Are you an emerging photographer with a talent for portraiture?

In February 2018, award-winning photographer Laura Pannack will create a series of portraits that respond to the threat of Brexit on London’s creative industries. Entitled Separation, the commission will explore the angst and myriad emotions experienced by London-based couples who, as a result of Brexit, have been forced to contemplate separation. Brexit has long garnered column inches for its political implications, but what does it mean for love?

Separation has been exclusively commissioned by British Journal of Photography and is supported by Affinity Photo for iPad. Affinity is the only fully-functioning professional photo-editing software available for iPad and was recently named Apple’s 2017 App of the Year. 

BJP and Affinity are giving one photographer the opportunity to shadow Pannack during the Separation commission. If you are an emerging photographer with a talent for portraiture, we want to hear from you!

One successful competition entrant will also win a 10.5” iPad Pro, preloaded with Affinity Photo for iPad, be featured on BJP online, and receive an in-depth portfolio review with Pannack. Be quick, the deadline for entries is 11.59pm on 15 January!

Below we present the second selection of the strongest submissions so far.

Mark Massey

markmassey.co.uk. © Mark Massey.
markmassey.co.uk. © Mark Massey.

Mark Massey is an Essex-based, self-taught photographer with an interest in documentary and portraiture. “I like to focus on local projects,” he says. “I’m interested in the relationships between places and people.”

The photographs featured above are taken from Massey’s ongoing series Essex Chronicles. “The Thames estuary, in the south-eastern corner of the UK, is one of the country’s largest inlets and a major shipping route in and out of London,” writes Massey. “Essex Chronicles is my personal exploration of life along the northern – Essex – side of that coast. It’s not a document of the water itself, more a reflection of the social landscape and everyday places that occupy the land alongside it.”

Josh Adam Jones

joshadamjones.photography. © Josh Adam Jones.
joshadamjones.photography. © Josh Adam Jones.

Social documentary photographer Josh Adam Jones is currently a student at the University of the West of England in Bristol.

“While I am currently a student, I have been fortunate enough to indulge in long-term personal projects,” says Adam Jones. “Looking at the dwindling and ageing Irish population in Birmingham catalysed a further project in Belfast, focussing mainly on the youth of the city. As a final major project, I am planning to document the human interactions between the people of Tokyo and the surrounding Arakawa River.”

Afshin Ismaeli

facebook.com/Afshiniphoto. © Afshin Ismaeli.
facebook.com/Afshiniphoto. © Afshin Ismaeli.

Afshin Ismaeli is a Norway-based journalist and documentary photographer. The majority of his work is photographed in Iraq and Syria.

Þórsteinn Sigurðsson

xdeathrow.com. © Þórsteinn Sigurðsson.

Þórsteinn Sigurðsson is based in Reykjavík, Iceland. He first started taking photographs at the age of 17 and now, at the age of 29, is studying at the Ljósmyndaskólinn School of Photography in Iceland. His portrait photography focuses upon youth culture in Reykjavík with the images featured in this article taken from the series Juvenile Bliss.

“The title Juvenile Bliss is a reference to the mentality that is dominating during those [teenage] years, when life is without restrictions and the possibilities feel endless,” writes Sigurðsson.  

Alban Grosdidier

albangrosdidier.com.© Alban Grosdidier.
albangrosdidier.com.© Alban Grosdidier.

Alban Grosdidier is a French photographer who currently splits his time between London and Paris. Graduating from ESAG Penninghen in 2013, Grosdidier’s work focuses upon environmental and social issues particularly highlighting “notions of disfranchisement, depression and exclusion.”

His professional career has seen him photograph LGBT groups and feminist activists in Paris; anti-fracking camps, anti-Trump and anti-Brexit groups in the UK; as well as Greenpeace activities all over Europe. In early-2017, Grosdidier joined the French photojournalism collective Hans Lucas.

Separation, a portrait series commissioned by British Journal of Photography and supported by Affinity Photo for iPad, will explore themes of separation in the wake of Brexit. BJP is giving one photographer the opportunity to shadow Laura Pannack during the shoot. Enter now for your chance to win!  

British Journal of Photography is also seeking couples willing to be photographed by Pannack for the portraiture series. Register your interest now.

Separation is made possible with the generous support of Affinity Photo for iPad. Please click here for more information on sponsored content funding at British Journal of Photography.