Photographer Giorgio Bianchi wins 2014 Terry O’Neill Award

Italian photographer Giorgio Bianchi has won the 2014 Terry O’Neill Award thanks to his project, called “Behind Kiev’s barricades”, covering the war in Ukraine.

The ninth edition of the Terry O’Neill photography awards has come to an end. The overall winner has been revealed in the person of Giorgio Bianchi, an Italian photographer who has covered the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The photographer’s project is named “Behind Kiev’s barricade” and the judges have deemed that it is the best out of all projects, so it duly deserves the 2014 Terry O’Neill Award.

Behind Kiev’s barricade: an amazing coverage of the war in Ukraine by Giorgio Bianchi

The crisis in Ukraine began in November 2013 when the revolution started. Nowadays, it has turned into a war between the Ukraine forces and the Pro-Russian separatists.

In order to let the whole world know what is happening there, Italian photographer Giorgio Bianchi has decided to capture photos showing the destruction.

This documentary series has been submitted to the “Reportage” category and it will bring a £3,000 prize as well as a commission for The Guardian newspaper to the Italian photographer.

The artist says that he witnessed how the police was destroying the barricades during the revolution, while the protesters were building them right up, rallying “like ants defending their nest”.

The entire “Behind Kiev’s barricade” has been captured using a Fujifilm X-T1 mirrorless camera.

Two runners-up and a mobile device winner have been selected, too

The other winners are Spanish photographer Miguel Angel Sanchez for his “Gaza / The Box” portrait series and Spanish photographer Javier Arcenillas for his “Alotadores” documentary project. The former will receive £2,000, while the latter will get £1,000.

UK-based photographer Rob Pearson-Wright has won the Mobile Device prize with the “Universal Language” series of portraits documenting the body language of humans. For his contribution, the artist will receive a prize of £500.

About the 2014 Terry O’Neill Award photo contest

Only three overall prizes have been awarded despite the fact that there are six categories of photos. The list includes reportage, documentary, portraiture, fashion, wildlife, and fine art.

This contest has been set up by Terry O’Neill, a British photographer who wants these awards to become a launch pad for talented, yet unknown photographers.

In order to raise the interest in this competition, it appears that the 2015 edition will offer prizes to artists submitting photos to all categories.

More photos and information can be found at the contest’s official website.