Over the past couple of months, Alamy photographers were given the opportunity to enter a competition as part of a joint initiative with The Centre for Ageing Better, the UK-based independent charity pioneering ways to make ageing better a reality for everyone. Its key areas of work include challenging ageism and building a nationwide Age-friendly Movement, creating Age-friendly Employment and Age-friendly Homes. It is a charitable foundation funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and part of the Government’s What Works Network.
Together, we wanted to raise awareness of the negative depictions of ageing. We also wanted to get our contributors thinking about how they could show over-50s in a more positive manner — taking part in different activities in their daily lives, whilst avoiding the traditional stereotypes we normally see in commercial imagery.
Based on the work that The Centre for Ageing Better do in challenging ageism in general, we were excited to have their support and expertise by jointly running this competition. Along with their age-positive image library, we both recognise that all photo libraries, including Alamy, play a part in how people of different backgrounds may or may not be represented in terms of the content available to customers. We wanted to break the mould and think again about how we offer customers inclusive and diverse imagery in our collections with people across all ages and backgrounds.
Winning entries
We really enjoyed seeing the entries and just how diverse our community of photographers are, with images coming in from several different countries. Our contributors were asked to think about how they might represent the 50+ age group under three separate categories: Leisure Activities, Under-represented communities and Multigenerational.
We’re announcing the three winners that were chosen by our panel of expert judges, James Allsworth, Head of Content at Alamy; Emma Twyning, Director of Communications at The Centre for Ageing Better; and Alex Rotas, photographer and writer.
Leisure Activities
Congratulations to Mohammad Javid Ahmadi with his winning image in this category. James Allsworth had this to say about why the photo stood out to him: “The framing and direction of this image is striking and original. An unclichéd image of an older person enjoying the outdoors, it also playfully shows us that the spirit of youth perhaps never quite leaves us, with the individual kicking the sand up into the wind.”
Under-represented Communities
Congratulations to Werner Lerooy for the winning image in this category. Emma Twyning said this about the moment captured: “We had to choose between so many brilliant photos, but the subject matter of this image really stood out. The warmth and connection between this mother and her daughter is palpable. It’s a happy, tender, everyday moment. It is unfussy, unstaged and completely authentic.“
Multigenerational
Congratulations to Stephen Power for the winning image in the Multigenerational Category. Alex Rotas told us why this photo was so fitting for this category: “I chose this image because the older woman in the centre of the picture is simply part of a group of protestors, doing what she needs to do, without any nods to her age, either from the other women flanking her or indeed on any apparent self-conscious level. It represents for me what I feel we should be aiming for: that we should carry on living our lives, irrespective of our age, neither revered as wise or plucky elders nor patronised as poor old folk who inevitably need to be cared for. We’re all just people, engaged in the project of being human, carrying on doing our thing.”
Our three winning photographers will each receive a personal portfolio review by James Allsworth, Head of Content at Alamy.
For more inspiration on positive, inclusive content for the 50+ age group, check out our curated image collection: Ageing – New Perspectives.