Azizullah, a 17-year-old Taliban fighter, poses for a portrait on October 9, 2021 in Badghis, Afghanistan. The Taliban have formed a new government in Afghanistan after the United States completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan on 30 August 2021, marking the end of the 20 year War in Afghanistan.

Finalist

Majid Saeedi
Independent
Iran

Majid Saeedi is an Iranian documentary photographer. He has photographed Middle East with a focus on the humanitarian aspect for the past two decades. Majid also takes a special interest in telling the untold stories of social issues and social injustice through his photos. Majid was born and raised in Tehran. He started photography at the age of sixteen and when he turned eighteen, he went to Iran Iraq border to take photos of the refugees. Majid is currently collaborating with Getty Images, covering Afghanistan and Iran photo reportages. He has managed photography department of various news agencies in Iran and led numerous key projects for over 15 years. One of Majid’s interests is to do street photography and portray citizens’ ordinary lives. When Majid is not working, he likes to teach photography to students and mentor young photographers. Majid has won numerous prominent and prestigious photography awards from around the world. He has received the title of “The Best Photographer of Iran” eight times. His photos has been published in international presses such as Times, Spiegel, Life, New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, Time Magazine and various Middle Eastern publications and online agencies. Majid has traveled to many countries in the Middle East and photographed the injustice as well as the atrocities. His recent photo story displayed the images of the Afghan people whose lives have been affected by several decades of war in Afghanistan.

[ PORTRAITS ] A single photograph of a person or group of people that increases the understanding and appreciation of the subject(s). Selfies or self-portraits are acceptable. Each participant is allowed to enter up to 10 images. The images must be taken in 2021.

Judges for Portraits
Anush Babajanyan
Liang-Pin Tsao
Nyimas Laula
Samuel He
Jean Chung