ISTANBUL (AA) - Taken by Australian photographer Daniel Berehulak for the New York Times, an image, which captured the drama of the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, was chosen Photo of the Year 2014 by the international jury of the 1st Istanbul Photo Awards News Photo Contest.

TIME magazine’s International Photo Editor and head of the jury Alice Gabriner said she remembered being hit hard by the powerful image when she first saw it, in the New York Times.

She said: "It is even beyond the picture, the picture makes you wanna know more. Than you find out this incredible story.”

"Ebola was such a powerful story this past year and that’s the reason why we chose this picture."

Gabriner said the quality of the submitted photographs was very good and the world's best photographers were among the applicants.

"For the first year it’s very remarkable and I think it will only mean very positive things for what you can be doing in the future and I feel very proud to be part of that first jury." she added.

Pulitzer-winning former photojournalist Liu Heung Shing said he was excited to be part of the jury and that he also thought the quality of the photographs was "surprisingly good".

Prizes in four categories were also awarded to 11 photographers from seven countries in the contest.

About 12,000 photographs from more than 100 countries were assessed in four categories: News Single, News Story, Sports Single and Sports Story by a jury of international professionals gathered in Istanbul on March 14-17, 2015. Turkish Airlines is the “Official Airline Sponsor” of the contest.

-2014 Photo Contest Jury

As well as Gabriner, the jury consisted of other respected professionals including Pulitzer-winning former photojournalist and founder of the Shanghai Center of Photography, Liu Heung Shing; Stern Magazine’s Photo Editor Harald Menk; Getty Images’ Senior Director Georges De Keerle; AFP’s Photo Distribution Director Michel Scotto; World Press Photo Award winner Guillaume Herbaut and World Press Photo Award winner war reporter Patrick Chauvel as well as Anadolu Agency’s own Visual News Editor Ahmet Sel and Photography Editor Firat Yurdakul.

The competition results were announced on March 18, 2015 on Anadolu Agency’s website (http://www.aa.com.tr/en), on Anadolu Images, the international photography platform of Anadolu Agency (https://anadoluimages.com/) and on the competition’s own website (http://istanbulphotoawards.com/).

-Prizes

The jury selected first, second and third prizes in all four categories.

The winner of the Photo of the Year and the first prizes in all categories will receive a cash prize of US$8,000.

Second place winners will receive a cash prize of US$3,000, while third place winners will receive a cash prize of US$1,500.

A jury of international professionals gathered this weekend to select prize-winning photographs for The Anadolu Agency’s first 2015 Istanbul Photo Awards.

The jury members, who came from all corners of the world, spent intensive hours selecting the award winners.

Around 12,000 photographs sent in from over more than 100 countries have been assessed in several categories: News Single and News Story; for an individual news photo or a collection around a story, as well as Sports Single and Sports Story.

The jury consisted of respected professionals including TIME magazine’s International Photo Editor Alice Gabriner and Hong Kong-born Pulitzer-winning former photojournalist and founder of the Shanghai Center of Photography, Liu Heung Shing.

Stern Magazine’s Photo Editor Harald Menk, Getty Images’ Senior Director Georges De Keerle, AFP’s Photo Distribution Director Michel Scotto, World Press Photo award winner Guillaume Herbaut and war reporter Patrick Chauvel were also on the panel.

The Anadolu Agency’s own Visual News Editor Ahmet Sel and Photography Editor Firat Yurdakul also participated in choosing the winners.

Competition results will be announced on March 18 on The Anadolu Agency’s website, on Anadolu Images, the international photograph platform of The Anadolu Agency and on the competition’s own website (http://istanbulphotoawards.com/).

Results will also be announced to the world in a press release the same day.

TIME magazine’s International Photo Editor Alice Gabriner spoke to an AA correspondent on the work program in Istanbul: "The jury is composed of incredibly professional names. As a photo editor it was nice to sit and talk with highly intellectual people about photography.”

Gabriner stated that the quality of the submitted photographs were very good and added the world's best photographers were among the applicants. 

“I think this is of the best quality of any contest that I have ever judged," she said. "For the first year it’s very remarkable and I think it will only mean very positive things for what you can be doing in the future and I feel very proud to be part of that first jury."

Hong Kong-born Pulitzer-winning former photojournalist Liu Heung Shing said he was excited to be part of the of the jury and that the quality of the photographs was "surprisingly good."

"Anadolu is a great partner of ours," said Getty Images Senior Director Georges De Keerle: "I work for Getty Images, so we are very proud to work with them to present their content and to have discovered over the course of the last year the excellence of their photography."

War reporter Patrick Chauvel stated that the jury had discovered people's stories and was surprised of the quality of the offerings, as it was the first photograph competition by the agency.