People nominee

In the provinces of southern China, in Yunnan or in Guizhou, the peasants cultivate their rice terraces as they have been doing it for millennia, helped by the strength of water buffaloes.
The poorest of them all, men and women alike, labor in mines or in construction.
Other practical jobs in the villages, such as ceremonies and games, have barely been altered by modern life.
Their living conditions are harsh and their personal interactions have a trace severity.
They have, despite everything, the dignity of those who have a roof over their heads and stable surroundings, and the children glean with passion any knowledge which is available to them.
But the dramatic development of the cities threatens even these mountainous backcountries, where you can still find the landscapes made famous in ancient Chinese paintings.
What will become of them when these farmlands have been devoured by the city?
Will they become part of the lumpenproletariat, the poor fringe of the extraordinary Chinese growth?
Or will they find their place in the new world?

French-American, Valerie Leonard travels the world following her theme that she named “Labours of Hercules" where she attempts to show with utmost respect the dignity of women and men living and working in particularly hostile environments.
She takes the time to live with the people and be fully accepted before starting her work.
There is no staging, with patience and respect, she waits for the right moment, the right light to tell the truth, but in terms of beauty.
Far from seeking aesthetic or false compassion she intends to change the way we see a forgotten humanity.

2018
1st Prize Zoom-Photo-Festival-Canada.
2 Hon.Mention.PX3
2017
Silver.Medal.ND Awards
Hon.Mention.ND Awards
Winner Pollux Awards
Hon.Mention.SDN
Hon.Mention.IPA
2016
Silver & Bronze Star ND-Awards
2nd Prize APA-Awards
Gold Medal.PX3
Nominee. FAP. Awards
2nd Prize The.Other.Hundred
1st Prize Florida Museum Photographic.Arts
2015


Hon.Mention ND Awards
Hon.Mention Monochrome.Awards
Remarkable.Award Siena.Photography.Awards
Hon.Mention FAP Awards
Gold, Silver & Bronze.Medal. PX3
Nom.Oasis.Photo.Contest
Fin 7th J.M.Cameron.Award/ 6 categories
Hon.Mention IPA
APA-Off the-Clock
2014
Silver Star ND.Awards
Hon.Mention IPA
Short-Sony.World.Photography.Awards
2013
Finalist-Travel-Photographer-of-the-Year
Hon.Mention Best-of-Photography
Nominee Nature-Images-Awards
Hon.Mention IPA
Nominee Oasis-Photo-Contest
Hon.Mention Winner-of-PX-PARIS
2012 


2 Hon.Mention IPA
Bronze Medal "Art-en-Capital" Grand-Palais-Paris
Photographer-of-the-Month National-Geographic-France-Web
2011 


1ST Prize National Geographic Channel's Contest France