Documentary Photographer of the Year 2021
Our popular competition open to our international audience with Open, Student and Member categories
The Documentary Photographer of the Year (DPOTY) competition is organised by the Royal Photographic Society's Documentary Group. It runs every two years. The competition has been running since 2012 and provides an opportunity to showcase documentary work and storytelling.
Congratulations to our Commended entries and Winners
RPS Members - Commended and Winner
Winner: All in a Day’s Work by David Collyer
Commended entries:
• Within/Without by Neil Johansson
• The Across Roads Project by Quentin Ball
• Y Garreg Olaf (The Last Stone) by Gareth Jenkins
Students - Commended and Winner
Winner: ka Dingiei by Aishwarya Arumbakkan
Commended entries:
• North with the Spring by Nicole Mullan
• South of the River by Nico Froelich
• Tiramisu by Alexander Komenda
Open - Commended and Winner
Winner: Belonging by Debsuddha
Commended entries:
• Donde los niños no sueñan by Stefano Sbrulli
• You Can’t Step Into The Same River Twice by Hari Katragadda
• Nothing Left to Call home by Taniya Sarkar
Our Awards
The category winners will feature in a London and UK touring exhibition.
Open winner - a bursary, professional development support from the Martin Parr Foundation and one-years free RPS membership
Student winner - a bursary, professional development support from leading photographer, Simon Roberts HonFRPS and one-years free RPS membership
RPS Member winner - a Fujifilm X100V camera and one-years free RPS membership
All commended will receive one-years free RPS membership and an opportunity to take part in a UK touring exhibition (digital projection).
Winners and commended photographers will also have opportunities for publication in the Decisive Moment and The RPS Journal and selected photographers will be invited to present at our Engagement Talk series.
Our Shortlist
Our Shortlisted entrants in each of the categories:
Shortlist - Open
Shortlist - Open Category
| Aakriti | Chandervanshi |
| Debsuddha | |
| Edward | Thompson |
| Hari | Katragadda |
| Laura | Pannack |
| Doro | Zinn |
| Mohammad | Rakibul Hasan |
| Swastik | Pal |
| Taniya | Sarkar |
| Prasiit | Sthapit |
| Santosh | Jana |
| Stefano | Sbrulli |
| Yarin | Trotta del Vecchio |
Shortlist - Student
Shortlist - Student Category
| Aishwarya | Arumbakkam |
| Francesco | Andreoli |
| Hannah | Norton |
| Jake | Varker |
| Alexander | Komenda |
| Natalie | Durrant |
| Nico | Froehlich |
| Nicole | Mullan |
| Mina | Boromand |
Shortlist - Member
Shortlist - Member Category
| Angela | Lam |
| Jason | Ashwood |
| Bharat | Patel |
| Bill | Pilkington |
| Chris | Jennings |
| Nicholas | Mackey |
| David | Collyer |
| Gareth | Jenkins |
| Neil | Johansson |
| Quentin | Ball |
Our Judges
Our international panel of experts and judges includes:
Lekgetho Makola, CEO Javett Arts Centre, Pretoria
Roy Mehta, Photographer and Lecturer
Tanvi Mishra, Photo Editor, Writer and Creative Director, The Caravan, New Delhi
Mimi Mollica, Photographer and Director, Offspring PhotoMeet
Rosy Santella, picture editor, Internazionale, Rome
Bindi Vora, Curatorial Projects Manager at Autograph, London
Marie Sumalla, international picture editor, Le Monde, Paris had to withdraw due to work commitments.
DPOTY Related Events
DPOTY Related Events
Along with the competition itself, there are Engagement Talks which are free and bookable via our Events page. Our past events include: Alys Tomlinson, Daniel Meadows and Mimi Mollica (DPOTY21 judge). upcoming talks are on our Events page:
•27 January 2022 – Talk: Roy Mehta (DPOTY21 judge)
•10 February 2022 – Talk: Jack Lowe
•03 March 2022 – Talk: Carolyn Mendelsohn
•17 March 2022 – Talk: David Hurn
•31 March 2022 – Talk: Martin Parr
•14 April 2022 – Talk: Nick Hedges
RPS Documentary Photographer of the Year 2021 - Awards
DATE AND TIME
11 December 2021
Our RPS Documentary Photographer of the Year 2021 Awards will be held online via Zoom.
We will showcase shortlisted entrants and announce our Winners and Commended Entries in each Category.
Book via our Events page.
DPOTY21 Touring Exhibition
In 2022 we will take the DPOTY21 Exhibition on Tour in the UK. The exhibition will combine projected images and prints from our Winners, Commended and some Shortlisted entries.
Dates will appear in the Events page our current plans are (subject to confirmation):
Feb 16th - March 9th - St John's College, Oxford
Mar 15th to April 30th - FujiFilm House of Photography, London
May 7th to June 4th - Newcastle Arts Centre
June 13th to July 11th - Oriel Colwyn, North Wales
Aug 1st to Aug 30th - Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
Sept 1st to Sept 30th - Chatelherault House, nr Glasgow
Oct 15th - Nov 12th - Chippenham Museum
Entry Overview
CATEGORIES
The Competition has three categories:
Open - open to anyone anywhere
Student - for anyone on a recognised full-time or part-time photography degree course (and those completing in 2020-21 academic year)
Member - for members of the RPS
NEW ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED
Key dates
SUBMISSIONS
Closing Date for Entries:
Submissions closed on Thursday 5 August 2021
Shortlisting and Judging: Shortlisting has been completed. We ave informed those shortslieted and those who were not successful. The judges are now selecting the Commended and Winners in each category. We hope to complete this by November.
Awards Event: will take place on 11 December 2021 online
Exhibition: from early 2022 and a UK touring Exhibition throughout 2022 (four venues already confirmed, more later).
Awards and Prizes
All winners will be part of an Exhibition
Open winner - a bursary, professional development support from Martin Parr Foundation and one-years free RPS membership
Student winner - a bursary, professional development support from leading photographer, Simon Roberts HonFRPS and one-years free RPS membership
RPS Member winner - a Fujifilm X100V camera (donated by Fujifilm) and one-years free RPS membership
Commended entries - one-years free RPS Membership and inclusion in Exhibition (as digital projection). Selected photographers will also have opportunities via our Engagement Talks and published in Decisive Moment magazine.
Shortlisted entries - there will be some opportunities for posting in social media, and on RPS Website.
Sponsors and Friends
We are grateful for the support of Fujifilm and its commitment to the photo community.
