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These are the winners of the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

18 Apr

2019 Sony World Photography Award Winners Announced

The 12th annual Sony World Photography Awards received a record-breaking 326,997 entries, submitted from 195 countries and territories, across ten categories. The World Photography Organization, who partners with Sony on one of the largest and most prestigious photography competitions in the world, announced the winners in an awards ceremony held at the Somerset House in London.

Bologna-based Italian artist Federico Borello won the coveted Photographer of the Year ?title for his series Five Degrees. The thought-provoking collection explores the plight of male suicide in the Southern India farming community of Tamil Nadu. The region experienced its worst drought in 140 years during 2016-2017. Borello’s collection of images, based on a study from Berkeley University, examined the parallels between climate change, rising temperatures, and increased rates of suicide.

Bologna-based Italian artist Federico Borello won the coveted Photographer of the Year ?title for his series Five Degrees. The thought-provoking collection explores the plight of male suicide in the Southern India farming community of Tamil Nadu.

The purpose of the Sony World Photography Awards is to support the continuous development of photographic culture. Borello won $ 25,000 to develop future projects along with professional equipment from Sony. Sony, in partnership with the World Photography Organization, also provides a platform to new talents of the future in the Professional, Open, Youth and Student competitions with prizes ranging from $ 3,500 to $ 7,000.

Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition, which will showcase both shortlisted and winning images, is on show at Somerset House from April 18th to May 6th. It will move on to other international destinations, thereafter, including Japan, Italy, and Germany. Tickets for the London event can be purchased here.

Submissions for the 2020 competition will open Saturday, June 1st, 2019 and are free of charge.

Photographer of the Year and 1st Place, Documentary

Photo © Federico Borella, Italy, Photographer of the Year, Professional competition, Documentary, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

About the photo: This skull of a farmer who reportedly committed suicide, pictured above, was used during a protest in Delhi. Farmers held it high and demanded a drought relief package along with a loan waiver for peasants from the state.

About the series: Could the dramatic increase in Indian farmers who take their own lives be closely connected to climate change and rising temperatures? A study from Berkeley University, found a correlation between climate change and suicide among Indian farmers.

It is estimated that 59.300 farmer suicides over the last 30 years are attributable to climate change. According to experts, temperatures in India could increase by another 5°F by 2050. Without focused government intervention, global warming will lead to more suicides all over India. But what leads farmers to this extreme act? They run into debt through investing in production, and repaying previous loans.

Despite these efforts, harvests damaged by adverse weather, and short-sighted water management lead to debt repayment failure. The impact of climate change affects global wellbeing, going beyond India and threatening mankind as a whole. This project is located in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India, which is facing the worst drought for 140 years.

Open Photographer of the Year

Photo © Christy Lee Rogers, United States, Open Photographer of the year, Open competition, Motion, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: Rogers captured this image, underwater, in Hawaii as part of her Muses Collection. She used the surface of a pool as her canvas and leveraged effects such as the refraction of light, plus shooting at night, to create a dramatic scene she describes as ‘reality-bending.’

Youth Photographer of the Year

Photo © Zelle Westfall, United States, Youth Photographer of the Year, Youth, Diversity, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: Abuot is the friend of the student photographer, 18, who was testing out her equipment. She immediately knew she had captured what she wanted in the initial shot.

In her own words: ‘Abuot is my friend from school and she is one of the funniest people I know. In today’s society, with skin bleaching products and colorism flooding the media, it’s important to highlight the beauty of dark-skinned women who are often told that they are “too dark.”‘

Student Photographer of the Year

Photo © Samuel Bolduc, Canada, Student Photographer of the Year, Student Focus, 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: The orange groves of La Terreta inspire a strong sense of pride in Villaneuva and the natives who ‘love our roots, the richness of our land, our culture, our people, our identity.’ This photo depicts the women who select the oranges that will be shipped to markets around the world.

Series Description: In Valencian, there is a word that describes pride for the land where I belong: La Terreta. A feeling that surrounds us all, be part of La Terreta is to love our roots, the richness of our land, our culture, our people, our identity.

Every time I go to La Terreta there is a sign that I see on the road that welcomes me home: the orange groves. That is why in this series I have focused on capturing daily life around the orange trees. From the farmers who plant and care for the trees to harvest the fruit, to the women who choose the oranges that will end up around the world.

The orange tree is the essence of my land, it maintains the feeling of belonging and leaves the door open to future generations, spreading a message about the value of taking care of what nature gives us as a part of our identity.

1st Place, Architecture

Photo © Stephan Zirwes, Germany, 1st Place, Professional competition, Architecture , 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: Public pools are accessible by every class of people in Germany. The photographer has pleasant memories of summers spent in them during his childhood. He captured this overview of one of them with a drone.

Series Description: In Germany, pools are public. They are part of social and cultural life, open for all kind of social classes, a place where people spend a lot of time, especially in childhood and which leaves pleasant memories. Everybody can afford the inexpensive entrance fee. The series was shot by drone, in summer 2018 at a height of only a few meters.

