Home, captured
A weekly photography competition documented lockdown life.
For six weeks in April and May, as the Covid-19 pandemic brought with it a wave of lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, photographers around the world were challenged to capture the beauty in every- day moments, at home or through windows to the world outside.
The Xposure International Photography Festival launched a weekly competition, Home Captured, that invited photographers, amateur and professional, to document life under lockdown. The response was overwhelming: 7,803 entries poured in from 83 countries on five continents, from Macedonia to Myanmar, Bermuda to Yemen, proving that self isolation was no barrier to inspiration.
An expert jury reviewed the entries each week and evaluated them independently on a five-score system to assess composition, technical quality, lighting and creativity. A winner and runner up were selected.
The winner in the third week was Ahmed Lazem from Basra, Iraq. His beautiful portrait captured the emotion and gentle innocence of its subject who, Lazem notes, spends much of his time with the bird. The jury praised the soft lighting and shallow depth of field that draws the viewer into the thoughts of the child. It was, they noted, a well-framed and composed image with an excellent choice of focal length and tonal control.
“Set in the time of a global pandemic, the Home Captured contest allowed seasoned and amateur photographers to evocatively capture unique and interesting details that drew our attention as we chose to stay home. It also enabled us to uncover hidden talent from across the globe, ensuring maximum audience engagement, regardless of location,” said Tariq Saeed Allay, Director of Sharjah Government Media Bureau. —PD
View the prize winners and shortlisted entries: stayhome.xposure.ae and @xposurexpf
