4 Honorable Mention Photo Series - 2020 Documentary Family Awards

We are proud to share with you the award-winning photographs from our 8th international competition celebrating the very best in documentary family photography.

Award winners were chosen during the final round of judging recorded live from our three judges homes and subsequently streamed online around the world on October 14-15, 2020. Viewers had the opportunity to watch the unfiltered discussions and constructive feedback as winners were collectively chosen by esteemed judges Jide Alakija (United States), Lawrence Jackson (United States) and Leslie Kershaw (United States).

These award-winning photographs have been through two rounds of critical review and selection. Congratulations to winners!

Honorable Mention

“Desigual“

Photo Series by Colleen Ordoñez, Peru.

“I don’t feel the same as her, she is my younger sister” Kaira and Zoe are identical twins. They share the same genetic code. However, a few months after their birth, the unknown erupted: sleep disorder, strange body movements, intellectual backwardness, frequent laughter and a constant state of happiness. There was never a diagnosis for Zoe, only speculation. Desigual is a project that explores and reveals from a daily basis the mysterious and delicate nature of the bond between twin sisters based on the visible difference in their development. Through coexistence a photographic experience begins where the communication ties between them are visible. Each one experiences their world in a different way. Each one follows its own path. A path that always transcends the desire to want to be together. The visual narrative of this project is supported by metaphorical elements that relate a beautiful complicity and at the same time propose a reconciliation between two truths that apparently cannot coexist: They are equal. They are different. It invites us to see unity in inequality.

Honorable Mention

“The Unlocked Creativity“

Photo Series by Ewelina Strzelczyk, Poland.

“The Unlocked Creativity” is a series created in the first weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown. The series explores the experience of social distancing in a big city: 2 adults, 3 kids in a small apartment with balcony; parents working remotely, extremely busy due to difficult market conditions; children enjoying their freedom and exploring their talents. It was a great lesson on how limiting hovering over children can lead to an amazing increase in their creativity and joy. More trustless “Don’t!”.

Plastic dishes – Ewelina Strzelczyk, Poland

Kitchen dishes *– Ewelina Strzelczyk, Poland*

Honorable Mention

“Little Black Boy“

Photo Series by Rashod Taylor, United States.

These images are a kind of family album, filled with friends and family, birthdays, vacations, and everyday life. At the same time, these images tell you more than my family story; they’re a window onto the Black American experience. As I document my son I am interested in examining his childhood and the world he navigates. At the same time these images show my own unspoken anxiety and fragility as it pertains to the wellbeing of my son and fatherhood. At times I worry if he will be ok as he goes to school or as he plays outside with friends as children do. These feelings are enhanced due to the realities of growing up black in America. He can’t live a carefree childhood as he deserves; there is a weight that comes with his blackness, a weight that he is not ready to bear. It’s my job to bear this weight as I am accustomed to the sorrows and responsibility it brings, the weight of injustice, prejudices, and racism that has been interwoven in our society and institutional systems for hundreds of years. I help him through this journey of childhood as I hope this weight will be lifted.

It’s Complicated – *Rashod Taylor, United States.*

LJ and his Fort – *Rashod Taylor, United States.*

Standing in my parents backyard – *Rashod Taylor, United States.*

Bath Time – *Rashod Taylor, United States.*

Deep Sleep – *Rashod Taylor, United States.*

Honorable Mention

“Lockdown Diary“

Photo Series by Attila Gazso, Hungary.

The pandemic took a serious effect on the everyday life of my family. As a father of four the closing of schools and daycares, home education and generally the long closeness was a great challenge, while my job and the main income of my family was in danger. The lockdown of the borders made my situation even more complicated: getting to my workplace in Austria from Hungary got very unsure. Besides all negative effects, the lockdown caused also a lot of positive outcomes. Since I started working 20 years ago, I never had the chance to spend so much time together with my family, which is in hindsight quite a scary recognition. We have spent a lot of time learning, playing, reading, watching movies, cleaning, gardening, resting, all the everyday things… together! It was an eye-opening experience that we should take with us, as life gets back to the new “normality”. I wanted to ease the contradiction between financial insecurity, claustrophobia and the never before experienced amount of quality time spent together with my family. I took my camera and documented these 6 weeks of our family lockdown. The photographs are analogue, self-developed and scanned at home.

Anatomy of Boredom – *Attila Gazso, Hungary.*

Trouble In Paradise – *Attila Gazso, Hungary.*

Our preliminary round guest judges evaluated every single submission we received and selected thirty or less of their favourite photo series to move forward to the live-judging round as finalists. Our deepest thanks to talented photographers Jacque Jackson (United States), Lafayette Hicks (United States) and Sarah Jane Rabideau (Canada) for their hours of dedication during this process. Congratulations to these photographers who were nominated as finalists for consideration during the final round of live judging.