News

The results of the 2008 World Press Photo Contest, one of the most prestigious competitions in the world for photo journalists, are now online. I'm proud to say that the Nature category was dominated by underwater photographers. I'm sure that National Geographic is happy that the clean sweep was in acuality two of their own.

This category and in fact most of the categories are not for single images, but published stories with a series of images that help to tell the story. Paul Nicklen (a featured photogrtapher in the DPG PRO galleries) took both 2nd and 3rd, and he has been taking the worl by storm the last year or so. His powerful features in National Geographic

1st Place - David Liittschwager, USA, National Geographic Images

"Magnified ocean life, off Hawaii"

2nd Place - Paul Nicklen, Canada, National Geographic Magazine

"Arctic ivory - hunting the narwhal, Nunavut, Canada"

 
3rd Place - Paul Nicklen, Canada, National Geographic Magazine

"Life at the edge, Arctic Ocean"

Frank Wechsel from Germany also nabbed 2nd Place in the "Sports Action" category for his underwater shot of "Swimmers at Triathlon World Cup, Rhodes, Greece, 7 October"

Beyond our favorite, the nature category, the 2008 World Press Photo of the Year was made by British photographer and filmmaker Tim Hetherington. A former World Press Photo winner and an alumnus of our masterclass, he won with an image of an exhausted US soldier in a bunker in Afghanistan. The picture fits into a body of work underpinned by human rights issues and political ideas. About his approach to his work, Hetherington said:

"Photography for me is a way of exploring the world, creating narratives and communicating with as many people as possible."

Congratulations to the amazing photographers and photo journalists who won this year! 

You can see the entire winner's gallery here

More About World Press Photo
First, second and third prizes are awarded in ten categories - for picture stories as well as for single images - to encourage the submission of across-the-board as well as in-depth news photography.

Entries are judged for their news value and on the photographer's creative skills. In the case of stories and portfolios, the edit of the material submitted is also taken into account.

The main overall prize, the World Press Photo of the Year, is awarded for the single photograph that is not only the photojournalistic encapsulation the year, but represents an issue, situation or event of great journalistic importance, and does so in a way that demonstrates an outstanding level of visual perception and creativity. It has come to be regarded as the most prestigious international award for photojournalism in the world.