1st Place, Brief

Photo © Rebecca Fertinel, Belgium, 1st Place, Professional competition, Brief, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: Thanks to her friend, Tracy, who invited her to the wedding where this image was captured, the photographer got acquainted with the unabashed approach to life of the Congolese community in Belgium along with the Bantu concept “Ubuntu”: that you only really become human when you are connected to everything and everyone. The bridesmaids in this photo are dancing with each other and the wedding guests.

Series Description: In August 2015 the photographer (b. 1991) was invited to a wedding by her friend Tracy. Here, the photographer was introduced to the warm, unabashed approach to life of the Congolese community in Belgium and the Bantu concept “Ubuntu”: that you only really become human when you are connected to everything and everyone.

The concept of Ubuntu seems to intertwine with the desire to belong to a group and maintain a group identity in a changing environment. Showing the ambiance but also the silent moments in between, I tried to capture the feeling of an event that seems like a true celebration, focused on joy and ritual and not on the need for a perfect venue. This project wants to place the viewer in an environment that most have experienced at one time or another at a wedding, party or a wake.

1st Place, Creative

Photo © Marinka Masséus, Netherlands, 1st Place, Professional competition, Creative, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: Marginalized groups are getting more vocal, gaining confidence and claiming their rightful place in society. Whether it is the LGBT+ community, people of color, women resisting objectification, and especially Down’s Syndrome, people are speaking up in favor of equal rights. With the advent of technological advances in prenatal screening, the narrative surrounding inclusion of individuals with Down’s Syndrome is especially urgent.

Series Description: This series is part of the Radical Beauty project, an international photography project which aims to give people with Down’s Syndrome their rightful place in visual arts. The young women I worked with shared a strong will to succeed.

To prove themselves. It must be beyond frustrating to be underestimated all the time. With ‘Chosen [not] to be’ I reflect on their reality – the barriers they face, society’s refusal to see their capabilities, the invisibility of their true selves – and translate their experiences visually. In the Netherlands, people with Down’s Syndrome have collected their experiences in a book, called Zwartboek (Black book).

They have offered this book to the government as a catalyst for change. Reading the collection of stories in this book broke my heart. There is so much misinformation. This misinformation leads to misconceptions and widely held preconceived notions which profoundly impact the lives of people with Down’s.

1st Place, Documentary

Photo © Federico Borella, Italy, Photographer of the Year, Professional competition, Documentary, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: Taken in May, 2018, this is a portrait of Rasathi, the wife of Selvarasy, a farmer who committed suicide one year ago by hanging himself in his own field. He got into debt with a cooperative society. Five Degrees is the world’s best series of work, selected from the 10 Professional category winners.

Series Description: Could the dramatic increase in Indian farmers who take their own lives be closely connected to climate change and rising temperatures? A study from Berkeley University, found a correlation between climate change and suicide among Indian farmers. It is estimated that 59.300 farmer suicides over the last 30 years are attributable to climate change.

According to experts, temperatures in India could increase by another 5°F by 2050. Without focused government intervention, global warming will lead to more suicides all over India. But what leads farmers to this extreme act? They run into debt through investing in production, and repaying previous loans. Despite these efforts, harvests damaged by adverse weather, and short-sighted water management lead to debt repayment failure.

The impact of climate change affects global wellbeing, going beyond India and threatening mankind as a whole. This project is located in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India, which is facing the worst drought for 140 years.

1st Place, Landscape

Photo © Yan Wang Preston, United Kingdom, 1st Place, Professional competition, Landscape , 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: Part of an eight-year project by Wang to explore the upheaval of natural habitats to create manmade cities in China, this photo depicts a lone quarry. A young sapling stands in the center, sustained by a bag of nutrition liquid and a pile of semi-artificial red soil.

Series Description: The series depicts the otherworldly “ecology recovery” landscape in Haidong Development Zone in Dali, Yunnan Province, China. Here, a small rural area is being urbanised systematically to create “an international leisure town and an ecology model town.”

In doing so, the topsoil of the entire area is replaced by a type of red, semi-artificial soil, which forms the base for introduced, mostly non-indigenous plants, including thousands of mature trees. Meanwhile, green plastic netting is used to cover everything unappealing to the eye, from construction waste to disused quarries.

The town’s objective here has shifted from an “ecological” concern to a cosmetic one of trying to be visually green. The images are part of an eight-year project “Forest” (2010-2017), for which the photographer investigates the politics of recreating forests and “natural” environments in new Chinese cities.

1st Place, Natural World & Wildlife

Photo © Jasper Doest, Netherlands, 1st Place, Professional competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: Bob is a flamingo from the Caribbean. His life changed permanently when he accidentally flew into a hotel window and got a concussion. His caretaker, Odette Doest, is a vet who runs a local rehabilitation center for animals. Bob is an ambassador for FDOC, an organization that educates locals about the importance of protecting the island’s wildlife.

