Open Theme 1st place winner

A national symbol of Argentina, present-day Gauchos live nearly identical lifestyles to those of their ancestors three centuries ago. This lonely, nomadic lifestyle consists of living off the land and the cattle that they tend.

As I continue to explore South American cultures, my focus is to find and document communities continuing to live in a manner that is connected to the earth on which they live, mirroring their parent cultures of the past. The Gauchos project is a extension of my Runa Simi from last year in that I further explore a culture of indigenous herders. However,my approach to color, tones and lighting were a bit different for the Gauchos; I employ muted tones and desaturated lighting as a means of articulating the isolated, solitary nature of their life's work.

Karolina Wojtasik works in New York, Los Angeles and across the globe. Most recently she shot her signature portrait series in Siberia, Africa, and India.

She specializes in Portraits, Entertainment, Advertising and commissioned photography. Her work has been featured in key art campaigns for leading television networks and magazines. She has photographed countless celebrities and her portraits are featured in high-end personal collections.

In 2012, she was selected to show her “India” series at the world renowned Art Basel in Miami and was featured in a solo show with Gallery I/D. Her work is part of a permanent collection at the prominent Martin Z. Marguilies Collection in the Wynwood Art District in Miami.

Karolina graduated from the International Center of Photography. Born in Warsaw, Poland, she resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Karolina Wojtasik won 1 platinum and 2 gold awards at the 44th annual creativity awards for marketing. She received the Gold Medal award at the San Francisco International Photography Exhibition in 2014. In 2015 and 2016 she was the LUCIE Award winner for documentary and 2015 Prix de Photographie GOLD for documentary as well.