Paying tribute to a talent
Winning entries from the Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest are on display in Cape Town
IN AUGUST 2014, Andrei Stenin – a 33-year-old special correspondent of the Rossiya Segodnya news agency – was killed while driving his car on a motorway near Donetsk in Donbass (Ukraine) as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian army. Last Thursday, an exhibition of the winning works of the 2018 Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest opened in Cape Town.
Stenin started his career as a journalist in 2003. For many years he worked with various Russian and foreign media including Itar-TASS, RIA Novosti, Kommersant, Reuters, the Associated Press and France Press. In 2009, he joined RIA Novosti (a news agency later incorporated by Rossiya Segodnya) as a photojournalist, and in 2014 became a special correspondent of the Rossiya Segodnya Integrated Directorate of Photography.
Stenin received numerous prizes for his photographs, with two Silver Camera awards among them. His strong spirit and valour often led him to conflict areas where he bore witness to some of the most tragic moments of contemporary history.
In a disastrous twist of fate, his business trip in eastern Ukraine became his last. On August 5, 2014, Stenin went missing. There were reports that he may have been detained by the Ukrainian security service. Campaigns in his support were held around the world.
The international public and professional organisations in many countries expressed their concern for him only to find out on September3 that Stenin had died in early August.
Two days later, he was awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously) for bravery and heroism in the performance of his professional duties.
Later that same year the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency established the Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest, which is held annually under the aegis of the Russian Commission for Unesco, and aims to promote and support young photographers aged 18 to 33. Every year the submission period starts on December 22 – Stenin’s birthday.
Year after year, the contest is gaining in popularity.
In 2018, it received about 6 000 entries and expanded its geography, increasing the number of participating countries to 77.
Further successes of the winning photographers showcase the high standards of the contest and prove the importance of nurturing young talent. Yelena Anosova, the winner of the Stenin Grand Prix in 2015, also won the World Press Photo competition last year, the major award in photography.
Another primary goal of the Stenin Contest is to draw public attention to the challenges of modern photojournalism.
Dangerous in itself, the work of photojournalists who have to be in the thick of the action tends to grow ever more perilous. Photographers engaged in news reporting are vulnerable. The tragic death of Stenin is living proof of that.
The Stenin Contest is supportive of people’s fight for their political and economic rights and freedoms, their struggle against cruelty and discrimination. In this regard, African photographers are in the lead. Unsurprisingly, for the second year running a South African won the Top News Single category.
The Cape Town stop of the best works exhibition of the 2018 Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest is virtually the first on its international tour.
A pre-exhibition of finalists’ photos was held earlier this month at the UN headquarters. The opening was timed to coincide with a significant date for the international journalistic community – November2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. Every work presented as part of the exhibition at the Cape Town Chavonnes Battery Museum is a photographic gem. From Justin Sullivan’s laureate “Stand Off” featuring protests over fishing quotas, to a bright and colourful visual narrative about twins by Iranian photojournalist Shiva Khademi to the stirring shots of the mass migration of Rohingya refugees by Mashruk Ahmed of Bangladesh.
Among the 60-plus photos on display (till end of January) is also a deeply moving story by Grand Prix winner Alyona Kochetkova, who captured her own feelings, the overcoming of her fear and pain in the “How I fell ill” photo series.
This different kind of bravery nevertheless brings us back to the person whose name was given to the photo contest. My hope is that it will encourage us to treasure and protect unbiased and credible people who tell the world the truth.