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Travel Photography Scholarship 2010 - Winner announced!

WORLDWIDE | Tuesday, 2 November 2010 | Views [41144] | Comments [34]

^{Photo by Dat Vu}

Thank you to every one of the 1558 talented individuals who applied for our 2010 Travel Photography Scholarship. The caliber of entries this year was exceptional as you continue to raise the bar every year with your beautiful, poignant and eye opening stories from all over the world.

It was an excruciatingly difficult job creating a shortlist from such a deep pool of talent and even more challenging separating one winner.

Congratulations to you all!

Judging Panel - General Feedback

Unfortunately we don't have the resources to comment on each individual entry, but there has been some general feedback from the judges which you might find useful when applying next year.

It is important to demonstrate that you can read and interpret a brief correctly, by making sure you carefully consider the judging criteria before submitting your photos. We added the video blog from Jason Edwards this year to make the criteria as clear as possible. Even so, we still had a number of entries who submitted fantastic photos but did not provide any captions for their photos and/or did not fulfill the brief of a 300 word maximum essay.

The Scholarship is a learning/mentoring opportunity,and we want you to tell us what have you captured, who you are are and why you should be the one person chosen to be mentored by a National Geographic photographer. If you didn't fulfill each and every part of the judging criteria, you would have been penalised accordingly. When a competition is as competitive as this, every point in the judging process is crucial. As a reminder these included; composition, exposure, originality, story, opinion, depth, captioning, reason for why you should win (max 300 word essay), willingness to learn and, contribution to photography.

Overall, the standard of submitted photos was excellent so we cannot fault you there! But some people did let themselves down by not fulfilling all of the brief.

There can only be one winner.....

So, down to business!

We are very pleased to announce Dat Vu Tien from Vietnam as our winner!

Jason's Comments:

Through his poignant and uplifting series of images Dat has shown us a place in the world occupied by a child and her everyday triumphs. His imagery was beautifully composed, tight and unfettered. I appreciated his desire to communicate her story through her disability and environment and I very much felt I was there, sharing the experience. A wonderfully immersive experience!

UPDATE! Read Dat's blog and check out his photos on assignment in Bhutan.

Equal Second Place:

Richard Fairbrother (China)- Twilight of Old Beijing

Jason's Comments:

My hat goes off to Richard and his wonderful story on a vanishing community and way of life. It must be said I LOVED seeing traditional black and white film images. Richard’s treatment of this medium was superb as was his composition and selection of subjects.

and

Inanc Tekguc (Cyprus)- Sharing the Beauty

Jason's comments:

Congratulations to Inanc for his wonderful series set in a Samburu village. Through his images I was there, caught between worlds and colliding cultures. Inanc made wonderful use of shadow and created a fantastic portrait of rural life in modern Africa.

Third Place

Andrew Houston (Japan)- Kamgasaki: Japan's Forgotten Ghetto

Jason's comments:

Raw, powerful and uncompromising! This was great imagery that enveloped both human and political issues in a community where so much hangs in the balance. Wonderful to see iron bars used so prominently and yet illustrating the strength of a peoples’ so marginalized.

Fourth Place

Ionut Tarcea (Romania)- The Story of Nargiles

Jason's Comments:

This was a beautifully lit and composed essay that had me there, in the factory, where the men produce these traditional nargiles. Ionut made excellent use of light and shadow and captured lots of character in the faces of his subjects. All this tied together with images of the nargiles in use. Well done!

