SA news photographer makes his mark
The Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest rewards the world’s best, writes RAGHEEMAH ARENDS
ABOUT 5 000 photographs from 76 countries were entered into the Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest. These were whittled down to winners in the categories Portrait, A Hero of Our Time, My Planet, Sports and Top News.
Phandulwazi Jikelo from Independent Media’s sister company, the African News Agency, won in the Top News category with a powerful image of a man flinging a burning tyre to prevent police approaching during the Grabouw housing protest in May last year.
Jikelo said: “I’m just glad that my work is recognised internationally and that our African stories are told by Africans.”
Kevin Midigo from Kenya came second with a photo series that captured election protests.
Midigo captured five scared school children running for cover as protesters took to the streets demanding the disbanding of Kwenya’s electoral body.
Alexander Shtol, the head of Rossiya Segodnya’s Integrated Photography directorate, said Jikelo and Midigo’s photos had “great precision” in the emotion evoked in the audience.
“Both photos are expansive and dynamic reportage, with great precision in their expression.
“We hope that these growth dynamics will continue their geometric progression in the future.”
The Sports category was dominated by Russia, with Konstantin Chalabov’s perfectly timed image of an elegant fan at a volleyball match for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro coming first, Maria Plotniova second and Alexei Filippov third.
According to Shtol, the contest not only provides photojournalists with a platform, but creates an opportunity for the best photographers to garner feedback through the process.
A creative tour of the winning photos from around the world has already become an integral part of the contest.
The 2015 and 2016 exhibitions of the winners’ photos were held in Cape Town, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Rome and various other cities.
“We not only uncover new names in photography for the audiences in different countries, but also give the opportunity to the best photojournalists of the world to find new audiences and get feedback,” Shtol said.
“The professionalism and quality of entries submitted to the contest is growing.
“Our winners further confirm the high status they achieve from the contest.”
The winning images will be on display from November 16 until November 29 at the Market Photo Workshop Gallery, 138 Lillian Ngoyi Street, Newtown, Joburg.
Admission is free.