Silafando - a gift to you on behalf of my journey
We’d like to pass on our congratulations to Jason Florio who has won yet another award for his fabulous imagery from The Gambia! This time he’s the overall winner in the ‘People Photographer of the Year‘ section of the International Photography Awards for a set of images he took whilst on his epic 700mile walk around The Gambia – carried out late last year with Helen Jones (and their awesome support team, of course!).
These particular images were taken as a kind of update of an ancient tradition, in which the traveller passes on a gift as a token of thanks for safe passage through a village or settlement. In this case the image seems to take on a double meaning – it is both a gift and a living record of an ancient transaction, and seems to stand as a perfect emblem for the 700miles project as a whole: it captures that simultaneous urge to pass through without leaving too heavy a footprint and yet document a culture that is slowly being eroded.
You can see more of Jason’s work on his website, and on the expedition Flickr page. And keep an eye out for the forthcoming 700miles book!
Related posts:
- Jason Florio’s Gambia photographs A new suite of photographs taken by Jason Florio on the 700 mile epic walk around The Gambia. Continue reading...
Such beautiful and moving work, you couldn’t have made a better choice. Jason is an inspired photographer, and Helen’s work is immeasurable. Congratulations!