We’re delighted to reveal the names of the 25 talented photographers who won AAP Magazine #35: Colors.
The world is a rich tapestry of colors, stretching from the lush green of the grass beneath our feet to the endless expanse of the blue sky above. Our reality is far from a mere dichotomy of black and white. Can you fathom a world stripped of its vibrant hues?.
Colors constitute a ubiquitous presence in our daily existence, exerting their influence often imperceptibly. Numerous studies have demonstrated the capacity of colors to express a wide range of emotions, moods, and cognitive processes. Notably, photographers are captivated by the multifaceted realm of colors..
In the 35th edition of AAP Magazine, we sought to exalt the vivid spectrum of colors. Ultimately, we selected twenty-five photographers, with a majority being women, hailing from nine distinct countries across three continents. Their choice of colors spans the gamut, encompassing audacious and lively hues, subtle pastels, and even monochromatic tones. Yet, each selection reflects a deliberate aesthetic decision that enhances the photograph's visual allure and evokes sensory delight..
The Winner of AAP Magazine 35 Colors is Kyla Rys (USA) with her series Thinking of Guy Bourdin
Sally’s Jacket © Kyla Rys
Thinking of Guy Bourdin is an homage to the iconic french fashion
photographer, Guy Bourdin. The series applies the photographer’s primary color palette
in with vibrant reds and blues. Such contrast emphasizes the striking details of
contemporary fashion staples.
www.kylarys.com
@kyla.rys
All about Kyla Rys
The Second Place Winner is Natalie Strohmaier (Germany) with her series Unattainable Beauty
Party Chics © Natalie Strohmaier
This picture is part of my series „Unattainable Beauty which explores the artificial creation of beauty. An unrealistic ideal of physical beauty is often portrayed in popular media and creates a pressure on individuals to conform to a certain beauty standard.
Since flowers are symbols of beauty, the models of the series are made up of photographically staged flowers and plant parts symbolizing an unnatural Unattainabable Beauty“.
All models are hand-assembled with different cut flowers and potted plants and were photographed in the studio.
nataliestrohmaier.de
The Third Place winner is Ellen Stern (USA) with her series Paris Metro
One day in the Paris Metro, I noticed a French worker shaving down a multitude of thick ads placed on top of each other in a frame next to the tracks. When it was shaved all the way to the base, the image that remained from the torn ads was a beautiful melange of color, form and beauty. Completely fascinated by the discovery of this process; I have scoured the Paris metro for the past few years as on a treasure hunt; photographing these images of torn and ripped advertising posters.
www.ejsternphoto.com
All about Ellen Stern
Merit Award’s Gallery
Jyotsna Bhamidipati (United States)
Apple Pie Coming Up © Jyotsna Bhamidipati
This image was taken as a part of my Motherhood project while I was making some apple pie with a side of asparagus for my son and my daughter decided to join and help me to cook for her brother.
Eric Seidner (United States)
The Rainbow Headquarters from the series Paint The Town…Rainbow © Eric Seidner
Singapore's historic Old Hill Street Police Station is famous for its more than 900 windows painted in the colors of the rainbow. This image is part of a series displaying the use of rainbow color schemes in architecture.
Pelin Guven (Turkey)
You are home © Pelin Guven
Breathe in, bring all yourself together, body and mind, you are one, you are home
All about Pelin Guven
Marlène Delcambre (France)
The white socks from the series I’m walking alone © Marlène Delcambre
I saw this beautiful building on the internet and I decided to take self- portrait in this place. I took a flight to Spain. With my black dress and my white socks, I found the perfect harmony to play in this beautiful colorful place.
''I’m walking alone and yet
It's in the exhausted rhythm of my shoes
May red, pink and blue give me back this vision
That the earth is only an immense unfolded newspaper
Sometimes a photograph passes...''
Fabien Dendiével (France)
This photo is part of a series on the French countryside and what remains of a time gone by: the old interiors of our grandparents, abandoned cars and out-of-service petrol stations... Photography is a way of keeping a memory of all these things that marked generations and our childhood. In a way, it immortalises this heritage.
All about Fabien Dendiével
Melanie Schoeniger (Germany)
Beyond the edge of darkness #01 © Melanie Schoeniger
This series reimagines the feeling of awe I experience when diving: and the vast mysterious sea is my stage.
These images utilize unique perspectives that highlight bioluminescence and surreal colors inspired by coral reefs and nudibranchs, and they envision how underwater species sense the world via ultraviolet and infrared sight.
As our oceans are in a vulnerable state, it is my hope that my focus on beauty and wonder will spark reflection about humanity’s role in our interconnected ecosystems.
All about Melanie Schoeniger
Sebastian Piórek (Poland)
Playground from the series In the right place at the right time © Sebastian Piórek
A playground full of joy hidden somewhere deep in the south of Poland shows its beauty in the first flash of sun from above. This region is known for its mines and strongly urban character of architecture, so such a colorful playground is a kind of pearl from the ground and also from the air.
