The Department of Anthropology holds an annual photography contest for Washington University in St. Louis undergraduates and the Anthropology graduate students.
Photo submissions that speak to anthropological concerns, such as culture, human history, ritual, place and landscape, and the diversity of human society and experience are encouraged. A small committee of judges within the university decide on winners for both categories, recognizing winners in the undergraduate and graduate categories. The winners from both categories are listed below.
Undergraduate Winners
First Place: Peter Schneider
The balance between traditional and western values is an ongoing clash in South Africa, especially in the rural areas. Many couples decide to have two weddings, a Christian "white wedding" and a traditional Zulu wedding, to match their duality of beliefs and values. Here, at the Zulu wedding, the groom and his groomsmen, dressed in traditional attire, partake in the celebration with song and dance. Nzinga, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 2016
Second Place: Eliza Farran
Overlooking the farmland of Cappadocia, and other hot air balloons floating at dawn.
Cappadocia, Turkey, 2016
Third Place: Evelyn ShenOur study abroad program spent two nights in a cabin at Cobham in order to experience the natural beauty of the Drakensburg Mountains. This swinging wooden bridge forded a stream, and it was the first time I have ever drank water directly from a sream. In the distance, you can see some of the foothills, which we eventually hiked up. Funnily enough, we had to climb the hills in order to get cell signal.
Graduate Winners
First Place: Aaron Hames
Fire-walking Festival (火渡り祭) Every year Yakushi’in Temple on Mount Takao holds a fire-walking festival. People, mostly elderly, gather for the ritual. Frequently participating in groups, they offer prayers, plunge bare feet into heaping piles of cold salt, and scamper across coals. Health and household peace are common prayers. The photograph shows mountain ascetics (山伏) glimpsed through flame and shimmering heat as they burn fresh branches to make a glowing bed of embers. Mount Takao, Tokyo, 2016
Second Place: Zhen Qin
Standing on the present landsurface and Looking down at a 10m deep test pit. Workmen manipulate ladders to clean the profiles. Sanyangzhuang site, Henan. China. 2016
Third Place: Dick Powis
