Photo Corners headlinesarchivemikepasini.com
A S C R A P B O O K O F S O L U T I O N S F O R T H E P H O T O G R A P H E R
Enhancing the enjoyment of taking pictures with news that matters, features that entertain and images that delight. Published frequently.
Matinee: 'Portrait of the Year 2019 in Sweden'
28 March 2020
Saturday matinees long ago let us escape from the ordinary world to the island of the Swiss Family Robinson or the mutinous decks of the Bounty. Why not, we thought, escape the usual fare here with Saturday matinees of our favorite photography films?
So we're pleased to present the 337th in our series of Saturday matinees today: Portrait of the Year 2019 in Sweden.
This Swedish portrait of the year contest juggles three entries taken by two photographers and in this 1:23 video, you get to see them all. In fact, it's something like an Oscar award presentation (that's not Billy Crystal hosting, though), complete with the announcement and review of the three nominees before the envelope is opened.
The nominees are:
- Roger Turesson, Dagens Nyheter, for a portrait of Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg sleeping in a window seat on the train
- Max Modén, Frilans, for a double portrait of Thunberg and former U.S. president Barack Obama
- Roger Turesson, Dagens Nyheter, for a portrait of an Asian child in makeup and dressed to the nines for some undisclosed contest
Dagens Nyheter, also known as DB, is a daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. Frilans is simply "freelancer" in Swedish. Don't ask us how we know.
More importantly, Turesson is one of Sweden's leading photographers. One tribute reads, "Most of all, his heart is with the common people -- in his own neighborhood as well as in the world's most sealed in countries as North Korea. With great empathy and respect, he shows people struggling to survive in arduous times, times torn by war and terror, seeking passage to a better life."
And Max Modén has shot for brands and magazines like Marc O' Polo, H&M, Lindex, C&A, Cellbes, Joy, I dig denim, Tao & friends, One We Like, La Petite, Babiekins, Hooligans and Milk Magazine. According to his Web site, "He is as exceptional at utilizing natural light as he is with children and his work radiates creativity and the playful energy of the kids while still feeling like sophisticated, high fashion images."
Despite Turesson's two charming portraits, Modén's double portrait of Thunberg and Obama took the prize.
The jury's citation reads:
It is rare to see such an iconic portrait, but this one will endure. For all its silence, it's a private magical moment between two philosophers and world leaders: "Yes we can" and "How dare you."
The picture was taken in a fleeting moment and shows the photographer's quick reaction.
Modén captured the pair at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm on June 13, 2019, while the two took a break from a Brilliant Minds gathering.
Thunberg posted the image on her Instagram account with the caption, "Yes we can." Obama replied on his Twitter account, "Yes we can, Greta. I'm hopeful because of you and all the young people who are fighting to protect the planet. Keep at it."