benjamin Decoin – Click to see full series.

SINGLE CATEGORY WINNERS

PHOTOJOURNALISM

BLACK & WHITE PHOTO OF THE YEAR 2018 & 1ST PLACE, PHOTOJOURNALISM

PIETRO DI GIAMBATTISTA
Italy
“Gypsy Boy”

Gypsy Boy: black-and-white photo of a wide-eyed boy holding his jacket as adult hands hold a phone above him

© Pietro Di Giambattista

ABSTRACT

1ST PLACE, ABSTRACT

HANS PETER RANK
Germany
“olympic lines”

olympic lines: black-and-white abstract of white running-track lanes curving across a black ground

© Hans Peter Rank

ARCHITECTURE

1ST PLACE, ARCHITECTURE

MIKE HOLLMAN
New Zealand
“Modern Architecture, Singapore.”

Modern Architecture, Singapore: black-and-white photo of sweeping ribbed building facades and columns above a walkway

© Mike Hollan

CONCEPTUAL

1ST PLACE, CONCEPTUAL

MICHEL KIRCH
France
“behind the panorama”

behind the panorama: black-and-white composite of a tall mirror-like panel standing in a flooded plain under clouds

© Michel Kirch

FINE ART

1ST PLACE, ABSTRACT

SEONG JAE WOO
Korea, Republic of
“memory”

memory: blurred long-exposure black-and-white photo of a lone figure with an umbrella on a pier

© Seong Joe Woo

LANDSCAPES

1ST PLACE, LANDSCAPES

ANDRE MELO-ANDRADE
Brazil
“Just my city”

Just my city: black-and-white view of Rio de Janeiro towers and Sugarloaf Mountain rising out of fog

© Andre Melo-andrade

NATURE & WILDLIFE

1ST PLACE, NATURE & WILDLIFE

ROMAIN TORNAY
Switzerland
“Ocean Fury”

Ocean Fury: black-and-white photo of seabirds wheeling beside a dark cliff as huge waves explode into spray

© Romain Tornay

NUDE

1ST PLACE, NUDE

PAULINE GOYARD
France
“L’appel du vide”

L appel du vide: a nude figure curled up inside a thin white diamond outline on a black background

© Pauline Goyard

PEOPLE

1ST PLACE, PEOPLE

PIERRE FAURE
France
“Me, Myself and I.”

Me, Myself and I: black-and-white photo of a couple taking a selfie in a crowd of phones in front of the Mona Lisa

© Pierre Faure

PORTRAIT

1ST PLACE, PORTRAIT

MARKÉTA NOVÁKOVÁ
Czech Republic
“Soul of nature”

Soul of nature: black-and-white portrait of a woman with closed eyes among lilac blossoms, a barn owl perched on her shoulder

© Markéta Nováková

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

1ST PLACE, STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

CLAUDIO ARESI
Italy
“sp40”

sp40: night-time black-and-white photo of a woman in lingerie and boots standing by a burning oil drum at a roadside

© Claudio Aresi

TRAVEL

1ST PLACE, TRAVEL

MARCELO REBRO
Slovakia
“Train jumpers”

Black-and-white photo of young men leaping between the roofs of two trains while passengers lean from the windows

© Marcel Rebro

Loved the photos of the first place winners? Then be sure to check out the photos of the runners-up and honorable mentions, which can be seen at MonoVisionsAward.com. And, if you’re a B&W photographer and feel like you have the eye to capture these precise moments, submissions are already open for 2019.

Emily Garces

Emily is a freelance content creator and photographer. Her passion is to simply create, whether it be through words or visuals. She mainly focuses her content on travel but through that, she fell in love with capturing the world one snap at a time so you will always see her with a camera. She was born and raised in New Jersey but considers herself a citizen of the world.

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