International Youth: A Photo Series By Us
Four weeks ago I asked the Biancissimo network to carry out a simple task:
Take an analogue camera, some film and head out to shoot whatever inspires you when you think about ‘Youth’. It could be streetwear, your neighbourhood, your friends, gangs, lovers, things you hate, people in need of help or even problems that you believe need more attention. Essentially, just pick up a camera and shoot some pictures.
There were more than 500 responses to this challenge, and I am proud to present to you a selection of the best and most interesting pictures from all over the world.
We start this series with a picture by Agatha Powa. A jury of five photographers from the Biancissimo family picked her shot from London as the most outstanding entry, and therefore as the winner of a Yashica Samurai X3.
Thanks to everybody who contributed to this series.
International Youth: A Photo Series By Us
The photo was taken at Notting Hill Carnival Monday last year. It was the first Carni after the Grenfell fires and besides the solidarity point of view, many people were afraid to go because of recent acid attacks. When I saw the love in those guys eyes I had to stop and take a photo. To me it symbolized so much thats right about our world and the answer to it all: Take time to Love, without boundaries- especially in times where people spread so many hateful messages based on stupidities like gender or the color of your skin. Love more and unconditional.
Indonesia
Daniel Nguyen/@guschibandana
Indonesia's skateboarding scene feels like a huge family. The skateboarding youth is tremendous and living the skate life to the fullest.
Tokyo, Japan
James Measom/@jamesmeasomEvery time I visit Tokyo I'm in awe of the effortless way the Japanese dress, style never has to be forced with them. Manami was serving us at On The Corner in Shibuya while we grabbed some lunch, and as I looked up from my menu and saw her, I instantly knew I needed to make a portrait
Highbury & Hungary
Ethan Bucher/_ethanbucherBerlin, Germany
Antonia Adomako/@antonia.adomako“Youth” means to me to be excited to explore a lot and to have many experiences ahead of oneself.
Taranaki, New Zealand
Charlie Parker/@rouge.shamanSmoking after school in 2014 after a hard day of conforming
Moscow, Russia
Egizaryan Dmitriy/@podmosk_konstI define youth in Moscow as freedom of mind, fight with piers and creation of something new ...
London, UK
Henry Roberts/@undakovrpippin
The city wants to stop Skateboarding here. The skaters are always fighting with the police and the city. But they will never stop to do Skateboarding.
Barcelona, Spain
Jake Davison/@_Jak edI was born in Cambodia but spend a big portion of my youth in Central America, Honduras, Guatemala but I’m also half German. So for me personally really, youth is the constant search of identity, home. But in the end though it’s coming to the realization that the search I’m after or that youth actually never has a defined ending.
Jakarta
Vinodii Ayesda/@vinodiiLos Angeles & Bratislava
Simon Bauer/@katczinsky__I took this photo after 25 minutes of squatting behind a barrier which was there to protect people watching skaters (I didn’t have enough courage to go to their “zone” and cross the barrier since they seemed really territorial) and waiting for the best moment to capture.
I took this photo during a small “ritual” which everyone in certain point of their “shoe-life” does here, since it’s most favorite skate spot in the city. There is big spectrum of how shoes on power lines are viewed - in the past, it used to be a way to mark a place where you could buy drugs easily, or as a celebration when you loose your virginity, etc. This guy on a photo did that because he used to skate in them for so long period of time that they became full of holes and useless.
Napoli & Sidney
Aldwin Hidaja/@hotbrothsA group of young boys that were playing soccer in the middle of the Piazza. I asked for a photo, they gave me the Balotelli Flex. Who is/are your biggest inspiration(s)?
A boy is with his mother buying fried chicken while he watches the world move through the glass window. Some women fight in front of the boy, while a homeless man begs for money with a damp sign. They are selling incense and second hand mobile phones next door. I hide behind a bus stop yet the boy discovers me taking a picture of him. This is Tottenham.
Glasgow, Scotland
Lewis Wilson/@36th______c hamberI think this photo represents how the youth of today doff their caps to the youth of days gone by. The recent resurgence in analogue photography as a means of making photos a bit more sentimental to those taking them is a great way to hold the memories that you make close to you.
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Yana Rerikh/@ianreriTokyo, Japan
Atsushi/@_a.swish_My friend took this picture of me in Adores, it’s a game centre in Shibuya. I enjoyed medal game when I was a kid. I can forget a lot of stress when I play some games.
