Selected from 2,377 submissions from 92 countries, spanning six categories – Portraiture, Landscape, Architecture, Photojournalism, Conceptual and Best Emerging Photographer – this year’s thirty nominees are a celebration of some of the best contemporary photography the world has to offer. But whose work deserves to win?
This is your chance to have your say. The FSPA judges will be announcing their category and grand prize winners at the FSPA Awards ceremony in Osnabrück, Germany on 14 October. We are giving you the chance to choose your favourite nominee in each category, for a special People’s Choice Award which will be announced alongside the judges’ selections.
How to vote
The entries from the five finalists in each category are now being showcased here.
To vote for your favourite project in the ‘Emerging Photographer’ category, visit the Facebook gallery and like your favourite images from each photographer’s series. You can like as many or as few of the images as you want!
Find out more about each photographer’s project below:
‘Vault 7’ by George Selley
“On Tuesday 07 March 2017 Wikileaks released ‘Vault 7’, the largest ever publication of confidential documents about the CIA. This project specifically follows a “familiarisation” document that instructs covert agents arriving in Frankfurt.
I decided to travel to Frankfurt and follow the guidelines, as if I was a covert agent myself. The concept of exploring a city photographically through a top secret CIA document was an interesting process in itself.
Through my photographs, I aim not only to present and play on this banal absurdity, but also to challenge our conceptions of how such an organisation is run and to question its integrity.
The project is especially interesting to me, as it has been produced for a module on my MA course, which is focused on documentary photography; however, with this project I have attempted to blur the boundaries between fiction and reality – pushing the genre of documentary photography. Perhaps the term ‘conceptual documentary’ could be applied.”
To vote for this photographer, visit the Facebook gallery.
‘Living with War’ by Hosam Katan
“This series opens up a wide spectrum of conflicting emotions and experiences of what life has been to people in their hometown of Eastern Aleppo, since the start of the civil war. This work was photographed from 2014 to 2015 by Hosam Katan, a photojournalist from Eastern Aleppo. The work gives recognition to people in Eastern Aleppo who continue to simply live their lives with resilience and inventiveness in the face of perilous circumstances.
Drawing from his own experience living in that area, Katan aspires to create a nuanced view of how the residents balance the realities of war with their own personal, everyday lives. The project wants to engage viewers in the experiences and emotions of these people who are faced with brute military force being inflicted on them. This work not only intends to generate empathy, but to provoke a reflection on justice, responsibility and human dignity.”
To vote for this photographer, visit the Facebook gallery.
‘Road Diaries’ by L. S. King
“I am a child of stories, walking the fence line of yesterday and now. Historical narratives both real and imaginary, along with aesthetics reminiscent of 20th century Pictorialism, inform my work.
In telling visual stories, I am an antiquarian or time traveler – choosing landscapes with the limited constructs of modern society. Anything newer than half a century may be occasionally seen but only as a whisper, hinting at the present. Ever the year-hopping, day-tripping, decade-crawling passenger in my Road Diaries adventures, I capture glimpses of scenery from the vantage point of a moving car. As the narrator, I delight in the visual surprise of latent images coming into being. The final results are the documentation of a hybrid moment between my subconscious and reality.”
To vote for this photographer, visit the Facebook gallery.
‘Autobahn’ by Stini Röhrs
“This series depicts my week on the Autobahn, looking at life between unlimited speed and gridlock, luxury limousines and trucks, Porta Potty toilets and service stations, fast food and Red Bull. For it, I drove all around Germany for seven days.
The mobilised masses drive on the Autobahn at a minimum of 60 km/h, without contraflow or crossroads, on two to four lanes of grey tarmac. All they have in mind is getting from A to B without stopping.
This is where deceleration meets acceleration, mobility and dynamics meet gridlock and where the dream of progress meets environmental problems. Despite the endless grey, life on the Autobahn has many facets – this is where all levels of society come together. I met Autobahn pastors, pilgrims, toilet cleaners, ‘bratwurst’ sellers, executives, people travelling and people waiting, construction workers, military personnel, speed freaks and people in sorrow.
I wanted to see how the non-place Autobahn generates new human habitats and was surprised in many ways on my visual journey. I was not disappointed.”
To vote for this photographer, visit the Facebook gallery.
’24 Miles’ by Fabian Melber
“More and more people are losing their lives in the attempt to reach Europe on the central Mediterranean route.
In 2016, the number of deaths reached a bitter record of at least 4500 victims. To prevent such loss of life, the Sea-Watch 2 – a ship belonging to the German NGO Seawatch – patrols the waters 24 miles off the coast of Libya.
The main task of the vessel and its crew of volunteers is to rescue refugees from drowning. The aim of the organisation is to raise awareness of the catastrophic situation and the inhuman activities of the European border control authorities and to motivate the European Union to establish safe and legal migration routes.”
To vote for this photographer, visit the Facebook gallery.
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Be part of this year’s judging and vote for your favourite to receive the People’s Choice Award at this year’s awards ceremony for the Felix Schoeller Photo Award. Visit the Facebook gallery to vote.
Sponsored by Felix Schoeller Group: This feature was made possible with the support of Felix Schoeller Group, a world leader in photographic paper since 1895. Please click here for more information on sponsored content funding at British Journal of Photography.