TIME's Wire Service Photographer of the Year announced

2 December 2015
GREECE, LESBOS : Migrants pray after arriving on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos aboard an inflatable dinghy across the Aegean Sea from from Turkey on September 9, 2015. Overwhelmed by the 20,000 refugees and migrants currently camped on the holiday island, authorities hastily set up a refugee registration centre September 8 on a parched old football pitch. Local authorities have found it impossible to keep up with the pace of the influx, and tensions have boiled over. AFP PHOTO/Angelos Tzortzinis
Greece, Lesbos. Migrants pray after arriving on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos aboard an inflatable dinghy across the Aegean Sea from Turkey on 9 September, 2015. Overwhelmed by the 20,000 refugees and migrants currently camped on the holiday island, authorities hastily set up a refugee registration centre on 8 September on a parched old football pitch. Local authorities have found it impossible to keep up with the pace of the influx, and tensions have boiled over. AFP PHOTO/Angelos Tzortzinis
Time magazine has named AFP photographer, Angelos Tzortzinis as its ‘wire service photographer of the year’ for his coverage of Greece in 2015. This is the fourth time the Agency has been chosen for the award since 2010.


The 31-year-old Greek photojournalist has covered the various crises facing Greece over the past six years, from violence in the streets to the mass arrival of migrants. “Through his images for AFP, Angelos Tzortzinis has been an outstanding witness to the turmoil that shook Greece in 2015, most notably the migrant crisis,” said AFP chairman Emmanuel Hoog. As an agency journalist, he also covers politics, sport and the daily life of the Greek people as they face a lasting economic crisis.


Tzortzinis began his career as an independent photographer and joined AFP as a stringer in 2007. He has also worked regularly for the New York Times since 2010. He has covered news in several countries in the Middle East as well as in Ukraine. His work has been published in Time Magazine, Newsweek and the New York Times and has been exhibited at the 2012 and 2013 Visa Pour l’Image festival in Perpignan and the Lumix Festival for Young Photojournalism in Hanover.

 

GREECE, Lesbos Island : A refugee from Syria prays after arriving on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos aboard an inflatable dinghy across the Aegean Sea from from Turkey on September 7, 2015. Greece sent troops and police reinforcements on September 6 to Lesbos after renewed clashes between police and migrants, the public broadcaster said, while Syrian refugees on the island were targeted with Molotov cocktail attacks. More than 230,000 people have landed on Greek shores this year and the numbers have soared in recent weeks as people seek to take advantage of the calm summer weather. AFP PHOTO/Angelos Tzortzinis
Greece, Lesbos. A refugee from Syria prays after arriving on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos aboard an inflatable dinghy across the Aegean Sea from from Turkey on 7 September, 2015. Greece sent troops and police reinforcements on 6 September to Lesbos after renewed clashes between police and migrants while Syrian refugees on the island were targeted with Molotov cocktail attacks. More than 230,000 people have landed on Greek shores this year and the numbers have soared in recent weeks as people seek to take advantage of the calm summer weather. AFP PHOTO/Angelos Tzortzinis

 

GREECE, Kos : An Afghan migrant girl holds the hand of a woman as they arrive on a beach on the Greek island of Kos, after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece, on May 27, 2015. AFP PHOTO/Angelos Tzortzinis
Greece, Kos. An Afghan migrant girl holds the hand of a woman as they arrive on a beach on the Greek island of Kos, after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece, on 27 May, 2015. AFP PHOTO/Angelos Tzortzinis
GREECE, Kos : A child gets assistance to remove her life jacket upon her arrival on an inflatable boat carrying migrants on the Greek island of Kos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece on August 13, 2015. Greece sent extra riot police to Kos as tensions mounted over a huge influx of migrants. The Greek government said it was
Greece, Kos.  A child gets assistance to remove her life jacket upon her arrival on an inflatable boat carrying migrants, on the Greek island of Kos, after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece on 13 August, 2015. Greece sent extra riot police to Kos as tensions mounted over a huge influx of migrants. The Greek government said it was "immediately" dispatching a ship to Kos to double up as an accommodation and processing centre for up to 2,500 people as around 7,000 migrants wait to apply for immigration papers. AFP PHOTO/Angelos Tzortzinis

 

GREECE, Lesbos Island : This photo taken on September 8, 2015 on the Greek island of Lesbos shows life vests left on the shore by incoming refugees. Overwhelmed by the 20,000 refugees and migrants currently camped on the holiday island, authorities hastily set up a refugee registration centre September 8 on a parched old football pitch. Local authorities have found it impossible to keep up with the pace of the influx, and tensions have boiled over. AFP PHOTO/Angelos Tzortzinis
Greece, Lesbos. This photo taken on 8 September, 2015 on the Greek island of Lesbos shows life vests left on the shore by incoming refugees. Overwhelmed by the 20,000 refugees and migrants currently camped on the holiday island, authorities hastily set up a refugee registration centre 8 September. AFP PHOTO/Angelos Tzortzinis