Andrés Esteban Yepez Jaramillo, a student of Applied Anthropology at UPS-Quito, won first place in the 5th Mobile Photo Awards (MPA) 2015 in the "People" category. This is one of the most recognized international photography contests since the jury is made up by worldwide renowned photographers.

The event recognized the talent of photographers who use mobile devices such as smart phones or tablets to take photographs. Andres Yepez participated with three photographs in the following categories: people, photojournalism, landscapes and black and white.

The winning photograph is titled "Colores de páramo" and it shows a group of women from the Juigua community in Cotopaxi. "The colors in the background and their clothes captivated me" said Andres Yepez. 

This photograph was also acknowledged in the photojournalism category, and another photograph sent by Andres Yepez which was titled "Dawning" was awarded an honorable mention in the landscape category. For Andres Yepez photography is a link with subjectivity, it's a way to read the world. He said "it is like opening your eyes to surrounding realities that are closer than one might think and which can be seen through a lens". 

Andres has also won other photography competitions such as Fotografía Documental Latinoamericana "Miradas Indígenas", organized by the Organization of American States, and Fotografía de Derechos Humanos "Enfocando el buen vivir", organized by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Human Rights. He has also taken part in exhibitions in Istanbul, Washington, Canada and Quito. 

The photographs from the contest can be seen here:

• http://mobilephotoawards.com/people-photos/
• http://mobilephotoawards.com/photo-journalism/
• http://mobilephotoawards.com/landscapes-winner-honorable-mention-mpa-2015/