2025 Photographer of the Year-Portraits
I am honored to have been awarded 2025 Photographer of the Year – Portrait, by the prestigious reFocus Awards.
Abandoned Past
This portrait of Selien and Max Stodel was created for Verlaten Verleden (Abandoned Past) — a Dutch book documenting the lives of Jewish Holocaust survivors and Dutch Indo survivors of Japanese internment camps who later emigrated to the United States. Photographed in Culver City, California, where they had been married for more than 45 years, Selien survived 2.5 years in Auschwitz, while Max endured multiple concentration camps, ultimately ending up in Blechhammer, Germany.
The reFocus World Photo Annual received thousands of submissions from photographers across 102 countries, making this recognition deeply meaningful and humbling. My sincere thanks to the judges, and, more importantly, to the survivors and their families who welcomed me into their homes and trusted me with their stories.
Seeing Forward
HONORABLE MENTION - PEOPLE
NOMINEE - PHOTOJOURNALISM
Documenting Aravind Eye Hospital's revolutionary model of affordable eye care in Madurai, India. Where routine treatments like cataract surgery mean the difference between independence and blindness, this work captures both the clinical precision and profound human impact of accessible healthcare.
Visit this page at the reFocus Awards to see the entire series.
Ice Cream Truck
HONORABLE MENTION - PEOPLE
An ice cream truck from another generation attracts the neighborhood kids. A timeless summer ritual that reminds me of my childhood many years ago.
The reFocus World Photo Annual received thousands of submissions from photographers across 102 countries, making this recognition deeply meaningful and humbling.