The Lynn Conlee People's Choice Award
Winner: Menstrual Health is a Human Right by Dania Verbena (Esquipulas, Guatemala)
This photograph was taken in Guatemala, around 300 young girls gathered for an activity centered on menstrual health and education as part of the non-profit I lead. Seeing so many girls raising their hands and holding menstrual products reminded me that access to menstrual health is not only a matter of personal hygiene, it is a matter of dignity, education, and human rights. For girls in Guatemala, menstruation can become a barrier to attending school when they lack access to products, accurate information, or a supportive environment. Being from a small town, conversations around menstruation are still surrounded by stigma and silence. This moment represents something different in the community: girls learning, participating, and feeling empowered to speak openly about their bodies. Menstrual health should never determine whether a girl can learn, participate, or feel confident wherever she is.
This photograph was taken in Guatemala, around 300 young girls gathered for an activity centered on menstrual health and education as part of the non-profit I lead. Seeing so many girls raising their hands and holding menstrual products reminded me that access to menstrual health is not only a matter of personal hygiene, it is a matter of dignity, education, and human rights. For girls in Guatemala, menstruation can become a barrier to attending school when they lack access to products, accurate information, or a supportive environment. Being from a small town, conversations around menstruation are still surrounded by stigma and silence. This moment represents something different in the community: girls learning, participating, and feeling empowered to speak openly about their bodies. Menstrual health should never determine whether a girl can learn, participate, or feel confident wherever she is.
Urban Scenes
First Place: Evening Stroll by Chase Austin (Versailles, France)
Second Place: Classic Cuba by Lauren Sefton (Havana, Cuba)
Third Place: Voices in the City by Dania Verbena (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
People
First Place: Villager by Max Luo (Jiangxi, China)
Second Place: Tea in the Sahara with Salah and Hussein by Professor Sheyda Aisha Khaymaz (Southern Algeria)
Third Place: Taking a risk for art by Katie Searle (Kalk Bay, Cape Town, South Africa)
Natural World
First Place: Living with mountains by Nisha Chhetri (Nepal)
Second Place: Two Swooning Swans by Alivia Griwatch (Hamburg, Germany)
Third Place: A Walk Through Versailles by Chase Austin (Versailles, France)
Narrative Photography
First Place: Monkey Steals Phone to Take Selfie by Rylyn Cornwell (Ubud, Bali)
The monkeys of Ubud are no stranger to tourists, even considered aggressive at times. This monkey stole my iPhone at Ubud’s Monkey Forest and took a photo with it, requiring some assistance from staff.
The monkeys of Ubud are no stranger to tourists, even considered aggressive at times. This monkey stole my iPhone at Ubud’s Monkey Forest and took a photo with it, requiring some assistance from staff.
Second Place: Remembering Dead Chickens by Justin Seabrook (Dead Chicken Alley in Berlin, Germany)
This picture captures the beauty of the walls that never stay the same. Dead Chicken Alley, which is at the heart of Berlin, displays ever-changing art and graffiti. It will never be the same experience for everyone, with constantly changing artwork, overgrown vines, and hidden details in every corner and nook. Behind the peeling layers of paint, stickers, and posters, over 30 years of history, artwork and personality are visible. It is a way for the community to express creativity and demand change. The ability for human creativity, history, and the natural world to all co-exist at the heart of such an important and bustling city was stunning.
This picture captures the beauty of the walls that never stay the same. Dead Chicken Alley, which is at the heart of Berlin, displays ever-changing art and graffiti. It will never be the same experience for everyone, with constantly changing artwork, overgrown vines, and hidden details in every corner and nook. Behind the peeling layers of paint, stickers, and posters, over 30 years of history, artwork and personality are visible. It is a way for the community to express creativity and demand change. The ability for human creativity, history, and the natural world to all co-exist at the heart of such an important and bustling city was stunning.
Third Place: The Hero of Busan by Karis Chung (Busan, South Korea)
This photo was taken on the market streets of Haeundae Beach located in Busan, South Korea. The subject, a man delivering fish to one of the street-side restaurants had stood up on top of his truck, and as he towered above everyone, he looked like a superhero. In a way, he is: he keeps the tourists and locals fed! I hoped to capture his heroic-ness in my photography, and pay him his due diligence for all of his hard work, though I do not know him, nor did I get to see his face. To me, however, the mystery of his identity and of his face only adds to his identity as the Hero of Busan.
This photo was taken on the market streets of Haeundae Beach located in Busan, South Korea. The subject, a man delivering fish to one of the street-side restaurants had stood up on top of his truck, and as he towered above everyone, he looked like a superhero. In a way, he is: he keeps the tourists and locals fed! I hoped to capture his heroic-ness in my photography, and pay him his due diligence for all of his hard work, though I do not know him, nor did I get to see his face. To me, however, the mystery of his identity and of his face only adds to his identity as the Hero of Busan.