Photographer Saprunova sees İstanbul Photo Awards as powerful global representation

By Selen Valente Rasquinho

BRUSSELS (AA) – Natalya Saprunova, who was awarded the Story Daily Life 2nd Prize at the 10th İstanbul Photo Awards, calls the contest a meaningful representation of global struggles and daily life.

“In (the) İstanbul Awards, there are a lot of categories ... It’s a very big representation of news and daily life and struggles in the world,” she said, speaking with Anadolu at the exhibition's opening in Brussels.

Saprunova, who in 2022 also won first prize in the same category in the contest organized by Anadolu, expressed her lifelong passion for photography.

She also shared her honor at winning the award for the second time with her series My Snow Cow. Her current work captures the resilience of Evdakia, a cow breeder in the small settlement of Oymyakon, in Yakutia in Russia’s Far East, known as the world’s coldest inhabited village.

“When I look at these pictures, I feel the very strong character of Evdakia," she said, adding that she was impressed by the woman’s courage and determination to bring back this type of cow, which was replaced during the Soviet era by another breed unsuited to the bitterly cold climate.

The photographer said she hopes her images inspire others: “I would like people (to) take this example to do things in their life, also to follow their dream … despite all kinds of conditions and obstacles.”

Saprunova highlighted that while her photos convey isolation and harsh conditions, they also underscore resilience. “I would like people see it and also decide to overcome their personal struggles in the life and take this example and bring it to their daily life,” she added.

- 'Very strong panel of jury'

Reflecting on her award from the İstanbul Photo Awards jury, Saprunova said: “This is a very important award for me. When I learned that I (had) won again the prize, it came as a very strong message of encouragement for me to be recognized by a very strong panel jury. Because I saw there are some photojournalists, also war reporters, picture editors. For me to be recognized by this panel jury is very important and also encourages me to continue my work.”

She also stressed that taking part in contests is as much about storytelling as winning. Saprunova said she entered the contest not only to win but also because she sees each contest as an occasion to improve her storytelling. Saprunova also encouraged young photographers to enter photography contests with this in mind.

The İstanbul Photo Awards, now celebrating its 10th year, opened on Nov. 4 in Brussels and will run until Nov. 18 at SR Gallery in Sablon.

This year’s contest received over 20,000 entries across 10 categories, with awards granted to 32 photographers.

The 2024 contest is supported by Turkcell as the communication sponsor, Sony as the award sponsor, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) as the international event sponsor, and Turkish Airlines (THY) as the airline sponsor.

Details of the award-winning photographs are available at istanbulphotoawards.com.

*Writing by Yasin Gungor