The Shortlist (in alphabetical order)

Aiess Alonso

Michael Cook - Homo Sacer, People without Place

Arko Datto (India)

Alexander Evansen(Norway)- Reporting from the Arctic

Fabi Fliervoet(Netherlands)- Island Life

Colter Freeman (USA) - Chernobyl and Pripyat

Eloise Fuss (Australia)- Ghana, West Africa

Don Gurewitz(USA) - Images of our World

Kristina Hoksbergen (Australia) - My Place, My People

Martin Ilcik (Slovakia)- Slovak Paradise

Artesia Irawan (Indonesia)- My Lucky Boots

Jonnek Jonneksson (Greece) - India:Chaos & Religion

Jillian Keenan (USA)

Nick Kuchmak(Canada)- Life and Death in Toraja

Kai Loffelbein (Germany)- Witches in India - Life of Desperation

Tammy Law (Australia)- Mongolian Grasslands

Amelia Merrick (USA)- Skip Town

Greetje Mulder (Netherlands)- Travel Photography

Dragos Rapeanu (Romania)- Life Journal

Eric Reichbaum (Korea) - Korean Elders

Anubhv Tyagi (India)- Experience

Hids Samsudeen(India)- Vanishing Tribes

Tejas Shah (UK)- A Snapshot of Modern Japan

Sabine Shwarz (Australia)- Being Bondi

Voula Tripolitsiotis (USA)

Nic Uthaipanumas (Thailand)- Believe

Fabian Weiss (Austria)- Living on the Edge in Transylvania

Tracy Yuen (Australia)- A Little Bit of the World

What's Next?

Congratulations to Dat Vu, and everyone who was shortlisted or placed. We will keep you posted on Dat's trip to Bhutan with Jason Edwards and the resulting photos.

We look forward to seeing everyone's new work next year, so make sure you sign up the the Scholarship Mailing List to be notified about our next exciting opportunity.

A Final Thought from Jason Edwards

Hi Everybody,

Here we are again at that all-important time, judging the 2010 World Nomads Travel Scholarship. Where did the past twelve months go? For myself it’s been a crazy period of shooting assignments in eight countries and habitats ranging from deserts to rainforests to ice fields. I sincerely hope your photographic pursuits were as rewarding.

As you will all be aware the judging for this year’s event is now over and we have our winner, congratulations Dat! The standard of entries was amazing, literally quite amazing! Thank you for your patience whilst the judging panel struggled to separate our finalists and whilst I was tortured in coming to a final decision, it was very, very difficult.

The competition was incredibly tight so much so we had two people drawn for second place. At these times you cannot afford a weak image or to ignore any part of the judging criteria. I was humbled; so many people had a vision of what they wanted their photography to be. This is a Scholarship so finding the right person was not simply a matter of selecting the best imagery but in finding the individual we felt would benefit the most from time with me and what they hoped to achieve in their careers.

Whilst viewing this year’s place-getters and finalists please review the ten judging criteria again. Just because an entry made it to the final round does not preclude it from these criteria, in fact that is when the entry was critiqued the hardest. Several entries were removed from the finalist list for over treating their files. This year we had many issues with captioning and the 300 word written component. Ignore the judging process criteria at your own peril! I would strongly suggest everyone including the finalists, review their entries with the judging process criteria at hand and try to see where they may have lost a point or two.

In closing congratulations to everyone that took the time to produce a portfolio and enter. This in itself is a great exercise and strengthens your photographic ability in ways you may not realise. Please remember, what is most important about your images is what you capture at the time, not what you do in postproduction. Enjoy your photography as a creative expression of who you are and your place in the world.

I hope to see you all again next year!

Best Wishes

Jason

Travel. Learn. Create.

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Comments

1

Congrats all :) I'm glad Andrew Houston got in there, only 4 people did an entry on Japan, and his was really powerful. Good stuff.

duncast Nov 2, 2010 3:00 PM

2

Well done Dat! This is indeed a great achievement for someone who picked up photography only 4 years ago...and amazingly this is your second major award after the Canon Photomarathon Singapore in 2008....looking forward to seeing your Bhutan's portfolio.

