Swedish favorites among Icelanders

25.02.06. One of the highlights of the year has finally arrived – the conclusion of the Nordic Photo Contest for Seafarers. With entries from all Nordic countries, the total came to an impressive 859 submissions from 143 participants.

As per tradition, five winners were to be chosen from the 15 entries selected by each country’s semi-final jury. This year, Iceland’s representative, Hilmar Snorrason, was in charge of organizing the event. The Nordic jury was composed of professional photographer Þórhallur Jónsson and Sigfús Ólafur Helgason, a former fisherman and photography enthusiast with a passion for Icelandic fishing vessel history.

The day before the big reveal, the jury got to see the 75 anonymized photos that needed judging. Þórhallur Jónsson describes the process as follows:

Birds-eye-view of a person swabbing the red deck — Jörgen Språng won the Nordic competition with this photo, titled "Above Conrado".

–I've been a judge in photo competitions before, so it was no problem, just a lot of fun. It was quite simple to pick out the photos that stood out to us. We just looked at the photos and went with the feelings they conveyed. We didn’t consider whether the same photographer took multiple pictures in the selection."

For this year's competition, the organizers decided that one person could only win a prize for one photo. The jury was instructed that if multiple photos from the same photographer had been selected, the second and any subsequent photos would be swapped with the strongest entries that received honorable mentions.

When the winners were announced, this time via video link, it became clear that the new rule didn't need to be applied to this year's selection. The competition's prize-winning entries came from familiar names, all of whom had previously been recognized in Nordic or national competitions. Additionally, five honorable mentions were awarded. Among the ten elevated entries, the distribution between Sweden and Norway was even, with Iceland claiming two spots. Topping the list were three Swedes, namely Jörgen Språng, Staffan Ahlstrand, and Daniel Möllerström, even though Möllerström works in and competes for Norway. Returnee Adam Andersson and first-time participant Simon Fredrin each received an honorable mention.

We, the organizers, thank all for their beautiful contributions and congratulate the winners. Your photos not only showcase stunning and incredible environments but also offer insights into what life at sea can look like. You enrich us. Keep it up!

TEXT: JIMMY ERIKSSON