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Department of Social Anthropology

 

Elephant Hunters (Lys Alcayna-Stevens, 2014)

This is the second year of the ‘Images Fresh From The Field’ competition and once again the general quality of submissions was very high with a wide and interestingly diverse range of images between and within the different entries.

The overall standard of entries was, once again, impressive. A high proportion of the images were of exhibition quality and several stood out as particularly striking and powerful and/or conveying something of the research involved in particularly telling and effective ways. The judges were interested in both the aesthetic and technical merits of the images and in the quality of the accompanying text. They gave most weight to entries where text and image worked together with each setting off and enhancing the other. Some entries explored a particular facet of research in depth; others went for a wider coverage. The judges had no preference for one or other option but did pay attention to the extent in which images worked together and related to text.

The judges have awarded the first prize to an entry with three striking images of outstanding quality in their own right and which also relate to the accompanying textual commentary in a particularly effective way. At the same time there are 2nd and 3rd commendations.

This years worthy winner is Lys Alcayna-Stevens who spent a year and a half living and conducting ethnographic research with Mongo peoples (the Bankundo and Bongando) in north-eastern Bandundu Province and south-eastern Equateur Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Highly commended in second place was Falk Parra-Witte whose fieldwork took place in the Sierra Nevada in northern Colombia and commended in third place was Beth Turk who lived with Mongolian shaman for her research exploring the relationship between the country’s massive mining boom and the resurgence of shamanism.

The judges hope that future photographic competitions will continue to attract the high-quality of entries seen in the last two years and again offer their warm congratulations to all the entrants.

Please see the below links for photo’s and narratives of all entrants.

Lys Alcayna-Stevens: Fieldwork in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Falk Parra-Witte: Fieldwork in Northern Columbia

Beth Turk: Fieldwork in Mongolia

Ed Pulford: Fieldwork in Far East Russia

Fiona Wright: Fieldwork in Israel and Palestine

Melissa Santana de Oliviera: Fieldwork in Northwest Amazonia

Yu Qiu: Fieldwork in Guangzhou, China

Romelia Calin: Fieldwork in Republic of Abkhazia