Theme: Travel photography. Competition judge: Steve McCurry. Winner: Stefano Lotumolo. Well yes: the Tuscan photographer, naturalized from Olbia, won the first prize in the international competition of The Independent Photographer.

And he did it with a suggestive image, taken in Ivory Coast, which allowed him to defeat the competition and conquer McCurry, the famous American photographer known to the general public for the famous portrait of the Afghan girl with green eyes. That Lotumolo's top step of the podium motivates him thus: «The intriguing thing about this image is the way in which the figures in ceremonial dress and masks are juxtaposed with the boy looking at them wearing a modern shirt in the same color palette. The light, the composition and the framing of the figures between the windows – explains McCurry – direct the gaze towards the main focal point and then the boy acts as a counterpoint. It is a gentle but vivid contrast between traditionalism and modernity."

Meanwhile, for those who missed the appointment, the exhibition set up in Olbia by Lotumolo is still open: it is therefore still possible to admire part of the immense work of the 36-year-old photographer originally from Lucca, exhibited in Piazza Santa Croce until Sunday, from 5pm to 23.