an elderly lady between leaves

Honorable Mentions from TIFA 2021 Edition that have Won our Hearts

March 25, 2022

The Tokyo International Foto Awards committee gets hundreds of outstanding images each year, making the selection process more difficult than ever. Our favorite TIFA Honorable Mentions from 2021 offer us fresh viewpoints in all of the categories, despite the fact that they weren't picked as category winners.

woman sitting in front of a desk in neon lights

Baikal Blues - Arthur Bauer

Irkutsk, on the shores of Lake Baikal, was the setting for a picture project about Russia. When there isn't a pandemic, the city is bustling with activity. Social and cultural life has been reduced to a bare minimum as a result of increased incidents. The city was shrouded in a haze of tranquillity and sorrow. The sensation of being trapped in a transit zone permeated throughout the populace. This feeling, accentuated by COVID-19, accurately defines the country's current status. Many individuals are hoping for something else to happen. True growth, on the other hand, is being stymied by a system that is growing increasingly authoritarian in its repression of any kind of resistance.

Negativityness - Robert Ripps

This ongoing project began as a response to the political climate in the photographer's country over the last few years—everything seemed to be about negativity, division, what is truth (and what is unquestionably false, yet touted as truth), and how the surface of things can be 180 degrees opposite from what is beneath—but has since expanded to include the effects (and possible fantastical outcomes) of the Covid-19 pandemic. What would happen if nature took over, if greenery overtook the familiar and changed it into something oddly beautiful, yet curiously different?

skycraper and flowers edited in one
two boys playing football on a mosaic street floor

Mosaic Turf - Sudeep Mehta

On April 4, 2020, two children are seen playing football on the rooftop of their apartment building in Mumbai, India, while all public spaces and parks are closed due of the worldwide COVID-19 epidemic. To limit the viral epidemic, the Indian government imposed a countrywide lockdown on March 22, 2020, which was subsequently extended to 54 days. Sudeep Mehta took the photo.

Caged - Katherine Young

Apartment block under construction. Katherine Young is a self-taught fine art photographer living in London. She began her own trip photography adventure with the goal of capturing the soul of each location she visited. She eventually concentrated her emphasis on cityscapes and architecture after being inspired by Singapore's modern surroundings. She has recently developed an interest in nature and seascapes.

building with blue windows
an elderly lady between leaves

Grandma - Salem McBunny

Color, dreams, and her life filled each shot with a personal touch, inspired by the magic and beauty that may emerge when merging items that were at home and the photographer's grandma as a tremendous influence for him.

80°05′ - Kouta Takahashi

A Japanese adventurer named Nobu Shirase attempted to reach the South Pole on a dogsled in 1912, but gave up around 80°05′ south latitude. From there, Masatatsu Abe, a modern-day explorer, charted a previously uncharted path with the goal of reaching the South Pole on foot. A problem that spans nearly a century. What makes people want to embark on an adventure?

a japanese explorer
gas station in denmark

The Most Beautiful Gas Station In The World - Jacob Surland

Arne Jacobsen, the world-famous famous architect, constructed this petrol station, which may be the most beautiful in the world. It is situated in the country of Denmark. To avoid shadows, the photo was shot in overcast light, and all lighting was applied as an artistic approach called Visionography - take control of the environment and visualize through controlled light management.

Morning Walk In The Bamboo Forest - André Wandrei

A traditional kimono-clad Japanese woman takes a morning stroll through a bamboo grove near Kyoto. This shot was taken just after 6:00 a.m. in the morning. During the day, a large number of people, mostly tourists, congregate here. As a result, the only time to get nice shots is early in the morning. 

woman walking in a bamboo forest
a car filled with flowers

The Eraser - Kriss Munsya

The Eraser is a film about a person who has the capacity to erase previous traumas caused by anti-black racism. However, the erase process is imperfect, resulting in visual disorder and emotional hope.

A Sense of Place - Imprints - Charlotta Hauksdottir

These sceneries are recreations of locations from a long-forgotten motherland. Hand-cut images with fingerprint, palm, and eye patterns, as well as abstract landscapes with many photographs with different cuts put together to imitate landforms, are among them. The resultant pictures speak to the interactions between man and environment, as well as the flaws in recollection, prompting the viewer to fill in the blanks with their own experiences. Finally, the visuals relate to our own responsibility for our imprints on nature by including human biological patterns.

landscape with a twist

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flamingos gazing through a lake, from above
A surrealistic image: on a crosswalk, there is a paper boat, fish coming our of the tarmac and a lady looking down.