WINNERS

Winter Ends, Spring Begins

  • Photographer
    Ge Jing, China
  • Prize
    Bronze Winner in Nature/Animal

This series, shot in Beijing’s Yuanmingyuan, documents wild black swans surviving winter in a semi-natural habitat. They face harsh cold and food scarcity, with some lost each year and new life returning in spring. I used Polaroid instant film to capture fleeting vitality, using double exposure to express their movement and life cycle. The flowing light in the images feels like a trace of body warmth beneath the winter sun. Some frames resemble family portraits, revealing warmth and survival. Between black and white and color, I aim to show an undisturbed, fragile, dignified force of life.