TITLE: The sea is the mirror of the soul

My series was taken on the Belgian coast at the beginning of the corona crisis: a bizarre, but extremely fascinating period. Man loses his mind because a stormy situation presents itself that is new and challenging for him. Fear tries to overpower him, he freezes, starts to reflect on the world and on the punishment that Mother Nature seems to send us. We have treated our Mother Earth too lightly, demanded too much of her in our egoism. Reflection is necessary.
I want this poetic-philosophical reflection to speak through my images in these corona times. In my series I consciously show only young people who are looking for themselves, for the meaning of life and the relationship between man and nature. It is sometimes difficult to draw the line between realism and surrealism, between reality and madness. Are those figures real or staged in my photos? Sometimes we as a layman have the same reaction: is this the real world in which we live or is this madness / surrealism? These are photos of ultra-Orthodox Jews who can enjoy their freedom in an unorthodox way in the storm (of their lives) and escape the lockdown.

AUTHOR: Eddy Verloes (Belgium)

Eddy Verloes studied literature and philosophy at the University of Louvain (Belgium) and the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg i.B.(Germany). As a photographer, he studied at CVO Louvain (Belgium). Between 2016 and 2022 he has published 5 photo books and has exhibited in several galleries in the USA, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Italy, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium. He has been selected several times for national and international competitions.


 As a visual storyteller, he creates a poetic and mysterious world in his mainly black and white photos that sometimes balance between realism and surrealism. He is always focused on the decisive moment and shoots with his soul, not with his camera. Some of his (street) photos are also spiced with a touch of humor and it's difficult to put him in a box.

Most important awards in 2020-2022:

- Selected as one of the best contemporary photographers worldwide by the American site All-About-Photo
- Winner Life Framer Photo Contest 2020 (Theme: Civilization)
- Travel Photographer of the Year 2020 (People of the World)
- Winner Siena Creative Photo Awards 2021 (Open Theme)
- Winner Malta International Photo Travel Award 2020/2021
- 2nd place MonoVisions Awards 2021 (Photojournalism), London (UK)
- Finalist FOCUS Photo L.A. 2021, Los Angeles (USA)
- Winner Siena International Photography Awards 2021 (Fascinating faces and characters)
- Winner 16th Annual Black&White Spider Awards 2021, Beverly Hills (California)
- Winner of the Union of Lights 2021 World Photography Contest (Street & Lifetsyle)
- 3rd Place Winner (Photojournalism) Monochrome Photography Awards 2021, London (UK)
- Winner Pangea Prize Siena Creative Photo Awards 2021 (Open Theme)
- Winner 17th Pollux Awards 2021 (Open Theme - series), Barcelona (Spain)
- Winner of The Chelsea International Photography Competition 2021/2022, New York (USA)
- Winner Fine Art Photography Awards 2021/2022 (Photojournalism), 8th edition, London (UK)
- Gold Winner Muse Photography Award 2022 (Fine Art Photography - People) with my series 'Losing Our Minds', NY,
- Gold Winner London Photography Awards 2022 (B & W Photography - Religious), London (UK)
- Finalist LensCulture Street Photography Awards 2022
- Bronze Medal Paris International Street Photo Awards 2021- Category Black & White
- Winner of the Intern. Black & White Photography Awards 2022 with my series 'Losing Our Minds', Paris
- Overall Contest Winner @ the reFocus 'One Shot Contest' Awards 2022, honoring the most extraordinary
photographers of our time.
- Photographer of the Year Winner (Amateur) with an 'Outstanding Achievement' @ the 17th B&W Spider Awards 2022,
Beverly Hills (USA)
- Silver Winner in Portfolio/Fine Art @ Budapest International Foto Awards 2022 with my series 'Losing Our Minds'
- Silver Winner NY Photography Awards 2022 - Editorial Photography/Religious
- Bronze Medal Paris International Street Photo Awards 2021, Cat. B & W
- Grand Prize Winner of the Great Photo Awards 2023/ Black & White World Photo Competition, Athens (Greece)
- Finalist LensCulture Black and White Photography Awards 2023
- Platium, Gold & Silver Winner @ 2024 MUSE Photography Awards, NY