Series Description: Bob is a Caribbean flamingo, from the Dutch island of Curaçao. His life took a dramatic turn when he flew into a hotel window, leaving him severely concussed. He was cared for by Odette Doest, a local vet who also runs a wildlife rehabilitation centre and conservation charity – the Fundashon Dier en Onderwijs Cariben (FDOC). Existing disabilities meant Bob couldn’t be released, but instead he became ambassador for FDOC, which educates locals about the importance of protecting the island’s wildlife.

1st Place, Portraiture

Photo © Álvaro Laiz, Spain, 1st Place, Professional competition, Portraiture, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: In Chukchi culture, past, present and future are intimately linked. The Edge series portrays the idea of shared memory and science through population genetics data analysis for every participant.

Series Description: Humans have inhabited North America for at least 16,500 years since they first stepped through the Bering Strait. The Chukchi, a Paleo-Siberian tribe from the Russian side of the Bering Strait may be key to understanding how America was inhabited. In Chukchi culture, past, present and future are intimately linked.

You are not just you: you are your father, your grandfather and your great-grandfather, back to the first Bering Strait hunter. Thanks to population genetics research we are now certain that the first Chukchi hunters left their genetic footprint in all Native American people when they first settled in America. From the Navajo to the Mayans; from Alaska to Tierra de Fuego.

The Edge combines this poetic yet powerful idea of shared memory and science through population genetics data analysis for every participant. A visual journey where past and future combine, exploring a period of our history full of unanswered questions and raising new ones about our understanding of current migratory processes across the entire American continent.

1st Place, Sport

Photo © Alessandro Grassani, Italy, 1st Place Professional competition, Sport , 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

About this photo: Part of the series, Boxing Against Violence, this image depicts 16-year-old Elysèe. She is a part of city boxing club in Goma, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In her words: ‘I’ve been boxing for 2 years, it’s something that gives me strength and courage to defend myself and makes me feel accepted everywhere. In this city there is so much violence that you must always be ready to react. Under the ashes of this society there are latent conflicts, a violence ready to explode at any moment. Thanks to boxing I feel ready to face these dangers.’

Series Description: Goma, North Kivu. This area has sadly been labelled the “rape capital of the world” and one of the worst places in the world for women to live. All these sad records have not stopped women, whose will to go on and overcome the atrocities suffered over the years, is stronger and more alive than ever in the story I’m telling.

Some boxing clubs in Goma are the meeting place for a group of women who have found hope and passion in boxing. Here, women not only learn to throw punches, but to regain strength and the desire to fight against injustice, while dreaming and training to become the next world boxing champion. I created this series of portraits to depict this incredible group of young women living in a deeply patriarchal society, a place where women have only one way to survive: learning to fight.

1st Place, Still Life

Photo © Nicolas Gaspardel & Pauline Baert, France, 1st Place, Professional competition, Still Life, 2019 Sony World Photography Awards

Image Description: Two ingredients, combined, make something that looks disgusting but is hypnotic, nonetheless, with its composing and pops of color.

Series Description: With a touch of mockery, BEURKMAGAZINE photographs food every day through metaphors that are as poetic as they are disturbing. For BEURKMAGAZINE, society is “yuck” in a pop culture universe.

Our creative approach is composed of antithesis. Dali amused himself by composing works with irrational associations of forms, images and objects; Maurizio Cattelan, meanwhile, focuses on the subversion of symbols and provocation; we are somewhere in between, with a more general than personal point of view and a desire to give ugliness an artificial beauty.

Food is at the center of our ideas, which are magnified, manipulated and reworked to highlight our message. The pop tone, tight shots and especially the titles are an integral part of our signature.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: World Press Photo names ‘Crying Girl on the Border’ its 2019 Photo of the Year

13 Apr

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Winners

Editors note: There are images in the above gallery that are considered graphic and explicit in nature. Keep this in mind while looking through the gallery.

World Press Photo has announced the winners for its 2019 Photo Contest and named John Moore’s ‘Crying Girl on the Border,’ seen in the next slide, as Photo of the Year and First Prize in the Spot News Single category.

‘The winning image shows Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez crying as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June 2018,’ says World Press Photo in its statement on the winning photo. ‘After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials. Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June.’

John Moore has photographed in 65 countries on six continents and is a senior staff photographer and special correspondent for Getty Images. Whitney C. Johnson, vice president, Visuals and Immersive Experiences, at National Geographic and 2019 Photo Contest jury chair had the following to say about the winning photograph:

The details in the picture are interesting. From the gloves that the border patrol officer is wearing to the fact that the shoelaces have been removed.

The winning photographs fall under two headline awards: ‘World Press Photo of the Year’ and ‘World Press Photo Story of the Year,’ the latter of which showcases a series of images from a particular assignment or project from photojournalists around the world. There are eight additional categories, each of which has its own set of winners: Contemporary Issues, Environment, General News, Long Term Projects, Nature, Portraits, Sports and Spot News. Each of these categories have the sub-categories of single picture entries and story entries with the exception of Long Term Projects, which is a series.

We’ve rounded up the single picture first, second and third prize winners for each category in the gallery above. Along with the image will be a caption and accompanying backstory provided by the photographers and edited for clarity and brevity by World Press Photo.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Winner

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Caption: Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez cries as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June.

