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FINAL CALL TO ENTER AAP MAGAZINE SHAPES: PUBLICATION AND $1,000 CASH PRIZES
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Sebastian Piórek
Sebastian Piórek
Sebastian Piórek

Sebastian Piórek

Country: Poland
Birth: 1988

Based in Warsaw (Poland) is a talented photographer who specializes in capturing minimalistic shots of architecture and landscapes. Through his photographs, he strives to create and present a simple and austere approach to the viewers. In today's world, where we are inundated with a lot of technical and visual information, minimalism offers a soothing respite for our busy minds. His intention is to prompt the audience to perceive reality from a fresh perspective, encouraging contemplation on time and existence. His exceptional works have garnered acclaim in numerous Polish and international photography contests. Recently, his photographs have been published in renowned publications such as "100 [HUNDRED] Best Selected," "Photography in the Visual Culture," "We Contemporary 2022," and "Black, White & Infinite Colors."
 

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More Great Photographers To Discover

Xiaoping Lin
China
1972
Xiaoping Lin, a Chinese bird photographer, has been involved in photography since 1992. He has won numerous honors, including the 2025 CEWE Winner, 2022 XPOSURE First Place, 2023 HIPA Merit Medal, 2023 BigPicture Winner, and 2024 NBP Winner. His photographic works have been exhibited in photography shows around the world and published in various magazines and books. His works accurately capture vivid details of bird ecological behavior from a unique perspective, while interpreting the meaning of life through the language of the lens. These images not only inspire audiences to engage in profound philosophical reflections on the laws of nature but also prompt the public to rediscover the majestic charm of the natural world, evoking deep inquiries into the essence of life and the mysteries of nature. He always hopes to convey the beauty of nature through the lens, awaken the public’s deep understanding and aesthetic resonance of nature, and then cherish the ecological environment and fulfill the responsibility of protection. Statement: The scene of “opening the gate to release the tide and egrets catching fish” is a major attraction of Yundang Lake in Xiamen, China. Xiamen has long pursued sustainable ecological civilization, improving bay water dynamics and protecting the marine ecosystem, with the lake area’s environment greatly improved. Every time the tide rises, the gates of the West Embankment in Xiamen are opened to let seawater into Yundang Lake. It is often seen that small fish are rolling and leaping in the surging seawater, and egrets in the air and big fish in the lake are competing for the small fish at the gate - a spectacular sight of "egrets and fish flying together". The series of photography works titled "The Epic of Survival in the Waves - The Life Struggle Between Egrets and Fish" was captured between 2022 and 2025. The speed at which egrets and large fish compete for small fish is so fast that a shutter speed of at least 1/2000 and a high-speed continuous shooting rate of 20 frames per second are required to freeze the thrilling moments. This speed is beyond the reaction time of the human eye. This series of photography works records the most primitive competition in nature from a nearly cold perspective, allowing me to see the most genuine form of life: not the cold law of the survival of the fittest, but the survival epic that every living being is writing with all their might. Those that sparkle in the waves are both the cruel truth of nature and the brilliant light of life that never compromises. I hope these photography works can prompt the audience to deeply reflect on the mysteries of nature and the essence of life, and thereby cherish the ecological environment and fulfill the responsibility of protection. AAP Magazine AAP Magazine 54 Nature
Mariska Karto
Netherlands
Mariska Karto is an artist/ fine art-photographer born in Suriname (South-America) and raised in the Netherlands. In this age of rapidity and technical development, in which human is exposed to impersonal detachment of current technical era, Mariska Karto creates the vulnerable and intensive dimensions of human feelings and emotions. This all happens in the dreamworld she has created with her technique in which past and present have found their way to each other, in this era of transformation.She talks to you in a language without words using symbolism in a dreamworld of historic paintings atmosphere.Mystique, tragic and erotic are the keywords for her work. Her work are like old stories escaped from an old world of eternal dreams, eternal emotions and eternal feelings that existed for hundred of years but still repeats themselves as in a pattern of an earthy rite, in this new modern contemporary era.Her works are like poems and thoughts, restless ones but are also like whispers of thoughtless experiences, floating in a centuries long movement in time.Artist Statement"My work is based on a period in which