Frontex’s photo contest, "Ties that Bind: Bridging borders in modern Europe" is now closed. First place was taken by Marcin Klepacki for his picture "Crossroads."
Curtis Budden, a professional photographer commissioned to judge the entries, said the winning image, “gives the viewer plenty of room for interpretation. [...] The photographer uses leading lines and a shallow depth of field to direct us to the real subject of the image, which is not the bridge but the man standing on it. The fact that we cannot see what he sees adds an element of wonder to the photo. We are left to [...] think about what physical or psychological frontiers he might be trying to cross at that moment.”
While the winner was rewarded for technical and artistic merit, the second prize was won for another important criterion — relevance to the competition topic — by reflecting the distinctive nature of European borders. Curtis Budden said of the work: "By placing two border posts in such a prominent position, we are left with no doubt that this is a border. But what we do not see are border guards or fences or any other form of separation. Instead, we can look out, unhindered, on the marvelous landscape of the Carpathian Mountains."
Third place went to Jose Cordoba for his picture of the Strait of Gibraltar from the Spanish coast, overlooking Morocco just 14 kilometres across this natural border.
"The photographer uses his vantage point and composition to emphasize this proximity: our eye is led into the frame to a radar station that rises up into the Moroccan mountains across the Strait. We feel almost as if we could just reach across and touch them. At the same time, it is difficult to look at this image without thinking about what one would see standing on those mountains and looking toward Europe."
Honourable mentions were given to Mateusz Piątek and Christian Skerbic for their photos of a trail through the Tatra Mountains on the Poland-Slovakia border and a footbridge connecting France and Germany across the Rhine, respectively.
All five photographers will have their pictures exhibited at this year’s European Day for Border Guards (ED4BG) in Warsaw on May 23.
Frontex would like to extend its gratitude and appreciation for all those who took part.