Story: Immigrant families had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were then detained by US authorities. Sandra Sanchez said that she and her daughter had been traveling for a month through Central America and Mexico before reaching the US to seek asylum. The Trump Administration had announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy at the border under which immigrants caught entering the US could be criminally prosecuted. As a result, many apprehended parents were separated from their children, often sent to different detention facilities. After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials. Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June.

2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single First Prize

The Cubanitas | © Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos

The Cubanitas | © Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos

Caption: Pura rides around her neighborhood in a pink 1950s convertible, as the community gathers to celebrate her fifteenth birthday, in Havana, Cuba.

Story: A girl’s quinceañera (fifteenth birthday) is a Latino coming-of-age tradition marking transition into womanhood. It is a gender-specific rite of passage, traditionally showcasing a girl’s purity and readiness for marriage. Families go to great expense, often celebrating with a lavish party. The girl dresses as a princess, living out a fantasy and perceived idea of femininity. In Cuba, the tradition has transformed into a performance involving photo and video shoots, often documented in a photobook. Pura’s quinceañera had a special poignancy, as some years earlier, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor, she was told she would not live beyond the age of 13.

2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Second Prize

Male Rape | © Mary F. Calvert

Male Rape | © Mary F. Calvert

Caption: Former US marine Ethan Hanson bathes at home in Austin, Minnesota, USA, after a sexual trauma experienced during his military service left him unable to take showers.

Story: During a boot camp, Ethan and fellow recruits were ordered to walk naked through a communal shower while pressed together. Ethan reported the incident, but was harassed by the other men for doing so. Nightmares and panic attacks later forced him to resign. Recent Defense Department figures show sexual assault in the military to be on the increase. Servicemen are less likely than women to report sexual trauma, fearing retaliation or stigma.

2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Third Prize

Afghan Refugees Waiting to Cross the Iranian Border | © Enayat Asadi

Afghan Refugees Waiting to Cross the Iranian Border | © Enayat Asadi

Caption: An Afghan refugee comforts his companion while waiting for transport across the eastern border of Iran, on 27 July.

Story: UNHCR reports that Iran has almost one million registered refugees, the vast majority from Afghanistan. In addition, more than 1.5 million undocumented Afghans are estimated to be present in the country. Many people fleeing violence, insecurity and poverty in Afghanistan find no alternative but to use illegal traffickers, along routes where they are exposed to robbery, kidnapping and death. Their aim is to pass through Iran and Turkey or Greece to seek a better life elsewhere, but trafficked refugees are highly vulnerable to forced labor, debt bondage, forced marriage, or work in the sex trade.

2019 World Press Photo Environment Single First Prize

Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Caption: Petronella Chigumbura (30), a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe.

Story: Akashinga (‘The Brave Ones’) is a ranger force established as an alternative conservation model. It aims to work with, rather than against local populations, for the long-term benefits of their communities and the environment. Akashinga comprises women from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them, offering jobs, and helping local people to benefit directly from the preservation of wildlife. Other strategies—such as using fees from trophy hunting to fund conservation—have been criticized for imposing solutions from the outside and excluding the needs of local people.

2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Second Prize

Evacuated | © Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times

Evacuated | © Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times

Caption: Evacuated horses stand tied to a pole, as smoke from a wildfire billows above them, on Zuma Beach, in Malibu, California, USA, on 10 November.

Story: The 2018 wildfire season in California was the deadliest and most destructive on record, burning an area of more than 676,000 hectares. While scientists pointed to the vegetation-drying effects of climate change as a cause, US President Donald Trump blamed forest management.

2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Third Prize

Living Among What’s Left Behind | © Mário Cruz

Living Among What’s Left Behind | © Mário Cruz

Caption: A child who collects recyclable material lies on a mattress surrounded by garbage floating on the Pasig River, in Manila, Philippines.

Story: The Pasig River was declared biologically dead in the 1990s, due to a combination of industrial pollution and waste being dumped by nearby communities living without adequate sanitation infrastructure. A 2017 report by Nature Communications cites the Pasig as one of 20 most polluted rivers in the world, with up to 63,700 tons of plastic deposited into the ocean each year. Considerable efforts are being made to clean up the Pasig, which were recognized by an international prize in 2018, but in some parts of the river the waste is still so dense that it is possible to walk on top of the garbage.

2019 World Press Photo General News Single First Prize

The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images

The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images

Caption: An unidentified man tries to hold back the press on 15 October, as Saudi investigators arrive at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid a growing international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Story: A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi had been missing since entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents. After weeks of rumor and false information, Riyadh announced that Khashoggi had been killed accidentally during an altercation. Turkish authorities and the CIA claimed he had been murdered by Saudi intelligence operatives, working under high Saudi authority.

2019 World Press Photo General News Single Second Prize

Still Life Volcano | © Daniele Volpe

Still Life Volcano | © Daniele Volpe

Caption: The living-room of an abandoned home in San Miguel Los Lotes, Guatemala, lies covered in ash after the eruption of Volcán de Fuego on 3 June 2018.

