Alamy Yearbook award for Maggie Victoria

"Flowers in the Sand" (2022) by Rachel Nixon.

I'm honoured to have received the Alamy YEARBOOK Award for 2023!

My image "Flowers in the Sand" was chosen by James Allsworth, Head of Content at Alamy, from images selected for Shutter Hub's YEARBOOK 2023 exhibition, showcasing photographers from around the world.

"Flowers in the Sand" is part of my series The Garden of Maggie Victoria, which seeks to revive the legacy of my great-grandmother, who was forgotten within the family after her death.

In the second image you can see James Allsworth's kind words about the piece.

Huge thanks to Alamy and Shutter Hub for this award, and big congratulations to the other award winners.

"Flowers in the Sand" features an old photo (top left) made by my great-grandmother Maggie Victoria herself and, we believe, entered in a photography competition, since her name and address were written in her handwriting on the back. Those details are now a part of the image I made (bottom right) during an exquisite sunset on the beach in Vancouver.

Pictured are my grandmother Doris and great-uncle Brian, her second and third children, making their own flower garden in the sand. I appreciate the flow of water and continuity between the two images.

Find out more about how I made the photo series here.