photography did not exist, It was not until the end of the 18th century that it was invented. As a result of this, people thought that photography would make the art of painting disappear, especially in the post modern era, the traditional art had to make way for new technical developments. In my work I seek and found a respectful connection of technique and traditional craft through a striking contradiction. Painters in the Baroque/renaissance time were trying to paint as true-to-life with painting-techniques and color applications. What a camera does is portray the world in its realistic colors. That’s the contradiction in my work, it’s the other way around. I shoot realistic images and through an intensive transformation process, the work is changed, true-to-life in the characteristic Baroque colors and style of that time. Eventually, this says nothing about photography and technique, but more about the great masters of that gone era, they were able to be as realistic and accurate as possible with brush and paint the world in all its reality… That’s the great contradiction in my work, I’m leaving the visible reality of our current time, and bring the invisible realism of the past forward in my work. As a result of this, I pull away present time from its structure and then time appears to be just a definition, which slowly fades away, when current and past becomes interwoven with each other.” More background info: "I mix skills from different worlds together. It is a blend of skills of my (I'm originally a painter and sketcher, textiles - I was a textile artist some years ago, photography and image processing) that ultimately meets each other in this form of art. A main factor are also social emotional influences in my life which developed how I see, learn and finally understand things in an essential (psychological) way. All these (artistic) elements from different areas and personal influences come together in a work of mine."
Samuel Bourne
British
1834 | † 1912
Samuel Bourne, an English photographer born in 1834, is celebrated as one of the foremost figures in early Indian photography. His journey into the world of photography began in Nottingham, England, where he initially worked as a bank clerk. However, his passion for the burgeoning art of photography soon eclipsed his banking career, leading him to pursue it full-time. Bourne's meticulous attention to detail and his technical proficiency quickly set him apart in the photographic community. In 1863, Bourne embarked on an ambitious voyage to India, a decision that would define his career and cement his legacy. He arrived in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and joined forces with the established photographic studio Howard & Shepherd, which later became known as Bourne & Shepherd. This partnership allowed Bourne to explore the Indian subcontinent extensively, capturing its diverse landscapes, architecture, and people with an unprecedented level of precision and artistry. Bourne's expeditions were both challenging and groundbreaking. He undertook several arduous journeys to remote and often inaccessible regions of India, including the Himalayas, where he captured stunning photographs of the mountains, rivers, and valleys. His images of Kashmir, Simla (now Shimla), and Darjeeling are particularly renowned for their clarity and composition. Bourne's work required immense physical stamina and technical skill, as he often had to transport heavy photographic equipment through difficult terrains. Throughout his time in India, Bourne produced an extensive portfolio that vividly documented the subcontinent's natural beauty and architectural grandeur. His photographs provided a window into India for the Western world and were widely acclaimed for their artistic merit and documentary value. Bourne's work was regularly featured in British photographic journals, and he received numerous accolades for his contributions to the field. Samuel Bourne returned to England in 1870, leaving behind a lasting legacy in the world of photography. He continued to be involved in the photographic industry but never again embarked on such extensive travels. Bourne's Indian photographs remain a significant historical record, offering a glimpse into the 19th-century Indian landscape and culture. His pioneering efforts not only advanced the technical aspects of photography but also set a high standard for future generations of photographers. Samuel Bourne passed away in 1912, but his work continues to be celebrated for its artistic and historical importance.
Mary Ellen Mark
United States
1940 | † 2015
