Press Releases

02/13/2009

US photographer wins award for housing crisis shot

By TOBY STERLING
Associated Press Writer

AMSTERDAM (AP) -- A U.S. photographer won the top prize in the World Press Photo competition Friday with an image of a police officer searching a debris-strewn home in Cleveland, Ohio to ensure evicted residents had left after a mortgage foreclosure.

Anthony Suau's winning photo for Time magazine shows the officer, handgun drawn, peering into an open doorway inside the house, which is filled with overturned furniture and boxes.

The image, shot on March 26, illustrates the economic crisis that began with the U.S. housing market and spread around the globe.

"The strength of the picture is in its opposites. It's a double entendre," said jury chairwoman MaryAnne Golon. "Now war in its classic sense is coming into people's houses because they can't pay their mortgages."

She said that the photo was both excellent and addressed what the jury saw as the most important global issue of 2008.

Other jury members noted that people around the world could identify with the evicted family. Juror Ayperi Ecer said the image "visually is both clear and complex. ... 2008 is the year of the end of a dominant economic system."

Nearly 5,600 photographers of 124 nationalities submitted images for journalism's most prestigious photo contest. The jury spent 13 days this month evaluating more than 96,000 photos.

The jury awarded prizes in 20 categories to 64 photographers from 27 countries. Among major news organizations, Agence France-Presse, Time and Reuters each won three awards.

The Associated Press won one award and an honorable mention.

The winner in the General News Singles category, by Brazilian photographer Luiz Vasconcelos, was another eviction scene showing a woman holding her naked child while being pushed away from her home by a line of riot police.

The winning photographer in the Spot News Singles, China's Chen Quinggang, shot a series of the aftermath of an earthquake in Beichuan County. In one arresting image, rescue workers in green camouflage pull a survivor from the rubble. The victim, on a stretcher in the center of the scene, is dressed in white, with a white blanket and blood around his neck.

American Callie Shell won for Time in the People in the News category with a photo series of Barack Obama during his successful campaign for the U.S. presidency.

Shell "told the story of a U.S. presidential candidate in a way that was unique and compelling," said jury member Erin Elder of Canada's Globe and Mail. She said Shell managed to stand out with her photos of intimate moments of Obama despite stiff competition and limited access.

In one humanizing image, Obama is reading a newspaper on a bus, eyes puffy from lack of sleep, with his wife Michelle leaning against him and dozing.

Suau, who also won second place in the Daily Life Series category with a series on the effects of the financial crisis, will receive a prize of euro10,000 (US$12,800) and a camera at a ceremony in Amsterdam on May 3.

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On the Net:

http://www.worldpressphoto.com



Winners of the 2008 World Press Photo contest:

PHOTO OF THE YEAR, 2008: Anthony Suau, USA, for Time, U.S. Economy in Crisis: Following eviction, Detective Robert Kole must ensure residents have moved out of their home, Cleveland, Ohio, 26 March.

SPOT NEWS SINGLES — 1. Chen Qinggang, China, Hangzhou Daily, Rescue troops carry earthquake survivor, Beichuan County, China, 14 May; 2. Henk Kruger, South Africa, Cape Argus, Man attempts to cross border from Zimbabwe to South Africa, 21 May; 3. Gleb Garanich, Ukraine, Reuters, Georgian man mourns his brother after bombardment, Gori, Georgia, 9 August.

SPOT NEWS STORIES — 1. Walter Astrada, Argentina, Agence France-Presse, Post-election violence in Kenya, January; 2. Bo Bor, China, Reuters, Earthquake in Sichuan Province, China, May; 3. Wojciech Grzedzinski, Poland, Napo Images for Dziennik, Georgian conflict, August; Honorable mention: Sebastian D'Souza, India, Mumbai Mirror, Attack inside Chatrapati Shivaji railway terminus, Mumbai, India, 26 November

GENERAL NEWS SINGLES — 1. Luiz Vasconcelos, Brazil, Jornal A Critica/Zuma Press, Woman tries to stop forced eviction of her people, Manaus, Brazil, 10 March; 2. Zhao Qing, China, Shenzhen Economic Daily, Sichuan earthquake survivors, Beichuan County, 20 May; 3. Kevin Frayer, Canada, The Associated Press, Palestinian protestors take cover from Israeli tear gas, West Bank, 27 May.

GENERAL NEWS STORIES — 1. Davide Monteleone, Italy, Contrasto Abkhazia, September-October; 2. Lars Lindqvist, Sweden, for Dagens Nyheter, Armed conflict in Georgia, August; 3. Olivier Laban Mattei, France, Agence France-Presse, Myanmar (Burma) cyclone aftermath, May.

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS SINGLES — 1. Chiba Yasuyoshi, Japan, Agence France-Presse, Inter-tribal conflict, Western Kenya, 1 March; 2. Yannis Kolesidis, Greece, Reuters, Anti-government riot, Athens, 9 December; 3. Jean Revillard, Switzerland, Rezo.ch Hachim, migrant from Afghanistan in Patras, Greece.

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS STORIES — 1. Callie Shell, USA, Aurora Photos for Time, Barack Obama presidential campaign, January-October; 2. Justyna Mielnikiewicz, Poland, for The New York Times, Georgia conflict, August; 3. Philippe Dudouit, Switzerland, Contact Press Images, Tuareg rebels, Mali.

