Two Indian photographers are on Wednesday announced as winners of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards, one of the world's leading photography competitions. Selected from over 70,000 entries from across the world, the winning Indian photographers are Arup Ghosh, Open People winner, and Bisheswar Choudhury, India National Award winner.
The achievement of the Indian photographers is extraordinary - both in terms of the number of photographs they have been chosen from but also that the photographers themselves are not professionals, but individuals who are passionate about photography, enthusiasts and amateurs.
The photographers have won the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony and will have their work shown at the annual Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House, London from 1-18 May. Ghosh's image will also be published in the 2014 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book
Open People winner Arup Ghosh, from Bhadreswar in West Bengal, won the Open People category with an image titled "Poor God". It was taken while Ghosh was on vacation during the Durga Puja Festival and travelling on a local train. The young boy in the photograph was singing devotional songs and begging for alms and dressed as the Hindu God, Lord Shiva.
Talking about the boy Ghosh comments, "This is a common view on Indian trains but this boy was charming, bright and had a melodious voice. He could not earn money from the train's compartment and was sad. He was singing along, standing by the door of the train, and I took three shots of the boy before I got off. Before leaving my daughter gave him an apple and I gave him some money, the boy then moved to the next compartment happily."
Ghosh, who also won an Open category in the 2008 Sony World Photography Awards, has been presented with a Sony a6000 camera and, along with the winners of the other nine Open categories, will now compete for the Sony World Photography Awards Open Photographer Year title and $5,000 prize to be announced on 30 April.
Talking about his success Ghosh comments: "This is my second win at the Sony World Photography Awards - first in 2008 and now in 2014. I am so happy and feel honoured - winning a prize at the Sony World Photography Awards, one of the most prestigious photography awards on the planet, and two times, is a huge achievement. Every photographer wishes to win such an award. I am an amateur photographer and I am very serious about my photography. Winning such as great competition will encourage me to pursue my passion in photography and in a better way. I would like to thank the organisers for holding such as grand competition and also thank the jury, the most honoured members of the photography world, that my work is liked by them. I would like to dedicate this success to my beloved wife, my sweet daughter, my dear mother and my cheerful friends. Without their support and enthusiasm I could not have reached this level."
The Open competition is for photography enthusiasts of all levels and is judged on a single image.
India National Award winner Bisheswar Choudhury winning image, "Colourful India" was taken on the bank of Yamuna River, just opposite the Taj Mahal at Agra, and shows the colourful dhobi ghaat (washermen's den). It was taken on a winter morning from a train and the dhobi ghat was almost in the centre of the river as the water had shrunk back due to poor rainfall.
Choudhury is a Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force, heading the Bomb Disposal Squad and has won a Sony digital imaging equipment.
Talking about his win Choudhury comments: "I can go on giving an Oscar speech. But, very modestly, I will cut it short, just to say that it always catalyses one's efficiency and pushes boundaries. To me, the object of my photography is to bring out the beauty of the world around which normally goes unnoticed. This award will surely make the photo immortal."
The 10 category winners of the Open competition are:
Architecture - Holger Schmidtke, Germany
Arts and Culture - Valerie Prudon, Australia
Enhanced - Kylli Sparre, Estonia
Low Light - Vlad Eftenie, Romania
Nature & Wildlife - Gert van den Bosch, Netherlands
Panoramic - Ivan Pedretti, Italy
People - Arup Ghosh, India
Smile - Alpay Erdem, Turkey
Split Second - Hairul Azizi Harun, Malaysia
Travel - Chen Li, China
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