The announcement ceremony of the winners of the international professional photo competition News Photo Awards took place at the press center of the TASS news agency in Moscow.
Overcoming COVID.
The competition dedicated to overcoming the coronavirus pandemic started on October 5, 2020.
Over the past months, it received about 4 thousand works from photographers from 84 countries, including Russia, the USA, China, India, Iran, Turkey and Italy.
The best works were selected by a jury of Associated Press (USA), AFP (France), Reuters (UK), Xinhua (China), Kyodo News (Japan), ANSA (Italy), PA Media (UK), NOOR (Netherlands) , Yonhap (South Korea), Anadolu (Turkey) and TASS itself.
Lan Hongguang from Xinhua noted that the selection was not easy for the jury and that he admired all the entries.
According to Pavel Kopchinski (Reuters), the photos submitted to the competition are of a very high standard.
“Our jury members reviewed a large number of works.
And despite the fact that the theme of our competition was the same, all the photos sent were very different.
People from all over the world showed their vision of the problem.
A lot of talented and good photographers took part in the competition, ”said the chairman of the jury, head of the TASS photo information editorial office Grigory Dukor.
Birthday by Bryce Lorenzo Couteau
© npacontest.com
Bryce Lorenzo Couteau, a photojournalist of the Spanish news agency EFE Agency, with the work "Birthday", became the winner of the Grand Prix of the competition.
The winner was announced by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.
He noted that photo reporters who “know how to stop the moment” help people to understand what is happening in the world after the start of the pandemic.
“Sometimes, indeed, one picture can give a better feeling than the whole story of some ornate journalist,” said Peskov.
The short list of the competition included the works of two photojournalists of the Russia Today MIA - Alexander Kryazhev and Ilya Pitalev.
Pitalev became a laureate of the competition in the category "Best Photo" with the picture "Communion".
The photographer said that in May 2020, he agreed to shoot a specially created detachment of priests visiting the flock in their homes.
The winning photograph was taken when the parishioner was visited by Father John, rector of the church at the Botkin Hospital.
Also, Ilya Pitalev, together with Diego Ibarra Sanchez, Josh Edelson and Tao Lyang, became the owner of the special prize of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov.
Initially, the ministry was supposed to award one photographer - but the head of the department singled out four contestants at once.
It is noteworthy that it was Lavrov who was the author of the idea of the competition.
During an interview with TASS in April 2020, the minister was asked the question: "If you were to take a picture of the future victory over the pandemic, what, in your opinion, should have been depicted in this photograph?"
“A very good question for a worldwide competition.
I suggest you patent this idea, - Lavrov answered and added that if the idea is continued, he will be included in the organizing committee of the competition.
The winner in the Best Photo Series category was Adam Gray, a reporter from the British South West News Service (SWNS).
He took a series of photographs called "At the epicenter of the covid."
The name of the winner was announced by the editor-in-chief of RT and MIA "Russia Segodnya" Margarita Simonyan.
She admitted that she always considered the profession of a war correspondent the coolest among journalism, since military correspondents do the same thing as their colleagues, but in an environment where their own lives are in jeopardy.
“The guys who filmed in the midst of the covid pandemic are also military correspondents.
They shot before they had antibodies, before vaccines were invented.
They risked their lives every day, every hour, every minute to convey to the world what is happening with the epidemic, ”Simonyan said.
A series of images "At the epicenter of the covid", Adam Gray
© npacontest.com
The competition was organized by TASS with the support of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
“A photograph is better than a thousand words to capture the most dramatic moments of the fight against a pandemic for history.
I am convinced that each of the works of the competition will be included in the chronicle of this struggle, ”said Kirill Dmitriev, Director General of RDIF.
He stressed that now, thanks to mass vaccinations, including the Russian drug Sputnik V, the fight against coronavirus is entering the final stage.
“Therefore, we invited the winners of the competition, as well as our subscribers in social networks, to make photo reports about mass vaccinations in different countries.
We hope that these photos will become a symbol of the final victory over the pandemic, ”added the head of the foundation.
TASS General Director Sergei Mikhailov noted that it is through the eyes of photojournalists that people from all over the world are watching this struggle go on.
“The work of photojournalists during a pandemic is a real professional feat.
I am sure that 2020 will remain in the memory of mankind for many decades, including thanks to the photographs that were presented at the News Photo Awards competition.
Overcoming COVID.
This competition turned out to be very worthy and we thought it would be great to make it an annual event.
We will think about the formats and themes and will tell you more about them in the near future, ”Mikhailov promised.