© AUGUSTO LEMOS

2023 EDITION

BOOK MIRA MOBILE PRIZE

16ª ed. MIRA Mobile Prize B&W Street Photography

The photographs we received from different parts of the world confirm the statement of the great photographer who celebrated black and white photography with his images. And it is always with emotion that we receive pieces of lives that take place in the great human scenario that is the street where people move or park their bodies: on street sidewalks, in the atriums of buildings, in train stations and carriages, in parks and gardens, in cafes, in museums, in churches, on a large avenue or even on a narrow street in a village.

Mobile photography – captured and edited with mobile devices – favored the capture of unique and unrepeatable moments that happen in a time and space defined by clocks and geographies. The discretion of the smartphone frees the photographer from the embarrassment that a common camera causes. The street does not feel threatened by a device that everyone carries in their pocket and, therefore, the photographer experiences a new freedom. His invisibility favors capturing the moment without disturbing it: a kiss, a sleep, a cry, a complicit look, a scream.

In Street Photography – which is not architectural photography – the most striking element is the human being who can be present as a shadow or indistinct silhouette, almost a ghost, or clearly integrated into a crowd, a group, or alone brooding over thoughts. The scenario may vary, from cold and harsh places to warm and relaxed places, but human lives are governed by the same needs that manifest themselves in behaviors that Street Photography portrays: resting, working, playing, eating, reading, praying, dancing, sleeping, laughing or crying

It is this diverse world colored by differences and similarities that most genuinely manifests Humanity.

MIRA Mobile Prize B&W 2023