All about Sebastian Piórek
Aline Taieb (Austria)
Composition 8 from the series Chromatic compositions © Aline Taieb
I place great value on the accidental. Accidental rendering,
fragmentation of faces, painting. When trying to transcribe a portrait
I throw the paint on the canvas and affix these real fragments of
known faces with the hope that the portrait would be there.
I sought in my compositions instantaneous force and violence and
also to reflect the element of darkness. The faces, whose existence
resembles a shadow theater, are deep, mysterious. The
composition is then balanced by the use of traces, spots of color
that can erase one part of the face to free or reveal another while
revealing my psychology.
Joseph Podlesnik (United States)
Cave Creek © Joseph Podlesnik
A study in shape, color, contrast, coexistent depth with flatness. For Podlesnik, the camera lens depicts perspective too easily,..
All about Joseph Podlesnik
Mateusz Zurowski (Poland)
Tetrachromacy © Mateusz Zurowski
Tetrachromacy (from Greek tetra, meaning four and chromo, meaning color) is the condition of possessing four independent channels for conveying color information, or possessing four types of cone cell in the eye. Organisms with tetrachromacy are called tetrachromats. And you? What do you see?
Rohina Hoffman (USA)
Artichoke for steaming with aromatics from the series In Gratitude © Rohina Hoffman
Artichoke for steaming with aromatics is part of a series called “In Gratitude”, an homage to food and family. Prompted by the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is a series of portraits of myself, my husband, and my three children showcasing the items that we used to create our daily meals. I aim to highlight the words of MFK Fisher “our three basic needs, for food, security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined, that we cannot straightly think about one without the others.”
All about Rohina Hoffman
Emily Fisher (USA)
The Green Room from the series House of Colors © Emily Fisher
Klaus Lenzen (Germany)
Color key I © Klaus Lenzen
Color keys can direct the viewer's eye to a picture detail, can be dominated in such a way that the main motif fades into the background
All about Klaus Lenzen
Carolyn Silvernail (USA)
Small Creek from the series Water and Skies © Carolyn Silvernail
This is a photo taken of a small waterway near Fort Pulaski National Monument, outside of Savannah, GA. I live in Savannah and am inspired by the swamps and marshes that surround us here on the coast.
Joyce P. Lopez (USA)
Night Conversations 7 © Joyce P. Lopez
With the recent passing of three family members I was thinking about transitions: day to night, young to old, living to dead, I began to obsess over the color cobalt, which can sometimes be seen at twilight. Trying not to be sad over these recent events, I focused on the part of their lives they missed. I worked with this color scheme and shapes. It represented to me, their time missed.
All about Joyce P. Lopez
Marco Cajazzo (Italy)
The Robot from the series Catania in colors © Marco Cajazzo
The Robot is a surreal shot taken in Catania (Sicily).
Anyone who looks at the photo is initially surprised and tries to understand how it is possible.
There is a skillful game of juxtapositions that is typical of a certain genre of street photography.
The magic is completed by the power of colours: the yellow of the trousers, the metallic elements and the backpack,
but also the blue of the metal bar and the smartphone in the subject's pocket.
All about Marco Cajazzo
Till Britze (Germany)
Last Word from the series Order Up © Till Britze
I wanted to create a series of abstract images combining my old life as a bartender and my career as photographer through the use of strong, sculpted shadows and bold, vibrant coloured setups with a slight nod to the 70s/80s era.
Myrta Köhler (Austria)
Flow and Then © Myrta Köhler
Blue. Deep and distant. Sky and sea. Longing and courage. Dream and infinity. Is it possible to entrust one’s whole being to this indefinable vastness?
Myrta Köhler explores this question in her large-format cyanotype series FLOW AND THEN. The „photography in slow motion creates images of weightlessness, which is only made possible by relinquishing control: During the process of creation, the artist surrenders herself to time, light, water and, not least, to chance.
Pawel Pilch (Poland/USA)
Iridescence № 5 from the series Remote Survey “Solaris” © Pawel Pilch
Aerial photographs documenting Solar Evaporation and Mineral Extraction Fields in Utah, United States.
All about Pawel Pilch
Martina Holmberg (Sweden)
Mayfly © Martina Holmberg
The images are from my series Mayfly. The images are photographed with expired or overexposed polaroid film. They are snapshots of life, a sense of humility about the constant miracle of life and the awareness of our impermanence. How we all belong together and how strong and at the same time fragile life can be.
Jaroslav Mares (Czech Republic)
Blue World 01 © Jaroslav Mares
I took this picture in the locker room of a local high school. A random blue and white composition as if waiting for a photographer. I was lucky to be there. The image is part of the Blue World series, which I compiled from images from my archive.
Alessandro Gallo (Italy)
Colors in architecture © Alessandro Gallo
Colors in architecture can makes difference and communicate a mood. Here inspired by a residential building in Lisbon.