FAPA 1ST PLACE WINNER for PHOTOJOURNALISM ~ Photographer Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk (Ukraine, 1983) is a documentary photographer based out of the Ukrain. He began his career in 2007 and went freelance in 2010. Shortly after going freelance Maxim received Noor-Nikon Masterclass award in Documentary Photography in 2011

The list of his grants and awards is long but among them are: Magnum Photos competition ‘30 under 30’ for emerging documentary photographers, Finalist of the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography, Finalist for the FotoEvidence Book Award, Grand Prix ‘Best Global Health Story’ of the BD’s Hope for a Healthy World Photo Competition, Grand Prix of the ‘Best Photo of the Year’ at the contest ‘Photographer of the Year’, shortlist in the portraiture category of Sony World Photography Awards etc.

Maxim collaborates with many international editions and online media. His photos were published in TIME, Der Spiegel, STERN, Paris Match, Rolling Stone, PDN, Bloomberg Businessweek, Russian Reporter, Esquire etc. Also he works in cooperation with international organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

 Maxim’s works are in private and museum collections worldwide. ( VIA photoawards.com)

Maxim Dondyuk

"Winter 2013 changed Ukraine. 3 months of bloody clashes, tears, fear, Molotov cocktails, burning car tires and several deaths. It wasn’t just a protest in the support of EU. The Ukrainian revolution brought a new spirit, changed the people and their minds, they became one organism that fights with  great passion and intensity for a happy future." (VIA FAPA)

Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk


Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

"Frequently a photographer attempts to contemplate, constructing a frame, a composition – and lets the emotions slip by! As a result he ends up with a beautiful, balanced, and completely dead picture." ~ Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

From series TB epidemic in UkraineMaxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

 Maxim Dondyuk
Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk at work

Fourth Annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year Award WInners

M51—also known as the Whirlpool galaxy—is a classic spiral galaxy that scientists have studied for centuries. But this mesmerizing new image of the galaxy has nabbed Australian photographer Martin Pugh the top prize in the fourth annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards, announced this week. The sharp detail of the spiral’s arms, defined by dark, dusty areas and bright, pink clouds of hydrogen, impressed the judges. “This is arguably one of the finest images of M51 ever taken by an amateur astronomer,” said judge and astronomer Will Gater in a press release. Pugh’s photograph—which was chosen from more than 800 entries from around the world and earned him £1500—as well as those of the winners in categories such as ”Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year,” “Earth and Space,” and “Our Solar System,” are now on display at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in the United Kingdom. Other standout entries include a photograph of the Pleiades cluster, taken by a 15-year-old astronomer, and an image of this year’s transit of Venus across the sun, which was taken on 6 June. [via science now]

*Click on images for a larger view*

M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy 
The grand prize-winning entry shows the Whirlpool galaxy's spiral arms in sharp detail; trails of light show a smaller, neighbouring galaxy being slowly torn apart by the Whirlpool's gravitational pull. © Martin Pugh

 Pleiades Cluster
The Pleiades, sometimes called the Seven Sisters, is a cluster of many young stars. The 15-year-old photographer captured this image after more than an hour of exposure (winner of the "Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year" category). © Jacob von Chorus

Transit of Venus 2012 in Hydrogen-Alpha 
Venus passed between Earth and the sun on 6 June. The photographer captured the rare event—which won't happen again for 105 years—on a cloudy morning in Blackheath, London (winner of the "Our Solar System" category). © Chris Warren

Star Icefall
The constellations of Orion, Taurus, and the Pleiades illuminate an ethereal icescape in Nagano, Japan (winner of the "Earth and Space" category). © Masahiro Miyasaka

Simeis 147 Supernova Remnant 

Remnants of a star that exploded roughly 40,000 years ago collide with gas and dust, forming the glowing "Spaghetti Nebula" (runner-up of the "Deep Space" category). © Rogelio Bernal Andreo

Nadav Kandar Wins Prix Pictet 2009 Photography Award

© nadav kandar

© nadav kandar

© nadav kandar

Sponsored by the Geneva private bank Pictet & Cie, the Prix Pictet is the world’s first prize dedicated to photography and sustainability. It has a unique mandate – to use the power of photography to communicate crucial messages to a global audience; and it has a unique goal – art of the highest order, applied to the immense social and environmental threats of the new millennium.(from Prix Pictet website)