AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS.- The international jury of the 46th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected as World Press Photo of the Year 2002 a black & white picture of the Los Angeles-based Armenian photographer ERIC GRIGORIAN, represented by Polaris Images. In the photograph, surrounded by soldiers and villagers digging graves for victims of that morning’s earthquake, a young boy clings on to his dead father’s pants as he squats by the grave where his father is about to be buried. The picture was taken on 23 June 2002, after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Qazvin province of northwest Iran, killing more than 500 people in some 12 villages.
3,913 professional photographers from 118 countries participated in this year’s World Press Photo contest, the premier annual international competition in press photography. With a total number of 53,597 images, the 2003 contest attracted a record number of entries. The percentage of digital submissions also shows an exceptional increase: 69 percent of all images were submitted in digital format (in 2002 this figure was 55.7 percent, in 2001 27.5 percent). The judging took place in Amsterdam 2-13 February. The jury gave prizes in 9 theme categories to 55 photographers of 21 nationalities from: Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, People’s Republic of China, Peru, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom and the USA.
The 2003 jury
Chair: Shahidul Alam, Bangladesh, photographer and director Drik Picture Library
Jury members:
Pierre Fernandez, France, chief picture editor Agence France-Presse
Eva Fischer, Germany, picture editor Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin
Sarah Harbutt, USA, director of photography Newsweek
Mitsuaki Iwago, Japan, photographer
Margot Klingsporn, Germany, director Focus Photo und Presseagentur
Herbert Mabuza, South Africa, picture editor The Sunday Times
Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, Mexico, photographer and picture editor Letras Libres
Paolo Pellegrin, Italy, photographer Magnum Photos
Brechtje Rood, the Netherlands, picture editor Trouw
Maggie Steber, USA, director of photography The Miami Herald
Andrew Wong, People’s Republic of China, staff photographer Greater China, Reuters
Alexander Zemlianichenko, Russia, staff photographer Moscow Bureau, The Associated Press
Secretary:
Adriaan Monshouwer, the Netherlands, manager design and communication Wolters-Noordhoff
Eric Grigorian, the author of the World Press Photo of the Year 2002, will receive his award and a cash prize of 10,000 euro at an awards ceremony in the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, on Sunday 27 April 2003. The ceremony is preceded by a two-day program of lectures, discussions and screenings of photography. Three exhibitions will be shown in the Oude Kerk: the annual award-winning pictures, a special selection of Grigorian’s work and a retrospective exhibition of 20 years of World Press Photo Children’s Awards. The exhibitions are open for public 28 April-23 June.
List of prizewinnners 2003
WORLD PRESS PHOTO OF THE YEAR 2002
Eric Grigorian, Armenia, Polaris Images
Boy mourns at his father’s gravesite after earthquake, Qazvin Province, Iran, 23 June
SPOT NEWS SINGLES
1. Tomohisa Kato, Japan, Kyodo News
North Korean asylum seeker at gate of Japanese Consulate General, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China, 8 May
2. Noël Quidu, France, Gamma for Paris Match
Rebel executes suspected looter, Ivory Coast, 7 October
3. Justin Sutcliffe, United Kingdom, The Sunday Telegraph/Images Sans Frontières
Female hostage of Moscow theater siege, 26 October
SPOT NEWS STORIES
1. Georges Gobet, France, Agence France-Presse
Ivory Coast, September-October
2. Ilkka Uimonen, Finland, Magnum Photos for Newsweek
Balata Refugee Camp, West Bank, 1 March3. Hector Emanuel, Peru, Agenzia Grazia Neri
Civilians caught in crossfire between FARC and government troops, Colombia
GENERAL NEWS SINGLES
1. Antonin Kratochvil, Czech Republic, VII for The New York Times Magazine
Myanmar prison, May
2. Vladimir Pirogov, Russia, Moya Stolica/Reuters
Arrest of a demonstrator, Kyrgyzstan, 15 November
3. Patrick Andrade, USA, Gamma for Newsweek
Scrambling for coal, Kabul, 15 February
Honorable mention
Eric Grigorian, Armenia, Polaris Images
