Q: What drove you to submit your work to the IPA competition?
The International Photography Awards have enjoyed a great reputation in the photography scene for 20 years. It’s a great level. I am amazed at what is possible with the camera, what is possible with image editing, enjoy the different styles and the inspiration of the other artists. The International Photography Awards are a wonderful platform to bring people together from other countries and cultures who share the love of photography. That’s why I submitted my photographs here.

Q: How did winning this competition impact your artistic journey?
At the moment I am looking back with gratitude to my beginnings in photography. I can only imagine this long journey. I’m standing on a personal high peak and just want to enjoy the view at the moment. The path meant well. I came across wonderful people who took great pictures. I was lucky that I received lovely feedback on my photos. There were always people by my side who supported me and gave me strength to move forward. Thank you!!!

Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)?
I knew the location. I wasn’t looking for the best place. The challenge was that I had the photo in my head, had it in my mind and wanted to get as close to it as possible. I would have time……. The biggest challenge of all came from researching the “Jänschwalde Powerstation”. It is not a German success story and it was first of all my own story and topic.

Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images?
That I love what I ́m doing right now. This is a most important factor in my life. Everything else then follows, the doors open – sooner or later, everything at the right time. I think technology is the basis of great photos, camera settings and focus are certainly important. Nevertheless, I don’t want to get lost in it, because there have been great pictures at all times. In my opinion, great photography is intentionally crafted. It shows what it is supposed to show. It is a composition of light, colors, lines and shapes.
The photo wants to be viewed. It creates a connection to the viewer. Maybe emotional, cognitive, personal or aesthetic. In any case, the photo touches the viewer and the photo tells a story. That’s all what I want to do with my photography.

Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?
All of the above in the previous question comes together.

Q: What motivates and drives your photography?
I want to take great pictures. I want to surprise myself and inspire other people. I hope that the image has the power to reach people who start photography, who loves photography. Simply become active yourself, be creative, pursue a dream. I always want to go further. I want to see the world. I would like to see this with my own eyes, feel it with my heart and capture it with the camera.

Q: What ́s next for you in your career as a photographer?
I definitely want to create photos of a high level. I will go further and further in photography. I want to stay curious and learn a lot from other people who love photography and who love the world.

Q: What drove you to submit your work to the IPA competition and your thoughts on how winning this competition impacted your artistic journey?
When I took the photo, it was a moment I couldn’t imagine ignoring. I immediately felt it was the most powerful shot I had ever taken, but didn’t have any intention of putting it out into the world, as at that time I treated my photography as personal observation. After Roe Vs. Wade was overturned in 2022, I felt that it was an obligation to publish and share it with the rest of the world. I did a run of limited edition prints, and promptly submitted it into one awards competition, the International Photography Awards. My hope was that with any luck it could inspire and give strength to those fighting against the inequities of how women are treated in this country and around the world. Though the Women’s March was birthed out of unfortunate necessity, it was beautiful to see solidarity for such a just cause. We can never lose our collective voice or undervalue strength in numbers, when in search for justice. Winning the IPA Event Photographer of the Year Award was not only a huge honor, but also an affirmation that my artistic work was truly valued by others. Photography can often be an isolated journey, where faith in one’s work is built on nothing more than your own opinion. It has been such an honor and privilege to receive such validation.

Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)?
Attending the protest, my original intent was to merely take part, though I thought bringing my camera along may become useful. I took a few shots of specific moments, primarily to capture them for myself to look back on. As I was crossing Manhattan on 42nd St in the middle of the crowd, I’d seen a vantage point I thought would make for a great place to take pictures from. It was just before sunset in January, and I knew if I was going to be able to get the shot with enough light, I had to hurry. With urgency, I made my way through a sea of people as quickly as I could, and got into position. The moment was incredible as it appeared to be a never- ending crowd filling blocks upon blocks chanting in unison, “this is what democracy looks like!” It was profound. I stabilized my old Sony camera against a metal rail, and spent a minute or two trying to capture the moment. I then went back into the crowd, with the previous experience holding me captive, silence now filling my head through introspection. Since that moment, whenever I hear “this is what democracy looks like”, it takes me back to that experience, and sometimes gives me chills.

Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images?
I feel the most important factors in capturing or creating a great image is to be true to one’s self in multiple aspects of the work. “Is it moving to me?” “After any editing, do I feel this image is still sincere?” “Am I respecting the photography community and my peers in the work that I am doing?” I feel if you can answer yes to these questions, you are sure to be on the right path.

Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?
I shoot a lot of landscape photography, and nature is really just going to run on its own schedule. It’s another reminder of how we’re essentially nothing more than that fly on the wall at times. That, and keeping my lens clean.

Q: What motivates and drives your photography?
Often, it’s the photography that motivates and drives me. The thought of capturing something beautiful or impactful has taken me to some unbelievable places I would love to experience and see in person, but otherwise might not. It’s the ability of taking the photograph and attempting to capture it that gives me that extra push. I also find it additionally motivating when I’m able to share some of the experience with others through my images.

Q: What’s next for you in your career as a photographer?
Through an unusual set of circumstances, and boosted by my IPA nomination, I’m now in the process of opening a fine art gallery in New Canaan, Connecticut. Though challenging, it’s an amazing experience and opportunity. I’m also preparing a shoot overseas in March, where I’ll be attempting to capture one of the more dynamic and intriguing phenomenon around us.

Q: What drove you to submit your work to the IPA competition and your thoughts on how winning this competition impacted your artistic journey?
We were always very busy with our photographic work and traveling. There was not much time for anything else. Only during the Covid pandemic, when it was impossible to travel, we finally found time to participate in IPA 2021, TIFA 2021, PX3 2022. We achieved Silver, Bronze and two Honorable Mentions. This encouraged us.

This year is a real bomb! First place, Category Winner, and the title of Nature Photographer of the Year 2023!

It is difficult to evaluate our own photos, their artistic level.

Therefore, such official and objective assessments are extremely important for our development. They give us confirmation that we are going in the right direction, that our photographic taste is shared by the jury. In practice, it increases the reputation of the photographer and acts as a quality mark. This really helps the client decide to choose your work. Such successes can also help open some new doors.

Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)? 
As usual in photography, the right moment is decisive. In this case, this moment lasted about a day. The rest of the snow created additional, beautiful white patterns on ice. They looked like outlines of powdered sugar, contrasting with dark star shapes, which in themselves are quite a rare phenomenon. This one day was decisive. Previously, the ice was completely covered with snow, nothing interesting. The day after the photos were taken, the white patterns were no longer there. After a few days, the ice completely disappeared from the lake. That day, the weather was windy, and the light conditions were changeable. We often had to wait. To make things more difficult, everything was visible only from above. We had to do a lot of drone flights these days, taking a lot of photos. It was cold, the fingers in the gloves were numb on the sticks of the drone controller.

Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images? 
I think it is a combination of perceptivity, visual sensitivity and aesthetic sense. And also, something like your general aesthetic experience, based on images, paintings, photographs in various styles and techniques, visually outstanding films, that you have seen in your life, can be of great importance.

Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?
I guess the hardest thing is to make something really original, and at the same time authentic. In times when everything has already been photographed, it is increasingly difficult to make something new, fresh, something we have not seen before, or at least in a new, innovative way.

Q: What motivates and drives your photography?
It is still the same fun to hunt for visual treasures! It’s the pleasure of creating. It is some indescribable drug, it is the content and the meaning of life, our most important field of activity, our greatest freedom.

Q: What’s next for you in your career as a photographer?
This will, among others, be in cooperation with a new online art gallery.

We will continue to search for (not only aerial) abstracts. We have many wonderful places to photograph on our list. There are also some new challenges and a lot of work waiting for us. And of course, in the coming days, we are flying to New York for the award ceremony, the opening of the exhibition of winning works, the Lucie gala in Carnegie Hall, and the celebration of the 20th anniversary of IPA!

