Presented by Duggal Visual Solutions founder Baldev Duggal at the PDN Photo Annual, the 2014 Duggal Image Maker Award recognizes three outstanding individuals whose work resonates with the photo community visually, emotionally and intellectually.

Antony Sojka received the award for Most Inspiring Image. Check out his winning image below, followed by a brief interview. Congratulations, Antony!

D: Describe your creative process

AS: I don't really have a process that I follow while working on a series. It really depends on what I want to photograph. The only basics for me are to gather some information about a topic and to talk to as many people as I can so I can figure out how other people think about it.

D: When/how did you get into photography?

AS: After finishing my A-Levels, I began taking photography more serious than before. I always wanted to work in a creative area, but never knew where that aspiration would lead me. Photography was one of the things I enjoyed doing and where I always was able to see an improvement over time.

D: What inspired your winning image?

AS: I studied photography at Ostkreuz School for Photography in Berlin and for my final thesis I have been traveling to the Halligen; very small, undyked islands on the German North Sea. One day I was taking a walk on Hooge (that's the name of one of the islands) and as I was approaching the church I saw all those birds on the ground. Since I was very far away, I prepared my camera for the shot and began moving closer to the birds. After 3 hours of slowly approaching, I came very close to them and they began to fly away. I was only able to shoot three frames.

D: Who/what influences your work?

AS: There are a lot of photographers whom I admire, to name a few: Saul Leiter, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Ute & Werner Mahler, Anton Corbijn, Stephan Vanfleteren and Alec Soth. There are also a lot of young photographers who I find truly inspiring, such as Mustafah Abdulaziz, Bryan Schutmaat, Laura Pannack and Lindsay D'Addato. All of them influence me, my work and how I think about photography.

D: In a perfect world, where do you see your career in 5 years?

AS: Photographing a great story somewhere.