The Final Face-off Winners of India’s First Family Photography Awards

A sneak peak into the Final Face-off of India’s first national family photography contest, Fun Frames 2011.

The journey that began as a search to find the best family photographs, resulted in an overwhelming response of over 6000 entries. A first of its kind, Better Photography and Club Mahindra, in association with Olympus India organised Fun Frames 2011, a photo contest that celebrated the joy of family togetherness.

A Trip Down South for the Final Face-off

Dinesh Khanna

The six finalists and their respective families were taken to Coorg for the Final Face-off. While the first theme Frames for Life was generic in nature, there was also a special theme called The Olympus Challenge: PEN Your Memories. For the Olympus theme, each photographer was given a PEN E-P3, and was asked to use the various functions of the camera as innovatively as possible. The final submissions were then judged by renowned photographer Dinesh Khanna. Ultimately, the joyous journey culminated in a grand ceremony at the Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley Resort.

Dinesh Khanna has been doing commercial work for more than 20 years. His ongoing personal work and a series very close to him, is a project titled Mothers & Daughters, in which he has chronicled the bond between different generations of women.

Announcing the Winners

Rajtilak Naik

Penned to Perfection
For exploring the creative effects of the Olympus PEN E-P3 camera, Naik was presented with a special award. Rajtilak won an Olympus PEN E-P3 with a twin lens kit. “I love my wife, and I lovenature. This theme gave me a chance to use the PEN E-P3 as creatively as I could to photograph them in harmony,” he said.

A Look at Rajtilak’s Winning Series:

Photograph/Rajtilak Naik

Debashis Mukherjee

A Commendable Effort
Mukherjee’s simple and endearing compositions struck a chord, for which he was awarded the second prize. He won a national Club Mahindra holiday package. Debashis said, “I am very happy to have explored this beautiful place and won this award.”

A Look at Debashis’ Winning Series:

Photograph/Debashis Mukherjee

Rajiv Kumar Solanki

The Final Winner
For a series of images that explored the warmth and happy moments with his family, Rajiv was adjudged the final winner of Fun Frames 2011. “This is a dream come true,” he said. His daughter, Bulbul, was overjoyed as well. Rajiv won an international holiday package courtesy Club Mahindra and an Olympus PEN E-PL3 kit.

A Look at Rajiv’s Winning Series:

Photograph/Rajiv Kumar Solanki

A Joyous Finale

After a long journey, the Club Mahindra-Better Photography Fun Frames 2011 contest culminated in a glittering ceremony!

A Grand Ceremony
The Fun Frames 2011 contest came to a spectacular finish on 7 December 2011 at the Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley Resort in Coorg. The ceremony was packed with some great performances and moments, as the nominees were presented with their awards. The atmosphere was filled with excitement, as all six families expressed their exuberance and joy.

Amidst the Industry’s Finest
The event was attended by some of the biggest names in the photographic industry. The likes of H Satish, Pallon Daruwala, Swapan Nayak, Dinesh Khanna, Diinesh Kumble, C R Satyanarayana and Vivek Victor Sequeira presented the awards to the various winners. Representatives from Olympus India as well Club Mahindra were also present at the event.

The six theme winners of Fun Frames 2011 pose with their trophies along with eminent photographers and representatives from Club Mahindra and Olympus India.

For a showcase of Fun Frames 2011 theme winners, click on this link