Novara, Italy
Benedetta Calloni/@midollospinalThe moment was something really unusual and special because Ivan is extremely shy and he never allows me to take pictures of him. Most of the photographs I took that day were blurry, but I think that they represent truly what youth is for me: a super fast, amazing whirlwind thing.
France
Blaise Guillotin/@b8town
Barcelona, Spain
Connor Delaney/@thedelaney_
Berlin, Germany
Felina Billie/@felinaszeugThe picture was taken at Arena Berlin and we were all pretty drunk at this point of the night haha. Sometimes I forget what I took pictures of but it’s worth the surprise!
Brighton, United Kingdom
James Moyle /@jdotmoyleEveryone has their friendship groups, in this instance, I’m with my ‘boys’. On the night of one of their 23rd birthdays, me and the remainder of the boys all turned up in his hometown and surprised him, this photo is his reaction.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jesse van der Tuuk/@trilljugend
Youth to me is a spirit, It's not about age as some young people don't have it and old people who definitely do. If you got it it's something worth holding on to. Motivate your peers, be an inspiration, do things that matter to you. That's all that counts.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Jonas Sanson/@jonassansonAll the photos were taken during the carnival of Rio de Janeiro, where all people of all ages are young for a week.
Newcastle & Manchester, UK
Josie Lamb/@josierebeccaSaint Ives, United Kingdom
Kallam Kirby-Burrows/@fatpigeonn
Youth to me is meeting my friends when they return to Cornwall from their new lives away and become 16 again (even though now we are all in our mid-twenties) Exploring ridiculous places for one weekend, taking pictures. Driving around listening to old songs - Reminiscing about our youth.
Germany
Kane/@kaneYouth is best understood as the time between childhood and adulthood, but does that actually describe the age group? I would say no; some of us have to grow up real fast while others will never have to show responsibility.
St. Petersburg, Russia
Khaidarov Ruslan/@rslnkhdrvThis photo was taken in Samara during a walk along the embankment, we went into some abandoned building and saw it. It used to be a summer nightclub, which was closed this winter.I looked up and this ball, as a contrast to the ruined party hall, caught my eyes.
Berlin, Germany
Santiago Lösslein Pulido/@positive_fallbacYunhe, China
Siew Png Sim/@fromthatdayonwarThese boys were playing a game inspired by the gameshow "Running Man", in which you are supposed to rip off a name tag from someones back. Only one of them had a name tag, but it didn't stop their imagination.
Soho, London, UK
Nico Baulig/@probablynotnico
I had the pleasure to capture Handlest TDNB, an aspiring rapper from the UK, after his daily routine - selling his mixtape in the streets of London. It was the first time I’ve met him after inviting him to Germany to do a little performance at one of our parties and I’m still amazed about how much passion and energy he puts into his work - a true legend in my eyes.
Tokyo, Japan
Mikey Heath/@mikeyheathYouth is shown in my photos as a collective experience, the distortion of identity/mixing of portraiture and establishing landscapes leaves more to the imagination and lets people fill the gaps with their own personal experiences. I think one of the most interesting things about youth is how differently everyone interprets the world and I try to show this in my work.
Croydon, London, UK
Danisinuola Oyeyinka/@josiah.le.messiahMy younger brother ends up inheriting the best clothes from our older brother, he been had the swag.
Berlin, Germany
Hanko Ye/@hankoyeBerlin Youth means to me ordinary people we encounter in our daily ordinary life. Berlin is a city of its own kind with its very special own flair. You can do whatever you wanna do, be whoever you wanna be and live your life the way you want to. Youth in Berlin is undefinable and free. One can find beauty in everything and anything.
Too Many Places, World
Lionel Pierron/@lionel_pierronWe're young and broke, but we are living like there is no tomorrow. What's next ? We don't know we dont care.
This is Austin, on the internet, his name is @asspizza. He's the symbol of an entire generation that you call youth. He's what other youths want to be, he's the icon of a lost generation that wants to be themselves but feels ashamed of it.
Doing an article about the youth, you can't do it without talking about Lukas. He's a trend setter and his attitude is telling you about how much influence he has on everything brands are doing. He's the perfect mix of internet and real life. This is what the youth need to learn, you cannot leave only on the internet.
Those two photos go together, it's a funny two side of a story photo. I miss being young and thinking everything is simple, now, I can see beyond stuff and it sucks. They don't have responsibilities, they just have fun, isn't it what we all want?
