World Press Photo 2021 – all the winners revealed
The overall winner (World Press Photo of the Year) along with all the category winners have recently been announced in the 64th annual World Press Photo Contest, which showcases the world's best photojurnalism. For the 2021 competition, 4,315 photographers from 130 countries entered 74,470 images. The independent jury selected 45 photographers from 28 countries in eight categories, as well as six nominees for the World Press Photo of the Year, and three nominees for the World Press Photo Story of the Year.
The World Press Photo Contest rewards the best visual journalism of the past year in eight categories: Contemporary Issues, Environment, General News, Long-Term Projects, Nature, Portraits, Sports, and Spot News.
“2020 was a difficult year, and today we recognize the visual storytellers that put their lives at risk to present us with important stories about our world. The stories and productions awarded today touched the jury because of the personal, human and hopeful angle that the visual storytellers gave to very difficult issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd,” said Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of the World Press Photo Foundation.
The World Press Photo of the Year, the World Press Photo Story of the Year, the World Press Photo Interactive of the Year and the World Press Photo Online Video of the Year awards carry a cash prize of 5,000 euros.
World Press Photo of the Year
Danish photographer Mads Nissen’s photograph, The First Embrace, was chosen by the jury as the World Press Photo of the Year. In the image, Rosa Luzia Lunardi (85) is embraced by nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza, at Viva Bem care home, São Paulo, Brazil, on 5 August 2020.
Kevin WY Lee, photographer, creative director and 2021 Photo Contest jury member describes the winning photograph: “This iconic image of COVID-19 memorializes the most extraordinary moment of our lives, everywhere. I read vulnerability, loved ones, loss and separation, demise, but, importantly, also survival—all rolled into one graphic image. If you look at the image long enough, you’ll see wings: a symbol of flight and hope.”
World Press Photo Story of the Year
The jury chose Habibi by Antonio Faccilongo as the World Press Photo Story of the Year. The winning series chronicles love stories set against the backdrop of one of the longest and most complicated contemporary conflicts, the Israeli-Palestinian war. The story shows the impact of the conflict on Palestinian families, and the difficulties they face in preserving their reproductive rights and human dignity.
Ahmed Najm, Managing Director of Metrography Agency and 2021 Photo Contest jury member, says about the story: “The photojournalistic perspective of the photographer, along with the uniqueness of the story, have created a masterpiece. This is a story of human struggle in the 21st century: a story about those unheard voices that can reach the world if we, the jury, act as a medium. It shows another side of the long contemporary conflict between Israel and Palestine.”
World Press Photo Interactive of the Year
The independent jury of the 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest selected Reconstructing Seven Days of Protests in Minneapolis After George Floyd’s Death by Holly Bailey/The Washington Post and Matt Daniels, Amelia Wattenberger/The Pudding, as the World Press Photo Interactive of the Year.
Reconstructing Seven Days of Protests in Minneapolis After George Floyd’s Death provides a full picture of the first week of protests in Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. The piece makes unprecedented use of user-generated content and combines and maps out 147 live stream videos.
Muyi Xiao, reporter and video producer in The New York Times Visual Investigations team and 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest jury chair, says about the production: “It shows that the situation was more complicated and nuanced than people initially understood. What stands out the most is how they utilize user-generated content to provide accountability. The approach is innovative.”
World Press Photo Online Video of the Year
The jury chose Calling Back From Wuhan by Yang Shenlai/ Tang Xiaolan as the World Press Photo Online Video of the Year. Told through a series of recorded phone conversations, Calling Back From Wuhan gives an account of one family at the first epicenter of COVID-19.
The World Press Photo Online Video of the Year award celebrates a video produced for the web, which through skillful editing and audio-visual design tells a compelling story with an impact.
About the winning production, Sanchai Chotirosseranee, deputy director, Film Archive and 2021 Digital Storytelling jury member remarks: “The story is quite complete in itself, it feels that they told not only trauma but the story around it, connecting with others and from that, you can see the big picture as well.”
Category winners
Contemporary issues
The Contemporary Issues category celebrates single pictures or stories documenting cultural, political or social issues affecting individuals or societies.
Singles
1st Prize
Yemen: Hunger, Another War Wound by Pablo Tosco, Argentina
“This photograph of Fatima and her son fishing will stay with me as a powerful image of agency and resilience,” says NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, 2021 Photo Contest jury chair and co-founder and director of photo.circle, about Pablo Tosco’s winning picture.
