New for 2021, the winners of International Portrait Photographer of the Year are quite incredible
Second place in the Family Sitting category went to Horde of The Suri Tribe. "I took this picture when I was in Ethiopia to visit the Suri tribe who have lived in the Ethio-Sudan border area for many generations," says Thai photographer Jatenipat Ketpradit. "This picture shows the whole family of their clan in their habitat."(Image credit: Jatenipat Ketpradit)
Never heard of the International Portrait Photographer of the Year? Well that's not too surprising. Because 2021 is the inaugural year for this new competition, based in Sydney, Australia and open to photographers around the world.
The IPPOTY invites both professional and amateur photographers the chance to share in a prize pool of US$10,000 cash, and be among the top 101 images published in an accompanying Awards Book.
It's just announced the winners of the 2021 competition, which were judged by Charmaine Heyer, David Burnett, Martina Wärenfeldt, Rocco Ancora, Sanjay Jogia and Sarah Ferrara. The overall winner was Australian photographer Forough Yavari for Solitude, a panoramic multiple-exposure shot shown below.
First-prize winner in the Character Study category, meanwhile, went to Zay Yar Lin for Tribal Identity, shown below. It features members of the Suri tribe in Ethiopia's Omo Valley.
Zay Yar Lin also won first in the Family Sitting category, for this image of a 25-year-old maiden of the Suri tribe.
Maiden of the Suri tribe: She is 25 years old, not yet married, and still guarded by her family. She is still waiting for her husband. A man in the Suri Tribe can only marry a girl when he has sixty cattle which are presented to the girl's family as the price of marriage. (Image credit: Zay Yar Lin)
Tom May is a freelance writer and editor specializing in art, photography, design and travel. He has been editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. He has also worked for a wide range of mainstream titles including The Sun, Radio Times, NME, T3, Heat, Company and Bella.