Hi, my name is Thierry Lagnel. I am a 31-year-old amateur and autistic photographer from Switzerland. I started photography as a hobby in 2015, but it was mainly tourist photography.

I didn't study photography, I'm an amateur and I learned it myself. But I have photography "in my blood" because my grandfather and great-grandfather were professional photographers in my hometown in Switzerland.

Well, my goal was to win gold awards one day and it's done. So now I will try to be a little bit famous one day if it's possible.

A friend told me that my photos were incredible and that he was sure that I would one day become famous if I continued in this way.

It's an honor to win such a great international competition. It gives me the motivation to continue my passion.

My photo "The shapes of water" shows an abstract representation of a Swiss river. I was outside doing wildlife photography and I stopped by this river to take a shot because I found the water forms quite interesting. At first, I didn't realize that I had taken very good pictures. I showed it to my mom, who thought it was awesome and beautiful. Then I showed my photo to some friends and they also found it incredible. So I decided to enter a contest with this photo. It's one of the best I ever taken.

It's OK to start with a very simple and cheap camera. The important thing is to practice and find your photography style.

Patience, passion and perseverance.