3rd Place, Stephan Zirwes, Germany

In the ‘Pools’ series photographer Stephan Zirwes shows the importance of water, one of the most precious resources for life on our planet by contrasting the role of water as the consummate location for entertainment with the incredible waste of drinking water being used for private pools. Focusing on the privatisation of public pools, Zirwes highlights the trend to privatise a public asset for commercial exploitation. The clean formal language and the simple design of the pictures focus our interest on this newsworthy issue with elegance and a certain playfulness.