In opening speech, Anadolu Agency's deputy director general says event is more impactful every year

The third exhibition of Istanbul Photo Awards, an international photography contest held by Anadolu Agency to support photojournalism, opened to visitors on Thursday, Dec. 2.

The award-winning photos of the contest will be presented at the Bilgi University santralistanbul Campus Energy Museum until Dec. 10.

Delivering the opening remarks of the event, Anadolu Agency's Deputy Director General Oguz Enis Peru started with this year's photo of the year, taken by Bangladeshi photographer Mohammed Shajahan during the coronavirus pandemic.

The image Shajahan captured, Peru said, "summarizes the fight against the coronavirus since 2019 with this single frame, making us feel the story that thousands of words try to tell."

He added that Istanbul Photo Awards was an annual project "meant to recognize the efforts of distinguished photographers, efforts that we have witnessed most closely."

Noting that Istanbul Photo Awards 2021 marked the event's seventh edition, Peru said the contest's worldwide impact becomes greater with each passing year.

Photographers from 96 different nationalities participated in the contest this year with around 15,000 photos submitted, he added.

3rd prize winner: Adam Pretty

Adam Pretty, a photojournalist with Getty Images and winner of third prize in this year's Single Sports category, was also present at the opening ceremony, saying it was a "great honor and privilege" to come to Istanbul for the first time in 17 years.

"I think Istanbul (Photo) Awards are fantastic photographic awards," he told Anadolu Agency. "If you can spread the word about photojournalism across the world, in different countries, cultures, I think it's a really positive thing."

He underlined that the event was "one of the awards that's really prestigious and highly looked upon." "The exhibition, the book they publish, it all helps and it's done in a really good way," he added.

Being awarded for his work and having his photographs exhibited around the world is a "positive thing," said Pretty. "I think as a storyteller, that's kind of what I want to do. It's the driving goal behind what I'm trying to do."

On the importance of sports journalism during the pandemic, he said: "Especially in the last couple of years with the whole COVID pandemic, sports played a really big part in helping people through it."

"Hopefully, that's the story behind my picture as well," he said, speaking of the award-winning photograph he took, titled "Log Pile Bouldering," of an athlete in Germany.

The image, he said, is the story of one person as well as how they survived COVID pandemic by keeping on with their training and their physical exercise.

A special selection of photos featuring events that marked the last year, from lachrymose scenes of the COVID-19 pandemic to the explosion in Beirut and the Superbike World Championship, are expecting visitors.

Photographs covering major events around the world over past year being exhibited at UN headquarters until Oct. 29

An exhibition featuring a selection of photographs from the international news photography competition, the Istanbul Photo Awards 2021, kicked off in New York on Monday. 

An opening ceremony was held at the newly-inaugurated Turkevi Center, or Turkish House, in New York City.

Anadolu Agency board member Ismail Caglar, and Oguz Enis Peru, the agency's deputy director-general, also attended the ceremony.

As many as 40 photographs covering major events around the world over the past year are being exhibited at the UN headquarters until Oct. 29.

Feridun Sinirlioglu, Turkey's permanent representative to the UN, said the exhibition is the first cultural event at the Turkevi Center.

He said they are pleased to know that interest in the photography contest, annually organized by Anadolu Agency, has increased over the years.

Stressing that the exhibition includes photographs reflecting the devastating effects of COVID-19 from different perspectives, as well as creativity, self-sacrifice, and determination, he said that some photos reveal the suffering of those who lost their loved ones in wars and disasters, and the effects of climate change.

“I hope the exhibition strengthens our collective will to resolve a multitude of issues fairly, inclusively and quickly,” he added.

In his speech, Peru said last year's most important event was undoubtedly the coronavirus pandemic that affected the entire world.

Bangladeshi Mohammed Shajahan's photo titled "Mom Love" won the Photo of the Year Award.

Explaining that award-winning photographers have revealed developments in different parts of the world with their works in war, conflict and disaster regions, including Azerbaijan, Syria, and Lebanon, Peru said: "We believe that photography has the power to reach all borders, and as Anadolu Agency, we attach great importance to photography."

The Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations helped open the exhibition that is sponsored by Turkish Airlines and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

The seventh edition of the awards and the exhibition are both organized by Anadolu Agency.

