On May 30, FotoFabrika’s Fotomarathon will once again turn Sofia into a terrain for photography, improvisation, and quick decisions. The event begins at 10:00 AM at Kino Kabana, where participants will receive their competition numbers and discover the theme of this year’s edition before heading out into the city in search of their one decisive image.
FotoFabrika’s Fotomarathon follows a simple rule: within a single day, participants must capture one photograph inspired by the assigned theme – without time for lengthy planning and without endless retakes. The format challenges photographers to react instinctively, think visually, and sharpen their awareness so they do not miss the right moment.
This year’s jury president is Alex Majoli, one of the most recognizable contemporary photographers in the world and a member of Magnum Photos. Majoli is known for his theatrical visual language, his use of light and composition, and his photographs from conflict zones, political crises, and everyday situations transformed into almost cinematic images. His presence in Sofia turns this year’s Fotomarathon into a rare opportunity for participants to present their work to an author with global significance for contemporary documentary photography.
The jury will award a prize fund of €1000, provided by the competition’s partners, the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation, whose support makes the second consecutive edition of the Fotomarathon possible. One participant will also receive a €200 photography equipment voucher from Ozone Pro.
To take part in the competition, participants must register in advance through the application form and read the rules here.
As in previous editions, both professional photographers and amateurs are welcome to participate in the Fotomarathon. Participants may shoot with either a camera or a phone, while the most important elements remain not the equipment or post-processing, but the eye, the reaction, and the ability to tell a story in a single frame.
The Fotomaraton is a photographic competition where participants must produce a photograph on predefine topic in a given period of time. This challenge is organised in a day and in some formats there is more than one topic. There are over 80 such events around the world and the concept of Photomarathon began in Madrid in 1986.
As of 2016 Bulgaria entered the international calendar of photomarathons in the world.As elsewhere in the world, the pictures must be taken within the day of the event. The jury will evaluate anonymously the photographs taking into account the shooting technique and the creativity in interpreting the topic.
Photomarathon