Story: Fuego, around 40 km southwest of the capital Guatemala City, is one of Latin America’s most active volcanoes, and has been erupting periodically since 2002. It is monitored by volcanologists, but this eruption came without warning. People living around the volcano, many at Sunday lunch, were surprised by the suddenness of the event, as Fuego spewed red-hot lava, ash, poisonous gases and flaming debris onto villages below. The eruption was one of the deadliest in Guatemala for over a century. Guatemala’s National Institute of Forensic Sciences reported the recovery of 318 bodies, over a third of them unidentified.

2019 World Press Photo General News Single Third Prize

Unilateral | © Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse

Unilateral | © Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse

Caption: US President Donald Trump leads France’s President Emmanuel Macron by the hand while walking to the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington DC, on 24 April 2018.

Story: President Macron’s three-day visit to the United States was the first official state visit of the Trump administration. Unexpectedly, the two presidents’ body language went beyond the norm for such visits, bordering on the intimate. The leaders also praised each other effusively. The 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran was one of the main topics under discussion. Macron aimed to persuade Trump to adhere to the deal, which limited Iran’s nuclear program in return for a lifting of sanctions, but failed. On 8 May 2018, President Trump withdrew from the agreement, breaking with European allies. The relationship between the two leaders appears to have soured, with Trump later attacking Macron on Twitter.

2019 World Press Photo Nature Single First Prize

Survival Instinct | © Bence Máté

Survival Instinct | © Bence Máté

Caption: Frogs with their legs severed and surrounded by frogspawn struggle to the surface, after being thrown back into the water in Covasna, Eastern Carpathians, Romania, in April 2018.

Story: Frogs legs are frequently harvested for food in the spring, when males and females gather to mate and spawn. Legs are sometimes severed while the animal is still living. Each year, about US$ 40 million worth are sold annually, with countries across the world participating in the trade.

2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Second Prize

Flamingo Socks | © Jasper Doest

Flamingo Socks | © Jasper Doest

Caption: A Caribbean flamingo inspects the improvised socks created to help heal its severe foot lesions, at the Fundashon Dier en Onderwijs Cariben, Curaçao.

Story: The bird was brought by plane from neighboring island Bonaire, after spending a few weeks in a local rehabilitation facility. Such lesions are common among captive flamingos, as they have very sensitive feet and are used to walking on soft ground. After a few weeks of care the bird was transported back to Bonaire There are around 3,000 breeding pairs of Caribbean flamingos on Bonaire, and a further 200 to 300 birds on Curaçao.

2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Third Prize

Glass Butterfly | © Angel Fitor

Glass Butterfly | © Angel Fitor

Caption: A winged comb jelly, Leucothea multicornis, its wings widely opened, propels itself through waters off Alicante, Spain.

Story: Leucothea multicornis, like other comb jellies, is a voracious predator, capturing its prey using sticky cells rather than by stinging. Little is currently known about the biology of comb jellies. Because the creatures are so fragile and fold their wings in reaction to the slightest vibration, they are extremely difficult to study and to photograph.

2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single First Prize

Dakar Fashion | © Finbarr O’Reilly

Dakar Fashion | © Finbarr O’Reilly

Caption: Diarra Ndiaye, Ndeye Fatou Mbaye and Mariz Sakho model outfits by designer Adama Paris, in the Medina neighborhood of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, as curious residents look on.

Story: Dakar is a growing hub of Franco-African fashion, and is home to Fashion Africa TV, the first station entirely dedicated to fashion on the continent. The annual Dakar Fashion Week includes an extravagant street show that is open to all and attended by thousands from all corners of the capital. Adama Paris (who has a namesake brand) is a driving force behind the fashion week, and much else on the design scene.

2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Second Prize

Black Birds | © Heba Khamis

Black Birds | © Heba Khamis

Caption: Jochen (71) and Mohamed (21; not his real name) sit in the Tiergarten, Berlin. Jochen fell in love after meeting Mohamed, then a sex worker in the park. They have been dating for 19 months.

Story: Prostitution between consenting adults is legal in Germany, and German aid charities have reported a marked increase in the number of young migrants turning to sex work. While they wait for their documents, refugees are not allowed to work legally or attend school. The German government prioritizes assistance to refugees from countries with an ongoing war; those seeking asylum from countries without war are placed in a second category, where papers take longer to complete. This lack of employment opportunity creates a severe lack of choice for many, with some young men becoming sex workers, sometimes to fund a heroin addiction. The Tiergarten, a large park in central Berlin, is a popular meeting spot for male sex workers and older clients. Mohamed now works in a gay bar, and is quitting heroin.

2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Third Prize

When I Was Ill | © Alyona Kochetkova

When I Was Ill | © Alyona Kochetkova

Caption: Alyona Kochetkova sits at home, unable to face borscht (beet soup), her favorite food, during treatment for cancer.

