Beyond the Lake: Interview with Carlos Folgoso Sueiro
© Carlos Folgoso Sueiro, Spain, Shortlist, Professional competition, Perspectives, Sony World Photography Awards 2025
Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to pick up photography?
I’m a photographer from Galicia who began in photojournalism, working across environmental issues and human crises throughout Europe and Russia. In 2020, a spinal injury left me immobilised for almost three years, and photography became both therapy and inquiry. It led me back to my homeland, where I now explore memory, landscape, and the emotional traces people leave behind.
Your series Beyond the Lake was shortlisted in the Sony World Photography Awards 2025 Professional competition’s Perspectives category. What motivated you to pursue this project?
Beyond the Lake emerged during one of the darkest periods of my life. A spinal injury and several personal losses pushed me back to my Galician village, where photography became a way to move through the shadows. The project grew as a search for healing, tracing how memory and abandonment shape both place and self.
Were there any memorable moments or people you encountered while shooting this series?
Each person photographed in this project carries a profound story. Most portraits are the result of long shared time - I often spend whole weekends with someone and make only a few images. Even small sensations, like rain on my face or the smell of apples in a bowl, became moments I’ll never forget.
What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
As a photographer, the best advice I’ve received is to follow the heart above all else. Let intuition, instinct, and desire lead the way - and let practical matters come later. The work only becomes true when it grows from a place of honesty and deep inner resonance.
© Carlos Folgoso Sueiro, Spain, Shortlist, Professional competition, Perspectives, Sony World Photography Awards 2025
What have you been up to since being recognised in the Sony World Photography Awards? And what are your plans for the future?
Since receiving the Sony Award, I have continued working on the winning project, as my intention is to turn it into a book in the future. I’ve also begun a new photographic project - completely different from the previous one - though I prefer not to reveal anything about it until it is finished.
About Carlos Folgoso Sueiro
Carlos Folgoso Sueiro is a photographer and a Sociology student. His work explores human emotions and major questions such as the passage of time and the destiny of the universe, with projects focused primarily on Galicia and Russia. His work has been published in National Geographic, Stern, Geo, Vanity Fair and The Sunday Times, and has been exhibited at the Hermitage Museum, Somerset House and Brooklyn Bridge Park. It has also been recognised with awards such as POYI, Vital Impacts, the Sony Awards and the ZEKE Awards. In his free time, he enjoys reading - especially Russian literature - analysing maps and creating abstract oil paintings.
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The Sony World Photography Awards 2026 close on 13 January at 13:00 GMT. Don't miss your chance to win $25,000, Sony Digital Imaging equipment, worldwide exhibition inclusions, a day of sessions with industry experts - and more!