Danny Toh Nov 2, 2010 4:19 PM

3

Congratulations Dat! You did a super job with the pictures and the story. You're a very talented photographer and I wish you get the best and the most from this great experience. And kudos to all photographers!

floresx Nov 2, 2010 5:04 PM

4

Well done Dat and well done everyone else who was placed. Enjoy the experience in Bhutan, we look forward to your photos x

Laura Nov 2, 2010 6:06 PM

5

A great judgement, a deserved win.

Alexandra Nov 2, 2010 6:41 PM

6

great photos by the winner.It moved me.

syano09 Nov 2, 2010 6:55 PM

7

great photos by the winner.It moved me.

syano09 Nov 2, 2010 6:55 PM

8

Congratulations to all the finalists, place getters and winner Dat! It was amazing reading all your stories that complimented your photo series - from 45 mins of reading I felt like I'd travelled the world over.

Question to all: Does anyone know of any organisations that run photographic travel trips? I feel so inspired again!!!

Great work to all the team at World Nomads and Jason and Amanda for the mammoth effort of judging 1558 entrants! Look forward to reading Dat's blog on Bhtutan :)

emstack Nov 2, 2010 7:39 PM

9

a very good judgement ...even though i ve also participated here but this photo was awesome ....gr8t ...im proud of the photographers eye.....

moramee Nov 2, 2010 7:39 PM

10

Congratulations Dat!! and to all the finalists. I'm sure Jason had a harder time judging this year than last :)

Dat, such a wonderful tight series and a heart warming written piece as well. You trip with Jason will definitely be a cornerstone in your career, best of luck in Bhutan... I'm jealous!

Anna Zhu Nov 2, 2010 10:50 PM

11

Congratulations to Dat and all the finalists.
I feel privileged to be among you all.
Dat and Jason, have a great journey into Bhutan. I am sure your photos will take us there later on...Inanc

picatoria Nov 2, 2010 11:07 PM

12

Congratulations Dat..a beautiful submission and to the other finalists...well deserved and congrats on being placed so highly.
Ive been inspired looking at all the other entries..I will continue learning and trying :)

louie56 Nov 2, 2010 11:53 PM

13

Congratulations Dat :)

adam Brobjorg Nov 2, 2010 11:57 PM

14

Congrats Dat! Great work. Amanda- is there anyway to see our scores? I'm definitely disappointed to not have reached the finals, and could really use the constructive criticism. Or at least have the knowledge of how I scored.

tobiasrose Nov 3, 2010 12:33 AM

15

Dat, outstanding work....I am so proud of you!

Sandra Sim Nov 3, 2010 2:49 AM

16

Dat,your pictures are like words.Good job.

isabel Nov 3, 2010 5:51 AM

17

Congratulation to you Dat. You deserved to be the winner of this contest. I am so proud of you! You brought the world's attention to our country. Great job!

RB Nov 3, 2010 1:00 PM

18

Congratulations to the winner and I am glad that my story ranked among the finalists. It is the first contest I am submitting my photos in, so this gives me wings:)

Ionut Tarcea Nov 4, 2010 12:56 AM

19

Congrats to Dat!

Both last year and this year the winner told a story about a person, not a place. I am aware that 'place' can be interpreted liberally and metaphorically; however, it seemed to me that what the judges were looking for, for the purposes of this assignment, was a story about a 'place' in the common understanding of this term. Perhaps next year the assignment should make it more explicit that anything qualifies as a 'place'.

1. Shoot a series of photos (maximum of 5) that tell a story about a place you have visited. 'Place' may be anywhere; somewhere in your own community or much further away.

nushi Nov 4, 2010 2:51 AM

20

19) Hi Nushi,

Thanks for your thoughts. Although I disagree with you that these two winners were only about 'people' and not 'place' I understand the point you are making. We have specifically made the brief very loose to assist budding photographers that have never worked to a brief before. The flip-side of this is that it is very open to interpretation not so much by the judges but by the entrants, and we have learnt there are many ways in which budding photographers interpret 'place'.