Story: Alyona shot this self-portrait following surgery and chemotherapy, when, although she knew the vital importance of food, she struggled to eat. Taking photos was not only a way of sharing a difficult and personal story in the hope that it might support others with a cancer diagnosis, it was also a means of accepting her ordeal by doing what she loved.

2019 World Press Photo Sports Single First Prize

Boxing in Katanga | © John T. Pedersen

Boxing in Katanga | © John T. Pedersen

Caption: Boxer Morin Ajambo (30) trains in Katanga, a large slum settlement in Kampala, Uganda, on 24 March.

Story: More than 20,000 people live in Katanga, crowded together and often in extreme poverty. The boxing club receives no outside funding. From these disadvantaged beginnings, Ajambo, a mother of seven, went on to box in the Ugandan women’s team. Men’s boxing has a long history in Uganda, bur women boxers are often frustrated by the few opportunities to compete at an international level.

2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Second Prize

Sunlight Serve | © David Gray, Reuters

Sunlight Serve | © David Gray, Reuters

Caption: Naomi Osaka serves during her match against Simona Halep from Romania during the Australian Open tennis tournament, at Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, Australia, on 22 January.

Story: Osaka, who was born to a Japanese mother and Haitian father is now based in Florida, USA, went on to win the tournament. In September, she won the US Open women’s singles, defeating Serena Williams. Over the course of 2018, Osaka rose from number 72 in world rankings to number one.

2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Third Prize

Shields Strikes Back | © Terrell Groggins

Shields Strikes Back | © Terrell Groggins

Caption: Olympic champion Claressa Shields (right) meets Hanna Gabriels in a boxing match at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan, USA, on 22 June.

Story: Shields suffered a second-round knock down by Gabriels—the first in her career—but went on to win the match by unanimous decision. Shields is the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing, and the first (male or female) to win a gold back-to-back in successive Olympic Games. She has had only one loss in her career, against British World Champion Savannah Marshal, in 2012.

2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single First Prize

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Caption: Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez cries as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June.

Story: Immigrant families had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were then detained by US authorities. Sandra Sanchez said that she and her daughter had been traveling for a month through Central America and Mexico before reaching the US to seek asylum. The Trump Administration had announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy at the border under which immigrants caught entering the US could be criminally prosecuted. As a result, many apprehended parents were separated from their children, often sent to different detention facilities. After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials. Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June.

2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Second Prize

Warning: the above image is graphic in nature. Click here to see the original photo. The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan

Warning: the above image is graphic in nature. Click here to see the original photo. The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan

The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan

Caption: The body of Michael Nadayao lies in the street after he was shot dead by unidentified men in front of mourners at a wake, in Quezon City, Philippines, on 31 August 2018.

Story: President Rodrigo Duterte began a concerted anti-drug offensive soon after taking office in June 2016, repeatedly ordering increased attacks against suspects. Amnesty International reports that this led to human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings by both civilians and police. A spokesman for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said the campaign had led to 5,050 deaths by December 2018, with Human Rights Watch citing over 12,000. In June, 38 UN member states called on President Duterte to end the killings and probe the causes of the drug war.

2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Third Prize

Climbing the Border Fence | © Pedro Pardo, Agence France-Presse

Climbing the Border Fence | © Pedro Pardo, Agence France-Presse

Caption: Central American migrants climb the border fence between Mexico and the United States, near El Chaparral border crossing, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on 25 November 2018.

Story: Refugees who were part of a caravan that originated in Honduras in October 2018, began arriving at the border in November 2018 to find a backlog of some 3,000 people waiting to be processed into the United States, and a potential delay of months. This led to rising tensions, and to people breaking away from the caravan to attempt their own entry.

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Unreal Engine’s latest demo videos show just how photorealistic the digital world has become

23 Mar

At this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), Epic Games showed off a new pair of demo videos that show just how capable its Unreal Engine has become thanks to advanced ray tracing technologies.

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The first video, seen above, is titled Rebirth and showcases just how photorealistic scenes can be when developed with the gaming engine’s technology. The demo, designed by the studio Quixel, highlights how realistic the lighting technology inside Unreal Engine 4 has become.

The demo was created by just three artists who developed it all using a standard version of Unreal and real-world scans from Quixel’s Megascans Icelandic collection. The result is a stunning showcase of textures and details that rival reality, as seen in the gallery of screenshots above, captured from the 4K stream.

The second demo is a teaser for an upcoming movie titled Troll. Still in the works, the movie is a collaboration between Deep Forest Films and Goodbye Kansas Studios. The short glimpse we get of it once again highlights just how realistic the animated lighting is in the scene, with the face of a woman being dynamically illuminated by little fire fairies of sorts.

As for what this means in the world of photography, the possibilities are seemingly endless. Aside from the inevitable point in time when we can no longer tell a rendering from an actual image — if it’s not already here — the ability to replicate precise lighting situations could open up the door to new software and technology that could not only help to simulate lighting setups in the digital world before testing them out in the real world, but also open up the door to adding realistic lighting to scenes and portraits in post-production.

Keep in mind that unless you’re viewing the videos in Google Chrome on a 4K monitor, you won’t be able to see them in their 4K glory. Even in 1080 though, the videos look incredible.

