2017 Head On winner puts human face to refugee crisis

11 May 2017

A photograph of a 16-year-old Malian refugee, rescued from the Mediterranean in 2016, has won the 2017 Head On Portrait Prize. Amadou Sumalia posed for Spanish photojournalist Cesar Dezfuli shortly after boat in which he was travelling with 117 other refugees was rescued 40km off the coast of Libya.

In an effort to "put name and face" to the thousands of refugees who were risking and often losing their lives on the treacherous journey to Europe, Dezfuli shot portraits of all 118 occupants of the boat, minutes after their rescue.

HEAD ON PORTRAIT PRIZE
First place: 'Passenger' by Cesar Dezfuli.
Mediterranean Sea, 1 August 2016. Amadou Sumaila (16), from Mali, poses for a portrait after being rescued on the Mediterranean Sea, 40km off the Libyan coast, by a rescue vessel provided by the NGO Jugend Rettet. The rubber boat in which he travelled carried 118 people on board, who were transferred by the Italian Coast Guard to Lampedusa. — HEAD ON PORTRAIT PRIZE First place: 'Passenger' by Cesar Dezfuli. Mediterranean Sea, 1 August 2016. Amadou Sumaila (16), from Mali, poses for a portrait after being rescued on the Mediterranean Sea, 40km off the Libyan coast, by a rescue vessel provided by the NGO Jugend Rettet. The rubber boat in which he travelled carried 118 people on board, who were transferred by the Italian Coast Guard to Lampedusa.

"Their faces, their looks, the marks on their body, their clothes or absence of it... reflect the mood and physical state in which they are in a moment that has already marked their lives forever. Documenting it can serve to bring this migration reality closer to those who only observe it from a distance," Dezfuli wrote on his website.

The image by Spanish photojournalist Cesar Dezfuli was taken shortly after a rubber boat with 118 people on board was rescued in the Mediterranean Sea 40km off the coast of Libya.

HEAD ON LANDSCAPE PRIZE
First place: 'Lit from above' by Todd Kennedy.
This image of a rock formation at Lake Mungo is actually a colour image and not a B&W conversion. This is the natural colour of the rocks when lit by pure white LEDs from a drone. Some green can be made out on the small bushes to the right. — HEAD ON LANDSCAPE PRIZE First place: 'Lit from above' by Todd Kennedy. This image of a rock formation at Lake Mungo is actually a colour image and not a B&W conversion. This is the natural colour of the rocks when lit by pure white LEDs from a drone. Some green can be made out on the small bushes to the right.

The Head On Landscape Award was won by Sydney-based photographer Todd Kennedy. The image of a rock formation in Lake Mungo National Park, NSW, appears to have been shot in black-and-white but was actually photographed in colour.

"This image...is actually a colour image and not a B&W conversion," wrote Kennedy. "This is the natural colour of the rocks when lit by pure white LEDs from a drone. Some green can be made out on the small bushes to the right."

HEAD ON MOBILE PRIZE
First place: 'The Tempest' by Demetris Koilalous.
The sea passage between Greece and Turkey – usually referred to by migrants and refugees as the 'death passage' – during a tempest that caused a temporary halt in the arrival of dinghies from the Turkish coast. — HEAD ON MOBILE PRIZE First place: 'The Tempest' by Demetris Koilalous. The sea passage between Greece and Turkey – usually referred to by migrants and refugees as the 'death passage' – during a tempest that caused a temporary halt in the arrival of dinghies from the Turkish coast.

Demetris Koilalous won the Mobile Category with his photo of the sea crossing between Greece and Turkey, known by migrants and refugees as the 'death passage'.

In the Student Category, Sophie Smith took the major prize with an ethereal image of a lone dancer. "In 'Animated' I asked my friend to play some music and dance to her heart's content," wrote Smith. "The slow shutter speed caused her sequinned top to resemble sparks flying around her, representing energy and liveliness."

HEAD ON STUDENT PRIZE
First place: 'Animated' by Sophie Smith.
In 'Animated' I asked my friend to play some music and dance to her heart's content. The slow shutter speed caused her sequinned top to resemble sparks flying around her, representing energy and liveliness.

The full list of Head On winners and runners up follows.

Head On Portrait Prize 2017
First: 'Passenger' by Cesar Dezfuli
Second: 'Between Heaven and Hell' by Demitris Koilalous
Third: 'Lara Verheijdenon the table' by Jouk Oosterhof

Head On Landscape Prize 2017
First: 'Lit from above' by Todd Kennedy
Second: 'Glass Mountains' by Oded Bality
Third: 'Freedom' by Pamela Pauline

Head On Mobile Prize 2017
First: 'The Tempest' by Demitris Koilalous
Second: 'Emergency Call' by Deon Van Den Berg
Third: 'Quiet comes the night' by Nicola Bernardi

Head On Student Prize 2017
First: 'Animated' by Sophie Smith
Second: 'VIP' by Jack de Lacy
Third: 'Anxiety' by Kirsten Felice

Head On Landscape NSW Award 2017
Murwillumbah #1 2016' by George Byrne

Head On President's Prize 2017
'The Calling' by Paul Harmon

Head On Speaker's Prize 2017
'Boat Hire, Jindabyne, NSW' by Chris Round