Last night (27th April 2010) saw the second annual Sony World Photography awards ceremony held at the Palais des Festivals in
As with most photography awards the bias in style tends to lean toward the documentary end of the spectrum and we've pulled out a few of the stand-out category winners (below) for your delectation but we noticed an obvious gap in the fashion shortlist which included the work of just 4 photographers (in comparison to10 or more in each of the others) so there is clearly some potential for next year.
The prestigious L'Iris d'Or Photographer of the Year award went to Tommaso Ausili (below). The Italian photographer’s evocative series of photographs in the Cotemporary Issues category. entitled "The Hidden Death", is an insightful depiction of an assembly line at an abattoir handled with less implied judgement than usual. Ausili was awarded a $25,000 cash prize plus Sony camera equipment and he joins previous L'Iris d'Or winners David Zimmerman and Vanessa Winship as a member of the
Top image, Arts & Entertainment winner - Paolo Pellegrin, Italy
All images © Photographer and Courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2010
Beyonce To Take A Break From Music In 2010#
All The Single Ladies Now Unsure What To Do. Is there a bun in the oven for 2010?
In devastating news for pop music in the new year, Beyonce Knowles told USA Today that she'll be taking a break from music in 2010 "to take a break, to recharge [her] batteries." She claims that she won't step a foot inside a music studio for at least six months in an attempt "to be inspired by things again."
But after the Grammy's Knowles intends to relax, "I wrote out a contract with myself. I made a list of everything I want to do that has nothing to do with music... I promised myself that I would not go back on tour or in the studio until I finished these things." With Knowles out of the picture, Lady Gaga's intricate plot for global domination has come one step closer to fruition. [MTV]
Follow Bwalya on her blog - she believes this is the year for a new addition to the BeyJay Knowles-Carter family. Do we hear the pitter-patter of tiny footsteps B? Well, one B seems to think so. Watch this space. Remember where you heard it first.
Tony Blair For Louis Vuitton?#
In the middle of campaign season, is it possible that Tony Blair is set to follow in Madonna's footsteps as the face of the luxury label?
In fact he is set to undertake a role more suited to his skills and experience - as an advisor at the luxury conglomerate owned by his friend Bernard Arnault; LVMH.The former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair may be making his foray into fashion with a consultant job at Louis Vuitton
"There is an agreement in principle but nothing has been signed yet," a source close to Blair told the Daily Telegraph. "Mr Blair won't be joining the board but he will be acting in an advisory role, working very closely with Mr Arnault. In particular, his job is likely to involve attracting new clients."
Sir Philip Green suggested a role within his Fashion Retail Academy with Blair whilst he was Prime Minister in 2006 and Blair joked at the time, "You would have to start me right at the bottom. I am not known for my fashion sense. When I wore a particular brand of swimming trunks one year, the sales then collapsed."
Blair has previously consulted for JP Morgan Chase and Zurich Financial. And he's not the first British leader to make waves in the fashion community. Get to know London Mayor Boris Johnson, an unlikely friend of fashion, and, at the other end of the style spectrum, current Prime Minister Gordon Brown, GQ's worst-dressed man.
Blair is expected to start at LVMH later this year.
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