Kamil Samigullin: ‘Why not make a mobile photography contest?’
Tatarstan has summed up the results of the 2nd republican photo contest Tugan Avylym — Native Village
More than 700 works were submitted to the 2nd republican photo contest Tugan Avylym — Native Village. A significant part of the images were presented in Kazan in the exhibition tent at the Tugan Avylym National Complex, timed to coincide with the opening and award ceremony for World Tourism Day. Read the details in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
Competition 18+
The first photo contest was held in 2020, it was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the TASSR. This year the competition has been held for the second time. Citizens of the Russian Federation over the age of 18 could apply by sending a thematic photo with a resolution of 300 dpi in jpeg/tiff format, with a volume of no more than 3 megabytes and accompanying the picture with a questionnaire. Both professionals and amateurs participated.
The jury evaluated the photos according to the following criteria: content reflecting the theme of the competition, quality of performance, colorfulness and visibility, innovation and originality. The judges learned the names of the authors after making assessments. In 2020, the winner of the competition received 40,000 rubles, for the second and third places they gave 30,000 and 20,000, respectively. In 2024, these amounts changed: 50,000, 25,000 and 10,000 rubles.
This time, the competition is dedicated to the Year of National Cultures and Traditions, as well as the Year of the Teacher and Mentor. Initially, applications were accepted from September 1 to October 5, 2023, but then, at the beginning of 2024, the organisers extended the deadline until April 1.
Tugan Avylym's partners in the competition are the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, the republican agency Tatmedia and the Cultural Development Support Fund under the Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Experts and amateurs
There were three nominations in the competition. In the first, “Family is the cradle of traditions”, Ekaterina Efremova won with a series of photographs Cinema-Semruk Village. A Family Mini-Trip, capturing parents with children against the background of the Kama River.
In the People of Art nomination, the first place was awarded to the portrait of Ravil Sharafeev by Rifkhat Yakupov. The luminary of Kazan photography went on another creative business trip at the time of the award, Ramil Galiev received the award for him.
In general, the ex-chairman of the Union of Photographers of the Republic of Tatarstan “helped out” colleagues several times. By the way, he won second place in this nomination for a picture from a female iftar.
We were interested in the third one, Nadia Gaynatullina received it. The photo shows her four-year-old son with poet Robert Minnullin.
“That was 5 years ago. We saw him at the event," Nadia said. “I read to Minnullin's son, he was surprised that he is a living person. We came up, they talked, took pictures. And a year later, Minnullin passed away.”
In the Nature of Tatarstan nomination, the victory was won by professional Oleg Samoylov, who captured the spill of Sviyaga River.
“We see how diverse we are, how wonderful we are for our guests, said Sergey Ivanov, the chairman of the State Committee for Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan. “Today I suggest you enjoy the art of photography, in which our photographers put their whole soul, for which they are very grateful. Through photography, no matter where it is — television, social networks, booklets — only through photography it is possible to convey the emotion and spirit of our region.
Next — the exhibition of portraits and a booklet
“The second competition has a rather difficult fate, and we are currently experiencing a difficult time," said Adviser to the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan Raisa Safiullina, the initiator of the project, adding that during the extension of the deadline for accepting works, participants were allowed to withdraw applications. “I am grateful to all the photographers, there was not a single request for withdrawal.
The floor was given to the Mufti of the republic Kamil Samigullin. The hazrat, who had previously sought to merge with the public, looked at the organisers for a long time, and then spoke:
“Photography perpetuates what is happening. Some of the photos were taken a long time ago. I didn't even know that they are preserved: the burial of the remains of the Khans at the Kul Sharif mosque, a historical event. And meeting with the new bishop when it was snowing. An idea arose: the best photographer is the one who is at hand. Why not make a mobile photography contest that everyone can participate in?”
It should be noted that the pictures taken on the phone were also presented at the exhibition. According to Raisa Safiullina, a total of 700 works were submitted to the competition. It is planned that the organisers will prepare and release a booklet. Most of the pictures were devoted to nature — about 300. More than 200 are family photos. Less than 200 are portraits.
“In the last nomination, we intentionally did not take into account the age of the photo, since the competition stimulated the authors to search. Look at this picture, there are only legends here!” she said, pointing to the photo of Ilya Chirkov, which depicts actor Shaukat Biktemirov, director Marsel Salimzhanov and playwright Tufan Minnullin. “Now we are thinking of making a separate portrait exhibition.