INTERNATIONAL 9th July 2010

SCAE Coffee Photography Competition Coordinator Charles Prager in early July confirmed that the judging panel for the 2010 Competition had given first prize to Frithjof Esch of Germany, for his submission entitled "Haraka haraka haina baraka".

The photo was taken at the Utengele Coffee Estate in Mbeya, Tanzania, and the photographer explained that the title was Swahili for "Hurry, hurry has no blessing".

The judges commented: "This photograph rings out with joy and a vivid sense of the crop, the landscape and the many hands involved in coffee production in Africa, all majestically portrayed."

Second prize in the Competition went to the new World Cezve/Ibrik Champion Aysin Aydogdu, based in the UK, for her photo "The Future in My Cup". Commenting on the image, she said: "Reading from the coffee grounds the future is a very old method, but we still do this every day with our friends. While we talk about the past, at present moment we look for the future in our coffee cup."

The judges' comment was: "An intimate and unusual coffee moment, in a photograph that is, at once, a thoughtfully crafted self portrait and a new an personal insight into how coffee shapes our lives."

Third prize in the 2010 Competition was awarded to Gerben Hettinga from the Netherlands, for his image "New York Brew". He commented: "The photo was taken at 160 Berry Street, in Brooklyn, New York. Barista Melissa of the Blue Bottle Coffee Co is brewing a filtered coffee-to-go."

The judges commented: "The lighting, composition and almost soundless calm of this photograph are wonderfully harmonious, and Melissa's head covering reinforces the link with the paintings by the--much earlier--Dutch masters of the photographer's homeland."

The judging panel for the Competition this year was made up of Danish photographer Søren Wolder, British freelance photographer Tony Pike, Café Europa Editor and SCAE Official Photographer Charles Prager, and SCAE Web Editor Michael Segal.

You can visit the 4th Annual SCAE Photo Competition Flickr site by clicking here.