Huawei NEXT-IMAGE Awards have crowned their winners for 2020

Grand Prize and Live Moments category winner

After 114 days of photography, submissions and judging, the Huawei NEXT-IMAGE Awards have crowned their winners. This year’s wins come especially well earned as Huawei received a record-breaking number of submissions, with participants from over 120 countries and regions submitting more than 1.19 million incredible entries. With entries up 128 per cent since last year’s contest, 2020’s Huawei NEXT-IMAGE Awards was one of the world’s most popular and influential photography competitions.

Winners were chosen from across six categories, with three Grand Prize winners, 15 category winners, 50 runners-up and five Honourable Mentions being awarded. Each Grand Prize winner was given up to $10,000 from the NEXT-IMAGE creation fund, while category winners were awarded $1,000. Winners across all categories were given a Huawei P40 Pro. The Grand Prize Winners hail from Denmark, Argentina and China, with winning entries submitted under ‘Hello, Life!’, ‘Live Moments’ and a new category named ‘Storyteller’, which allows for collages made with multiple images, elevating the flexibility of the format to allow for something that lends itself to telling a story.

“We are thrilled to announce the well-deserved winners of this year’s Huawei NEXT-IMAGE Awards” said Li Changzhu, Vice Minister of the Consumer Strategy Marketing Dept at Huawei’s Consumer Business Group. “The standard for photography submitted this year has continued to surprise us, in terms of both quality of the images and the incredibly moving stories behind them. With the fine-tuning of Huawei phones’ photography capabilities and the continual increase in talent, we cannot wait to see what next year’s submissions hold.”

The Huawei NEXT-IMAGE Award’s panel of judges comprised of a host of world-famous photographers, including Magnum photographer and iconic contemporary photography figure Steve McCurry; Russian fashion photographer Elizaveta Porodina; Swedish photographer and Profoto curator Karolina Henke; and Canadian extreme sports photographer Reuben Krabbe. They were joined by Andrew Garrihy, Global Chief Brand Officer at Huawei’s Consumer Business Group; and Li Changzhu, Vice Minister of the Consumer Strategy Marketing Dept at Huawei’s Consumer Business Group.

This year, Huawei offered participants more options for submissions. In addition to going through the Huawei official website, Huawei also allowed for entries to be submitted through the NEXT-IMAGE Community.

NEXT-IMAGE award winners tell stories with photography

Huawei NEXT-IMAGE Awards provide a new platform for photographers to tell their stories and express their feelings.

Danish winner Sune Pedersen used the lens to capture the warmth exuded through the embrace of a grandfather on his grandson’s birthday during the pandemic. This was the first time he had left his home in months. Separated by a sheet of protective plastic, he and his two grandchildren enjoyed a special moment of embrace. Pedersen witnessed this exceptionally special moment and captured the image with his smartphone, with the image moving everyone who saw it.

The Hug

Comment from the final jury:

The Hug picture illustrates what universal storytelling means. It depicts the situation in which billions of human beings have been facing since the beginning of the pandemic. This is intimacy in the age of covid, in the world we live in now. We still need more than ever the human touch, being connected with friends, loved ones and relatives. We must find new ways to give love, attention, and affection to avoid solitude and be sure that elderly people are not isolated.

Steve McCurry

Magnum Photographer (US)

I immediately loved the photograph ‘The Hug’ out of all the images. There is no need for a caption, we all immediately understand the deep emotion, and situation of the photograph. It is a perfect image. It speaks to our humanity, to humanity today, to the distance and closeness we all feel. Even in our most powerful emotions in 2020, there is always a barrier. It achieves what few photographs do; an instant communication that is more powerful than words.

Reuben Krabbe

Extreme sports photographer (Canada)

Argentinian photographer Carloman Macidiano Céspedes Riojas used the smartphone camera to record a series of everyday moments. This sequence of nine images may look unrelated at first glance, but combined, the calm and tranquillity make one reminisce of more simple times. The image titled Resilience under the Storyteller category was also awarded the Grand Prize.

Grand Prize and Storyteller category winner

Comment from the final jury:

In this series Resilience the photographer’s work on the light, the atmosphere and the composition resulted in a beautiful balance of grace and serenity. There is an overall feeling of calmness, and the artist successfully combined natural elements, human beings, and animals altogether with great harmony.

Steve McCurry

Magnum Photographer (US)

With every situation, there are always two stories. 2020 is a story of drama, of loneliness, but it also a call-back to quiet. A call to simplicity. It is also a time of contemplation; we look at everything more closely this year. Who am I? Who are we? Where do I live? How do I find peace? The photo essay Resilience shows all of these feelings and more.

Reuben Krabbe

Extreme sports photographer (Canada)

The third annual photographer award was awarded to Chinese photographer Lin Haiyin’s work, Master of the Horse and the Horses. In this four-minute video, the Master of the Horse speaks the ancient Tajik dialect, telling the inseparable story of the Tajiks and horses for generations.

Grand Prize and Live Moments category winner

Comment from the final jury:

This short film I have carried with me since I saw it the first time! I think it is a beautiful, important and interesting film. I wish I had done it myself and I would love to know more about the horseman and his grandson, the horse boy!

Karolina Henke

Portrait photographer / Recommended by Profoto (Sweden)

It is worth noting that the number of submissions in the Timeline category of this years’ awards increased 22 times over since last year, which shows that people are increasingly using video to record their lives. Video shooting can provide users with more possibilities and make memories more vivid and lively.

In addition to the above three Grand Prize winners, there are also some award-winning works that surprised the judges.

Near Far category Top 3

Comment from the final jury:

I love this! It is a piece of art. I would love to have it framed on my wall!

Karolina Henke

Portrait photographer / Recommended by Profoto (Sweden)

The author photographed two horses on the edge of the canyon with a telephoto lens, producing a calming effect. There is no sense of intruding upon nature. The entire scene and colours are quite breathtaking.

Li Changzhu

Vice Minister of the Consumer Strategy Marketing Dept at the HUAWEI Consumer Business Group

Hello, Life! category Top 3

Comment from the final jury:

This is a very serene scene; its composition and colours are quite comfortable. I can’t help but think that they’re an elderly couple – the wife is playing a word game, and the husband, with his hat on, is reading a book. I’m intrigued to know how long they’ve been together. Are they on holiday? Or there for another reason? How long have they been there? Interesting life moments captured on a mobile phone don’t necessarily need to be submitted for a competition to be treasured. For instance, no matter how many times this image is viewed, it will always remind the photographer of the feelings that moved her in the moment.

Li Changzhu

Vice Minister of the Consumer Strategy Marketing Dept at the HUAWEI Consumer Business Group

Hello, Life! Best-in-Category winner

Comment from the final jury:

This photo is a moment of family gathering captured with a smartphone. Technically speaking, it is not easy to capture such a photo. The shutter, exposure, and focus must all be fast and accurate. I am very happy that users can create and capture whatever they want with the speed of the Huawei smartphone.

Li Changzhu

Vice Minister of the Consumer Strategy Marketing Dept at the HUAWEI Consumer Business Group

Storyteller category Top 3

Comment from the final jury:

What you can see is everyday scenery that gives the impression of a series of faces. This is because the author consciously captured life details, and then meticulously arranged them to create this effect. The arrangement of the nine photos is highly-surprising but remarkably harmonious, and comfortable to view.

Li Changzhu

Vice Minister of the Consumer Strategy Marketing Dept at the HUAWEI Consumer Business Group

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