The Documentary Photography Awards (DPA) is organised by the Royal Photographic Society's Documentary Group. The RPS Documentary Group has run the awards (and formerly as the Documentary Photographer of the Year) for over ten years. This edition changes the focus to a broader celebration and recognition of documentary photography from around the world.
A range of awards were also made including mentoring, bursaries and membership of RPS and MPF. Mentors were photographers Liz Hingley, Mimi Mollica and Laura Pannack.
The next edition of the Documentary Photography Awards will launch in May 2025
The Documentary Photography Awards exhibition consists of three award categories, Open, Student and RPS Member. In total 9 projects are exhibited, with 3 projects from each category.
In total 235 projects, with over 3000 images were entered. The selections were made by an international panel of selectors, Alejandro Chaskielberg, photographer and curator, Liz Hingley photographer, curator and anthropologist, Roy Mehta Photographer and Lecturer, Rosy Santella picture editor, Internazionale, and Roger Tooth, former head of photography, The Guardian.
A range of awards were also made including mentoring, bursaries and membership of Royal Photographic Society and Martin Parr Foundation. Mentors were photographers Liz Hingley, Mimi Mollica and Laura Pannack.
The next edition of the Documentary Photography Awards will launch in May 2025
Thursday - Sunday | 10am - 5pm | Free admission
RPS Gallery is situated in the photography hub of Bristol alongside the Martin Parr Foundation.
In total 9 projects are exhibited, with 3 projects from each of a RPS Members, Students and Open categories. The work featured in the exhibition looks at war and conflict, migration, communities, health and personal stories.
Please see our guide on how to find us here
The RPS Documentary Group are hosting an exhibition opening evening for the Documentary Photography Awards at RPS Gallery Bristol.
The event will include speakers and drinks available. To attend the event please book tickets in advance.
Documentary is about developing a narrative or story using images.
Our Documentary Group members have a common interest in documentary, urban and street, photography. The group offers a lively events programme, a regular e-journal and the opportunity to participate in other photographic initiatives.
The Decisive Moment is a quarterly journal that showcases the work of the Documentary Group members, shares insights and reviews about exhibitions related to the field of documentary photography and contains articles and interviews with prominent members of the photographic community.
Find out more about our Digital Magazine 'The Decisive Moment'
Alisa Martynova is a photographer and artist based in Italy.
Winner of Canon Young Photographers, World Press Photo Portrait Series and LensCulture Emerging Talent awards, finalist of Aftermath grant, nominated for Leica Oskar Barnack Award, exhibited in Cortona on the Move, La Gacilly, Encontros da Imagem, Planches Contact festivals. She worked as an artist-in-residency for Tremplins Jeunes Talents, Villa Perochon and Culture Moves Europe with Hangar photo centre.
Refusing a direct approach to telling the story, she uses photography as a tool for translating reality into the language of symbols, that are extracted from existent stories, bridging the space between the viewer and the story.
is a retired children’s social work director currently engaged in Doctoral Research at Northumbria University.
Morgan is one of a handful of Photographers to have been awarded Fellowships with both the Royal Photographic Society and British Institute of Professional Photography.
'No Safety Net' is part of Brian’s forthcoming book and follows his personal journey through the trauma of losing his identical twin brother, his own diagnosis of a life changing illness and the role played in his attempted recovery by unlikely befrienders, a small Travelling Circus with whom he subsequently journeyed.
Morgan’s creative vision - tied to his experience of emotional trauma and physical disability is forged in the belief:
'All of our lives are diminished by lack of inclusion; and in the power
of Art to bridge the gap between having and not having, between
knowing and not knowing.'
Byron Smith (b. 1986, USA) is an internationally recognized award-winning photographer whose work aims to capture the raw essence of conflict and migration, hoping to show these stories' echoing impact on the world. Smith has covered stories from conflict zones, including Iraq, Sudan, and Ukraine, to the shifting political landscapes of Northern Ireland, Kazakhstan, and at home in the United States.
Smith’s work has been exhibited in major cities in the US, such as New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, and it extends internationally to the UK, Germany, Italy, Greece, Hungary, and Finland. His work is widely published in The New York Times and for CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Getty Images, Le Monde, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, and VICE Magazine.
Smith is currently a part of the VII Mentorship Program’s 2023-’24 cohort.
Gerard is an award-winning documentary photographer, based in Paris, France.
A German native, born 1956 in Ulm, he studied photography at Kunsthochschule Kassel 1984 - 1987 and completed his studies with a BFA at College of higher education in Dortmund. He received the prestigious Otto Steinert Award 1991 for his work on Albania.
Saitner has worked for magazines and newspapers and published books on Guatemala, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. His work has been exhibited in Germany, Belgium, China, Greece, Japan, UK, USA.
Saitner has always been appreciated for his sensitive approach to his subject matter.
Since several years he is working on the project " How you look at things ".
Saitner is also a collector of art and photography.
Julián Cabral (b. 2004, Argentina) is a documentary and press photographer based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Cabral focuses on long-term personal projects that attempt to explore the relationship between human beings and their environment. Cabral seeks to use photography as a tool for social transformation.
In his latest project “Lito”, Cabral documented the last year of his schizophrenic uncle’s life. Cabral’s work has received recognitions and Scholarships, such as the highly praised Ian Parry scholarship (2022) or first prize in student category at the Documentary Photography Awards (2023). He was nominated for the Leica Oskar Barnack Awards (2023).
Michael Knapstein is a fine-art and documentary photographer who has earned international recognition for his insightful and nuanced visual exploration of the American Midwest.
Knapstein lives in Middleton, Wisconsin with his artist wife, Annette. In addition to the RPS, Knapstein work has earned hundreds of national and international awards from some of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions.
He has been named International Photographer of the Year by the Prix de la Photographie Paris, the Barcelona Foto Biennale, the Pollux Awards and the Moscow International Foto Awards. To date, his photographs have been exhibited in 22 countries on five continents.
knapsteinphotography.com
@mknapstein
Ruth Toda-Nation’s photographic practice is informed by a nomadic childhood bridging two cultures, Japan and Britain.
Toda-Nation began photographing in Liverpool in the 1980s and later in rural northern Japan. Her intimate approach flows from a deep emotional connection with the people she photographs and interweaves themes navigating family dynamics and community bonds while reflecting on ageing, loneliness, transience, and departure. Ruth brings a unique perspective to her photography combining images with words drawn from interviews and conversations in order to give voice to people and communities.
Toda-Nation’s book ‘Our Lockdown Garden’, was published by The Mindful Editions in 2022.
Sefa Eyol (b.1995, Mersin, Turkey) is a freelance documentary photographer, based in Istanbul, Turkey.
Eyol work focuses on long-term photo essays, deals with social issues and geographical, physical and spiritual isolation issues – he is interested in human beings’ relationship to themselves and the environment.
Eyol is currently studying Photojournalism at Danish School of Media and Journalism, and he holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance.
Since April 2022, Eyol has been documenting ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Tamsyn Warde has a degree in psychology and a background in Adolescent Mental Health Nursing.
Warde began photographing street scenes in her community in 2019 and became interested in environmental portraiture. Her recent photographic projects centre on the experiences of youth in the UK. She has recently graduated from Falmouth University with a master’s degree in photography with a distinction.
Warde’s past successes include Portrait of Humanity Winner 2022, Portrait of Britain Winner 2022 and winner in the Royal Photographic Society’s 2023 Documentary Awards. Warde’s most recent project On These Magic Shores is currently touring with the RPS and is featured in The Guardian
