honorable mention
Nicola Ducati italy
title
Steel Life
Life here has a circular flow, in the morning the workers get up early, there are those who prepare meals for the others in turn. The shifts begin and the men are all busy demolishing old shipwrecks coming from all over the world, the metal is cut, worked, melted and again transformed. Only the metal here changes life, not these men, they are always here, every day. Every day until the evening, until the siren sounds the arrival of sunset. A human chain made of fatigue, sweat and hard work. Many curious eyes and friendly smiles. Men to respect. I was able to walk freely inside the foundries, I only tried not to hinder the work of these men in order not to endanger them and myself. People are not posing, they are natural moments and shots without bother them. With this work I want to celebrate the life, the memory and effort of these men who generously allowed themselves for some photographic shots.
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entry description
A time warp journey into the darkness of the northern indian steel foundries. On a recent trip to Gujarat, with the help of some local contacts, I had the opportunity to visit a couple of steel foundries. This pictures series would be a testimony to the hard work of people who are born here, grow up here and spend their entire lives here. Not a judgment but a document on a certain controversial reality that unites the past and present history of so many men and women of our time.Life here has a circular flow, in the morning the workers get up early, there are those who prepare meals for the others in turn. The shifts begin and the men are all busy demolishing old shipwrecks coming from all over the world, the metal is cut, worked, melted and again transformed. Only the metal here changes life, not these men, they are always here, every day. Every day until the evening, until the siren sounds the arrival of sunset. A human chain made of fatigue, sweat and hard work. Many curious eyes and friendly smiles. Men to respect. I was able to walk freely inside the foundries, I only tried not to hinder the work of these men in order not to endanger them and myself. People are not posing, they are natural moments and shots without bother them. With this work I want to celebrate the life, the memory and effort of these men who generously allowed themselves for some photographic shots.
about the photographer
I am an Italian photographer, I live in the mountains of Trentino and I arrived in the world of photography by chance. As a child I used to play with an old camera found who knows where, the object fascinated me and from that moment photography has never left me. I have experimented with various photographic approaches and I have chosen to dedicate myself to travel photography. My work is inspired by the passage of time and the desire to preserve the memories of those places and peoples that will soon give way to modernity. With my work I would like to tell stories of unknown people, physically remote but humanly close, creating empathy between the viewer and the subject, enhancing their elegance and authenticity. Today I especially like photography that tells but also lets you imagine, that moves and suggests reflections. A narrative photograph.back to gallery