Many Unique Faces: The Gold Winners of Photography Annual 2021

With our Photography 2022 Annual competition now open, it’s time to take a look back at some of our Gold-winning submissions from last year’s competition. The USA’s Michael Schoenfeld and Todd Wright of Todd Wright Photography both submitted an array of fabulous portraits, and each one gives the spotlight to someone who isn’t always highlighted in mainstream media.

The first featured submission is a self-initiated photograph titled “Colin and the Motorcycle” by Schoenfeld (above). According to Schoenfeld, this piece’s assignment “[is a] former motorcycle racer the day he sold his most prized ride in July 2020.” This piece earned a Gold award in the 2021 Photography Annual.

Schoenfeld continues to showcase unique subjects in his photograph “New Orleans Street Clown, 2020” (above, left). Like “Colin and the Motorcycle,” this piece was also self-initiated by Schoenfeld, and upon submitting this to the 2021 Photography Annual, he earned himself another Gold award.

Wright seems to share a similar affinity for portraits as Schoenfeld, which is shown through his self-initiated submission “Charles City Dirt Riders 001” (above, right). This piece was a personal project shot for his portfolio during the pandemic. About his approach, Wright said, “I was trying to find outlets for my creativity that were still safe given everything that was going on. I followed several riders at a dirt bike track in Virginia to document their day.” Wright submitted “Charles City Dirt Riders 001” to Graphis’s 2021 Photography Annual and earned a Gold award.

To view more award-winning 2021 Photography Annual submissions, visit graphis.com, and don’t forget to submit your photographs to our Photography 2022 Annual competition.