13th ANNUAL MPA GRAND PRIZE

We are pleased to announce Yajun Hu of Shanghai, China as our 2023 Grand Prize Winner and the 13th annual MPA Photographer of the year.  

Yajun Hu’s mobile photography reveals an artist with a clear and consistent vision.

Yajun’s mastery lies in an ability to harness the interplay of shadows, silhouettes, color, and shapes, infusing the compositions with depth and emotion. Fleeting instances of human interaction, ironic juxtapositions and subtle gestures are captured, revealing an intricate perspective on our relationship with our daily surroundings. Each photograph serves as a piece of a larger narrative, contributing to a rich tapestry of urban storytelling.

Please enjoy this set of photographs from Yajun Hu shot with a Xiaomi Ultra 13

My name is Yajun Hu ,and I currently live in Shanghai, China. My full time job is a system test engineer in optical networks. I started getting into street photography in 2015. Now, street photography has become a major part of my life and a deeper way for me to observe my city.

What I like about mobile phone photography is that the mobile phone interferes less with the subject and helps capture natural moments.

What attracts me to street photography is the uncertainty of what I will find.

You never know what will happen the next second, so this characteristic of street photography also reminds me to always pay attention to every minute and every second on the street.

My favorite street photographer, Alex Webb, once said, “…99.9% of street photography is a failure.” This means to me: keep going.

Yajun Hu is the Winner of our 2023 Grand Prize & the 13th Annual MPA Photographer of Year