/ 2025 / Portraiture / Culture

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Athanasios Maloukos, Greece
• Website
  https://maloukos.com/
• Instagram
  @a.maloukos

The Eyo masquerade is a traditional Yoruba festival held in Lagos, Nigeria, where participants, known as "Eyo", don flowing white robes, veils, and distinctive hats while carrying staffs called "opambata".

Rooted in pre-colonial customs, the Eyo procession is performed to honor deceased elders, celebrate historical events, or mark significant cultural occasions. The masked figures, symbolizing ancestral spirits, parade solemnly through the streets, embodying a blend of ritual, pageantry, and communal heritage unique to Lagos.

Although a Civil Engineer by profession, he turned out to be an amateur travel photographer having traveled to numerous countries around the world such as Ethiopia, India, Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Cote d'Ivoire, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bolivia, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Mali, Benin, Haiti, Cuba etc. His main goal is to capture the uniqueness of the local cultures and the life of the people in the most remote places of our world. Recently graduated Anthropology of Religions at UCLA.

Awards His pictures have been awarded multiple awards in many prestigious photo competitions and have been published in many books and magazines.
Best New Talent of the Year, PX3
Portraiture Photographer of the Year PX3
1st place, IPA awards
Discovery of the Year, Finalist, IPA awards
1st place, Chromatic Awards
Travel Photographer of the Year, Judges Choice
Numerous Honorable Mentions, IPA awards
Masters Cup, Honorable Mentions, Nominee
Exposure Awards, Finalist
Photographer’s Forum Magazine, Finalist
ND Awards, Honorable Mention
Global Photo Travel Contest, Honorable Mentions