Fine Art nominee

Lake Urmia, once the largest lake in the Middle East, has completely vanished, leaving behind a silent and barren landscape where water once stretched endlessly. Once celebrated for its beauty and vastness, it has now turned into a haunting reminder of loss, mismanagement, and the fragility of nature itself. The absence of its waters has reshaped not only the geography of the region but also the cultural memory and identity tied to it. For me, Lake Urmia is no longer just a geographical place, but a metaphor for disappearance, silence, and the traces of what humanity has failed to protect. This work is an attempt to capture the emptiness left behind, and the memory of what once was .

Masoud Mirzaei is an Iranian photographer based in Austria, specializing in fine art, street, and documentary photography. Since beginning his career in 2016, he has developed a distinctive vision, shaped by specialized training in photography and lighting from Cinema School. Throughout the years, Masoud’s work has been exhibited in various domestic and international galleries, and among the prestigious awards he has received are :

– Siena Awards, Photographer of the Year
– Ist Place in Fine Art and 2nd Place Overall at the reFocus Awards
– International Photographic Salon of Japan (Honorable Mention)
– Lens Culture Art Photography Awards (Finalist)

His works has been featured in Vogue Italia, Forbes, i-D, Capture mag, Collater.al, Fisheye magazine, Focus Magazine, all-about-photo as well as in major newspapers like South China Morning Post and Tehran Times.