The international jury of nine, including photojournalists and a visual storyteller, decide the winners every year.

Alain Schroeder won the first prize in the sports story category with his “Dead Goat Polo” entry depicting the Kyrgyz national sport Kok Boru. 

The Belgian photographer told Anadolu Agency that he visited Kyrygyztan in 2020.

“I was only going to stay for three weeks, but when the COVID-19 pandemic started, I had to stay for six months,” he said.

“… I traveled to mountainous, beautiful areas again. I took some photos. In winter, I went there again in November and December and took these photos,” he added.

Schroeder said that he was extremely happy to have won an award with the photographs he took while he was locked in Kyrgyzstan during the pandemic.

James Wellford, who was among the jury members of the Istanbul Photo Awards 2016 and is currently the senior editor of National Geographic, said: "Thank you for your invitation to the exhibition. I am pleased to come here and see the exhibition. It is extraordinary that you have so many categories,” he added.

The opening ceremony was attended by Turkey's Consul General in New York, Reyhan Ozgur, as well as foreign mission representatives and foreign journalists.

Hakan Copur, Washington Bureau Chief for Anadolu Agency, showed the guests around the exhibition.

More information about the awards and the winning photos can be found on the event’s website, www.istanbulphotoawards.com.

Selection of 74 photographs covering major world events over past year on display at CerModern Arts Center

An annual international photography exhibition, the Istanbul Photo Awards 2021, kicked off in Turkey’s capital Ankara on Monday.

Anadolu Agency Chairman of the Board and Director-General Serdar Karagoz began his speech with a sound of intensive care unit to mark the story of the winning photo from Bangladesh.

“Mahmuda, 44, who is in quarantine, is trying to smell the birthday flowers left by his daughter from the other side of the door,” Karagoz said.

He said the coronavirus pandemic, which affected everyone's lives, broke up many families and caused social isolation -- also affected many participants' perspectives.

Karagoz emphasized the significance of photojournalism by saying: “A hundred years from now, the photograph will make people feel the same things.”

On the fact that photographers won awards for their work in war, conflict, and disaster zones such as Azerbaijan, Syria, and Lebanon, he said photography has no borders.

Next week, the exhibition will take place in New York, he said, and hoped that it would also be organized in Japan and the other parts of the world if the pandemic conditions allow.

Exhibition featuring best shots of 2020

A selection of 74 photographs covering major events around the world over the past year is on display at the CerModern Arts Center until Oct. 24.

They include entries and winners of the news photography category of the awards, ranging from snapshots of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on human life to disasters such as the August 2020 Beirut port blast.

The seventh edition of the awards and the exhibition are both organized by Anadolu Agency.

National flag carrier Turkish Airlines and state-run aid group Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) were the official partners for the awards, which saw some 15,000 entries and 14 eventual winners from 12 countries.

Bangladeshi Mohammed Shajahan's photo titled "Mom Love" won the Photo of the Year Award.

The international jury of nine, including photojournalists and a visual storyteller, decide the winners every year.

More information about the awards and the winning photos can be found on the event’s website, www.istanbulphotoawards.com. 

Prize winner says competition gives opportunity to disseminate work to wider audience

Winning at the Istanbul Photo Awards contest gives photographers an opportunity to publicize their work, thus increasing its visibility and audience, said photojournalist Fabio Bucciarelli, this year’s first prize winner in the Story News category.

As the world struggled amid the difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with itself, Anadolu Agency’s Istanbul Photo Awards drew attention to what has been going on throughout the globe with the power of photos.

Bucciarelli is among the photojournalists who spoke to people from all around the world about how the deadly virus affected everyday life with the photos he took in Italy in early 2020.

“I gained exclusive access to Red Cross workers who were going from door to door to check on those who were infected,” he said. “It was an intimate view of the devastating way the coronavirus was tearing apart family after family.”

Mentioning that he visited hospitals full of COVID-19 patients, he described his connection with the families as “so intensive that, in the most tragic cases, they allowed me to follow them to cemeteries for the pared-down yet poignant ceremonies that only the closest relatives could attend.”

