/ 2026 / Portraiture / Culture

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Steven Altig, Germany
• Date of Photograph
  03.01.2026
• Website
  https://www.steven-altig.com
• Instagram
  @steven.altig

This portrait presents Elves do Juruá, an Acrean caboclo from the Juruá region of the Brazilian Amazon. From childhood, his life has been shaped by the traditional medicines of the forest. His paternal grandfather belonged to the Puyanawa Indigenous people. For over twenty years, Elves has worked with Amazonian medicines including kambô, rapé, sananga, and floral remedies, and conducts Caboclança. The photograph is not a literal ritual documentation, but a fine-art reflection on lineage, presence, and the continuity of lived knowledge.

I was born in 1986 in Switzerland, grew up in Germany, and live between Germany and Brazil. I work as a photographer, videographer, and music producer, with a background in sound engineering for German television, covering portraits, architecture, landscapes, and visual storytelling.