Hometown
The place where you live or where you grew up.
What is Hometown
The theme for the Fotoura International Street Photography Awards 2013 is HOMETOWN. Inspired by many of the great photographers of the last century, we are looking for work made in your very own street, neighbourhood, town or even backyard.
“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” Elliott Erwitt
It is often easy to find photographic inspiration in a new, exotic or foreign place. What is more challenging, but often more fruitful, however, is to look around you and try to capture the beauty in your everyday life. Where you live, where you work, the routes you take each day, your neighbours and fellow residents.
We would like to challenge you to alter the way in which you view your surroundings. The point is not to capture the things that are obvious or clichéd markers of a particular place, or even necessarily to capture those subjects that define a place to you personally; rather, we hope you will take this opportunity to find new ways of looking at familiar things, and to show how the camera has facilitated your engagement with these subjects.
Your hometown does not need to be the place you come from or where you grew up. What we are looking for is photography taken in the place you were living during the period you took the pictures you are submitting. We want to discover how living in a place affects the way it is perceived and experienced. In doing this, we hope to build a vast archive of extraordinary moments spotted in people's daily lives, all over the world.
Practical advice
Carry your camera wherever you go. Imagine you are a tourist in your own town.
Take a different route to work and see what you discover.
Look for places that are good for people watching, set up camp and wait for the theatre of life to unfold!
FAQ's
Q. Do I have to take photos in the place I was born?
No. We are looking for work taken in the place which you call home. This may be where you live currently, where you spend most of your time or where your family lives.
Q. Do I need to be living there now?
Not necessarily. But you should have been living there or spending a lot of time there at the time when your photos were taken.
Q. What if I live between two places?
Lucky you! You can photograph both places if you wish.
Q. Can I submit my holiday photos?
No, we are looking specifically for work which exposes the extra-ordinary in the ordinary, and illustrates normal, daily life of people all over the world. Be inspired by the world around you and show us your hometown!
