A sixth form student at King’s Ely has been named the 2019 ILFORD PHOTO International Student Photographer of the Year.
In April, Luna Guo was announced as the ILFORD’s UK Student Photographer of the Year, and the 18-year-old has now gone on to win the International prize with her stunning print, entitled ‘If you don’t help them who will?’.
Photography students from across the globe were tasked with creating a black and white image that encapsulates an inspiring line from a book, film, poem, quote or song. The image had to be shot on ILFORD or Kentmere film and printed by the students themselves.
Luna shot her image on ILFORD HP5+ and printed it on ILFORD MULTIGRADE IV RC Pearl. It was inspired by the work that Women and Men Against Child Abuse undertake in South Africa.
Luna said: “I wanted to create an image of the situation that people are facing today when they cannot find someone for help or help others. The sole figure standing out of the crowd in my photograph represents the many who suffer abuse and violence. I had a strong vision of how I wanted the image to look with scale in mind and long shadows. I find using the darkroom very therapeutic and rewarding as I am able to work without the safety net of image enhancing software and learning traditional photographic skills.”
King’s Ely students have enjoyed previous photography success, with Sixth Form student Orla Simpson winning the UK competition last year.
Antonio Longo, Head of photography at King’s Ely, said: “I’m thrilled for Luna! Her win builds on our success which saw Orla Simpson being the UK winner of 2018. The competition was set as a live project for GCSE and A Level Photography groups in conjunction with their Foundation learning where they undertook darkroom practice as part of their course. I encourage all students to shoot film and use the darkroom to investigate a range of different processes and materials ranging from Chemigrams to black and white printing. I believe that traditional black and white processing and printing are still a valid educational tool and a must for all students to have access to.”