Winner of the Zeiss Photography Award revealed

Tamina-Florentine Zuch, 25, has been announced as the winner of the first-ever ZEISS Photography Award, run in conjunction with the World Photography Organisation, with her photo series documenting a train journey through India.

©Tamina-Florentine Zuch (India)

See the winning and shortlisted images

“Meaningful Places” was the theme of the first-ever ZEISS Photography Award, which invited professional photographers and ambitious amateurs to showcase for the first time their talent to a renowned jury consisting of: Hans-Peter Junker, chief editor of VIEW magazine / former deputy chief editor of stern magazine; Cherie Federico, Director of Aesthetica Magazine; Steve Bloom, award-winning nature and travel photographer.

The contest attracted 3,139 photographers from 116 countries – from Albania to Zimbabwe. A total of 22,000 images were submitted. As the winner, Zuch received ZEISS lenses of her choice at a total value of EUR 15,000, as well as an offer to cooperate further with ZEISS.

Zuch, a student of photojournalism and documentary photography in Hannover, travelled through India by train last year for a period of six weeks. Her pictures show children sleeping in hammocks in stuffy train carriages, men risking their lives as they ‘surf’ railway cars, and exotic landscapes as they pass by. Her “Indian Train Journey” brings this journey to life.

©Melanie Hübner (Germany)

Seven other photographers – Melanie Hübner (Germany), Francisco Salgueiro (Portugal), Patricia Ackerman (Argentina), Helen Mountaniol (Ukraine), Jorge Lopez Munoz (Spain), Erez Beatus (Australia), Lasse Lecklin (Finland) – made it to the shortlist, which gave them the opportunity to present their work at the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House in London from April 22 to May 8, 2016.

© Jorge Lopez Munoz