“Awarding the prestigious title of Photographer of the Year to a distinguished group of artists who use the camera as their creative medium,” reads the main page of the 1839 Awards, the organization behind the annual contest.The 2024 edition of the competition attracted entries from 77 countries, making it the most diverse and expansive group of participants to date. This year’sreFocus Awardscelebrate creativity, technical skill, and the captivating art of visual storytelling. Each winner exemplifies the unique spirit of photography, inviting viewers to appreciate their mastery of the medium.To learn more about the winning images and photographers,Bored Pandareached out to two of them—Tania BarrenetxeaandGabriel Holguín. Be sure to scroll down to read our full interview!More info:Instagram|1839awards.com|refocus-awards.comThis post may includeaffiliate links.
“Awarding the prestigious title of Photographer of the Year to a distinguished group of artists who use the camera as their creative medium,” reads the main page of the 1839 Awards, the organization behind the annual contest.
The 2024 edition of the competition attracted entries from 77 countries, making it the most diverse and expansive group of participants to date. This year’sreFocus Awardscelebrate creativity, technical skill, and the captivating art of visual storytelling. Each winner exemplifies the unique spirit of photography, inviting viewers to appreciate their mastery of the medium.
To learn more about the winning images and photographers,Bored Pandareached out to two of them—Tania BarrenetxeaandGabriel Holguín. Be sure to scroll down to read our full interview!
More info:Instagram|1839awards.com|refocus-awards.com
This post may includeaffiliate links.
Hybrid Solar Eclipse is a very rare astronomical event. I found a Maasai, Peter Ekai Nakua, who agreed to collaborate with me on 3 November 2013. We experienced 16 seconds of totality. A fleeting surreal moment. This picture was created as a tribute to our friend Geoffrey Ekai Lowa.
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The number of people struggling with mental health conditions have been rising steadily in the last decade. This image was created in a period of my life when I was struggling with anxiety and an all-consuming feeling of emotional overwhelm.
Samoyed Nanuq beneath sun rays in the forest.
High in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal Gurung honey hunters gather twice a year, risking their lives to harvest the honey from the world’s largest honeybee. For hundreds of years, the skills required to practise this ancient and sacred tradition have been passed down through the generations.
In this underwater photograph, Colombia’s Underwater Hockey team emerges as ethereal figures, blurred at the surface. They resemble superheroes navigating a parallel universe, their dynamic movements creating a surreal, otherworldly scene in the aquatic realm.
The red-eyed tree frog taking a bath.
The last question we asked focused on how Tania’sSwallowwas received when it reached a broader audience. Barrenetxea shared: “The response toSwallowhas been moving. Many viewers have shared personal stories and interpretations. This dialogue—the exchange between the artwork and the viewer’s personal experience—is one of the most rewarding aspects of sharing my photography. It reaffirms the idea that vulnerability is an essential bridge between individuals.”We also had the opportunity to speak with another award-winning photographer from the contest. This time, we were eager to learn more about the fascinating imageUnderwater Universe. Its creator,Gabriel Holguín, shared the inspiration behind capturing this surreal and dynamic moment featuring the Colombian underwater hockey team: “I think almost all underwater photos are surreal simply because of the fact that they are taken in a world to which we have to adapt. My inspiration, or what moves me, is the athletes. Accompanying the processes of the Colombian underwater hockey team in its different categories is always very fulfilling. Being able to bring visibility to this aquatic sport, in which our country is a reference, is very important to me.”
The last question we asked focused on how Tania’sSwallowwas received when it reached a broader audience. Barrenetxea shared: “The response toSwallowhas been moving. Many viewers have shared personal stories and interpretations. This dialogue—the exchange between the artwork and the viewer’s personal experience—is one of the most rewarding aspects of sharing my photography. It reaffirms the idea that vulnerability is an essential bridge between individuals.”
We also had the opportunity to speak with another award-winning photographer from the contest. This time, we were eager to learn more about the fascinating imageUnderwater Universe. Its creator,Gabriel Holguín, shared the inspiration behind capturing this surreal and dynamic moment featuring the Colombian underwater hockey team: “I think almost all underwater photos are surreal simply because of the fact that they are taken in a world to which we have to adapt. My inspiration, or what moves me, is the athletes. Accompanying the processes of the Colombian underwater hockey team in its different categories is always very fulfilling. Being able to bring visibility to this aquatic sport, in which our country is a reference, is very important to me.”
This a pow wow dancer doing the spotlight dance at the Stillwater Pow Wow in Redding, California.
This vulture in South Africa is hovering over the dead body of a kudu.