Were we to make the brief and guidelines more strict we fear many people would struggle even more with telling a story. The judging panel was therefore willing to accept many interpretations of place as you the entrants provided us. And as in previous years the vast majority of entrants used imagery of people to show 'place'. If we were to exclude stories dominated by a person or people there would be no-one to judge!

Having said all that I had several discussions with members of the judging panel specifically addressing the sense of 'place' in Dat's entry. I then also consulted luminaries in the photographic industry to see whether they also agreed 'place' was evident. Everyone agreed and to sum up the opinion "place is definitely present, a small, personal place, but place none-the-less".

In past years people have definitely struggled with this open brief which has surprised me greatly, however overall this year entries were much closer to the mark. Next year we may or may not alter the wording but again this will only increase the level of interpretation and potentially confusion. Personally I like the process we go through for this event. It is a learning experience in itself giving many photographers the first brief they have ever had to work to. I'd hate to lessen that experience because the guidelines are literally what many editors are looking for when reviewing submissions.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Jason

Jason Edwards Nov 4, 2010 10:57 AM

21

Thanks for clarifying place Jason. My own interpretation on Dats submission was that the place was the orphanage/school and the subject was the girl he shot. I loved how he took what could have been a 'heart string' story and presented it in a way that showed her environment (or place) not being a hinderance to her daily life, she just gets on with life, she doesn't let the place or environment deter her. Just made me rethink my own submission and will hopefully have more luck with it next year.

Cheers

Fuzzytraveller Nov 4, 2010 2:07 PM

22

19) Hi Nushi,

Thanks for your thoughts. Although I disagree with you that these two winners were only about 'people' and not 'place' I understand the point you are making. We have specifically made the brief very loose to assist budding photographers that have never worked to a brief before. The flip-side of this is that it is very open to interpretation not so much by the judges but by the entrants, and we have learnt there are many ways in which budding photographers interpret 'place'.

Were we to make the brief and guidelines more strict we fear many people would struggle even more with telling a story. The judging panel was therefore willing to accept many interpretations of place as you the entrants provided us. And as in previous years the vast majority of entrants used imagery of people to show 'place'. A clear example of this is that proportionately we barely had a landscape story submitted featuring either natural or man-made scenes. If we were exclude stories dominated by a person or people there would be no-one to judge!

Having said all that I had several discussions with members of the judging panel specifically addressing the sense of 'place' in Dat's entry. I then also consulted luminaries in the photographic industry to see whether they also agreed 'place' was evident. Everyone agreed and to sum up the opinion "place is definitely present, a small, personal place, but place none-the-less".

In past years people have definitely struggled with this open brief which has surprised me greatly, however overall this year entries were much closer to the mark. Next year we may or may not alter the wording but again this will only increase the level of interpretation and potentially confusion. Personally I like the process we go through for this event. It is a learning experience in itself giving many photographers the first brief they have ever had to work to. I'd hate to lessen that experience because the guidelines are literally what many editors are looking for when reviewing submissions.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Jason

Jason Edwards Nov 4, 2010 2:12 PM

23

Hi everyone,

It's Dat. I'm in the middle of my high school final year exams, so I've been very busy to drop by this website, much less digest the fact that I've received such a prize. Thank you everyone for the heartfelt congratulations and praise. I've seen the portfolios of many others in this contest, and I see that many have also put in a lot of incredible photos. I have also learned immensely from all of these, both the stories as well as technical aspects of photography. I hope we all can improve and keep trying to better capture the stories of the places around us.

Last but not least, I must dedicate this prize to Ngoc, since she is truly one of those people who shape the places we live in and touches our hearts by her innocence, perseverance, and relentless desire to express herself.

Again, I really appreciate all the support and encouragement.

