World Press Photo Contest Winners Announced

The results of the 57th Annual World Press Photo Contest were just announced and the winning images provide a visual treat for anyone who loves photography. The winners were selected from almost 100,000 photos submitted by almost 5,800 hundred photographers from 132 nationalities.

The international jury chose an image by American photographer John Stanmeyer of the VII Photo Agency as the World Press Photo of the Year 2013. The winning image depicts African migrants on the shore of Djibouti city at night, raising their mobile phones in an attempt to capture an inexpensive signal from neighboring Somalia—a tenuous link to relatives abroad. Djibouti is a common stop-off point for migrants in transit from such countries as Somalia. Stanmeyer’s photograph also won 1st Prize in the Contemporary Issues category, and was shot for National Geographic.

The members of the jury announced the winners at a press conference at the World Press Photo offices in Amsterdam on February 14. They awarded prizes in nine categories to 53 photographers of 25 nationalities from Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the USA.

U.S. jury member Susan Linfield explained “What we’re looking for in the winning image is the same quality you would look for in a great film or in literature—the impression that it exists on more than one level, that it makes you think about things you haven’t thought about. You begin to explore the layers not only of what’s there, but of what isn’t there. So many pictures of migrants show them as bedraggled and pathetic…but this photo is not so much romantic, as dignified.”

For some true inspiration and an overview of the winning images, go here: www.worldpressphoto.org/awards/2014. Enjoy!

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