A Mumbai photographer is among the five winners of National Geography Society's 2005 All Roads Photography Program, which recognises "indigenous or under-represented" photographers who document changing cultures in their own countries.
The 2005 photography winners are:
- Marcela Toboada Avilés of Mexico for "Women Of Clay." Toboada is a self-taught freelance photographer who lives in Oaxaca, Southern Mexico. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers and she has participated in individual and group exhibitions in the U.S., Mexico and Europe.
- André Cypriano of Brazil for "Rocinha, An Orphan Town." Cypriano, a native of São Paulo who studied photography in San Francisco, is a freelance photographer based in New York and Rio de Janeiro. As part of a long-term project, he documents the traditional lifestyles of lesser-known societies in remote corners of the world.
- Neo Ntsoma of South Africa for "South African Youth ID - Kwaito Culture." Based in Johannesburg, Ntsoma is one of very few black, female South African photographers. She works as a staff photographer for The Star newspaper, and her work has been published in many international publications.
- Sudharak Olwe of India for "In Search Of Dignity And Justice: The Untold Story Of Mumbai's Conservancy Workers." He is a photojournalist whose work has been exhibited in India, Bangladesh, Sweden, Portugal and The Netherlands. He recently published a book titled "Spirited Souls: Winning Women of Mumbai."
Awardees receive a cash award, equipment from Manfrotto, a digital camera and lenses from Olympus, film and accessories. The programme does not accept applications or unsolicited nominations, and relies on an advisory board to pick the winners.
The winning photos will be on display in Washington, DC and Los Angeles as part of the All Roads Film Festival. The festival takes place September 22 to 25 at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles and September 29 to October 2 at the National Geographic Society in Washingon, DC.
The advisory board included Peter Howe, former director of photography for Life magazine; Jan Arnesen, director of exhibitions for the United Nations; Andy Patrick, director of FiftyCrows photography; Mark Trahant, editor of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Audrey Jonckheer, director of international special projects for Kodak; Lou Desiderio, a photographic industry consultant; photographer Reza; photographer Pablo Corral Vega; Shahidul Alam, director of Asian Photographic Studies in Pakistan; Chris Johns, editor in chief of National Geographic; and Rick Smolan, former National Geographic photographer and CEO of Against All Odds Productions.
