Imagen de la plaza de toros de Pamplona desde el tendido obtenida con un objetivo angular que deja ver toda la plaza y todo el coso donde se preparan para las vaquillas. Realizada por Carlos Mediavilla

Carlos Mediavilla wins the Diario de Navarra and Santander Bank Photo Competition

According to the Diario de Navarra local newspaper, the snapshot entitled “Después del encierro” (After the Running of the Bulls) from Carlos Mediavilla was awarded the San Fermin 2015 Photo Competition, which is jointly organized by the Santander Bank and Diario de Navarra and chosen by a jury made up of professionals from the sectorSecond and third place went to Carlos De Cos and Ignacio Rubio respectively, from among the 900 initial entries which were scrutinized by the jury. There was a prize of 1000 euros for the winner with the runner-up getting 500 while third place received 300 euros.

For Sanfermin.com the fact that both Carlos Mediavilla and Ignacio Rubio were prize-winners was especially gratifying as these two photographers are habitual collaborators of Sanfermin.com each July during Sanfermin fiestas and we have first-hand knowledge of the professional and personal qualities of both men. Indeed, it is a source of satisfaction for us to find that now other media outlets and the followers of this laudable competition have also been able to appreciate and reward these qualities.

Carlos De Cos, runner-up in the Santander Bank and Diario de Navarra Sanfermin Photo Competition
Carlos De Cos, runner-up in the Santander Bank and Diario de Navarra Sanfermin Photo Competition

In addition, the excellent snapshots taken by Carlos De Cos have also been given recognition. De Cos was a habitual finalist of the Erotic Photo Competition jointly sponsored by Playboy and Sanfermin.com in the recent past. On this occasion he entered a low-angled snapshot, taken in the City Hall square of a red necktie floating in the air under a bright blue sky on the opening day of fiestas. That necktie/Opening Txupinazo day is a beautiful image, as can be appreciated here.

Carlos Mediavilla is from Urretxu and he is a skillful photographer who takes great care in framing and capturing each shot that he is about to catch with his camera. A photographer weaned in the classic tradition who is aware of how to get the maximum effect from the options now available from the new technologies. The winning snapshot shows an image of the bullring just after the morning Running of the Bulls. It was taken with a short zoom which allows him to encase the whole bullring including the arena and the stands. The light, the action and the composition all merit this award as the photo shows an image of Sanfermin and the bullring without any bulls in sight which makes the whole image quite captivating. We would recommend checking out more photos of Carlos Mediavilla at Sanfermin.com here such as some of his snapshots of the Sanfermin Txupinazo Opening Day2015 which are quite spectacular.

We might add that this photographer has great knowledge and experience of the Sanfermin fiestas and this is reflected in his work, both in the Running of the Bulls event as well as in the street party scenes.  In one interview which he made, Carlos Mediavilla came out with a telling phrase which defines him as a photographer in the classic mold: “I prefer to leave my house with my ideas clear in my head than trying to fix my photos with my computer”.

Image of Ignacio Rubio, awarded third place in the Diario de Navarra and Santander Bank Sanfermin Photography Competition
Image of Ignacio Rubio, awarded third place in the Diario de Navarra and Santander Bank Sanfermin Photography Competition

This is the image which won third prize for Ignacio Rubio in the photo competition. We have some inside knowledge of this particular photo as it was taken in the Pastelería Manterola Coffee Shop at no. 20, Zapatería Street when the photographers from Sanfermin.com were having some breakfast together. It shows that Rubio is the kind of photographer who has his breakfast with his camera working and at the ready, out of its case. And he was quick to adapt the shot to just the right lighting required at that moment. The kiliki figure was there for an instant and Ignacio Rubio did not waste the chance.

Ignacio Rubio is an excellent photographer of the Running of the Bulls and he has featured in more than one front page at Sanfermin.com where he has managed to come up with some perfect shots from some improbable and even impossible positions. In recent years he has become more and more interested in capturing street party scenes and the results are there to be admired. And to call one of his snapshots “Postureo cabecícola” also tells us something of the keen sense of humor of Ignacio Rubio.

The winner voted by the readers of Diario de Navarra newspaper and its web page diariodenavarra.es is Esther García with a snapshot of one of the Big Heads Figures as it frightens a baby girl, a scene which has been very familiar to many locals and Sanfermin fans all down the years. Just at the right moment, an attentive Esther García managed to catch the picture in all its splendor.

Congratulations to all the participants and especially to the winning entries.

Esther García Rodríguez, this image was voted by the readers of Diario de Navarra newspaper and its web page, diariodenavarra.es in the Santander Bank and Diario de Navarra Sanfermin Photo Competition
Esther García Rodríguez, this image was voted by the readers of Diario de Navarra newspaper and its web page, diariodenavarra.es in the Santander Bank and Diario de Navarra Sanfermin Photo Competition
Arkaitz Arana PHOTO. The prize-winners receiving their awards from representatives of The Diario de Navarra and Santander Bank at the bank’s headquarters in Navarra.
Arkaitz Arana PHOTO. The prize-winners receiving their awards from representatives of The Diario de Navarra and Santander Bank at the bank’s headquarters in Navarra.

The prize-winners receiving their awards from representatives of The Diario de Navarra and Santander Bank at the bank’s headquarters in Navarra.