Mary Ellen Mark is an American photographer known for her photojournalism, portraiture, and advertising photography. She has had 16 collections of her work published and has been exhibited at galleries and museums worldwide. She has received numerous accolades, including three Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards and three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Mary Ellen Mark was born in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and began photographing with a Box Brownie camera at age nine. She attended Cheltenham High School, where she was head cheerleader and exhibited a knack for painting and drawing. She received a BFA degree in painting and art history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962, and a Masters Degree in photojournalism from that university's Annenberg School for Communication in 1964. The following year, Mark received a Fulbright Scholarship to photograph in Turkey for a year. While there, she also traveled to photograph England, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Spain. In 1966 or 1967, she moved to New York City, where over the next several years she photographed Vietnam War demonstrations, the women's liberation movement, transvestite culture, and Times Square, developing a sensibility, according to one writer, "away from mainstream society and toward its more interesting, often troubled fringes". As Mark explained in 1987, "I'm just interested in people on the edges. I feel an affinity for people who haven't had the best breaks in society. What I want to do more than anything is acknowledge their existence". Her shooting style ranges from a 2 ¼ inch format, 35 mm, and 4x5 inch view camera. She also uses a Leica 4 for most photographs and Nikons for long-range shooting. Mark loves shooting with a Hasselblad for square format and she shoots primarily in black-and-white, using classic Kodak Tri-X film. Source: Wikipedia Mary Ellen Mark achieved worldwide visibility through her numerous books, exhibitions and editorial magazine work. She published photo essays and portraits in such publications as Life, New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair. For over five decades, she traveled extensively to make pictures that reflect a high degree of humanism. She is recognized as one of our most respected and influential photographers. Her images of our world's diverse cultures have become landmarks in the field of documentary photography. Her portrayals of Mother Teresa, Indian circuses, and brothels in Bombay were the product of many years of work in India. A photo essay on runaway children in Seattle became the basis of the academy award-nominated film Streetwise, directed and photographed by her husband, Martin Bell. Mary Ellen received the 2014 Lifetime Achievement in Photography Award from the George Eastman House as well as the Outstanding Contribution Photography Award from the World Photography Organisation. She has also received the Infinity Award for Journalism, an Erna & Victor Hasselblad Foundation Grant, and a Walter Annenberg Grant for her book and exhibition project on America. Among her other awards are the Cornell Capa Award from the International Center of Photography, the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, the Matrix Award for outstanding woman in the field of film/photography, and the Dr. Erich Salomon Award for outstanding merits in the field of journalistic photography. She was also presented with honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from her Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of the Arts; three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts; the Photographer of the Year Award from the Friends of Photography; the World Press Award for Outstanding Body of Work Throughout the Years; the Victor Hasselblad Cover Award; two Robert F. Kennedy Awards; and the Creative Arts Award Citation for Photography at Brandeis University. She published twenty books including Passport (Lustrum Press, 1974), Ward 81 (Simon & Schuster, 1979), Falkland Road (Knopf, 1981), Mother Teresa's Mission of Charity in Calcutta (Friends of Photography, 1985), The Photo Essay: Photographers at work (A Smithsonian series), Streetwise (second printing, Aperture, 1992), Mary Ellen Mark: 25 Years (Bulfinch, 1991), Indian Circus (Chronicle, 1993 and Takarajimasha Inc., 1993), Portraits (Motta Fotografica, 1995 and Smithsonian, 1997), a Cry for Help (Simon & Schuster, 1996), Mary Ellen Mark: American Odyssey (Aperture, 1999), Mary Ellen Mark 55s (Phaidon, 2001), Photo Poche: Mary Ellen Mark (Nathan, 2002), Twins (Aperture, 2003), Exposure (Phaidon, 2005), Extraordinary Child (The National Museum of Iceland, 2007), Seen Behind the Scene (Phaidon, 2009), Prom (Getty, 2012,) Man and Beast (University of Texas Press, 2014,) Tiny: Streetwise revisited (Aperture, 2015,) and Mary Ellen Mark on the Portrait and the Moment (Aperture, 2015.) Mark's photographs have been exhibited worldwide. She also acted as the associate producer of the major motion picture, American Heart (1992), directed by, Martin Bell. Her last book Tiny: Streetwise Revisited is a culmination of 32 years documenting Erin Blackwell, who she first met in 1983 on assignment for Life Magazine. Erin was the subject of both the book and film Streetwise. Martin also made an updated film, Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell. Aside from her book and magazine work, Mark photographed advertising campaigns among which are Barnes and Noble, British Levis, Coach Bags, Eileen Fisher, Hasselblad, Heineken, Keds, Mass Mutual, Nissan, and Patek Philippe.Source: www.maryellenmark.com
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