E1/R1 Amateur Photo Award 2019/2020 presents winners

Kompetenzzentrum Wandern WALK announces winner of the Europe-wide photo competition for amateur photographers

With a four-month delay, the Kompetenzzentrum Wandern WALK, Detmold, Germany, announces the winners of this year's E1/R1 Amateur Photo Award. The overall winner, selected from the four category winners, is Stefano Lucchetti with his magnificent photograph "Castelluccio in the Clouds" of the Italian town of Castellucio in the Abruzzo region, which was completely destroyed in an earthquake 2016. The motif was previously selected as the winner of the "Culture and Landscape" category from ten nominated works and was able to prevail over the three other category winners in the final round: The Belgian Dhanvanth Raman won in the category "Man and Nature" with his work "Alone in Alps", the German Manuel Philips won in the category "Animals and Nature" with his photo "Herd of Reindeer", and Otello Gironacci from Italy won in the category "Heaven and Earth" with the b/w work "(On stage of) Pilato's Lake". Each category winner will receive a prize of 500 € and the overall winner will receive an additional prize of 3,000 €. With the publication of the winners, the next photo competition "E1/R1 Amateur Photo Award 2020/21" will start at the same time

Photo: The winning motif "Castelluccio in the clouds" by Stefano Lucchetti shows the Italian town of Castellucio in Abruzzo, which was completely destroyed in an earthquake 2016. (c) Stefano Lucchetti 

E1/R1 Amateur Photo Award in Corona times

Hans-Joachim Graef, licensor and organizer of the competition, regretted the delay of the competition under Corona: "Participants were able to submit their work until the end of March, and by then Corona had us under control. For a number of reasons, we were not able to get anywhere near the organization of the competition, including jury meetings and exhibition works, as we had imagined. Most reasons were due to the pandemic. Now I am glad that the winners have been determined. However, for the time being we have to say goodbye to one of the central achievements of the award, an exhibition of the winners and nominees. The pandemic also plays a decisive role here. Günter Weigel, managing director of WALK, points out that after the lockdown, many photographers from all 16 countries regretted not being able to submit more because they were stuck in the countries. District Administrator Dr. Axel Lehmann, however, sees the silver lining throughout these trying times: "With the photo competition, we still have a jewel in our hands in that photographers visualize and document sights worth seeing around the E1 and R1. What was already a strong trend before has been accelerated again by Corona. Hiking and cycling is only now being discovered by millions of people. In the middle of this boom, but also in the painful situations that many are experiencing or have experienced, we give a little joy and courage to live. The photographers have captured the natural beauty of Europe and we are happy to show it to our guests". And that's why he also calls for the next competition, which starts immediately. The submission period starts on September 1, 2020 and ends on January 31, 2021. More information can be found at www.e1r1-photoaward.eu.

More information about the international E1|R1 Photo Award, the categories and conditions of participation at www.e1r1-photoaward.eu

About the Lippe Tourismus and Marketing GmbH

The Lippe Tourism & Marketing GmbH (LTM GmbH) based in Detmold has the task of promoting and developing the Lippe region, called "Land of Hermann." This happens in the areas of tourism and location marketing through internal and external marketing. The LTM GmbH fulfills the task of supplying all Lippe towns and communities and, of course, also the local companies from retail, catering, and hotel business with inflow and purchasing power. The core tasks are market research & evaluation, service for guests & tourism partners, tourism marketing, press & public relations, product development, cooperation & networks as well as projects. In addition to its core tasks, LTM GmbH is also involved in supporting projects that make the region even more attractive.