Winners of “The Human Element” the Global Photo Competition from TIME & ASMP Announced!

by | Jan 31, 2024 | ASMP Awards, News

TIME & ASMP are proud to announce and display the winners of the first ever collaborative photography competition between the two organizations: “The Human Element”

Thousands of images were submitted for judging from across the globe, in fact, our winners come from the US, the UK, Germany, Poland, Bangladesh, Iran, China, Itlay, and the Netherlands!

Below, see the first place winners in the General Division, and see all the winners at time.com.


List of Winners / General Division

Best in Show / 1st Place – Portraits in the World / Owen Harvey – “David Fuentes”
1st Place – Portraits of Influence / Aixiao Li – “Wig in the Bathroom from the series ‘I Am with Me'”
1st Place – Portraits of Family / Maria Loucerio – “Mayila & Marlene”
1st Place – Open Category / Sonali Ohrie – “Mother’s Journey, 001”
1st Place – Series Category / Ryan Schude – “Also On View: Unique and Unexpected Museums of Greater Los Angeles”

2nd Place – Portraits in the World / Fulvio Bugani – “S/He”
2nd Place – Portraits of Influence / André Ramos-Woodard – “You should already know.”
2nd Place – Portraits of Family / Mehri Jamshidi – “The Retrospective of an Ordinary Family”
2nd Place – Open Category / Persia Campbell – “2006 – Reminiscences from the border”
2nd Place – Series Category / Mohammad Rakibul Hasan – “The Blue Fig”

List of Winners / Student Division

Student / 1st Place – Portraits in the World / John Rogers – “Washington Grist Mill – A Step Back in Time”
Student / 1st Place – Portraits of Influence / Zelle Westfall – “Ruby and Jewel”
Student / 1st Place – Portraits of Family / Zelle Westfall – “My Divorced Parents”
Student / 1st Place – Open Category / Katya Ilina – “David”
Student / 1st Place – Series Category / Grzegorz Piotrowski – “The Sisters Of The Hills”

Student / 2nd Place – Portraits in the World / Zelle Westfall – “Nick’s Room”
Student / 2nd Place – Portraits of Influence / Lidia Vedder – “Discord”
Student / 2nd Place – Portraits of Family / Christian Lee – “Uncle’s Funeral, Rose Hills”
Student / 2nd Place – Open Category / Iga Mroziak – “Ghosts”
Student / 2nd Place – Series Category / Frederik Rüegger – “Horses and Caravans”


Best in Show / 1st Place – Portraits in the World

“David Fuentes” / Photographer: Owen Harvey

© Owen Harvey / A Young Trainee Matador sits at the table in his Grandfathers home. His Grandfathers paintings surround him. David has been born in to a generational bullfighting family.

1st Place – Portraits of Influence

“Wig in the Bathroom from the series ‘I Am with Me'” / Photographer: Aixiao Li

© Aixiao Li / When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, I was forced to stay at home for a long time. While everyone began to maintain social distance, I wanted to get in touch with people in reality. I started to explore the mostly unknown private spaces of strangers. We chatted and did everyday things together, and they lent me their clothes and accessories so I could ‘be them’. A tacit understanding between my subjects and me was, ‘When I give you a sense of security you need to keep me safe’. This kind of private connection involved exchanging so much personal information that we started to ‘become’ each other.

1st Place – Portraits of Family

“Mayila & Marlene'” / Photographer: Maria Loucerio

© Maria Louceiro / Finding home in the embrace of chosen family.

1st Place – Open Category

“Mother’s Journey, 001′” / Photographer: Sonali Ohrie

© Sonali Ohrie / Captured through Sonali Ohrie’s lens, this image features her own mother donning her wedding dress post-divorce, marking a pivotal moment in a series documenting the South Asian diaspora. The narrative unfolds from a strict Hindu-Punjabi upbringing, where exploration was confined to a ‘safe’ marriage. Now, liberated from an arranged union, Sonali’s mother navigates a world previously deemed too perilous for a lone woman. The ongoing series explores her journey towards freedom, self-discovery as a single mother, and redefining ‘home’ after it fractures.

1st Place – Series Category

“Also On View: Unique and Unexpected Museums of Greater Los Angeles” / Photographer: Ryan Schude

© Ryan Schude / Portraits of people associated with a selection of 63 under-appreciated museums in the greater Los Angeles area. The museums highlighted share an aspect of history and culture for the region and subject matter they represent which might otherwise go unseen. The final output is set to be published as a full length monograph in the Fall of 2024, showcasing not only the portraits you see here but a small selection of the building’s exteriors and exhibits. Having visited over 700 such institutions in the last decade, my collaborator and author of this book has curated the selection of museums that we photographed in the previous 2+ years.

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