After years of planning, Philip Gatward spent six weeks at the end of 2009 living with and documenting the beautiful and striking indigenous tribes of South Omo.

“I knew that I didn’t want to make beautiful, prettified pictures in Ethiopia. I wanted to make portraits of these extraordinarily self-aware sitters that were my response to the subject, but without the hundreds of colour adjustments that I may make in my other work. Above all, I wanted to make respectful portraits.”

His project, entitled 'Ethnograph', was exhibited in London this summer and won a first place in the International Photography Awards 2010.