honorable mention
Chris Roche united kingdom
title
The Pilgrims of Northern Ethiopia
Born in Canada to Irish parents, he grew up in Africa and around Europe. Dividing his time between working as a filmmaker and photographer he is now based in London though he spends most of his time living out of a suitcase, sometimes living in it too.
He has twice been finalist in the Wanderlust Photograph of the Year competition, had his photographs published in the national press and photographic books and exhibited in central London.
His films have won awards around the world and he is currently working on post-production on the feature length ‘Kara Murat’ a Turkish historical drama shot in the mountains near Armenia. He has also won the Miramax Scriptwriting Award.
He is currently developing a photographic project on Faith that will take him across several continents and spiritual beliefs over the next three years. To date he has photographed the Buddhist Gompas and monks of the Himalayas, the pilgrims and priests of northern Ethiopia and the Hindu festivals of Himachal Pradesh in India.
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entry description
The one word that best describes northern Ethiopia is biblical. Soaked in spirituality, it is a land where history and mythology meet. The Ark of the Covenant, King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, rock hewn churches hidden up precipitous mountains, ancient crosses, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims celebrating Genna and Timket, an ancient orthodox church and proud priests all play their part in keeping alive a world that is truly from another time. Having traveled to Ethiopia eight years ago, I set off again early in January 2014 to photograph the priests and pilgrims during the great celebrations of Christmas and Epiphany. In Lalibela I descended down tunnels into churches carved out of the ground whilst a hundred thousand pilgrims who had walked for weeks to get there, read bibles by candlelight as others slept at their feet. This went on for two nights and suddenly they were gone. As the young fill the shoes of the old, little changes amongst the traditions of this biblical country.about the photographer
Chris Roche is an award winning filmmaker and photographer.Born in Canada to Irish parents, he grew up in Africa and around Europe. Dividing his time between working as a filmmaker and photographer he is now based in London though he spends most of his time living out of a suitcase, sometimes living in it too.
He has twice been finalist in the Wanderlust Photograph of the Year competition, had his photographs published in the national press and photographic books and exhibited in central London.
His films have won awards around the world and he is currently working on post-production on the feature length ‘Kara Murat’ a Turkish historical drama shot in the mountains near Armenia. He has also won the Miramax Scriptwriting Award.
He is currently developing a photographic project on Faith that will take him across several continents and spiritual beliefs over the next three years. To date he has photographed the Buddhist Gompas and monks of the Himalayas, the pilgrims and priests of northern Ethiopia and the Hindu festivals of Himachal Pradesh in India.
back to gallery