EPA photographer Sergey Kozlov wins Photo of the Year award with his work 'Ukraine-Russia War'

European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) photographer Sergey Kozlov's photo titled "Ukraine-Russia War" won the Photo of the Year award at the Istanbul Photo Awards, the ninth edition of the annual international photography contest held by Anadolu Ajansı to support photojournalists.

The contest is now a globally dedicated platform with more than 16,000 international users.

A prestigious jury gathered online and selected the award-winning photographs for the Istanbul Photo Awards 2023.

Kozlov's photo was selected as the winner of the Photo of the Year among more than 21,000 photographs submitted from different parts of the world.

The winners were selected from photographs that cover last year's global events, from the Ukraine-Russia war to the incidents in Palestine, from the pressures of the Taliban administration to child trafficking in Nigeria, from Lithium-induced environmental changes to wildlife studies in Thailand, from the World Cup in Qatar to Portuguese bullfights, Arctic pole icebreakers to African albinos' daily life.

The international jury stated that the quality of the photos sent was very high and they had great difficulty in making the decision in the eliminations made on the platform specially prepared by the AA Information Technologies team.

In the Story News category, Associated Press (AP) photographer Evgeniy Maloletka won first place with his series about the siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Getty Images Photojournalist David Ramos took first place in the Single Sports category with his work documenting the joy of Lionel Messi in the World Cup final.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer Jeff Pachoud took first place in the Story Sports category with his photos at The Tour de France Femmes.

Brais Lorenzo won the first prize in the category of Single Nature and Environment by capturing people watching the fires in Spain with concern.

The jury awarded Jonas Kako's work, which shows the undeniable effects of drought, as the winner of the Story Nature and Environment by the jury.

The winner of the Single Portrait is Elham Abbasloo, who captured the women's movement that started in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini.

AP photographer Ebrahim Noroozi won the first prize in the Story Portrait category for his photographs of female athletes in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

In the Single Daily Life category, Gazeta Wyborcza photographer Jakub Porzycki won the first prize with his photo of Wanda, who was celebrating her 111th birthday.

Politiken / Panos Pictures photographer Mads Nissen, who documented life in drug prisons in Afghanistan, won the first prize in the Story Daily Life category.

This year, 29 photographers received awards in 10 categories in the contest supported by Nikon, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and Turkish Airlines (THY), the nation's flag carrier.

Information related to the jury and award-winning photographs can be accessed via the website (http://istanbulphotoawards.com).

Jury of Anadolu international news photo contest gathers online to review contesting photos

The jury of the international news photography contest Istanbul Photo Awards 2023 gathered on Thursday to decide the winning photos.

Organized by Anadolu Ajansı for the ninth time this year, professional photographers applied to the contest until Jan. 15 with their photos covering global events of the past year.

Over 21,000 photos were sent by 1,971 professional photojournalists from 116 different nationalities to the competition, which was held to support press photography around the world.

We are glad to announce that Nikon, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and Turkish Airlines (THY) will support Istanbul Photo Awards 2023. 

In its ninth year, the contest is offering a 58,000 USD cash prize in total to the winners in ten categories. With the support of Nikon this year, first-prize winners in each category will win a Nikon camera.

The winners will be announced in early June since the jury gathering was postponed due to the natural disasters in Türkiye. 

We want to thank our sponsors, Nikon, TIKA and Turkish Airlines, for supporting the news photography field.

Getty Images chief sports photojournalist Cameron Spencer 'excited' to see depth of contestants' works

The jury for the Istanbul Photo Awards 2023, organized this year for the ninth time by Anadolu Agency, Türkiye's premier news source, has been announced.

Photojournalist Yuri Kozyrev from NOOR Agency, photojournalist Goran Tomasevic from The Globe and Mail, visual storyteller Marion Mertens, visual media consultant Michel Scotto, chief sports photojournalist Cameron Spencer from Getty Images, photojournalist Ahmet Sel and Firat Yurdakul, the editor-in-chief of Anadolu Agency's Visual News Department, are all among the jury members of the prestigious international photo contest.

National Geographic photographer and filmmaker Ami Vitale, who has worked in more than 100 countries, and photojournalist Carol Guzy, who has over 40 years of experience in the field of photography, rejoined the jury this year after their important role in last year's contest as well.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency about the contest, seasoned jury member Cameron Spencer said 2022 had been a year full of significant events, including "major international conflicts, borders reopening, a continued focus on climate change and a busy calendar of international sporting events."

He expressed how "excited" he felt about seeing "the depth and skills of diverse photojournalists from around the world visually documenting the year with powerful photography" as well as having a seat among the other jury members.

The jury of the contest, which attracts hundreds of entries from many staff photographers along with a sizeable number of freelance journalists worldwide annually, will meet online in March.

Information on the jury members, all of whom are prestigious members of the world of photography, can be accessed at istanbulphotoawards.com/Jury/.

Deadline for entries Jan. 15

Participants can apply with photographs related to the year 2022 in ten different categories: Single News, Story News, Single Sports, Story Sports, Single Nature and Environment, Story Daily Life, and Story Portrait, along with the newly added Story Nature and Environment, Single Portrait and Single Daily Life. There are three awards in every category and the total amount of the prize is $58,000.

Participants can apply in all categories, with every photographer eligible to send four different pictures in single categories and two different series in the story categories. Terms and conditions for applications can be found on the contest website.

The winners will be selected through a platform specially prepared for the contest by Anadolu Agency's dedicated tech team.

Applications are open for professional photographers until Jan. 15, via istanbulphotoawards.com.