The 2023 AOP Student Awards – shining a light on the next generation of photographers and image makers
© Natalia Krezel
I visited Bempton Cliffs for the first time in July 2021, and I was completely blown away by what I witnessed there. The sound was immense. Crashing waves and erratic bird calls seemed to surround me and engulfed the entire cliff tops. As I looked down from the cliff tops, I was absolutely astonished. The sky, the sea, and every inch of cliffs and outcrops seemed to be dominated by Seabirds. The sky was filled with Gannets flying back and forth with food and nesting materials, the cliff faces saw Gannets feeding young, mating, building nests, clashing beaks and fighting for territory. I immediately fell in love with this almost prehistoric looking scene and decided that I wanted to recreate this emotive experience, so I came up with the idea of my multi-screen short film, Bempton. Bempton was filmed over the course of a year, from March 2022 – March 2023 and documents the entire breeding season of the Northern Gannet at RSPB Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire. Each year these cliffs are brought to life with the incredible sights and sounds of over 200,000 seabirds who use them as a space to raise their chicks between the months of March and October. The film, spread over three screens, captures the changing landscape of the cliffs, the fight for territory, and the beauty of the Gannets’ courtship over the course of a year. The imagery is accompanied by an incredibly immersive soundtrack, which is comprised of both an emotive score (composed by Simon Turner) and the natural sounds of the landscape and birdlife.
Fujifilm are offering a commissioned project to the overall winner of the AOP Student awards.
Whatever your vocation, passion, course or age, we invite you to inspire us with your photography.
This category covers any form of people-photography from portraiture to street photography, photojournalism and beyond. The People category is an opportunity to make visual comments about the human race and its ways. In previous ‘portrait’ categories, animal pictures have been featured but the originators of this category feel that entries this year should feature the human race.
Arts University Bournemouth, Commercial Photography.
I Am Not My Diagnosis
London Met BA Photography
Dimineața (Morning), 2023
Rather than duplicate possible locations such as landscapes and architecture, we offer this category which provides unlimited opportunities. We promise that we will be as flexible as you need us to be.
This category covers almost everything else. Think Irving Penn’s found objects, Mapplethorpe’s flowers, Ori Gersht’s explosions, cats, dogs, bats and monkeys by Tim Flach, and sublime still-lifes by Richard Maxted and then make something unique and sensational of your own. We can’t wait to see your work.
Falmouth University, BA Photography
I Float Alone
Meet our judges for the 2023 Student Awards
Julia Fullerton-Batten is a fine-art photographer renowned for her highly cinematic visual story-telling. Her large-scale projects are based around specific themes. Each image in the project embellishes her subject matter in a series of thought-provoking narrative ‘stories’ using staged tableaux and sophisticated lighting techniques.
Julia’s use of unusual locations, highly creative settings, street-cast models, accented with cinematic lighting are hallmarks of her style. She insinuates visual tensions in her images and imbues them with a mystique that teases the viewer into continually re-examining the picture; something new coming to the fore each time.
Her fine-art work is globally renowned and exhibited. She has won countless awards worldwide, is frequently portrayed in photographic journals, has published three books, is a Hasselblad Ambassador and a frequent speaker at international workshops and a juror of international competitions. Her images are on the front covers of ‘A Guide to Collecting Contemporary Photography’. She has a permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery, Musee de l’Elysee, Lausanne and the Parliamentary Art Collection, Houses of Parliament.
Head of Photography – The Economist 1843 Magazine
Agent and Producer at Miss Jones
Ian started working in photography at the age of 19 assisting in London, and some 36 years later is still going strong. After shooting fashion for titles such as British Vogue and The Guardian he went on to art direct before creating The Miss Jones Agency in Edinburgh and London. He has produced many significant and high profile ad campaigns for brands such as Ford, Ikea, Tesco and UKGov and works with a talented roster of high end photographers and directors, to whom he provides both creative and commercial support. Ian’s personal landscape photography is also starting to gain admirers, his work published by Hoxton Mini Press and various online publications.
© William Turner, University of Derby – Professional & Applied (Photography). SILVER Places 2022
Denouement , (Series) © Karo Birger, University of South Wales. SILVER Things 2022
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© John Buchanan
The Association of Photographers is a membership organisation dedicated to promoting, protecting and educating photographers of all levels – from those starting out, to experienced professionals, and everyone in between.
© The Association of Photographers Ltd
The AOP Photography Awards are known as the ‘Oscars’ of the photography world. They celebrate excellence in the creative photography and image-making industry.
This is your chance to be seen by leading commissioners and names within the photographic industry. Our 38th AOP Awards finalists are now revealed…