14 DAY TRIAL // This week Sony is announcing its 2014 World Photography Awards and Romanian photographer Vlad Eftenie is one of the category winners, with his photograph being selected out of 70,000 entries.
Eftenie lives in Bucharest and works as a lecturer at the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism and he has just been declared the winner of the “Open Low Light” category with a photograph called “First snow.”
The photo showcases two pedestrians waiting for the tram on the Turda Boulevard in Bucharest, in the middle of a snow storm. Speaking about what inspired him to take that picture in that particular moment, Eftenie says:
“As the weather got worse in the evening, I hesitated about using my camera but then I spotted an interesting situation, with pedestrians walking against car lights, on a zebra crossing.”
“Things were changing before me. The snowflakes had become chaotic and the sharp cold wind became annoying. Cars were barely advancing, the light was difficult and the woman with the umbrella was standing there petrified. I pulled out the camera and took the picture, handheld, making the first snow of the year.”
Eftenie will be awarded a Sony a6000 camera and will advance to compete with nine other Open categories winners for the grand Sony World Photography Awards Open Photographer of the Year and a chance to win $5,000 / €3,593.
The award-winning picture will be exhibited at the Somerset House in London from 1 to 18 of May and will be published in the 2014 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book.