I am a street photographer from Vilnius, Lithuania. My main profession is software engineering, but photography has been my hobby for a long time as I love documenting our vacations, but most of the time my camera was gathering dust. Then in 2018, I realized that many of my vacation photos were about people and their everyday life - that’s how I found my passion for street photography. Since then I switched to a more lightweight camera and now I have it with me all the time. I try not to restrict myself when on the streets and shoot everything that catches my eye: reflections, shadows, silhouettes, portraits, etc. But I prefer to isolate my subjects as well as blend in, doing only unobtrusive and candid photography which makes every shot as natural as possible. Also, the majority of my photos are in black & white as I think that colours are unnecessary for what I want to say with each of my shots. Most of my inspiration comes from foreign photographers because street photography is not very popular in Lithuania, but if I had to pick one famous Lithuanian photographer, it would be Antanas Sutkus. All in all, wandering the streets with a camera is like a meditation for me that is why I love doing it alone.

About the series (“My Mind - My Company”)

When I saw this year’s theme for ProgresFestival it came to me naturally that I should submit some of my photos. I like to isolate people in my shots who are lost in their minds and surrounded by urban spaces. I do not necessarily think that they are lonely, but prefer the company of their own mind as a short break from a busy and noisy everyday life. This is why my submitted series is called “My Mind - My Company”.

All of the shots are taken in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Mindaugas Vasiliauskas winner of Series Street category

I’m Frans Kemper. A retired corporate gypsy and a professional stranger. Born and raised in lovely Amsterdam and spent almost 3 decades racking up air- miles and living in different parts of the world. After 7 years in The Netherlands Antilles, 10 years USA and 18 years in Brazil, I settled for a short stop in Jamaica. Now I am in Egypt… My dad photographed the family with an Agfa box, that’s where I got the fever... He let me use it and I was sold. But boy oh boy, it was an undertaking at that time. My first owned camera was an Olympus Pen EEE with a retractable lens, followed by a .... and then the legendary Nikon EL2. A long time later the Nikon F4S and too many lenses and other useless stuff... I slowly jumped into the digital age, still paying the chiropractor bills from dragging the useless stuff and glass I “knew” I needed in order to make a decent image. Until one day it hit me. (I’ll spare you the why’s, what’s, who’s and where’s) I went on a multi-city trip with my camera and 50mm lens ONLY! Freedom at last. Gosh, what great fun that was. Amazing feeling. But 50mm was a bit too narrow for my crazy mind, so with a stop at 35mm, I settled for 28mm. My eyes think, not my brain. My hands react and make the image, not my camera. The flow of life is for me the essence of so-called street photography. It comes to us in every aspect of life, filled with emotions, every day and anywhere. I can only do it alone, undisturbed. Not bothered by any company, how lovely it may be. It’s me and me alone. Does that sound egoistic? Maybe so, but that’s how it works for me. It’s emotional for me, as is the flow of life.

About the series (Solitude Mind)

What’s going on in your mind? I’ve heard that question countless times in my life. Parents, siblings, friends, family, colleagues, employers, partners, children, you name it and finally myself. The answer? “I have no idea”. Honestly? I never did and still don’t care. That’s probably why I never ended up on the psychologist’s couch. Nevertheless, still an interesting subject for philosophers like my dad or my youngest son. So I decided to bring some clarity to the issue and attempted to express it in an exclusive limited series of seven heads. Limited to seven, because there are seven holes in your head. Also, the seventh day is the day of rest, and I really do love that day. There are seven heavens in Judaism. And so on. It’s a magic number... So I brought images of seven sculptured heads to life, each with their own thing. I am sure that this answers this eternal question…. What the heck is going on in my mind… Enjoy…

Frans Kemper winner of Artistic Project category 2022

I was born in 1960 in Jerusalem; I’m married + 2, and residing in Tel – Aviv, Israel.
Street Photography attracts me especially for its vividness; the people,
the dynamics, the activities, the esthetics, the connections and the sensitivities. I constantly watch – creating scenes in my imagination and waiting for the characters to appear, realizing what is happening at the same time, from different angles and always searching. Street Photography is not just about catching a random act; that is documentary photography. Street Photography is about searching for that “something” new, something extra that touches your heart. It requires patience, observation and discipline. Choosing the frame and composition is the actual processing work in Street Photography. This is the foundation of the picture.
I try to catch a multi-layered moment of characters and objects, with the hope of creating a new and refreshing view, while observing the “hidden” details and the complexity all at once; facial expressions, gestures, looks, body postures, relations and composition, from different photographic angles that offer a new vision. A photo is created from new ideas, interpretations and feelings that come together in a crucial moment. To achieve such photos you need spatial perception, thinking, planning, practising and a lot of intuition.

About the photo ( My Solitude)

On the edge of a slum in Cuba, there is a small house where 3 generations live; While the mother was feeding the baby, the grandmother stood and looked out the window; A toy doll is placed on the chair next to her, and to me, the whole picture deals with the past versus the future, despair versus hope.

Orna Naor winner of Black and White category 2022