A MOVING series of emotionally charged images have earned an Andover-born student a nomination for a prestigious international photography award.

Joel Davies, who grew up in Andover before enrolling at London’s University of Arts, has been nominated in the student category of the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards.

The 22-year-old said:“I’m really excited.There’s another nine [entrants] worldwide. There’s some from California, Kenya, Bangladesh.”

Joel and the other finalists will compete to be named Student Photographer of the Year at an awards ceremony held in London on April 17.

All shortlisted images will then be exhibited as part of the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition in London from April 18 to May 6.

Joel was put forward for the prize by his university tutor after submitting a series named Ageing Love in response to a brief on ‘evolution’.

“It was a series about my grandparents,” he said. “They’ve have been married 60 years this year.

“I wanted to show the evolution of their relationship.”

Having been shortlisted as one of 10 finalists, Joel was then asked to produce another collection, this time on a theme of ‘belonging’.

Again, it produced a very personal response.

The series – Adieu – depicts his French girlfriend, Alice, preparing for life beyond Brexit and her uncertainty at what is to come beyond university.

“The project aimed to capture the stages of losing belonging as Alice progresses through her final year, mourning her belonging but also mine – conveying my own anxieties at losing my girlfriend of over three years.”

As Joel’s work shows, family has always been a key theme behind his photography. And it was a trip with his dad to last year’s Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition that inspired him to submit his collections in the first place.

“I decided to enter as I went last year with my dad, and now this year he will be able to see his parents up there.”

Joel’s nomination also offers his grandparents the chance to see the fruits of their grandson’s labours.

“It’s nice to be able to share this with my grandparents. It’s nice for them to see what I actually do.”

For more information on the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards and to see Joel’s collections of photos, go to worldphoto.org and search for ‘Joel Davies’.