AoP 39th Open Awards-Gold Medal Winner 2024

The 39th AoP awards in Shoreditch, London.

To misquote and misappropriate George Orwell ‘All competitions are equal but some are more equal than others’

For my entire career I have coveted an Association of Photographers (AoP) award.

What is the AoP? to quote the associations website The AOP is a UK based Membership Organisation that promotes, and protects the rights of photographers, a trade association for British & European professional photographers predominantly, but also has members based globally.

To be recognised by one’s peers is quite something.

From the moment I walked through the door I was greeted by many friendly faces from the past, and that for me was enough on many levels, to be honest I did not expect to win, but I did.

How did it make me feel? Well, I will let you be the judge of that from this image shot soon after being presented the award (which I am holding upside down, I could retouch it but have chosen not to, as it is an indicator of the sheer joy I felt in the moment)

The (slightly) more restrained official image with myself and Hamish Brooks of the AOP

As Rick Rubin said

‘As artists, we seek to restore our childlike perception: a more innocent state of wonder and appreciation not tethered to utility or survival’

To be clear though, I did not win.

It was the story of the often overlooked descendants of Black American Civil War combatants who won, I was ‘just’ the person who helped bring their story to greater prominence and I am honoured that they placed their trust in me to travel on this road.

Where will it take us next?

I have simply no idea.