Emma K. Freeman is the first winner of the Redeye Printing Bursary with Rob Sara. Emma is in her final year studying BA (Hons) Photography at Blackpool and the Fylde College of Art.

Her work is solely shot on film, which is very important to her. Emma says: “The process of taking an image is slowed down, so more thought and understanding is put into the image itself. It is seen as a process that is dying out due to the digital age, however I believe that the analogue medium can set aside photographers from just anybody with a digital camera.”

The work Emma submitted is an ongoing project dealing with the perceptions and representations of the veil, the duality of West and East and how both overlap in today’s society. About her work Emma says: “This project is something that I am very passionate about and I chose to do because of my own experiences and cultural background. My upbringing consisted of two very different cultural influences, my mother being Iranian and my father English, which has influenced my passion and understanding in the direction of my work.

The bursary judges were impressed with the depth and insight of this body of work, describing it as captivating and noteworthy for someone of her age. They drew attention to the high quality of work on Emma’s blog (http://emmakfreeman.wordpress.com/) and felt that Emma would have a lot more to offer in years to come.

Rob Sara said about the applications: “I was delighted to see such an excellent response to the Bursary, and want to thank all the photographers for their contributions and interest. Special thanks to the judges, Dewi Lewis, David Moore and Petra van den Houten for their support and encouragement that has helped to make this first launch a success.

"The submissions were very diverse and drawn from some great personal projects. All of them had strong and original subjects. This made the judging a challenge, and our discussions demonstrated that all of the shortlisted work had individual merit.

"Congratulations to Emma Freeman; I look forward to collaborating and printing her work for exhibition. Finally, I wish all the runners up this year the very best with their endeavours. Thank you for submitting your personal work.”

About winning the bursary Emma said: “I am very pleased and grateful to be given this opportunity by Redeye and Rob Sara. The chance to experience working with a master of printing such as Rob Sara is priceless to me, and I know it will further my understanding of prints, which can only enhance my work in the future. I am really looking forward to the experience."

At Redeye we would like to wish Emma the best of luck in her career and look forward to seeing more of her work.

The details for submission for the 2013 Redeye Printing Bursary with Rob Sara will be made public towards the end of the year. Please keep an eye on our website. Applications are only open to Redeye members and only for work shot on colour film.