Boy mourns at his father’s gravesite after earthquake, Qazvin Province, Iran, 23 June
GENERAL NEWS STORIES
1. Jan Dago, Denmark, Magnum Photos/Alexia Foundation
Sierra Leone
2. Olivier Mirguet, France
North Korea: a different journey
3. Ami Vitale, USA, Getty Images
Riots in Gujarat, India
Honorable mention
Larry Towell, Canada, Magnum Photos for Toronto Globe and Mail
Jenin: Traces of invasion, May
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS SINGLES
1. Scott Lewis, USA, The News & Observer
Yasser Arafat
2. Jan Anders Grarup, Denmark, Politiken/Rapho
Liberian refugees in Sierra Leone
3. Pablo Martínez Monsivais, USA, The Associated Press
Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice in the Oval Office
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS STORIES
1. Carolyn Cole, USA, Los Angeles Times
Inside the Church of Nativity, Bethlehem, May
2. Bruno Stevens, Belgium, for Newsweek
Hindu - Muslim riots, Ahmedabad, March
3. Peter Dench, United Kingdom, IPG
Drinking of England
PORTRAITS SINGLES1. Brent Stirton, South Africa, Getty Images for UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs
Former “bushwife”, Sierra Leone
2. Lars Krabbe, Denmark, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten
Silvio Berlusconi
3. Bruce Davidson, USA, Magnum Photos for Newsweek
Al Pacino
PORTRAITS STORIES
1. George Georgiou, United Kingdom, Panos Pictures
Serbians
2. Brent Stirton, South Africa, Getty Images for Royal Geographic Society/Le Monde 2
Xhosa initiates
3. Kristen Ashburn, USA, Contact Press Images
Living with Aids and HIV in Zimbabwe
SPORTS SINGLES
1. Tomasz Gudzowaty & Robert Boguslawski, Poland, TGP/Focus
Monk of Shaolin Temple
2. Tim Clayton, Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald, Goalkeeper in rain
3. David Burnett, USA, Contact Press Images for Salt Lake City Olympic Committee
Winter Olympics: preparing for ski jump
Honorable mention
Roberto Schmidt, Colombia, Agence France-Presse
Ronaldinho in World Cup final
SPORTS STORIES
1. Balázs Gardi, Hungary, Népszabadsag
World Gymnastics Championships, Debrecen, Hungary
2. Tomasz Gudzowaty & Robert Boguslawski, Poland, TGP/Focus
Monks of Shaolin Temple
3. Andrew Buurman, United Kingdom
The Serpentine Swimming Club
THE ARTS SINGLES
1. Dan Winters, USA, for The New York Times Magazine
Leonardo DiCaprio
2. Emmanuel Scorcelletti, Italy, Gamma
Sharon Stone at Cannes film festival
3. Paolo Porto, Italy, for Thor Productions
Dancer Ines Cera
THE ARTS STORIES1. Peter Bialobrzeski, Germany, Laif Photos & Reportagen for Geo
Megacities of Asia
2. Alexandra Boulat, France, VII for Paris Match
Farewell of Yves Saint Laurent
3. Fernando Moleres Alava, Spain
Burning Man Festival
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SINGLES
1. Matias Costa, Spain, Agence Vu/Agenzia Grazia Neri
Premature baby in incubator
2. Sarah Leen, USA, for National Geographic Magazine
Skin prosthetics: silicone mask
3. Qi Xiaolong, People’s Republic of China, Tianjin Daily
Weight loss by acupuncture
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STORIES
1. Peter Essick, USA, National Geographic Magazine
Nuclear Waste
2. David I. Gross, USA
Missing persons: identification of remains, Kosovo
3. Witold Krassowski, Poland, Network Photographers for National Geographic Magazine Poland
Last steam railway line
NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT SINGLES
1. Antonin Kratochvil, Czech Republic, VII for Discover
Woman selling bush meat, Congo
2. Carlos Spottorno, Spain
Prestige oil spill volunteer
3. Michael Amendolia, Australia, Network Photographers
Kangaroos
NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT STORIES
1. Michael (Nick) Nichols, USA, National Geographic Magazine
Gelada baboons, Ethiopia
2. Jackie Ranken, Australia
Deforestation and water management, Australia
3. Nick Moir, Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney fire storm
DAILY LIFE SINGLESChristophe Gin, France, Agence Vu for Cosmopolitan
Prostitute, French Guiana
Joachim Ladefoged, Denmark, Agence Vu for Geo
Yemen
Mona Reeder, USA, The Dallas Morning News
Brick factory, Afghanistan
DAILY LIFE STORIES
1. Casper Dalhoff, Denmark
Sølund mental institute
2. Brenda Ann Kenneally, USA, for The New York Times Magazine
Drew
3. Heidi Bradner, USA, Panos Pictures for Independent on Sunday Review
The Nenets of Yamal Peninsula, Russia
