The 2021 PEFC Photographer of the Year has been chosen from 5000 photos entered into the ‘Experience Forests, Experience PEFC’ photo contest. The award went to Vitalii Popkov for his image ‘The Man and the Forest’, taken in Zamagora Verkhovyna, Ukraine. The photo shows a man taking wood out of the forest with a horse. Source: Timberbiz
“The winning photo is amazing and timeless,” PEFC CEO Ben Gunneberg said. “Harvesting wood with horses is becoming more common again, especially for small forest owners, bringing back an old tradition.”
Two photographers – Lukas Prins and Victor Rodriguez – shared what makes the photo so special from a photography point of view, and why the jury chose it as the winner.
“The use of black and white in this photo is admirable, because it removes distraction from anything, except the subject. The white background created by the snow brings the man, his horse and the log out towards the viewer,” said Lukas.
“The man’s look is focused on his horse. He seems ready to react and help his teammate at any moment,” added Victor. “I like the idea of collaboration between human and animal. We can feel the kindness in the man’s attitude.”
The ‘Experience Forests, Experience PEFC’ photo contest invited photographers and forest lovers from around the world to show their best forest photos.
National contests were run by PEFC members in 11 countries, and the photos entered show the beauty of forests worldwide. The winners of the national contests entered the international contest to compete for the ‘2021 PEFC Photographer of the Year’ Award.
