Get inspired: an analysis of the winning images of MedFoto 2021 by Oriol Alamany
Are you getting ready for the contest? Today we will give you some tips to better choose your best images or shoot some new and good ones.
We review the winning photographs of MedFoto 2021 through the analysis of Oriol Alamany, member of the Jury and the Organizing Committee of the first international photography contest of the Mediterranean.
Alamany is a professional photographer linked to the world of conservation and nature with great experience. He is the author of a dozen books and his pictures and writings have been published in magazines such as National Geographic, BBC Wildlife or Terre Sauvage, among others.
Read this article and get inspired!
Landscape category winner: Roar of the sea, by Francisco Javier García
We often see images of big waves published, basically related to surf photography. But Francisco Javier García presented at MedFoto a series of photographs of waves with a very different point of view: from the water level and captured at twilight, at the evening or early in the morning, all of them very attractive.
From among the various ones submitted, the jury chose the so-called “Roar of the sea”, in which for a tenth of a second the water at the front of the wave fleetingly takes the shape of a feline’s face, with its mouth open and the hair in the wind.
In this photograph, the sea acquires the aspect of a living being, agile, aggressive and willing to face the great challenges of the future that lay ahead.
Wildlife category winner: Audouin’s Gull, by Javier Herranz
The category Wildlife outside the water, was dominated by the photographs of seabirds, some of the living beings best adapted to the exploitation of the demanding marine environment. Among the various portraits of shearwaters, gannets and seagulls that reached the final stage, the verdict was very close.
Finally, the most voted was this flying Audouin’s Gull , one of the most important endemic species in the Mediterranean, which has been capitalized in the fight of conservationists due to its rarity.
Photographically speaking, it is an apparently simple but very elegant portrait with a precise execution: the two-tone contrast of the blue of the sky with the white of Audouin’s Gull, fitting into the frame a perfect silhouette where only the turning of the bird’s head that seems to be looking to the photographer breaks the general symmetry of the composition.
Sports category winner: Light in the dark, by Oriol Palmada
Sailing is one of the purest sports that can be carried out in the marine environment, since the practitioner resorts only to the air, which allows him to move through the immensity of the sea. We all get excited when we read news about sailors who have ventured on long voyages, sometimes alone, facing the greatness and the dangers of the sea.
In this photograph taken on a daring backlight, the author has decided to show the boat sailing, tiny in the vastness of water in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, showing the feeling of immensity, solitude, the spectacular and the pleasure of practicing this sport.
The photograph perfectly captures the relationship between sea and the people that is established in these cases: an unequal fight in which the sea has the upper hand and the vulnerable human being must resort to all his skills and resistance to get ahead.
Marine trades category winner: Repairing the fishing gear, by Carles Alasraki
The winning photograph of this category shows the work of three fishermen in the port with the fishing nets. The image stands out for its dynamic visual rhythm, where the curved lines that form the nets are combined with the diverse and opposing positions of the fishermen.
The author has chosen to use a panoramic format that induces the viewer to read the image horizontally, following the multitude of visual lines from left to right.
On the other hand, the treatment of photography, with a peculiar contrast and colour scheme, reminds us about works by realist painters, such as Jean-François Millet and his paintings of field workers, such as his well-known work “The Gleaners”.
Underwater category winner: Game moments, Rafael Fernández
Underwater photography adds to all the usual photographic challenges the fact that the photographer finds himself in a medium that is not his own and in which he has serious limitations.
The image chosen in this category shows a group of pilot whales in the Strait of Gibraltar. Apart from the beauty of the animals themselves, their distribution is very balanced within the frame, having a protagonist occupying the right half, in the foreground and in a playful attitude, and the farthest group of companions occupying the left part.
The fact that the pilot whale releases air bubbles reminds us that it is a mammal, just like us, although with much higher physical capacity to develop its life in the marine environment. The light rays help to keep the background from being a plain blue, adding to the beauty of the photo.
Conservation category winner: The last descent of a giant, by Rafael Fernández
This image is immediately striking for its drama. A huge sperm whale (known as Toño) dives to the bottom of the sea with a huge ghost fishing net entangled in his tail that makes it difficult for him to breathe.
All types of fishing affect marine life in one way or another, but sometimes, with cetaceans, the results are especially dramatic: serious injuries caused by propellers, disabled animals after becoming entangled in nets, etc.
This photograph shows us how even unintentionally, human activities affect marine life.
Winner With mobile phone category: Sailing towards hell, by Andreu Pujades
Little did the first mobile phone manufacturer imagine who decided to incorporate a tiny and rudimentary camera into a phone, that that would end up revolutionizing the world of photography. Now people buy their phone more based on its photographic possibilities, than on the quality of calls.
One of the features of mobile phone cameras is taking panoramic photos automatically, simply by moving the phone from left to right without stopping. The photograph chosen in this category shows a panoramic view, obtained from the deck of a catamaran, of one of the spectacular early mornings that the Mediterranean offers us from time to time.
The photograph takes advantage of the functionalities and facilities of mobile photography, while also showing some of its limitations: look how the automatism has deformed the horizon line due to the movement of the boat while it was panning.
Costa Brava special award winner: The Kingdom of the tramontane, by Roger Rovira
This category aims to promote and support the taking of photographs at the local level.
In this coastal landscape of the Cap Norfeu area, in the Cap de Creus Natural Park, the author plays with the exaggerated perspective of a wide-angle lens to obtain a composition dominated by the tortuous shape of a pine shaped by years of the Tramuntana winds.
In addition, the use of a long shutter speed makes the branches appear like they are moving, as well as the surface of the sea, all under a stormy sky.
L’Escala special award winner: Sunday regatta, by Dolors Peregrina
The sea offers the possibility of practicing a wide range of water activities. Thanks to them, the human being not only obtains an economic benefit such as with professional fishing, but also an enjoyment of his free time.
The photograph, in a classic black and white treatment, and using a very low angle of view that makes the figures and sails stand out against a cloudy sky, shows us the joy of a person when returning from practicing his favorite sport at the sea.
Popular Vote winner: Fish Hunger, by Sergi Llauradó
This photograph in black and white and taken with a mobile phone is the one that achieved the most “Likes” on the contest’s Instagram account. Therefore, it was chosen as the winner by popular vote.
Medfoto 2021 award winner: Juvenile monkfish, by Xavier Salvador
It was difficult to choose the most outstanding photograph among all those submitted in the contest. After a debate among the members of the jury, this one was finally chosen.
It is a difficult portrait, a monkfish baby, although shown almost as if it was a great sea monster, perhaps taken from a science fiction movie. Actually, it is a common being, tiny and fragile, that during its planktonic life cycle will have to fight to survive in a sea full of enemies of which it can be easy prey.
This photograph is highly difficult technically given the magnification necessary to capture such a small being floating in its midst. The use of a simple dark background highlights all its details and lighting, its transparency, providing a result of great visual impact that shows us the fragility, beauty and uniqueness of life in our Mediterranean.
