Global violence in focus of photo contest

Some of the most powerful pictures to emerge from last year have been recognised by the World Press Photo Foundation

THE WORLD’S violence in its many forms – including the death of Rohingya Muslims fleeing attacks and Iraq’s fight against the Islamic State – dominated the front pages of newspapers globally last year. Now some of the most powerful photographs that emerged from 2017 have been recognised by the World Press Photo Foundation, which sponsors an annual photojournalism contest.

For more than 60 years, World Press Photo has selected the one photograph that defined 12 months of news, often putting the accent on some of the medium’s most iconic images.

This year, however, the rules have changed.

We will have to wait two months to find out which of the six shortlisted images will get the title for 2017.

The six images – shot by five male photographers – include a breathtaking picture of a Venezuelan protester engulfed in fire. Photographed by Agence FrancePresse’s Ronaldo Schemidt, it is part of a series documenting the street protests against President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas last May.

Toby Melville, a British photographer, received a nod for a photograph of a passer-by comforting an injured woman in the London attacks back in March. He joins New York Times freelance photographer Adam Ferguson, who shot portraits of

Boko Haram survivors in Nigeria.

The judges saluted Ferguson’s take on the story.

“We were all looking for new, challenging approaches within journalism and photojournalism,” said the jury’s chair, Magdalena Herrera.

“We really liked Adam Ferguson’s story. It’s an approach that’s different and strong.”

Ivor Prickett, an Irish freelance photographer for the New York Times, bagged two of the six spots for the top title.

Both of his shortlisted photographs were shot in Iraq and focused on civilians as government forces pushed against the Islamic State in and around Mosul.

“As much as war reporting is about the battle itself, for me the most important stories are made on the periphery or in the aftermath of the clashes.

“That is where I tried to operate and I just hope that my reporting added another layer to all the exceptional work of my colleagues,” he told In Sight.

The contest’s results, including awards for the other picture categories, will be announced in April. – Washington Post

PICTURE: RONALDO SCHEMIDT José Víctor Salazar Balza, 28, catches fire amid violent clashes with riot police during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela.

PICTURE: IVOR PRICKETT Civilians who had remained in west Mosul after the battle to take the city line up for aid in the Mamun neighbourhood.

COMMISSIONED BY PANOS PICTURES/UNICEF The bodies of Rohingya refugees are laid out after the boat in which they were attempting to flee Myanmar capsized about 8km off Inani Beach, near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. About 100 people were on the boat before it capsized.