Once again, there were so many great images this year that you could make a case for that “should have been the one,” and the photographers themselves keep improving year after year. It all makes the judging process even harder. Narrowing it down to just ten finalists and one winner from entries literally all over the world is very challenging. Especially since there are so many things to consider when looking at an image.
I’m delighted to present to you this year’s ten finalists and our 2023 Worldwide Photo Walk Grand Prize winner (note: these were announced live on the air during last week’s episode of ‘The Grid.”.
NOTE: After the winner is revealed below, I’ll list some honorable mentions: images that didn’t win a prize but deserved some recognition nonetheless.
Here are this year’s Top 10 Finalists (in no particular order):
MONA HASSAN | ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT Photo Walk
JEANNINE PITRE | LAVAL, CANADA Photo Walk
CHUCK BRUTON | SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI USA Photo Walk
OZGUR SECMEN | MURATPASA, TURKEY Photo Walk
JUSTIN BAJE | SURIGAO, PHILIPPINES Photo Walk
MICHIKO NISHIJIMA | OROMOCTO, CANADA Photo Walk
MOHAMAD AMIN SHARAFIANI | KERMANSHAH, IRAN Photo Walk
RANDY SEAMAN | ST. AUGUSTINE, FL USA Photo Walk
JAMES NICO GALLARDO | NAHA PHILIPPINES Photo Walk
NORMAN LOWE | NEWPORT, UK Photo Walk
IVONNE VIDANA | CUIDAD JUÁREZ, MEXICO Photo Walk
This is one of those images that grabs you from the start, and the more you look at it, the more it reveals. The lighting is great, both inside and out, the color is wonderful, and the expression of the person inside the building really makes the image. Plus, there are so many layers in this image which help draw the viewer into the image, and of course, it’s a storytelling image. It makes you wonder who this person is, what they’re doing, what’s the story here – it’s just so intriguing. It’s one of those images where there’s just “something about it” that makes it special. I don’t think it’s one thing – I think it’s all of those things I listed and more. Very well done. Congratulations, Invonne.
Although there’s only one winner, I felt some images were so good that even though they didn’t win a prize, they still deserved to be recognized, so I present our Photo Walk Competition Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):
Thanks to all our Photo Walk Leaders
It’s an awful lot of work to lead a Photo Walk (ask anyone who has led one), and a thankless job, so let me be the first to say “thanks.” We couldn’t do any of this without our volunteer walk leaders around the world, who do such a great job of creating the walks; working and wrangling their walkers, judging the local contest from their walk, and making the whole thing happen on the local level, and that means a lot.
We’d also like to congratulate to the Leader winner:
Mark Anthony Agtay
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Also, a big thanks to all the talented photographers around the world…
…who created such inspiring, creative, and beautiful work, and special thanks to those of you who contributed to the Springs of Hope Orphanage in Kenya — it means more than you know.
Congratulations to all the winners, and honorees. Have a fantastic day, everybody!
-Scott
