At long last we can finally announce the winners and runners-up for the 2022 Booooooom Photo Awards. This was far and away the most submissions we’ve had for any call so far—it was an enjoyable challenge to sift through the thousands (and thousands) of images we received. Thanks to everyone who put in the effort to share work with us! You’ll be able to tell based on the images below, just how much great work we received. Thank you all.

We selected 6 winners, one for each of our categories: CLIMATE, PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS, SERENDIPITY, COMMUNITY. Each winner received $500 and will be included in a special photo publication that will be sent to curators and photo editors we respect. We also picked a larger group of runners-up from each of the categories, and these photographers will also be included in, and receive, the publication.

Keep an eye out for interviews with each of the winners sharing the stories behind their images. Without further ado, here are the winners and runners-up for the 2022 Booooooom Photo Awards.

THE WINNERS

CLIMATE (WINNER): Photo by Mithail Afrige Chowdhury

WINNER: 2022 Booooooom Photo Awards “CLIMATE”

Mithail Afrige Chowdhury is a documentary and street photographer based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Born and raised in Khulna, Mithail has always been a keen observer of the people around him – their pain, happiness, and complications met by social, economical, political, and environmental changes. When he started getting into photography in 2015, Mithail decided to focus on capturing the things most familiar to him. Mithail has since documented major events like the Rohingya refugee crisis and river crisis around Dhaka city. He is currently working on projects related to the effects of Climate Change and the Coronavirus pandemic.

PLACES (WINNER): Photo by Ophélie Maurus

WINNER: 2022 Booooooom Photo Awards “PLACES”

French photographer and art director Ophélie Maurus studied at the ESAG Penninghen for her Master’s degree in image and media. She spent 3 years as a graphic designer and photographer at Random Paris studio. While currently working freelance between architectural photography and art direction, Ophélie has been developing her own photography projects, exploring a wide variety of subjects from travel and experimentation to collaborating with other artists.

WINNER: 2022 Booooooom Photo Awards “THINGS”

Skye Tao is a contemporary visual artist based in Vancouver. She is currently pursuing a BFA in Photography at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Her practice mainly centres around street, fashion editorial, and still-life photography. Frequently drawing on themes of nostalgia represented through saturated visuals, Tao’s current work explores aspects of the uncanny and surrealism by combining photographic composition and illustrative theories. She has also worked in the local Vancouver fashion industry through photoshoots and graphic design.

SERENDIPITY (WINNER): Photo by Jeremy Au Yeung

WINNER: 2022 Booooooom Photo Awards “SERENDIPITY”

Jeremy Au Yeung is a documentary photographer based in Vancouver. Since childhood, Jeremy has been fascinated with preserving his memories. His obsession with preservation has led him to document everything from the important people in his life, and places he’s traveled, to mundane daily moments. He aims to capture fleeting moments in time so they can be returned to and relived in their rawest form. His favourite photographs are ones with a clear narrative that allow viewers to fully embody and experience what was captured.

WINNER: 2022 Booooooom Photo Awards “PEOPLE”

Currently based between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Amber Hakim is a photographer who focuses on the cross-section of fashion, culture, and identity. With a background in Fine Art, she utilizes light and colour as a tool to evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia in her imagery. At an early age, she became aware of the complexities of the world around her which gave way to a curious and collaborative approach to her work.

COMMUNITY (WINNER): Photo by Vân-Nhi Nguyễn

WINNER: 2022 Booooooom Photo Awards “COMMUNITY”

Vân-Nhi Nguyễn is a Vietnamese photographer and artist based in Hanoi, Vietnam. She studied Graphic Design at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. While drawn to documentary photography, Vân-Nhi is always looking for ways to introduce different approaches. For her, the medium is about reconstructing memories. Whether her own or that of a larger community, Vân-Nhi sees these memories as the bridge between the urgency to remake societal geographies and their rigid histories. She pays particular attention to overlooked places, people, and the positions in which they find themselves.