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Facebook, Instagram goes down for select users around the world

14 Mar

Facebook and its accompanying platform of applications — including Instagram — have been and continue to be down for a number of users around the globe today.

Both Facebook and Instagram load normally for users, but neither platform appears to be updating feeds properly and also won’t allow users to post. DPReview tested its accounts and can confirm both Facebook and Instagram were having issues at the time of writing and posting this article.

Facebook has addressed the issue, ironically enough, on Twitter, saying:

While there have been rumors the attack is due to a DDoS attack, Facebook has said that isn’t the case.

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Slideshow: World Press Photo announces nominees for its 2019 Photo Competition

25 Feb

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Editors note: There are images in the above gallery that are considered graphic and explicit in nature. Keep this in mind while looking through the gallery.

World Press Photo has announced the nominees for its 2019 Photo Contest. The contest, which is in its 62nd year, celebrates the work of photojournalists around the world who have captured profound images that depict defining moments throughout the year.

78,801 photographs from 4,738 photographers were considered and the 43 nominees hail from 25 countries around the world.

The nominated photos fall under two headline awards: ‘World Press Photo of the Year’ and ‘World Press Photo Story of the Year,’ the latter of which showcases a series of images from a particular assignment or project from photojournalists around the world. There are eight additional categories, each of which has its own set of nominees: Contemporary Issues, Environment, General News, Long Term Projects, Nature, Portraits, Sports and Spot News. Each of these categories have the sub-categories of single picture entries and story entires with the exception of Long Term Projects, which is a series.

We’ve rounded up the single picture nominees for each category in the gallery above. Along with the image will be a caption and accompanying backstory provided by the photographers and edited for clarity and brevity by World Press Photo.

The winning photos and stories will be announced at the World Press Photo Award Show on April 11th in Amsterdam. All winners are chosen from an independent jury from a wide range of photo backgrounds.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Victims of an Alleged Gas Attack Receive Treatment in Eastern Ghouta | © Mohammed Badra, European Pressphoto Agency

Victims of an Alleged Gas Attack Receive Treatment in Eastern Ghouta | © Mohammed Badra, European Pressphoto Agency

Caption: A man and a child receive treatment after the suspected gas attack on al-Shifunieh, 25 February 2018.

Story: By February 2018, the people of Eastern Ghouta, a suburban district outside Damascus and one of the last rebel enclaves in the ongoing Syrian conflict, had been under siege by government forces for five years. During the final offensive, Eastern Ghouta came under rocket fire and air bombardment, including at least one alleged gas attack—on the village of al-Shifunieh, on 25 February 2018. Figures are difficult to verify, but Médecins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) reported 4,829 wounded and 1,005 killed between 18 February and 3 March 2018, according to data from medical facilities they supported alone. MSF also reported 13 hospitals and clinics damaged or destroyed in just three days. Reports on the end of the siege in Eastern Ghouta are conflicting, though the Syrian army appear to have recaptured most of the south of the country by July. UNICEF reported the siege of Eastern Ghouta to have ended by late-March, with limited humanitarian access becoming available.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Almajiri Boy | © Marco Gualazzini, Contrasto

Almajiri Boy | © Marco Gualazzini, Contrasto

Caption: An orphaned boy walks past a wall with drawings depicting rocket-propelled grenade launchers, in Bol, Chad.

Story: A humanitarian crisis is underway in the Chad Basin, caused by a complex combination of political conflict and environmental factors. Lake Chad—once one of Africa’s largest lakes and a lifeline to 40 million people—is experiencing massive desertification. As a result of unplanned irrigation, extended drought, deforestation and resource mismanagement, the size of the lake has decreased by 90 percent over the past 60 years. Traditional livelihoods such as fishing have withered, and water shortages are causing conflict between farmers and cattle herders. Jihadist group Boko Haram, which is active in the area, both benefits from the hardship and widespread hunger and contributes to it. The group uses local villages as a recruiting ground, and the protracted conflict has uprooted 2.5 million people, exacerbating food insecurity.

The Lake Chad Crisis was funded by InsideOver.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Being Pregnant After FARC Child-Bearing Ban | © Catalina Martin-Chico, Panos

Being Pregnant After FARC Child-Bearing Ban | © Catalina Martin-Chico, Panos

Caption: Yorladis is pregnant for the sixth time, after five other pregnancies were terminated during her FARC years. She says she managed to hide the fifth pregnancy from her commander until the sixth month by wearing loose clothes.

Story: Since the signing of a peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC rebel movement in 2016, there has been a baby boom among former female guerillas. Pregnancy was thought incompatible with guerrilla life. Women were obliged to put war before children, leaving babies with relatives or, some say, undergoing forced abortions—a charge FARC denies.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images

The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images

Caption: An unidentified man tries to hold back the press on 15 October, as Saudi investigators arrive at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid a growing international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Story: A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi had been missing since entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents. After weeks of rumor and false information, Riyadh announced that Khashoggi had been killed accidentally during an altercation. Turkish authorities and the CIA claimed he had been murdered by Saudi intelligence operatives, working under high Saudi authority.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Caption: Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez cries as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June.

