Luís Godinho, a native of Angra do Heroísmo, in the Azores, won the Reporting Golden Lens.
Portuguese photographer André Boto was distinguished, for the third time, as the European Photographer of the Year.
Four other Portuguese photographers were winners in other categories.
The Federation of European Professional Photographers (FEP), a non-profit organization for photographers since 1999, recognized André Boto’s work from the more than 3,300 images submitted by 330 photographers in a ceremony in Alesund, Norway, on April 13. Thirty-one of Boto’s peers judged his work. The European federation, based in Brussels, has more than 50,000 members.
“For André Boto, it’s really challenging to create/re-create our own world based on optical illusion, and he is fascinated by Surrealism and by artists like M. C. Escher and René Magritte,” reported London Photography Awards.
André Boto said on his website:
“I believe that photography begins way before the ‘click’ in the preparation process and conceptualization work, and, also ends after the post-production/image editing process. All these phases are equally important for the creation of an image of great communicative power, at a time when everyone creates images.”
Boto dedicates himself to conceptual and commercial photography, including architecture, interior, industry, product and advertising,
Born in 1985 in Silves, in the Algarve, Boto lives in the Lisbon area. He holds a degree in Decorative Arts from the Instituto Politécnico de Beja and has taken advanced and conceptual photography courses at the Oficina da Imagen in Seixal, Setúbal District.
“André Boto is fascinated by Surrealism and by artists like M. C. Escher and René Magritte,” London Photography Awards said about the European Photographer of the Year.
In addition to André Boto also winning the Commercial and Advertising Golden Lens; Luís Godinho won the Reporting Golden Lens; Paulo Pinto won the Wedding Silver Lens; Franklin Neto won the Commercial and Advertising Bronze Lens as well as ninth place in the Landscape category, and Valter Antunes achieved sixth place in the Wedding category, reported SIC Notícias (April 17).
Luís Godinho: This is the sixth year that the Federation of European Professional Photographers has recognized Luís Godinho (b. 1983), who was born and lives in Angra do Heroísmo, in the Azores. Godinho has a degree in Engineering and Environmental Management from the University of the Azores.
Photography is “his great passion”. Godinho freelances all over the world and, in Portugal, he works for Visão, Público, Around the World, among other media outlets, reported New Men (April 17). He won the Portuguese National Prize at the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, with the photograph Janela (Window), captured in Senegal, reported Cultura ao Minuto (March 28, 2017). He has dedicated himself to photography since 2008, especially street and travel photography as well as photojournalism.
Paulo Pinto won the Wedding Silver Lens.
Paulo Pinto, a Lisbon native, lives in Loures, according to his Facebook page. He is the owner, photographer and editor at Paulo Pinto Fotografias.
Franklin Neto won the Commercial and Advertising Bronze Lens.
Franklin Neto also won ninth place in the Landscape category.
Franklin Neto, a Fine Art Architecture and Landscape photographer, is 35 years old. Born in Goiania, Brazil, he lives in Lisbon. His work expresses his most emotional vision of the world, according to his website. He is passionate about nature and architecture.
Valter Antunes achieved sixth place in the Wedding category.
Valter Antunes and his wife, Paula, created Fotolux in Portugal.
“Photography appeared in our lives in 2011 and, as if by magic, it came to stay,” said Fotolux’s website. “Valter was a musician . . . and I worked in the telecommunications area. Nothing to do with photography, right? Or maybe so because both music and photography are non-verbal, but universal, ways of communicating.
“In photography, we like a little bit of everything, but weddings are our passion. Is there such a rollercoaster day of emotions as a wedding day? . . . For us, emotions are the basis of photography, and there is no other area that fulfills us as much as wedding photography.”
New AI Rules
European Federation of Photographers Chairman Johan Brouwers pointed out changes that occurred in the judging process:
“This year marks the first time we have implemented in-depth checking of all the finalists’ raw file. Our aim is to uphold the principles of pure photography, with an absolute minimal use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and stock images in the few categories that allow this. By prioritizing authenticity and integrity, we ensure that each winning image is a true reflection of the photographer’s skill and vision.”