Q: What drove you to submit your work to the IPA competition and your thoughts on how winning this competition impacted your artistic journey?
I heard of IPA and MIFA when I started doing photography and always considered it as a strong competition and dreamed of entering it one day. I finished the project “.raw” and realized that it’s good enough to participate in IPA. It was an unbelievable feeling when I saw an email that I won a non-professional category. It’s always good for emerging photographers to have such an achievement. It makes you feel that you are on the right path and you are doing the right thing and you should keep working to win a professional category someday.

Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)?
The biggest challenge was developing this series. It started totally different from how it looks now, there were a lot of doubts and the most difficult part was excluding great photos which don’t fulfill the story.

Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images?
Passion and practice. These are two key factors for developing your skills. But personally I also think that being inspired by other forms of art like literature, music or cinematography, for example, is very important. It is necessary to leave a photographic bubble sometimes and train your soul to be more gentle and subtle towards life and art in general.

Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?
Being unique. Photography is a very popular and fast moving industry with a high level of competition. So it takes a lot of effort to produce something that could be considered unique.

Q: What motivates and drives your photography?
Feelings and life in general. It’s very banal and at the same time very true that we live only once so I feel the need of exploring and being open towards different emotions and feelings. With all their spectrum not only positive, but most importantly negative, which in my opinion are more complicated in their structure and variety.

Q: What’s next for you in your career as a photographer?
I’m now producing another series of work that maybe I’ll send to IPA next year. I’m also searching for a gallery to be represented. Having a contract with a gallery is a very important step for an artist which brings you to another level in the industry.

Q: What drove you to submit your work to the IPA competition and your thoughts on how winning this competition impacted your artistic journey?
The International Photography Awards competition is a benchmark in the photography industry. When I participated in this competition for the first time in 2019, I unexpectedly placed very well. Four years later today, I feel very lucky to receive this award. Entering in this competition yearly has improved my photography greatly, and has been a huge inspiration in continuing my career in this hobby. I look forward to preparing images for competitions every year, it helps motivate my photography journey and I hope to take more good photos to share with you in the future.

Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)?
Rodeo is a very intense and dangerous sport. Everything moves very fast and erratically. In addition to skill and technique, you also need some luck to capture great moments. Most rodeo runs only last a few seconds, with relatively long breaks in between each run as the bull gets escorted out the arena and the cowboy recovers. You really have to get locked in for those few seconds, and recognise when action will occur. On the particular day I took this shot, it was very windy and sandy, and there were thick iron fences surrounding the arena, which made finding a good angle difficult. Light was harsh as well, which further restricted favourable shooting angles. Fortunately, I was able to overcome these difficulties and captured the incredible moment when the bull bucked into the air and the cowboy was thrown off.

Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images?
First of all, the picture needs to be eye-catching. The angle must be unique and creative, with subject and background working together to create an immersive image. Ultimately, the picture must bring emotion to the viewer. Lots of good images contain some of these elements, but to create a great image requires a lot of thought about every element in the frame. It’s difficult to consistently get great photos.

Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?
The greatest challenge but also the greatest driver in continuing photography is the constant desire to improve and remain creative. I enjoy experimenting with style and aesthetics. It’s rewarding to study new techniques and find new scenic spots and compositions, and it’s something that can always keep me engaged.

Q: What motivates and drives your photography?
I often look at other people’s works and how they approach different scenes: this stimulates my own interest in shooting and exploring. There’s so much to photography that everybody has things to offer and learn from. The world around us is also ever-changing. New buildings are constantly being constructed, lakes dry and fill as the seasons come and go. Both working with the others and examining the environment us give us many opportunities to learn. This never-ending potential to grow means that I can always look forward to learning new things and exploring new places all the time, and drives my photography.

Q: What’s next for you in your career as a photographer?
I don’t have any specific plans, I just hope to go to more places, experience new scenery and subjects, try different styles, learn more photography techniques, and take more good photos.