SPORTS ACTION SINGLES — 1. Paul Mohan, Ireland, Sportsfile, Ireland scores against Greece during under-17 European Championship qualifier, Athlone, Ireland, 15 March; 2. Mark Dadswell, Australia, Getty Images, Usain Bolt wins men's 200m final at Beijing Olympic Games, 20 August, 3. Franck Robichon, France, EPA, Triple jump competitor Alexis Copello at Beijing Olympic Games, 18 August.

SPORTS ACTION STORIES — 1. Vincent Laforet, USA, for Newsweek, Divers, Beijing Olympic Games, 23 August; 2. Alexander Taran, Russia, Atlant Media, Sambo World Championships, St. Petersburg, 14-16 November; 3. Julian Abram Wainwright, Canada, for EPA, Men's 10m platform divers, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, 22-23 August.

SPORTS FEATURES SINGLES — 1. Xiaoling Wu, China, Xinhua News Agency, Judoka Ange Mercie Jean-Baptiste at Olympic Games, Beijing, 11 August; 2. Berthold Steinhilber, Germany, Laif for Stern, Mountain bike race, Les Deux Alpes, France, 20 July; 3. Tomasz Gudzowaty, Poland, Yours Gallery, Child jockey, Mongolia.

SPORTS FEATURES STORIES — 1. Zhao Qing, China, China Youth Daily, Olympics on TV in Beijing; 2. Howard Schatz, USA, At the Fights: Boxers before and after the bout; 3. Paolo Verzone, Italy, Agence Vu, Traveling with Michel Platini.

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES SINGLES — 1. Mashid Mohadjerin, Belgium, Reporters, Coastguards spot a boat with refugees, off Lampedusa, Italy, 30 July; 2. Guillaume Herbaut, France, Oeil Public, Z. (28) former domestic slave, France; 3. Veronique de Viguerie, France, Getty Images for Marie Claire, Memorial for victims of violence against women, Guatemala; Honorable mention, Henry Agudelo, Colombia, Periodico El Colombiano, Homeless in Medellin, Medellin, Colombia, 27 October.

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES STORIES — 1. Carlos Cazalis, Mexico, Corbis, Homeless, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 2. Johan Bävman, Sweden, Sydsvenska Dagbladet, Albino in Tanzania; 3. Massimo Siragusa, Italy, Contrasto, Messina slums, Sicily, Italy.

DAILY LIFE SINGLES — 1. Lissette Lemus, El Salvador, El Diario de Hoy, Petrona Rivas, victim of gang violence, El Salvador, 15 October; 2. Mattia Insolera, Italy, Agenzia Grazia Neri for El Periodico, Gay marriage: Papa Will and daughter Stassa dressing up for his wedding, Barcelona; 3. Tomasz Wiech, Poland, Gazeta Wyborcza Krakow, Corporate breakfast, Poland; Honorable mention, Eraldo Perez, Brazil, The Associated Press, People gather around the body of Thiago Franklino Lima at Coque slum, Recife, Brazil.

DAILY LIFE STORIES — 1. Brenda Ann Kenneally, USA, for The New York Times Magazine, Troy, New York; 2. Anthony Suau, USA, for Time, US economy in crisis; 3. Gen Yamaguchi, Japan, for St. Petersburg Times, Silent Cry: Autism in the family, Tampa, Florida.

PORTRAITS SINGLES — 1. Yuri Kozyrev, Russia, Noor Rajiha Jihad Jassim with her son Sarhan, Baghdad, Iraq; 2. Jerome Bonnet, France, for Libération, Dennis Hopper; 3. Sung Nam-Hun, South Korea, Tibetan novice nun.

PORTRAITS STORIES — 1. Carlo Gianferro, Italy, for Postcart, Roma interiors, Romania; 2. Pep Bonet, Spain, Noor, Forced Identity: Transsexual sex workers, Honduras; 3. Li Jiejun, China, New Express Daily, Icons of war photography.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT SINGLES — 1. Giulio Di Sturco, Italy, Agenzia Grazia Neri, Backstage at Indian Fashion Week, Delhi, 2. Jerome Bonnet, France, for Le Monde 2, Anaïs, student at Paris Opera Ballet School; 3. André Vieira, Brazil, Focus Photo und Presse Agentur Xhunos, fashion stylist, Luanda, Angola.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT STORIES — 1. Roger Cremers, the Netherlands, Preserving Memory: Visitors at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland, 30 April-4 May; 2. Kacper Kowalski, Poland, Kosycarz Foto Press, A day on the beach, Wladyslawowo, Poland, 27 July; 3. Jonathan Torgovnik, USA, for Geo, The Amato Opera Theater, New York.

NATURE SINGLES — 1. Carlos F. Gutierrez, Chile, Patagonia Press for Diario La Tercera, Chaiten volcano erupts, Chile, 2 May; 2. Jeremy Lock, USA, US Air Force, Dust tornado hits French army training camp, Djibouti; 3. Alexey Bushov, Russia, Leopard hunting, Etosha, Namibia.

NATURE STORIES — 1. Steve Winter, USA, National Geographic Magazine, Snow Leopards: Out of the Shadows; 2. Fu Yongjun, China, Hangzhou City Express, A tree by the West Lake, Hangzhou; 3. Heidi & Hans-Jürgen Koch, Germany, for Stern, Animal eyes.