TEHRAN – Iranian photographers Amin Mahdavi and Mehrzad Maqsudian have won top prizes of the 1st Somoni International Exhibition of Photography in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The exhibition, which announced its winners on Sunday, was organized under the auspices of the Photographic Society of America (PSA) and Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique (FIAP).

Mahdavi was awarded the FIAP Gold Medal for his photo “Bold” depicting a boy who is carrying a kid on his shoulders in a northern Iranian rural region.

Earlier in 2018, the photo won the FIAP Gold Medal in the Open – Monochrome category at the 2nd Danube Digital Circuit in Belarus.

It also received the PSA Gold Medal in the Open Monochrome category at the MNE PBK CIRCUIT 2018 in Macedonia.

Maqsudian was presented a FIAP Ribbon for “The Boy” that is a portrait of a boy gazing at the camera.

Iranian photographers Amir-Hossein Honarvar, Mahmud Kameli, Amir-Ali Navadeshahla, Seyyed Mohammad-Javad Sadri and Mehdi Zabolabbasi also received honorable mentions.

The PSA Gold Medal went to Jo Kelly from England for the photo “Headshot”, while Daniel Lybaert from the Netherlands won a FIAP Ribbon for “Treinmachinist”.

Italian photographer Adriano Favero was honored with FPC Bronze Medal for his photo “The Brothers”.

A jury composed of Yulia Artemyeva, Djordje Vukicevic and Viktor Kanunnikov judged a large number of submissions from across the world to select the winners.

Photo: “Bold” by Iranian photographer Amin Mahdavi won the FIAP Gold Medal at the 1st Somoni International Exhibition of Photography in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

MMS/YAW