The Independent on Sunday and Olympus Fashion Photography Award

In last year's Fashion Supplement we announced the Independent on Sunday and Olympus Fashion Photography Award, given to young photographers (30 and under) who have either begun, or are planning to begin a career in fashion photography. The judges were the photographer Barry Lategan, Ian Dickens, Communications Director of Olympus, Marion Hume, the fashion editor of The Independent and Victoria Lukens, picture editor of the Independent on Sunday Review. From over 200 entries, they awarded first prize to Janie Airey, who wins an Olympus IS 3000 camera and the chance to use it photographing a fashion shoot for The Sunday Review. Second prize went to Anastasia Voutyropolou, who wins an Olympus IS 2000, and third prize to Tim Walker, who wins an Olympus MJU zoom. Highly commended were Cristina Piza Lopez, Ming de Nasty, Janusz Konarski, Wayne Pilling and Ellen Nolan, each of whom wins an Olympus Shoot and Go compact.

WINNER

JANIE AIREY

Barefoot on the beach, February 1994

Janie Airey, 26, is a mature student in her second year of a degree in graphic design at the University of the West of England in Bristol. She took these photographs while on a European exchange in Barcelona. 'The pictures are about movement and freedom. When you're a student, it's an ideal time to experiment. I've made photography the dominant part for my course - it takes up about about 70 per cent of my time. It's very good here because it is so flexible, but you have to be quite self-motivated. I definitely want to go on to be a photographer, but these are early days. I don't really have my own style yet.'

SECOND PRIZE

ANASTASIA VOUTYROPOLOU

Pictures for Heike Selmer, 1993

Anastasia Voutyropolou, 30, took this series of pictures printed on hand-made textured paper for fashion designer Heike Selmer when they graduated from the Royal College of Art. 'I did them in a studio with huge windows. I always use daylight. We used a student because we wanted a normal person. There wasn't any styling - I photographed her just as she was.' Anastasia was born in Greece. Her first degree was in interior design; she came to London to do an MA in photography at the RCA.

THIRD PRIZE

TIM WALKER

The Farmer's Daughter

Tim Walker is fascinated by the English countryside - 'I love its sleepy, enchanted, fairytale quality.' These pictures were taken at a tumbledown farm on the border between Dorset and Devon. The model, a young Andie MacDowell look-alike, is Tim's flatmate. A lot of his pictures relate to his childhood, growing up in the countryside, and to the Ladybird books he had then. 'I like to take photographs that tell a story. This set was inspired by the Dorothy character from The Wizard of Oz - but with an English twist.' Tim is now in the final year of his Media Studies degree at the University of Plymouth, where he is specialising in fashion photography. When he graduates he wants to continue his training as a photographer's assistant.

(Photographs omitted)