"Like a classic painting from an early battlefield, the photographer depicts the military exercise Zapad 2021 in Belarus."
This is the motivation for Eva Tedesjö's photography, which is awarded the Picture of the Year award.
The photograph depicts the Russian and Belarusian armies charging in 2021 for the end of the joint military exercise.
The image has a strong connection to the war in Ukraine when the exercise was said to be a test to test the ability to fight a future war against NATO.
Photographer of the year and report of the year
Lisa Mattisson who is a freelancer and who has just returned from Ukraine became the photographer of the year, with the motivation:
This year's photographer follows his own narrative line and shows a desire to break the various norms and traditions in the choice of subject and the narrative.
The photographer shows a strong sense of empathy for those outside society through compassion and a presence in her photography.
”
The award is based on the photographer's overall achievements during the past year, in this case for her photos from the Expressen report Sexkollektivet in Dalarna.
The winner of this year's report will be Dagens nyheter's Anette Nantell who documented the vaccination campaign during the pandemic.
The motivation for her win is:
Photographer Anette Nantell has documented the vaccination campaign in an extraordinary way.
A story about one of today's biggest events done with sensitivity, seriousness but also humor.
A story about hope and a belief in the future. ”
The competition's annual honorary award goes to the photographer and writer Ragnhild Haarstad, who in 1971 became the first woman to be crowned Photographer of the Year.
In the clip above you can see the winning photos.