Q: What drove you to submit your work to the IPA competition and your thoughts on how winning this competition impacted your artistic journey?
IPA is a very professional and top-level international photography competition. It is a platform that provides photography professionals and all photography enthusiasts with exhibition opportunities. Being able to compete with artists from all over the world and see their works can improve my photography aesthetics and creative ability.
It is an honor to win an award among so many excellent works and to be the Best Photographer of the Year. It is a huge recognition for me and gives me more creative motivation.

Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)?
For the photo “Ships on Land”, I had already thought about how to compose the photo in the early stage of shooting. I wanted to highlight the hull among the tall buildings through the perspective of an asteroid.

Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images?
I think it is the composition and picture design of the scene to be photographed in the early stage. During the shooting process, I constantly make all-round adjustments to the subject according to the pre-designed picture, and then create in the later stage to achieve my expected effect.

Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?
I think the biggest challenge is probably inspiration. When I am tired, I often encounter creative bottlenecks and have no inspiration for shooting. So at this time, I will put down the camera and appreciate the works of other photographers to increase my inspiration. When the inspiration comes back, , and continue shooting.

Q: What motivates and drives your photography?
I like to discover beauty in different things, whether it is natural scenery or urban architecture, especially architectural photography, which can reflect the civilization and development of a city and interpret the charm of the city from different angles. And being a photographer is my profession and my lifelong hobby. Every day when the sun rises and the moon sets, I am engaged in photography-related work. In fact, photography is my whole life.

Q: What’s next for you in your career as a photographer?
I am currently preparing for a project that interprets architecture from different angles, including shooting through drones and cameras. I would like to shoot many amazing buildings in the world. I am in the early stage of composition design and look forward to the later shooting. able to meet my expectations.

• Advertising New Talent of the Year – PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris 2022
• Advertising Non Pro Category Winner – Budapest International Foto Awards 2022
• Creative Category Winner – Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2022
• Food & Beverage Category Winner – Siena Creative Photo Awards 2022
• Overall Winner – One Eyeland World’s Top 10 Street Photographers 2022
• Non Pro Photographer of the Year – One Eyeland Photography Awards 2022
• Winner – 14th Annual the Taste Awards 2023

Q: What drove you to submit your work to the IPA competition and your thoughts on how winning this competition impacted your artistic journey?
IPA is among the biggest and most prestigious photography competitions out there, and I always dreamed of winning a top spot in it. It really shows you where your photography stands at the moment. Winning the title of Advertising Photographer of the Year is an enormous honour for me, and it also helped me fulfil another dream of mine: to finally visit the city of New York and be able to make pictures there. The past couple of years were very successful for me as a photographer, with many important awards and goals achieved. It makes me very proud and is a huge boost for me to keep on creating.

Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)?
I had an idea about something like this some years ago. I even created one picture, but I didn’t like it that much back then, so it was never published. Instead, I decided to give myself some time to find another approach and create better images. It took some time, but then the proper idea came to my mind, and I started to gather the appropriate props. The whole project was created in three shooting days over the span of two months at the beginning of 2022 in my home studio. I love natural light, and I always do food photography using only natural light. “Spaghetti Stylist” is the name of this project. Is it pasta? Or is it hair? Is it both? Or none? That is entirely up to you to decide. 

Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images?
A great image requires dedication, love, research, and understanding of the subject photographed. The images that stand out are the ones that are different, one-of-a-kind ideas or moments. Photographers nowadays tend to copy too much from each other, go to popular destinations, and make the same pictures as hundreds of others before them without even looking for a fresh perspective, which in my opinion is terrible.

Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?
I don’t recall such thing.

Q: What motivates and drives your photography?
I don’t really know how to explain; it is pure love and passion. As an artist, it is just a way of living for me. I am itching to create images, and I love the process behind it.

Q: What’s next for you in your career as a photographer?
Hopefully, there will be many more travels, many more exciting images, fresh and unique ideas, and perhaps a second solo exhibition in the near future.

Q: What drove you to submit your work to the IPA competition and your thoughts on how winning this competition impacted your artistic journey?
Starting from the belief that photography must be an expression of one’s ideas, without chasing trends or easy approvals, I wanted to test myself. IPA Photography Awards is one of the most prestigious competitions in which a photographer can partecipate, I thought that my photos could be up to this competition but I never imagined to be rewarded. Now I have confirmation that following my own ideas is the right path.

Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)?
Taking a portrait starts with trying to put at ease the person in front of you. This is possible spending time with that person and showing interest in him/her. In this particular case, the greatest difficulty was getting people to accept the idea of being photographed considering that, only a few days before, crossing Himalaya mountains on foot, they had lost most of their livestock and consequently their ability to sustain themselves.

Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images?
A good photo is the one that carries a message, that arouses emotions, that tell a story without needing any explanation. And must do so in a unique and distinguishable way.

Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?
Once the technical difficulties have been overcome, the most challenging aspect is to tell a story in a new and powerful way. Originality and communicative power are what makes the difference.

Q: What motivates and drives your photography?
Traveling, seeing new places and meeting people with different cultures, religions and customs are an important aspect, but even more important is that my photos give, to those who look at them, the sensations I felt.

Q: What’s next for you in your career as a photographer?
I love India and for March-April 2024 I’ve planned a long trip there to visit communities that live far from common tourist routes, and whose lifestyle and costumes are hardly changed with the passing years. Their way of life is in stark contrast to the modern world we are used to. It’s a long time dream of mine to photograph this ancient people before they vanish for ever.

Q: Why did you choose to submit this specific work to the IPA?
The most important reason for participating in photography competitions is that when you participate, you get the opportunity to see the work of other artists around the world, with thousands of cultural and climatic differences. Beyond seeing hundreds of beautiful and meaningful pieces, you learn a great deal. In my opinion, the path taken by IPA, the Farmani Group, and Lucie Awards acts like an art university. It teaches novices techniques, composition, and storytelling, and provides professionals with the opportunity to be seen and to open a window towards all photography enthusiasts to the art and perspectives of global photographic artists.There are many distinguished photography awards but there is only a handful that top tier and IPA is one of them.

Q: What does winning this competition mean to you?
There have been so many amazing artists and so many beautiful submissions and I feel honored to be among the best of all other award winners.

Q: You won Architecture Photographer of the Year with your stunning work, “My Vision”. Could you tell us about the technique you used to create these unique shaped buildings?
The buildings are so impressive and I wanted to show this to everyone.
This is a combination of fine art photography with a touch of creative editing.

Q: What other photographers have impacted your own work, methods, or style?
There are many inspiring artists all around us
Philippe Halsman, Man Ray, Alex Stoddard …
The way Ansel Adams brings forth the majesty of nature
I am trying to bring that majesty to architecture.
And third person ….

Q: What do you feel are the key steps to achieving great images?
Inspiration is all around us
Visual storytelling is one of my passions and I try to communicate with accuracy..

Q: How did you develop your personal style?
When I look at my own photography certain and number of my images speak to me in different ways and stand out
I took those images and I analyze what it is that draws me so much into those images and I try to make more and more like them.

Q: What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of becoming a photographer?
The most difficult part is that you cannot have your camera with you all the time because the moment in life that you wish to capture but you didn’t have a camera with you.
Life is limited and it’s not the number of breaths we take. It’s the number of times we take our breath away and I wish I could have my camera with me to be able to capture those special moments all the time.

Q: What are the elements that drive your photography? What motivates and focuses you?
I’m trying to capture photos that people experience remotely. It happened to be visiting my sister when her daughter took her first step decades ago when nobody had a camera in their mobiles.
Diving: special underwater photography was so impressive in the part that was a protected area and just limited for the people.
The photo I took made people take the environment more seriously because we are part of nature.
Story: wasting water when people don’t have it to drink.
Save the environment

Q: What would your ideal photography project be if you could do anything or travel anywhere?
Photography is the art of capturing lights, the way ice and snow Aurora refract light in many different ways has always been amazing to me, and that is why I want to travel to the North Pole.
There are many architects around the world that are not famous enough to be featured in, but their works are amazing. I like to be the voice of these people.

Q: What’s next for you? Are you currently working on anything exciting?
Photos of people who save their lives.