‘Looking alone doesn't make sense. Seeing it makes it meaningful. Photos actually come our way as the work of seeing,’ says Anadolu Agency director-general
The first exhibition of Istanbul Photo Awards 2022, an international photography contest held by Anadolu Agency to support photojournalism, opened to art lovers on 12th of September.
At the exhibition, which is being held in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, photo lovers are presented with human stories from social incidents in Myanmar to the immigrant crisis in the US, from the Dakar Rally to the Tokyo Olympics, and from Senegal to Russia.
In his opening speech, Anadolu Agency's Director-General Serdar Karagoz said this is the very first exhibition of last year's contest that took place in Türkiye.
"Looking doesn't alone make sense. Seeing it makes it meaningful. Photos are actually the work of seeing, not looking," he underscored.
"We can describe emotions which cannot be described even with hundreds of thousands of words through a single photo. But for that, one has to go beyond looking and seeing it by making sense of it.
"At this point, photo artists and photojournalists stand before us all over the world as representatives of vision," he emphasized.
Chosen by international jury
Noting that the contest has been organized by Anadolu Agency since 2015, Karagoz stated: "In this photography contest, here we have brought you the photos that the international jury selected among the international participants."
He pointed out that the international jury voted for the excellent photos taken by photographers and photojournalists from all over the world in the contest, in which approximately 16,000 photos were submitted in 2022.
Anadolu Agency's photojournalists cannot participate in the contest, he noted, adding they expect more photos to compete in the next contest.
Underlining that the Istanbul Photo Awards continue its journey by increasing its international prestige day by day, Karagoz thanked the institutions and organizations that have supported the event to date.
"There are so many stories in life. We try to tell these stories by writing sometimes," he said.
"The photograph of (2-year-old Syrian refugee) Alan Kurdi's lifeless body washed up on the beach was more effective and more shocking than thousands of articles written on the dramas of refugees.
"We can never forget that photo. It is etched in our memories," he said.
"Maybe we forget something we read, but our visual memory always gives us that photo.
"Photos have a smell as well as a feeling. Sometimes photos give a feeling of happiness, sometimes intense grief.
"While visiting this exhibition here, try to see the photos that you will look at. Try to feel the emotions of the photographer who made sense of it," he added.
Supporting 'real photojournalism'
Konstantinos Tsakalidis, this year's Photo of the Year winner, told Anadolu Agency that he has been working as a photojournalist for 12 years.
The Greek photojournalist said he has been working as a freelance photographer in Thessaloniki for various organizations.
"I am honored and very excited to be here in such a great place as Tophane (Tophane-i Amire Culture and Art Center Single Dome Hall). The exhibition is great. All the productions are very good and their qualities are outstanding," Tsakalidis said.
Tsakalidis underlined that these kinds of awards are very important and meaningful, especially for freelance photojournalists to share their stories with people.
Noting that he was informed about the competition by his colleagues, he said the jury consists of very significant people from the photography and press world.
"Anadolu Agency is a well-known agency all over the world and in our country too. I think that they do a very good job here. I think it is a very good example for other (news) agencies or companies around the world to support real journalism and real photojournalism," he said.
Haydar Ali Yildiz, the mayor of the Beyoglu district, told reporters that Anadolu Agency is a deeply rooted institution.
"The world's most important photographers and their most valuable photographs were evaluated by an international jury in an international competition. They are purely beautiful," Yildiz said.
Explaining the visual richness of the exhibition, he said the photographs reflect the times, places and people very well.
"We congratulate Anadolu Agency. It is also valuable for us to host such an exhibition in Beyoglu. We welcome all Istanbulites to this exhibition because it is possible to see the most important photographers of the world," he added.
The exhibition was attended by guests from all over the world, including consular officials of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and Angola.
The exhibition, which consists of the works of 19 photographers and open to visit until the end of the month, is being organized with contributions from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University.
This year, the contest was supported by Canon, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and Turkish Airlines (THY), the nation's flag carrier.
Professional photojournalists entered the contest with photos highlighting last year's global events, including the refugee crisis in the US, sporting events and human interest stories across the world.
Bloomberg photographer Tsakalidis' photo, titled "Woman from Evia," won the Photo of the Year award at the Istanbul Photo Awards 2022, the eighth edition of the annual international photography contest.
A prestigious jury selected the award-winning photographs.
Tsakalidis' photo was selected among more than 16,000 photographs submitted from different parts of the world.
Information related to the contest and award-winning photographs can be accessed via the website (http://istanbulphotoawards.com).