Photo of year award winner Mohammed Shajahan says this award will bring him great significance in photography community

Istanbul Photo Awards competition is accepted as one of the most reputable awards across the world, said Bangladeshi photojournalist Mohammed Shajahan, this year's Photo of the Year winner.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down, photojournalists continued working with dedication to demonstrate the events worldwide with photos as one of the most effective ways.

In such a harsh period, Anadolu Agency's Istanbul Photo Awards contest has continued showing everyone how important photos are to actually have a sense of the incidents.

As the winners were announced in all categories, Bangladeshi photographer Mohammed Shajahan shared the story behind his award-winning photo "Mom Love" and expressed how he feels after being deemed worthy of the award.

Mentioning that he went to Halishahar district of southeastern Chittagong province of Bangladesh to attend a funeral resulted from coronavirus, Shajahan said there he saw a "teenager standing by the door of the next house, putting some flowers on the glass door with scotch tape."

"She drew the sign of 'Love' and wrote 'MOM' on the side. A little later, Mahmuda Khanam came to the door with an oxygen mask on her face and desperately tried to smell the flowers!" he stated.

Recalling that, he then understood the difficulty that the 44-year-old woman had as she couldn't breathe and also couldn't smell the flowers due to the virus.

Having such a strong story behind it, the photo "Mom Love" made him the man who told the world how the deadly virus affects the everyday life of people from all around the world with just the demonstration of a single moment.

"A photojournalist can never avoid social responsibility no matter what the situation is," underlined Shajahan, stressing that "He has to work in any difficult situation."

Mentioning that reaching out to everyone with just a photo of a single moment is "the greatest strength of photography," he stated: "I think this kind of emotional picture during coronavirus epidemic will send a message to others to be careful."

He also emphasized how important this award was for him; he said: "The Istanbul Photo Awards competition is now considered one of the most prestigious awards in the world."

"It is a matter of great pride. This award will bring me a lot of importance in the photography community and encourage me to do better."

Responsibility, organization, discipline, professionalism

In the Single News category, AFP photojournalist Yuri Cortez deserved the second prize with his work in which he pictured the prisoners in the Quezaltepeque prison in El Salvador.

Sharing the story of his photo, Cortez said he was at that prison in the photo upon the invitation of the prison authorities for him to take a tour around.

I was shocked when I entered the first block of cells and saw how overcrowded that place was, said Cortez.

"Perhaps the first great challenge was the little time to think about doing a job under the pressure of being inside a maximum-security prison full of highly dangerous prisoners," he stressed, adding that trying to do his job effectively while also trying to adapt to such an environment he was in really pushed his boundaries.

Describing the photographers as the "generators of opinion," Cortez stated that it is not important whether a photo tells a likable story or not since the most important thing for it is to deliver the message properly.

"One of the principles that I always assume when I do my work is responsibility, organization, discipline and professionalism that my teachers taught me in college," Cortez underlined.

He told Anadolu Agency that receiving that award was a "pleasant surprise" and said that he felt thankful with the recognition that the prize was "important and prestigious" for him.

"I feel committed to continue giving my best, which is what I always try to do when I am taking photos," he stated.

"I speak with young people and try to motivate them to never give up and to face life and adversity with courage because they give us nothing.

"Especially in a society that often marginalizes us or even discriminates against us for being 'the photographers'."

Photos to make change

AP photojournalist Petros Giannakouris won the third-place award with his photograph reflecting the difficulties faced by the refugees who fled the camp they had been located in Greece.

He also told Anadolu Agency about his experiences, the story of his photo and how he feels about his award.

Taking a picture of multiple fire zones at the Moria refugee and migrant camp, he said he felt "the incredible force of that moment."

"The picture was filled with emotion," stressed Giannakouris, emphasizing that "You could sense the drama in the faces of the people fleeing the camp as it was again engulfed in flames."

Mentioning that he has been in this profession for about 30 years, he describes himself as a "romantic" as he believes that "a picture can make a change."

"People must be informed, and one strong moment can stir the news audience," he stated.

He said he feels "lucky and happy" to be honored with such an award and perceives the award as "an opportunity for people to see the picture and learn about the issue."

While also praising the jury, he admitted that he admires "their work for so long."

Information related to the 2021 jury and award-winning photographs can be accessed via the website www.istanbulphotoawards.com.