(PRESS RELEASE) IAPB presents the winners of the World Sight Day 2021 Photo Competition. An independent panel of five judges from around the world selected this year’s winners.
The judges have chosen ‘Ladakhi Weaver’ by Julie-Anne Davies as this year’s winning professional Photo of the Year and ‘Going to School’ by Saiful Islam as the winning amateur Photo of the Year.
Winners were selected from over 1,000 images submitted from around the world. “Our hope was that the competition would provide professional and amateur photographers with the opportunity to share the stories they’ve captured, and we have been blown away by the calibre of submissions, which are nothing short of exceptional. We thank everyone who participated and congratulate our winners,” said Simon Darvill, Head of Communications, IAPB.
Judge Fatima Zehra, Eye Health Hero 2020, Trainer and Consultant, said of the professional Photo of the Year “This image clearly shows the impact of good vision on personal and economic growth. This picture has rightly captured the hope, joy and happiness of a woman who can see clearly.”
Judge Michael Schoenfeld, award-winning photographer, admired the winning amateur photograph “Going to School, has such a beautiful, unified colour palette, great expression and emotional tone…The thoughtfulness of the background, harmonizing so well with the subject shows the depth and maturity of the photographer.”
“Since its inception in 2015, the World Sight Day Photo Competition has highlighted the importance of eye health by shining a light on the social and economic impact of vision loss. This year the submissions achieved that and so much more. Choosing winners was not an easy task, but I thank our judges for lending their time and expertise,” added Darvill.
The judging panel consisted of Dave Hogan, World-Renowned Celebrity Photographer, Caroline Casey, Founder and Creator of The Valuable 500, Michael Schoenfeld, Multi-Award-Winning Photographer, Marge Axelrad, Editorial Director of Vision Monday and VMail, Jobson Optical Group, and Fatima Zehra, Eye Health Hero 2020, Trainer and Consultant.
The IAPB World Sight Day Photo Competition is made possible with support from Bayer. The competition is part of the IAPB World Sight Day #LoveYourEyes campaign.
Visit photocomp.iapb.org to learn more about the winning images, category finalists and the 2021 Judges Panel.