Winners of the 2018 Zumtobel photographic competition

The Zumtobel photographic competition, now in its 22nd year, celebrates the power of light and the effect it has on us and the world around us. Every year the competition challenges entrants to capture extraordinary moments, from the monumental to the everyday. All participants used the ZumtobelPhoto app, which gave a limited time to use just 24 exposures, and with no filters or effects allowed, they had to rely solely on their creativity and the versatility of light in every form. The theme for 2018 was ‘Photos You Can Feel’, and for the first time Zumtobel partnered with street photographer Emmanuel Cole who helped launch the competition and inspire the participants.

The entries were simply astounding and every photo evoked something different for the viewer. Some chose to capture the unique details of the urban landscape or the beauty of nature with stunning views and natural light. Others adopted a more abstract approach, exploring vivid colour and striking contrasts.

For the judges, it was not easy to choose the very best among the thousands of entries. However, after much deliberation the overall winner, as well as the second and third place photos were chosen. The judges also awarded a number of highly commended photos that narrowly missed out on the top prizes. Here are the top three photos with a brief description from the winner’s themselves.

Winning photo by Jamie Dewdney

Winner: Jamie Dewdney, Stride Treglown
Jamie’s colourful, ethereal entry made spectacular use of light and took the top prize by evoking something truly unique. Jamie explained, “The photo was taken at the Royal William Yards festival of light in Plymouth. This installation used light rays through a mist of water, which produced the rainbow colour effect that proved to be a great background setting. I waited for the perfect silhouette to come along, which happened to be a brother and sister sharing a single umbrella, observing the mystical lighting effect as if they were looking into the future.”

Second place photo by Paul Caddy

Second place: Paul Caddy, Halliday Meecham Architects
A solitary gull illuminated by the setting sun over a Norwegian fjord was the subject of the amazing second placed entry. Paul described how this moment came about, “I was enjoying the winter sun at Oslo Opera House when I saw a gull looking out to the fjord. The light was incredible so I had taken a few photos already but really wanted to get some character into a shot, and managed to get close enough to take the photo without scaring the bird away.”

Third place photo by Paolo Zilli

Third place: Paolo Zilli, Zaha Hadid Architects
The judges were also impressed by Paolo’s entry, which like the others, beautifully captured the ‘Photos You Can Feel’ theme. Paolo explained what inspired the photo, “The place is called ‘Virtue Court’, an ancestral hall without human ashes. The plaques are described as a ‘gateway’ inside the city centre for the descendants to pay visits to their ancestors. The red covered plaques are pre-subscribed when the person is still alive. This is a kind of Chinese tradition of making wishes to have a longer lifetime.”

Contact Details
To see all the winning and high commended photos, and to download the Zumtobel photographic competition 2018 winners’ booklet click here.