DOHA: Marsel van Oosten has been confirmed as the overall winner of the 2015 international Travel Photographer of the Year awards (TPOTY). The Dutch photographer beat entrants from over 110 countries to scoop the top prize and the title of Travel Photographer of the Year 2015. The Young Travel Photographer of the Year 2015 is 18-year-old Chase Guttman from the USA.
Photographers from 22 countries took awards, and the winning images will have their first public display in the summer of 2016, at TPOTY’s superb new London exhibition venue, The Museum of London Docklands.
An international panel of expert judges selected Marsel’s eight images as the overall winning entry. His two portfolios, both in black and white, are very different but each is elegant and beautifully composed and lit. The first portfolio, of pelicans, is punchy and graphic, whilst the second, of Lousiana, is subtle and textural.
In addition to Chase Guttman taking the title of Young Travel Photographer of the Year 2015, Chase’s fellow American, Spencer Cox (age 17), won Young TPOTY 15-18, while 13-year-old Indonesian Michael Theodric won Young TPOTY 14 and Under for the second year in a row.
In the portfolio categories, Chinese amateur photographer, Xia Xuejun, took top honours in Monochromal, with Australian Scott Portelli and British photographer Timothy Allen sharing the award for the Best Single Image in a Monochromal portfolio. Mitchell Kanashkevich (Australia) won Faces, People, Encounters and Timothy Allen won Best Single Image here. James Morgan’s striking images of wolf hunters in Russia earned the British photographer the first prize in Nature and Environment, with Alessandra Meniconzi (Switzerland) winning Best Single Image.
In the single image categories, Jasper Doest (Netherlands) won Water, Uli Kunz (Germany) won A Moment in Light and Larry Louie (Canada) won Colours of the World. This year TPOTY introduced a category solely for images shot on mobile phones. iCaptured, the first-ever Smart Shot category, was won by Edgard de Bono (Italy), for his image taken in Benin on an iPhone 5S.
The New Talent prize went to Chinese photographer, Doctor Zhu Jingyi, for his beautifully detailed shots of street life in Jiangsu. For the first time ever, the judging panel decided not to award a winner in the HD Video category, Travel Shorts, as they felt this year’s entry, though very good, did not reach the standard achieved in previous years.
TPOTY at the Museum of London Docklands
The TPOTY London exhibitions have become a firm favourite with travel and photography lovers, last summer attracting over 51,000 visitors. Travel Photographer of the Year starts a new journey in the summer of 2016 at a new exhibition venue, the Museum of London Docklands.
Sharon Ament, Director of the Museum of London, said: “The Museum of London Docklands tells the story of London as a global city with worldwide connections. The 2016 Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition connects London to the world through people’s travels and adventures. Capturing everything from wolf hunters in Russia right through to everyday lives shot on a smart phone in Benin, these vibrant and thought-provoking images are a must-see for everyone.”
“We are very excited about taking TPOTY to the Museum of London Docklands,” said awards’ founder Chris Coe. “It is a beautiful building, steeped in the history of London as a trading and travel destination for centuries past, and is a fascinating museum, and gives us an opportunity to bring the world to West India Quay and Canary Wharf.”
The Judging Panel
The awards were judged by a highly respected international panel of judges, which includes Michael Pritchard, Director General of the Royal Photographic Society, the adventurer, naturalist & wildlife filmmaker Catherine Capon, Daria Bonera (Photo Agency Director & Photo Editor for National Geographic Traveler Italy), curator Brigitte Lardinois, renowned wildlife photographer Chris Weston, Caroline Metcalfe, former Director of Photography, Condé Nast Traveller, and the champion jockey turned travel photographer, Richard Dunwoody.
Travel Photographer of the Year 2015 is sponsored by Direct Photographic, Genesis Imaging, Photo Iconic, Plastic Sandwich, Railbookers and StaaG. The winning images can be viewed in the 2015 Winners’ Gallery on the awards’ website www.tpoty.com and will be published in the summer in the new TPOTY book, Journey Eight. The 2016 Travel Photographer of the Year awards will open in the Spring.
The Peninsula