2nd Prize
Doctor Peyo and Mister Hassen by Jérémy Lempin, France
3rd Prize
Resting Soldier by Vaghinak Ghazaryan, Armenia
Stories
1st Prize
Sakhawood by Alexey Vasilyev, Russia
Kevin WY Lee, jury member, photographer and creative director, explains why the 1st prize winning story stood out for him: “‘Sakhawood’ was one of my favorites in the category. When you tell a story, whether in pictures or words, you’re essentially creating a world to engage and sustain our interest and belief in that world, consistently and with rhythm, throughout the entire sequence. The photographer does this very well—I find myself experiencing the atmosphere, smells, sounds, and conversations the subjects might be having.”
2nd Prize
Islamic State’s Yazidi Survivors by Maya Alleruzzo, United States, Associated Press
3rd Prize
The Aftermath of the North East Delhi Riots by Zishaan A Latif, India
Environment
The Environment category rewards single pictures or stories documenting human impact, positive or negative, on the environment.
Singles
1st Prize
California Sea Lion Plays with Mask by Ralph Pace, United States
About the 1st prize picture, Kathy Moran, jury member and deputy director of Photography at National Geographic, says: “I love the double-take nature of this photograph. At first glance, it seems to be a curious sea lion investigating trash. Then it hits; this discarded mask has turned an unsightly but mostly benign encounter into a COVID moment. Even underwater we can’t escape the pandemic.”
2nd Prize
Temple and Half-Mountain by Hkun Lat, Myanmar
3rd Prize
Climate Crisis Solutions: Collecting Drinking Water in Kalabogi by K M Asad, Bangladesh
Stories
1st Prize
Pantanal Ablaze by Lalo de Almeida, Brazil, Panos Pictures, for Folha de São Paulo
Pilar Olivares, jury member and photographer at Reuters, explains why the 1st prize winning story stood out: “This is the story about fires that impacted me the most. Each photo shows us a sad situation of devastation without losing the aesthetic sense. This series of photos is perfectly edited; I don't feel like I need to see more, and I don't feel like I'm seeing too much either.”
2nd Prize
One Way to Fight Climate Change: Make Your Own Glaciers by Ciril Jazbec, Slovenia, for National Geographic
3rd Prize
Inside the Spanish Pork Industry: The Pig Factory of Europe by Aitor Garmendia, Spain
General News
The General News category recognizes single pictures or stories reporting on news topics and their aftermaths.
Singles
1st Prize
The First Embrace by Mads Nissen, Denmark, Politiken/Panos Pictures
The First Embrace is also nominated for the World Press Photo of the Year award. “I see this photo as one of the rare positive photos about the COVID-19 era. It is a symbolic scene, conveying the effort frontline workers made, and the hardship they experienced. The photographer had to be there in the right place at the right moment,” said Ahmed Najm, jury member and managing director of Metrography Agency, about the winning image.
2nd Prize
The Human Cost of COVID-19 by Joshua Irwandi, Indonesia
3rd Prize
Ceremony to Mourn Qasem Soleimani in Tehran by Newsha Tavakolian, Iran, Magnum Photos
Stories
1st Prize
Paradise Lost by Valery Melnikov, Russia, Sputnik
Paradise Lost is also nominated for the World Press Photo Story of the Year award, and one of the images included in this story is nominated for the World Press Photo of the Year. “The story captures the most recent conflicts that have taken place in Nagorno-Karabakh. It is one of the most human representations of war that I have seen in a while. It really gives you a sense of what daily life, and what daily loss looks like, in quiet ways—in ways that are away from the eyes of the world,” explains Gurung Kakshapati.
2nd Prize
Cross-Border Love by Roland Schmid, Switzerland
3rd Prize
COVID-19 Pandemic in France by Laurence Geai, France
Long-Term Projects
The Long-Term Projects category celebrates a project on a single theme that has been shot over at least three different years.
1st Prize
Habibi by Antonio Faccilongo, Italy, Getty Reportage
Habibi is also nominated for the World Press Photo of the Year award. “The photojournalistic perspective of the photographer, along with the uniqueness of the story, have created a masterpiece. This is a story of human struggle in the 21st century: a story about those unheard voices that can reach the world if we as a jury act as a medium. It shows another side of the long contemporary conflict between Israel and Palestine,” says Najm.
2nd Prize
Reborn by Karolina Jonderko, Poland
3rd Prize
Trapped in Greece by Angelos Tzortzinis, Greece, partially funded by the Magnum Foundation
Nature
This category rewards single pictures or stories showing flora, fauna and landscapes in their natural state.