Best regards,
Dat

iamdat Nov 5, 2010 12:13 AM

24

Congratulations Dat! As much as I wanted to win this contest myself, I have to agree with the judges. Your images are simple yet beautiful! As for the content, i.e. the story told, I have no words. Very very moving, and I really like your treatment to the images, it matches very well the mood of the story. Btw, I agree with your interpretation of "place" - and I tried myself to tell a story of a group of people / of an event. I think it's the people (their lives, their struggles) that define the place they live in, much more than the other way around. I'm eager to see your pictures from Bhutan! Have a great time over there.

@Jason, I must confess I was a little disappointed to find 7 images in Dat's entry, especially because 7 was the number I felt I needed to tell my story. What a pain! it took me hours to choose 5 out of those 7. Powerful yet less "eloquent" images had to stay out of the final set, for more cohesive storytelling. Too bad, rules are rules... aren't they? That said, I would love to have a feedback on my entry, but I know how difficult this is. I'm just one among more than 1000 others to be disappointed to not have reached the finals ;)

@WN, NatGeo and Jason: Thank you for the opportunity!
Have a great time in Bhutan, guys!

There are only 5 images in Dat's set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tazan_vtd/sets/72157624931982433/with/5035166684/

pedroperon Nov 5, 2010 4:55 AM

25

Congratulations Dat! great work. i wish i captured that photo.once again congratulation.
But i am not agree with the judgement or the title of this program is incorrect. The competition was about travelling,not the human pain.

pradhumna Nov 5, 2010 6:15 PM

26

Congratulations!! :) keep doing great work! Greetings from Croatia

Oceanroadie Nov 5, 2010 9:53 PM

27

What a wonderful entry. Congratulations Dat. So well deserved.

Gemma Deavin Nov 5, 2010 10:31 PM

28

Great pictures and amazing contest...Congratulations Dat!

I didn't take part at the competition last year so maybe cause of this i didn't understand it was so open to interpretation. "Story of a Place" was so underlined...so the story can be about everything!
Lets try next year!

Have fun! Can't wait to see your pics!

Jacopo Nov 5, 2010 10:59 PM

29

Wow, I am totally blown away by everyone's photos. They are just amazing. It gives me so much hope that there are all these wonderful, caring photographers out there. Keep telling stories, everyone! A big congrats to Dat.

Amy Nov 8, 2010 5:28 AM

30

Congratulations Dat! Fantastic photostream, and it's quite amazing that you're not even out of high school yet!! We will surely be seeing a lot more of your work in the future (from Bhutan and beyond!).

Thanks to Jason and the World Nomads team as well for organising this competition. It was my first, and, as I said in my entry, I feel that I learnt a lot from just having to select pictures. I found myself wishing that I'd taken a picture that I hadn't to complete my story. I will definitely approach my photography in a different way now! I would also love feedback, but realise that's impossible with this number of entries!

Also, thank you for allowing us to enter this competition without charging a fee as many competitions do... I don't have a huge amount of confidence in my pictures, and feel I would have been 'throwing away' any entry fee so I wouldn't have applied.

Thanks again, Congratulations again Dat, and see you all next year!

samsticks Nov 8, 2010 12:31 PM

31

Chúc mừng con với sự chiến thắng trong một năm đầy việc quan trọng cho cả quá trình con đã cố gắng nhiều quá !!! thật sự BM thấy như một giấc mơ lớn khi con là ng\ chiến thắng ,và BM sẽ mong con sẽ còn fai cố gắng để hoàn thành tốt việc vào DH !!!!BM 8/11/2010

BM Nov 8, 2010 10:59 PM

32

hi... looking forward to such contests in future too. congratulations to all the 25 ppl and special greetings to Dat. :)

exeperience_photography Nov 10, 2010 4:13 PM

33

Hi there,

When will the entries open for 2011? :-)

Willem Foster Jan 21, 2011 7:45 PM

34

Congratulations for all finalists, I am a journalist in Brazil and I loved all the photos, because they can tell more than images! Keep doing this great job!

Jaqueline Deister Sep 18, 2011 9:09 AM