Netherlands’ Katiche van der Knoop Wins Photo of the Season for Black & White Fine Art Photography
The Best Photography Awards UK 2025 Autumn Season has named “More Than This – Roxy Music” the winner of both the Platinum Award and the prestigious Photo of the Season in the Black & White Fine Art Photography category.
This haunting monochrome photograph was taken by photographer Katiche van der Knoop. It stood out for its extraordinary emotional depth, minimalist power, and masterful use of negative space. More than a wildlife portrait, the piece transforms a moment of stillness into a meditative encounter — a quiet dialogue between presence, emptiness, and perception.
Interview
Q: Could you share the background and setting of this award-winning photo?
Katiche: The photo was taken in the wild, in a quiet moment when time seemed to hold its breath. The animal stood at the edge of the light, surrounded by emptiness, yet completely present. It wasn’t about movement or action, but about the stillness between them.
Q: Is there a particular detail in this photo that you especially love?
Katiche: The space. The blackness that feels almost infinite. It’s not a background, it’s part of the emotion. That emptiness allows the viewer to step inside, to meet the animal halfway, somewhere beyond words.
Q: Did you have any specific inspiration or artistic concept in mind during the creation?
Katiche: Not consciously. My work often happens when I become quiet enough to receive something larger, as if the animal allows me to translate its inner world. This photo felt like that: a glimpse into the soul, a moment of recognition between two beings.
Q: What do you hope viewers will feel or reflect upon when they see this photo?
Katiche: A sense of presence. The longing for something beyond the visible; the space between what we see and what we feel. I hope it reminds people that we’re part of the same silence.
Follow the photographer
Website: www.katichephotography.com
