Indian photographer snaps up first prize in Commonwealth competition
'Challenges' was the theme of the 2002 Commonwealth Photographic Awards and photographer Soma Mallik from Calcutta became the first woman and also the first Indian to scoop up the £2,000 first prize.
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Her photo of two men pushing their small boat out to sea whilst a storm rages in the distance was shot in Orissa, India and encapsulated the theme of the Awards.
Mallik took up photography as a creative hobby in 1999 and became inspired to take technical lessons. She was travelling in Ladakh, India when her father phoned to tell her that she had won the award.
"Right at the moment, my husband was there beside me. I felt like hugging him, but could not because it was a public place," said 28-year-old Mallik.
Soma Mallik and two other Highly Commended photographers, Bijoy Chowdhury and S Mukerjee - both also from Calcutta - will receive their awards at a press conference to be held at the British Council, 5 Shakespeare Sarani, Kolkata 700 071 at 15h00 on Tuesday 6 August. Press are invited to attend the presentation which will be made by Photo Awards Director Colin Lloyd of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association.
The Awards were judged by Paul Vincente, photographer with The Sunday Times (London); Tim Page, veteran English war photographer; and Ray Lowe, President of the British Institute of Professional Photography.
Of the winning photograph, Vincente said, "It is a brilliant piece of work. When you look at it, you see more and more things in it - like the fierceness of the storm. These guys have got to go out in that.
Even the birds are retreating from it. The challenge is to survive. This is a life or death situation."
Second prize went to UK resident Keith Bernstein for a photograph he took at a rural school in South Africa. The school was the first in the community and enabled children in the area to receive a formal education for the first time.
Commenting on the photo, Lowe said, "Education is the only thing that will relieve poverty. With knowledge comes power and with power people have the strength to change their lives."
Third prize was won by Debbie Yazbek from South Africa for a photo she took of a father and son in an amputee camp in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The Commonwealth Photographic Awards attracted over 450 entries from 35 Commonwealth countries. The winning photographs will be exhibited in several venues around the Commonwealth between now and June 2003. The initial launch will be in London at the Commonwealth Club on Northumberland Avenue 13 January 2003. Other venues and dates will be confirmed at a later date.
