For the 43rd year, the photographic diagnosis was held this year Leica Oskar Barnack Awardpresented by the legendary camera company Leica. The award takes its name from the engineer Oskar Barnackinventor of the first compact silver camera, adapting 35mm film from cinema to photography.

The winner of this year’s competition is Ismail Ferdous with the ‘Sea Beach’ photo series. The pastel-colored photo series invites us to wonder about our childhood memories and what happens in places that were once familiar to us.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leica Camera (@leica_camera)

Having lived in the US for many years and returning to Cox’s Bazar, a beach resort on the southern tip of Bangladesh, Ferdous shares a more personal and timeless side of this location: “In an overpopulated country, Cox’s Bazar beach represents a welcome escape into nature. It is a place where everyone, regardless of social status, can afford to vacation».

Leica competition

The Chinese photographer Ziyi Le won the Leica Oskar Barnack Award Newcomer. Having settled in Hangzhou in March 2020, the routine inspired him to create a series of portraits. “Throughout my childhood I was quiet and not comfortable in my own skin, which gave me the impression that I had not found my place. Out of instinct as a photographer, I decided to explore this feeling of emptiness in young people like me, in different cities, and explore my deepest doubts“, he confessed.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leica Camera UK (@leicauk)

Leica competition

Leica competition

Leica competition

For a few days now, the photos of the two winners along with those of the 10 finalists have been displayed on Leitz Museum Gallery, in the German city of Wetzlar, where the headquarters and facilities of Leica Camera AG are located. Subsequently, the exhibition will travel to other Leica galleries as well as to international festivals.