24 Stunning Winners Of AAP Magazine’s 51st Photography Contest: “Colors”

"In Varanasi, sadhus perform daily rituals along the Ganges—meditation, offerings, and purification. Dressed in saffron and adorned with rudraksha beads, they renounce worldly life in pursuit of moksha, the liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Their presence along the ghats reflects a centuries-old spiritual path rooted in asceticism and devotion."

"Displaced Palestinians perform a collective prayer over the rubble of a mosque destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza. Amid the devastation, the vivid colors of the scattered prayer rugs stand in stark contrast to the gray ruins, symbolizing resilience, unity, and unwavering faith in the face of genocide."

"Late night, one neighbor is still up to something."

"In this region of southern Spain, the waters of the Rio Tinto, near the copper mines, are laden with heavy metals. They take on incredible colors but evil colors... - Rio Tinto, Andalusia."

"Children with autism and intellectual disabilities are joined by their peers from the community at the Dorna Center Home for Autism in Uganda. Hand in hand, they break down barriers of stigma and difference. Through inclusive music lessons led by Brass for Africa, they learn not only to play instruments but also to celebrate friendship, acceptance, and belonging. Together, they show that inclusion is not an idea but a lived reality."

"Meet Abu Zakkour: Aleppo’s Yellow Man since 1983. For more than 40 years, he’s walked the streets of Aleppo dressed head to toe in bright yellow; every item he owns, from his hat to his shoes, even his phone and underwear, radiates the same unmistakable hue."

"This portrait series presents Ladé not as an individual subject, but as a vessel for a shared narrative — one that speaks to the layered realities of many African immigrants. It reflects the ongoing negotiation of identity, the weight of displacement, and the quiet resilience required to navigate constant movement: across borders and policies, between cultures and cities, and through shifting versions of self."

"In Ethiopia, a man stands in striking sunglasses and a woven hat, blending tradition with modern style."

"Pastoral Peoples and Practices illustrates how many people are inextricably connected to their livestock and beasts of burden. The people of the Ilemi triangle (the Omo valley of Ethiopia, Central and Eastern Equatoria, and Northern Kenya) are all pastoralists. Their bond with their livestock is inextricably connected to their environment, and their subsistence farming systems have a small ecological footprint. This area is very vulnerable to climate change and the impacts of drought."

"By starlight, this eerie visage shines in the dark with a crooked profile evoking its popular name, the Witch Head Nebula. In fact, this entrancing telescopic portrait gives the impression that a witch has fixed her gaze on Orion's bright supergiant star Rigel."

"The inspiration for the photos was the works of the great artist René Magritte, who often used simple, realistic forms and placed them in strange situations. The title of the photo suggests that it shows a girl. But how do we know? Can we be sure? Is what we see always the same as what it really is? The message of this series of photos is to encourage the viewer to reject obvious associations and think for a moment. Find the hidden meaning that is deep in our souls."

"Instant nocturne. Vârânasî, Février 2023."

"The streets of India continue to fascinate everyone with their colors and surprises."

"Beneath our feet, natural vegetal fabrics, in the vibrant colors of autumn, sewn with silver thread. Each vein, each edge, sparkles with delicate frost, transforming the garden floor into a tapestry of warm and cold colors. The scene captures the moment when autumn meets the first signs of winter."

"The Beholders project personifies surveillance cameras by using color and pose to reveal their imagined roles, emotions, and personalities. Though cameras constantly observe the city, citizens rarely meet their gaze. By photographing them as portraits, I aim to create equality between people and cameras, inviting audiences to confront them directly and discover their 'expressions.'"

"On a camping night, just after starting the fire, as it got dark, I noticed the hauntingly beautiful branches above me. I took a shot at the idea of adding vibrant colors. Later, I layered textures and colors from other photos I had taken, creating something like a multiple-exposure effect. The result was a unique and colorful image of the branches."

"The series Lingering Shadows is an attempt to capture the simple yet complex and often hidden moments that women experience in their everyday lives.
It explores the silent beauty found in the overlooked rituals of daily routines. These images suggest that beauty often resides in what is unseen, uncelebrated, but deeply felt. These photographs are not only a personal narrative, but also a reflection of the shared, collective experience of women around the world."

"Blue transforms anger into the wisdom of patience. Anger is represented by thunder and Vajrapāni, one of the main Bodhisattvas, whose color is blue. He wields lightning. This is a project that relates, through images, four colors to the transformative movement whereby each of them changes negative qualities into positive ones in the Buddhist tradition. In it, color symbolism is frequently used to present abstract concepts through visual images to make those very concepts more universal."

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