Singles
1st Prize
Rescue of Giraffes from Flooding Island by Ami Vitale, United States, for CNN
"As with all of nature, the giraffe is full of majesty, but also vulnerability, as illustrated beautifully in this photograph,” said Lee about the 1st prize winning image.
2nd Prize
Path of the Panther by Carlton Ward Jr., United States
3rd Prize
New Life by Jaime Culebras, Spain
Stories
1st Prize
Pandemic Pigeons—A Love Story by Jasper Doest, the Netherlands
“What does a wildlife photographer do when stuck at home thanks to COVID-19? In this case they documented nature outside–and occasionally inside–their home. This story is a charming reminder that wildlife is all around us. We just have to open our eyes and our doors and reconsider the familiar,” said Moran about Pandemic Pigeons—A Love Story.
2nd Prize
Taal Volcano Eruption by Ezra Acayan, the Philippines, for Getty Images
3rd Prize
Locust Invasion in East Africa by Luis Tato, Spain
Portraits
The Portraits category rewards single pictures or stories of individuals or groups either in observed or posed portraits.
Singles
1st Prize
The Transition: Ignat by Oleg Ponomarev, Russia
The Transition: Ignat is one of the World Press Photo of the Year nominees. “The first impressions I had when I saw this photograph were of dignity and love. Ignat, the transgender man in the picture, passed through a living hell throughout his school years, being the victim of insults and humiliation. His life has been a struggle for a basic right: the right to exist. Despite everything, Ignat preserved dignity and love. But at the same time he is not sure what to expect from people, and there is a look in the eyes that says: ‘Can I trust you? Will you hurt me?’” explains Andrei Polikanov, jury member and visual director at Takie Dela.
2nd Prize
COVID-19 First Responder by Iván Macías, Mexico
3rd Prize
In Flight by Tatiana Nikitina, Russia
Stories
1st Prize
The ‘Ameriguns’ by Gabriele Galimberti, Italy, for National Geographic
2nd Prize
Nowhere Near by Alisa Martynova, Russia
3rd Prize
Niewybuch by Natalia Kepesz, Poland
Sports
The Sports category recognizes single pictures, stories or portfolios that capture individual or team sports.
Singles
1st Prize
Log Pile Bouldering by Adam Pretty, Australia, Getty Images
Moran says about the 1st prize winning picture: "A great sports action image defining of the COVID-19 year and of man’s spirit to survive, compete and excel beyond odds and limits."
2nd Prize
Home Training by Stephen McCarthy, Ireland, Sportsfile
3rd Prize
Tour of Poland Cycling Crash by Tomasz Markowski, Poland
Stories
1st Prize
Those Who Stay Will Be Champions by Chris Donovan, Canada
Those Who Stay Will Be Champions is also nominated for the World Press Photo Story of the Year. “This story is beautifully shot in black and white frames and wonderfully edited. What I also like about it is that it gives another nuanced look into Black lives in America, beyond the protests and the Black Lives Matter movement,” explains Lee.
2nd Prize
Faces of Bridge by Henrik Hansson, Sweden
3rd Prize
Thoughts of Flight by Fereshteh Eslahi, Iran, Podium Photos
Spot News
The Spot News category rewards single pictures or stories witnessing news moments or immediate events.
Singles
1st Prize
Emancipation Memorial Debate by Evelyn Hockstein, United States, for The Washington Post
Emancipation Memorial Debate is also nominated for the World Press Photo of the Year award. “You can feel her pain, her understanding of her emotions. On the right side of her the guy, the arguing and we have the statue in the background. It’s very rare to capture everything to tell in one picture,” says Mulugeta Ayene, jury member and photographer, about the 1st prize winning image.
2nd Prize
Waiting for Release at a Temporary Detention Center in Belarus by Nadia Buzhan, Belarus
3rd Prize
Forest Fire by Nuno André Ferreira, Portugal, Agência Lusa
Stories
1st Prize
Port Explosion in Beirut by Lorenzo Tugnoli, Italy, Contrasto
One of the images of Port Explosion in Beirut is also nominated for the World Press Photo Story of the Year. Gurung Kakshapati explains why the image made an impact on the jury: “I think this image of the Beirut Port explosion really captures a strong man but his deep fragility in this moment of crisis, in a beautiful way. But also really encapsulating the pain of the situation.”
2nd Prize
Presidential Vacancy by Ernesto Benavides, Peru, Agence France-Presse
3rd Prize
Minneapolis Unrest: The George Floyd Aftermath by John Minchillo, United States, Associated Press
Head the the World Press Photo website to see the entire gallery of winners.
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