The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) and The Photographic Angle (TPA) have announced the recipients of two bursaries to support photographers documenting projects dealing with different aspects of environmental change.

The under-25 photographer is Ciril Jazbec, a Slovenian national, living in London, who has completed a MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication. Jazbec’s project is focusing on climate change through rising sea levels in small communities around the world. In particular he will be documenting Shishmaref an island Eskimo community of 600 people in the far northwest of Alaska which is facing the need to relocate to the mainland within ten years.  Supporting his images will be audio and video interviews.  The work will be made available through a website.

The over-25 photographer is Mandy Barker, a British national based in Leeds. Barker graduated with a MA Photography from De Montfort University, Leicester, in 2011 and has had a number of well-received exhibitions and publications including her project Soup. She will use the bursary to look at marine plastic debris resulting from the Japanese Tsunami in the north Pacific ocean. Barker will produce a body of photography looking at the plastic marine debris at source, developing her earlier Soup project. At the end of the project she will produce a series of prints for exhibition and a presentation based on her work.

Anthony Holland Parkin, Senior Art Director at Getty Images and one of the selectors commented:  “It was a great pleasure to be able to judge the RPS Environmental Bursary this year. The standard of entry in both categories was exceptionally high, with a good number of proposals striking the right balance between creativity and environmental relevance. There were several excellent projects in contention which led to some passionate debate to find our finalists. I'm excited to see the winning recipients' projects come to fruition.”

Dr Michael Pritchard, Director-General of The RPS, commented: “The Society and The Photographic Angle are pleased to award bursaries to two exciting photographers. With over 90 applications the selectors had to make some difficult choices and the two selected photographers should be proud of their achievement. The RPS and TPA look forward to seeing and further supporting the work of Ciril and Mandy when they have completed their projects”.

Images from the winner’s previous projects:  

Ciril Jazbec, Portrait of a Kiribati family in front of their home next to a volleyball court in Tebikenikoora (Golden Beach) village. Volleyball is one of the most popular sports in Kiribati. High tide floods the court and most of the surrounding area. The government has pledged to provide funds for additional sea walls. The story of Kiribati mirrors the modern life in many developing Pacific countries – nations that have fallen to hardship due to global warming and rising sea levels.

Mandy Barker, SOUP: Refused. Ingredients; plastic oceanic debris affected by the chewing and attempted injestion by animals. Includes a toothpaste tube. Additives; teeth from animals.