When asked about the biggest challenges he faced while photographing underwater—especially in a high-energy sports environment—Gabriel responded: “Underwater, everything is a challenge: the light, the movement, framing the subjects, looking through the viewfinder, and all of this while holding your breath and shooting exactly at the moment you think it’s right—and boom, you have it. As for the moment, it’s a very action-packed sport. The women were in their final practices for the World Cup in Malaysia that day, and the atmosphere was very lively—lots of energy, enthusiasm, and the best attitude, which is reflected in the image we captured.”
A global journey through nature’s grandeur: majestic mountains in the mist, powerful waterfalls in midnight sun, winds sweeping across vast landscapes, rainbows arching over lush valleys, and rivers winding through untouched terrain. Each image reveals the powerful beauty of Earth’s elements.
TheUnderwater Universephotograph masterfully blurs the line between reality and fantasy. We asked Holguín whether this striking effect was intentional and how he managed to achieve it technically. Here’s what we discovered: “This image is ‘Fantastic’; it looks like a scene from a science fiction movie, and the girls seem to be flying. In reality, the photo is upside down. The lines that appear at the top are the pool’s background, and they are swimming toward the camera, lying on their backs very close to the surface, which creates a mirror effect and blurs their figures. Technically, I set up the camera to freeze the subjects, and then in post-production, I recovered the color and removed the blue from the water.”
Images both in color and processed infrared.
Lift your head to hide the double chin.
Lastly, we were curious about what the significant achievement of winning the reFocus competition in the Sports category means to the photographer. Gabriel kindly shared: “It was a complete surprise to me. Winning first place is always very satisfying in an international competition, and for my career, it’s extremely important. When I was editing this image, I felt something special, so I asked Camilo Díaz, the 2017 Sony World Photography winner, for his opinion. He’s a reference for me, and I trusted his vision. He gave me some advice, and I submitted the image to 6 international competitions, from which I’ve received 4 recognitions: 1st place in Sports at the reFocus Awards, 3rd place in Underwater at the reFocus Awards, 1st place at the Chromatic Awards, 3rd place at the ND Awards, and Honorable Mention at the BIFA Awards. All of these recognitions add to my professional career, but the most important thing is being able to give visibility to underwater hockey in my country.”
A wide angle, up close and personal eye-contact view of a black rhino bull in his prime, part of a breeding programme. Did you know that rhino horns are as hard as trigonometry and almost as light as a feather? They are stronger than elephant tusks or buffalo horns as per tests at Oxford University.
Transformation of soil into art.
Texture, form, and intricate details play together in this subtle image.
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Classic Tuscany Landscape. I took this shot in mid-June during the harvest. I tried to take a minimalistic scene, a lonely tree on the rolling hills and a cloud more or less over the tree.
Husnah Kukundakwe (15) during an early swim training in Kampala, Uganda. Husnah currently is the country’s only classified paralympic swimmer. Her first appearance at the World Championships in London was mentioned among the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC’s) Top 10 Moments of 2019.
They are considered outcasts, having fled their parents' homes and the institutions where they have always been abused. They help each other escape the onslaught of police and malaria in the ruins of the city. They have all chosen to live on the wrong side of freedom.
The financiers fell down to form a tree shape. Christmas with financiers in light and shadow.
Two men were doing their workouts at the bank of the Ganges River early in the morning at Varanasi.
Leaving is never simple. The cycle of returning, hoping, and breaking down feels impossible to escape. This series reflects on the cycle of domestic abuse: the hidden patterns that pull us back, even when we know they hurt. Sometimes, the hardest part isn’t leaving—it’s to stay gone.
Before releasing the bulls into the streets, on the last days of the ceremony, the children climb the walls of the church to protect themselves.
I participated in many of the “motivational and awakening” meetings where crafty instructors, so-called “coaches,” make a lot of money for sharing hours and hours of motivational sentences. It looks more like a purgatory exit than a conference hall.
A collective experience of both traditional masculine values and progressiveviews form the foundation of this project’s exploration. The male form exists in the photograph alongside abstracted sculptures of space, allusive to the changing landscape of masculinity.
My work draws inspiration from the “best before” date of food, exploring whether people and their relationships also have an expiration. Using fruits as symbols, I illustrate the evolution of two female characters from strangers to intimacy, then to separation.
Imagine yourself in the middle of the steppe, looking out at the horizon. Your gaze is fixed beyond this meeting of earth and sky, so much so that you see nothing but this inexorable boundary. But stand in silence for a little while, just a little while longer, and it all falls away.
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