With all the tragedy that seems to be surrounding us at the moment, we are really chuffed to be announcing the winner of the ‘Love In London’ charity photo competition. This year has been a huge success with 200k+ people supporting the competition, and thousands of entries coming in and raising £5k for their charity partner, Relate, as well.
A public vote saw the below winner of two woman with ‘Proposal at London Pride 2020’, which is amazing! After last year´s winner of two men on a couch (See BBC coverage here), it shows that London really does love and embrace the LGBTQ+ community!
Overall Winner and Love Your Partner Winner:
Jamie Thistlethwaite – Proposal at London Pride 2019
Jamie Thistlethwaite, London born and bred photographer and videographer from Chingford, Waltham Forest. Runs his own photography company – DoodleBug Images – named after a short film by his favourite director Christopher Nolan.
“I wanted to be involved in Love In London because the idea of a competition showcasing all the forms of love around the city meant the world to me, especially in the current situation of the pandemic.
My image summed up everything I love about photographing Prides; it’s everyone coming together & forgetting about our differences to show & spread love. I feel that the image has an even stronger message now that unfortunately most Prides have been postponed. I hope that my image stands as a beacon of hope to everyone in our LGBTQ+ community & our allies that the day will come when we will be able to celebrate & show our love together again.”
2nd place and Love London Winner:
Agatha Skoljar – Carni Lovers
Agatha Skoljar, Ukranian born and now lives in Berlin after moving to London at 18 to follow her passion for dance moved back to Berlin because of fearing what Brexit would mean for her rights as a citizen in the UK.
“I fell in love with analogue photography more than anything and have been building a career out of it. I always return to London at least twice a year as I see it as my second home and miss it too much after not having been there for a while. London is diverse like no other place I have been to, culturally and artistically and that’s what makes it so special and inspiring to me. Carnival is one of these special community events which I made sure to be at every year since I first came to London. I hope I can come back soon.“
3rd place and Love Your Animals Winner:
Kevin Lake – Love Across the Aisle
Kevin Lake, reportage and portrait photographer from Putney has lived in London for over ten years now. He works freelance as a photographer mostly for Jack Agency (the people behind the Be Kind and the Please Believe These Days Will Pass campaigns you’ve seen around during the lockdown) shooting their street and promo campaigns.
“People sometimes say London isn’t a friendly place but speaking from experience, there isn’t a borough I’ve been where a smile and a hello doesn’t get much more back.
The dogs in my Love Across the Aisle image grabbed me because they were obviously far apart in age, size and appearance but were totally in love and just wanted to be near each other. For me seeing two individuals, worlds apart in so many ways except both are crammed on the good old London tube hitting it off completely is precisely what’s great about London… and love.”
4th place and Love Your Friends Winner:
Danny Jackson – People of Pride
Danny Jackson, Essex based street photographer.
“I love capturing those moments in life that we all experience but perhaps never get the chance to pause and reflect on. I entered the ‘Love in London’ competition as I love London and liked the concept of capturing small moments of what it is to be human against the vibrant and vast canvas of the London backdrop.
The photo ‘People of Pride’ was taken whilst walking along the Southbank on the day of Pride. I saw this group approaching and asked to take their picture. I was trying to capture the drama, camaraderie and joie de vivre that characterised the mood of the event and which expresses at its core the importance of love.”
If you are one of the four guys in the above photo, head over to Facebook and tag yourselves, as the photographer would like to say, ´Hi!´ UPDATE: They’ve been found, and it took all of ten minutes! LOL. BIG KISS FOR YOU ALL X
5th place and Love What You Do Winner:
Sara Di Patrizi – London made me fall in love with photography
Sara Di Patrizi, now Hackney based for a year after living in 5 different countries is a big fan of Virginia Woolf, specifically this quote: “The streets of London have their map, but our passions are uncharted. What are you going to meet if you turn this corner?” Virginia Woolf. Found her passion for photography after buying a camera on a whim and walking 8 hours between Soho and London Bridge and discovered her passion for street photography.
“After one year here, “Love in London 2020” is a way to express my gratitude to this city and its people. The values it promotes – love, unity, diversity – are never shared and celebrated enough.
My photo “London made me fall in love with photography” refers to what I love doing the most here and it was taken on the day I realised that, if it wasn’t for London, I probably would never have felt brave enough to pursue my dream of becoming a photographer.
Because what I do with a camera makes me feel free, as the boy lightheartedly running at Tate Modern.”
6th place and Love Your Community:
Sara Jane Liebenberg – Simple Joys
Sara Jane Liebenberg, South African born East London resident.
“I was inspired to get involved with Love In London 2020 because of my love for photography and after seeing last years amazing entries I wanted to share a photo from one of my adventures around London. I wanted to share a photo that brought me some happiness and to show that even something as simple as a bubble can bring someone so much joy.
Simple Joys- Remember to enjoy the little things life has to offer.”
Winner of Love In London Videos:
Pavan Guliani – Welcome to London
Pavan Guliani, a proud Londoner for nearly 9 years was working in hospitality before being inspired to move into Videographer by the constant visual opportunities London has to offer.
“I wanted to be involved in Love in London as London is the city where I discovered the two loves of my life, my job and my fiancé so its fair to say that I love this city.
My video “welcome to London” was to try and give a sense of how a typical day in London looks when wondering this amazing city. From the hustle and bustle of the morning commute to the underground layers of graffiti artists and skateboarders as well vibrant atmosphere created by street performers and outdoor markets.”