Berlin, Germany
Maidje Meergans/@maidjemeergansOur group of friends resembles a big family. We hang out together, some of us are even roommates. Our parties often end up being a big jam where we play on an instrument or either sing along.
Munich, Germany
Ezgi Kizilocak/@ezgihiwaikizilocak
These boys are friends of mine and just unique in their own way. The idea was to portray Germany‘s immigrant youth . This is not about showing another side of this youth, it is just about showing things as they are. Since I always felt like a part of this community because of my heritage I always saw some kind of aesthetic in their way of style and behavior.
Glasgow, Scottland
Mark Anthony Gillies/@rising_____ I love this photo due to my friend Lewis using the chair as shelter even though the rain was heavy, much easier than getting a jacket. This encapsulates the carefree and independent traits I see in young people all over Glasgow every day.
New York, USA
Mateusz von Motz/@vonmotz
Youth.
you are not youth any more
your are a fucking grown up man - he said
Freiburg And Surroundings, Germany
Matthias Holznagel/@matthiasholznagel Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur
Abdallah/@Abi_pspTo me this place was the perfect place to shoot the “ youth“ because the skate park is always full of young cool people that are all completely different in their own ways yet they have one thing in common, and that is the love for Skating.
Munich, Germany
Vincent Reimann/@yungkidphotograph"Youth" for me is hard is hard to describe... it's more than just age, its a lifestyle: It's about going outside, creating and to live your life.
Regensburg, Germany
Thomas Pawlitschko/@thompawlIt was taken in the evening right after the B.A. graduation presentations when about 20 people were drinking and getting DIY tattoos of tiny houses whilst still hanging around in the department building. Quite a blast to end three nice years of studying.
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Stefan Mulderij/@photosyndromeforallThe picture was taken in a student residence with teacups glued to the ceiling, also there were spiders and aliens painted on the wall, we found this Scarface poster and we had to imitate it with a beer instead of a cigar.
Kawasaki, Tokyo
Jack Holmes/@garbage__dogThis picture was taken on a Tuesday afternoon in the middle of nowhere in Kawasaki, Japan outside of one of my favourite ramen shops, it’s called 豚星(butaboshi). It’s over an hour from my house by train and you spend the next two days stinking of garlic and rendered pork fat but it’s totally worth it.
Tokyo, Japan
Jaek-Meng Leng/@jaekmeng Youth for me is a period of self-discovery, whether that means drinking too much so you need a piggyback home or spending copious amounts of money on film to capture your surroundings is irrelevant. It's personal, raw and honest and only happens once in our lifetime, we have to saviour it.
Blackpool, UK
Joey Waller/@joeywalleBerlin, Germany
Lars Ott/@soholarsBielefeld, Germany
Aimilia Theofilopoulos/@aimiliatheofilopoulos
Youth, I always associate my youth with my sister, even if we argued or did not talk for weeks, but she is still one of my best friends, my lover. If I could, I would write her love letters, every day.
Lviv, Ukraine
Nazz Oliynyk/@gypsy.petyMunich, Berlin
Nikolas Geier/@35nikimeterYouth for me is much more a feeling than an age. Tolerance, Individuality, Freedom are words that perfectly describe its purest form. Youth doesn't know age.
Manchester Wetherspoons Pub, UK
Oliver Jackson/@oj96Enjoying beers and celebrating birthdays with new friends and old friends, we like going here because its one of the few places in the city centre on a Saturday night that will let us all in haha!
Oslo, Norway
Patryk Wlodarczyk/@wzoumaIn a place like Oslo where cool things or events barely happen, we just like to hang out, rebel or take some cool pictures.
Lake Kawaguchiko, Japan
Salomea Wörner/@woefoKids playing in the fog of Mt FujiRoseau, Dominica
Agatha Powa/@agathapowa
The Portrait of the boy was taken in Roseau, Dominica.Besides his beauty, I loved the naivety of his tattoo. He got his girlfriends name tattooed on his arm, by a mate. I got to Dominica shortly after hurricane Maria and one of the things that amazed me the most was the resilience of its people, especially the naivety the kids managed to somehow keep albeit the crazy experience they just went and are still going through.
Youth can stand for so many things.. One lesson I have learned is that it is a real gift if your youth can symbolize being carefree but at the same time it is essential.
