Attitude photographer named winner of Portrait of Britain Vol. 5

A longtime friend and collaborator of Attitude magazine, photographer Francisco Gomez de Villaboa, has been named as one of the winners of the Portrait of Britain.

The fifth volume sees 99 portraits recognised that paint an image of contemporary life in Britain.

The portraits illustrate the diversity of life in the UK. The Portrait of Britain website reads: “the award invites us to reflect on the multiplicity of voices and stories across the country, forming a precious historical record of British life.”

Vol. 5 marks the second year in a row that Francisco has been recognised as a winner and the third year his work has been featured in the accompanying book. He was last featured for his portrait ‘Venus’ featuring Morgana Ariel.

“Over the moon”

Reacting to his latest win, Francisco told Attitude: “I am literally over the moon.”

“Years ago, when I was a young Spanish queer photographer, fresh in London I would look at posters of winners of this competition at tube stations and would dream of being in those adverts!

“I only send in portraits and stories about the people from the LGBTQ+ community. Wanting to show off the community, representation, and visibility is what keeps me going as a photographer and artist.”

This time Francisco’s portrait features Marc Valentine-Morton. A description for the photo reads, “Marc found a lump which turned out to be thyroid cancer. The operation removed his larynx, leaving him with no voice box.

“He [Marc] said, ‘I’d been a singer, a teacher, a coach; my voice literally was my life.’ Due to the expertise gained from singing, he relearned how to speak using a valve.”

Attitude previously featured Marc in the August 2021 issue.

Francisco remembers the photoshoot: “When Marc told us his story, the whole room was moved and we all fell in love with him and his attitude to life. It was a truly beautiful and vulnerable moment that I will always remember.”

Over the years Francisco has worked with Attitude on many shoots, often for the Real Bodies section of the magazine. His work is always stunning and serves to highlight the often very personal stories of those taking part.

“We hope people are inspired”

Among the other images in this year’s Portrait of Britain are portraits of members of the public as well as famous faces like Grayson Perry and David Attenborough.

A panel of judges selected the images which will now be put together in the UK’s biggest annual photography exhibition – in a month-long digital exhibition in partnership with JCDecaux.

This will be viewable on JCDecaux’s digital screens scattered around UK highstreets and travel spots as seen below.

A hardback book featuring 200 shortlisted images will also be published by Hoxton Mini Press. 

Mark Bucknell of JCDecaux UK says, “We are delighted to bring this powerful exhibition to a national audience. We hope people are inspired by and even see themselves in the breadth of people featured in this initiative.“