Wan Mohd Fadzli W. Samsudin (Malaysia), Valentin Valette (France) and Karim Mottaghi (Iran)

The 7th International Jalón Ángel Photography Award lives up to its name with the awards going to several countries. The winner of the Portrait category is Wan Mohd Fadzli W. Samsudin (Terengganu, Malaysia), Travel - Valentin Valette (Pyrenees-Atlantiques, France) and Consequences of Covid-19 -Karim Mottaghi (Tabriz, Iran).

All three will receive an award consisting of an emblematic trophy, a diploma and one thousand euros. This seventh edition has received more than 2,300 entries with participation from 94 countries: Spain, Russia, Iran, France, India, Bangladesh, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Italy, among others. The jury was formed by Antonio Lachos (from the BFoto International Emerging Photography Festival), Pedro Vicente (Director of the Master in Photography and Design at the Barcelona School of Design and Engineering) and Pilar Irala-Hortal (Director of the Jalón Angel Archive).

The jury praised the winning photograph in the Portrait category, entitled Hijab Girl for its composition, the black and white contrast, the look and the atmosphere created. It also depicts a culture that is not yet normalised in our society. The fact that photography has the ability to represent reality was a key factor in awarding the prize to the author, Wan Mohd Fadzli W. Samsudin from Terengganu (Malaysia). This amateur photographer specialising in photography and video has founded the photography studio Massa Studio.

The winning image in Travel, entitled Tel un Insulaire, portrays the image of the fisherman entering the water with a net, which is an everyday scene, but that at the same time it alludes to traditions. It manages to show something familiar, and not something distant or picturesque so typical in the travel category. The originality in the perspective and the aesthetics of the expedition stand out in this entry. It escapes the stereotype of the category and places the horizon at the forefront of the image, it is difficult to distinguish where the sky ends and the water begins. It is this ambiguity, which was one of the reasons why Valentin Valette, a research student in the geopolitics of the Mediterranean and the Middle East from Pyrénées-Atlantiques (France) was awarded the prize. He combines research with photographic documentaries. He seeks to reflect unexpected situations and focuses on the diverse cultures of the world and international problems.

This seventh edition includes another award corresponding to the special category of Consequences of Covid-19. The winner is the photograph entitled Drama of Coronavirus. As the jury stated it is a strong image and a composition in which the horizontality of the body contrasts with the verticality of the people surrounding the dead body that, in addition, provide a certain aura of futuristic dystopia as they are head-to-toe in their protective gear. It also shows the stark reality of the pandemic situation.

The author is Karim Mottaghi from Tabriz (Iran) with university studies in Photography and translator of the following books: Beauty in Photography Beauty in Photography Essays in Defense of Traditional Values (Robert Adams), Kafka and Photography (Carolin Duttlinger), Tete A Tete (Henri Cartier-Bresson), Beauty in Photography (Robert Adams), Photospeak (Gilles Mora), The Visual Dictionary of Photography (David Prakel), Undertanding a Photograph (John Berger), The Minimalist Photographer (Steve Johnso), A World History of Photography (Naomi Rosenblum) and Compiler of a pictorial book (the Lake Urmia): BiAban. He is a member of the jury of several awards and has been a finalist and winner in several awards in Iran, Japan and China.

In addition, the jury has wanted to make several special mentions:

Portrait category:

• Madre, by Jesús Chacón Carrasco (Marbella, Spain). It is an image that shows the reality of an everyday act with a portrait and a different and enhanced realism. It is an everyday scene but with elements that create a  very complete scene.

Travel Category:

• Paisajes Ciegos, by Ester Bernad Saguar (Zaragoza, Spain) depicts a cable car that plays with idea of a trip within another trip. The cables that disappear in the mist with an almost centred composition make it worthy of special mention.

• Magnificence of Desert, by Babak Mehrafshar (Isfahan, Iran) is an image worthy of the National Geographic with a warm appearance, the dunes, the colour. It follows a more traditional style and represents a domestic trip.

Consequences of Covid-19 Category

• Huellas, by Francisco Javier Fernández Gómez (Huelva, Spain) reflects the psychological situation that many have suffered in the pandemic, beyond the mark of the mask it is about the expression of the eyes, fatigue and tribute to health workers.

• Hidden, by Sara Zoheir (Alejandría, Egypt). It shows the economic consequences of the pandemic for not being able to buy the necessary protective equipment and the mental consequences due to agoraphobia and a feeling of panic. It bears similarities to Robert Frank's photography and her interpretation of the history of photography.

• Masked Women, by Hadi Dehghanpour (Sabzevar, Iran) stands outs for the background used, the harmony with the women and their closed eyes. The fact they have to cover up more, the composition, the flowers and the background colours with the foreground contrast.