A photo of a kea, the world’s only species of alpine parrot taken by Israeli photographer Avishai Futerman with an iPhone XR as the bird swoops down over the summit of Mt. Luxmore in the South Island of New Zealand, has won second place in the Nature category of the 2020 iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS).
The winners were announced on Wednesday. The Grand Prize Winner and Photographer of the Year Award went to British street photographer Dimpy Bhalotia for her image “Flying Boys.” First, Second and Third Place Photographer of the Year Awards went to Artyom Baryshau of Russia with “No Walls,” where blue stripes fade into an even bluer sky; Geli Zhao of China for an untitled image of sheets catching wind on a cloudy day; and Saif Hussain of Iraq with “Sheikh Of Youth,” a portrait of an elderly man caught between aspects of himself.
There were also award winners in 18 categories such as Animals, Architecture, Children, City Life, Environment, Landscape, Lifestyle, Nature, Panorama, People, Portrait, Still Life, Sunset, Travel, and Trees.
All photographers compete for the four IPPAWARDS Photographers of the Year Award, as well as second and third place entries. The top three winners receive a prize to be announced later.
Futerman, 22, was the only Israeli photographer to have won a prize this year.
He was traveling and volunteering in New Zealand for three months when he took the award-winning photo of the Kea with his iPhone XR.
“The picture actually happened mostly by chance. I was hiking up the Kepler Track in the South Island of New Zealand, one of the most well-known tracks in the country. As I reached the summit of Mt. Luxmore, I kneeled down to take a photo of the magnificent landscape. Suddenly, this amazing kea landed right in front of me and I managed to capture this frame. The kea is the only alpine parrot in the world and is very prominent around New Zealand,” he tells NoCamels in an interview.
Futerman, who dabbles in photography as a hobby between working two jobs in security and digital marketing, says he entered the competition because he knew he had a winning photo and wanted people around the world to see the beauty of this creation, he tells NoCamels.
“I actually heard of the competition from searching the web. I wasn’t too worried as I knew the photo I had was a special one. I usually don’t enter competitions, unless I think there’s a real chance I might win,” he says.
“Honestly, New Zealand is so magnificently beautiful, it’s hard to take a bad photo,” he adds.
First place in the Nature category went to Lisl Li from China for his “Untitled” black and white photograph of a waterfall shot on an iPhone 7 Plus. Third place went to Jiawen Wu from Singapore for his photo “Journey to the Lava Field” taken in Hawai with an iPhone 6.
The IPP Awards is the first and longest-running iPhone photography competition. First founded in 2007, IPPAWARDS has celebrated the creativity of iPhone photographers since the iPhone first began to inspire and engage users worldwide. For over a decade, IPPAWARDS has annually selected the very best shots among thousands of images submitted by iPhone photographers from more than 140 countries around the world.
Winners are selected by esteemed jury members in a multi-step process.
Members of the jury review all entries and judge images on the basis of artistic merit, originality, subject, and style and ultimately decide the winners.
Photographers are only allowed to use an iPhone or iPad with the use of add-on lenses permissible. It was also permissible to use any IOS apps.
This year marks the 13th Annual Awards with submissions
from thousands of photographers from all over the globe.
The work of the top winner and the first, second, and third place Winners on each category are publicized on IPPAWARDS online gallery and any published IPPAWARDS materials. All 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners from each category receive an IPPAWARDS certificate. IPPAWARDS judges will also award several Honorable Mentions.
Entries for the 14th annual IPPAWARDS are already being accepted. Deadline for entries is March 31, 2021.
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