Story: Immigrant families had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were then detained by US authorities. Sandra Sanchez said that she and her daughter had been traveling for a month through Central America and Mexico before reaching the US to seek asylum. The Trump Administration had announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy at the border under which immigrants caught entering the US could be criminally prosecuted. As a result, many apprehended parents were separated from their children, often sent to different detention facilities. After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials. Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Caption: Petronella Chigumbura (30), a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe.

Story: Akashinga (‘The Brave Ones’) is a ranger force established as an alternative conservation model. It aims to work with, rather than against local populations, for the long-term benefits of their communities and the environment. Akashinga comprises women from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them, offering jobs, and helping local people to benefit directly from the preservation of wildlife. Other strategies—such as using fees from trophy hunting to fund conservation—have been criticized for imposing solutions from the outside and excluding the needs of local people.

2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Nominees

Afghan Refugees Waiting to Cross the Iranian Border | © Enayat Asadi

Afghan Refugees Waiting to Cross the Iranian Border | © Enayat Asadi

Caption: An Afghan refugee comforts his companion while waiting for transport across the eastern border of Iran, on 27 July.

Story: UNHCR reports that Iran has almost one million registered refugees, the vast majority from Afghanistan. In addition, more than 1.5 million undocumented Afghans are estimated to be present in the country. Many people fleeing violence, insecurity and poverty in Afghanistan find no alternative but to use illegal traffickers, along routes where they are exposed to robbery, kidnapping and death. Their aim is to pass through Iran and Turkey or Greece to seek a better life elsewhere, but trafficked refugees are highly vulnerable to forced labor, debt bondage, forced marriage, or work in the sex trade.

2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Nominees

Male Rape | © Mary F. Calvert

Male Rape | © Mary F. Calvert

Caption: Former US marine Ethan Hanson bathes at home in Austin, Minnesota, USA, after a sexual trauma experienced during his military service left him unable to take showers.

Story: During a boot camp, Ethan and fellow recruits were ordered to walk naked through a communal shower while pressed together. Ethan reported the incident, but was harassed by the other men for doing so. Nightmares and panic attacks later forced him to resign. Recent Defense Department figures show sexual assault in the military to be on the increase. Servicemen are less likely than women to report sexual trauma, fearing retaliation or stigma.

2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Nominees

The Cubanitas | © Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos

The Cubanitas | © Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos

Caption: Pura rides around her neighborhood in a pink 1950s convertible, as the community gathers to celebrate her fifteenth birthday, in Havana, Cuba.

Story: A girl’s quinceañera (fifteenth birthday) is a Latino coming-of-age tradition marking transition into womanhood. It is a gender-specific rite of passage, traditionally showcasing a girl’s purity and readiness for marriage. Families go to great expense, often celebrating with a lavish party. The girl dresses as a princess, living out a fantasy and perceived idea of femininity. In Cuba, the tradition has transformed into a performance involving photo and video shoots, often documented in a photobook. Pura’s quinceañera had a special poignancy, as some years earlier, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor, she was told she would not live beyond the age of 13.

2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Nominees

Living Among What’s Left Behind | © Mário Cruz

Living Among What’s Left Behind | © Mário Cruz

Caption: A child who collects recyclable material lies on a mattress surrounded by garbage floating on the Pasig River, in Manila, Philippines.

Story: The Pasig River was declared biologically dead in the 1990s, due to a combination of industrial pollution and waste being dumped by nearby communities living without adequate sanitation infrastructure. A 2017 report by Nature Communications cites the Pasig as one of 20 most polluted rivers in the world, with up to 63,700 tons of plastic deposited into the ocean each year. Considerable efforts are being made to clean up the Pasig, which were recognized by an international prize in 2018, but in some parts of the river the waste is still so dense that it is possible to walk on top of the garbage.

2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Nominees

Evacuated | © Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times

Evacuated | © Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times

Caption: Evacuated horses stand tied to a pole, as smoke from a wildfire billows above them, on Zuma Beach, in Malibu, California, USA, on 10 November.

Story: The 2018 wildfire season in California was the deadliest and most destructive on record, burning an area of more than 676,000 hectares. While scientists pointed to the vegetation-drying effects of climate change as a cause, US President Donald Trump blamed forest management.

2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Nominees

Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Caption: Petronella Chigumbura (30), a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe.

Story: Akashinga (‘The Brave Ones’) is a ranger force established as an alternative conservation model. It aims to work with, rather than against local populations, for the long-term benefits of their communities and the environment. Akashinga comprises women from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them, offering jobs, and helping local people to benefit directly from the preservation of wildlife. Other strategies—such as using fees from trophy hunting to fund conservation—have been criticized for imposing solutions from the outside and excluding the needs of local people.

2019 World Press Photo General News Single Nominees

The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images

The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images

Caption: An unidentified man tries to hold back the press on 15 October, as Saudi investigators arrive at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid a growing international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Story: A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi had been missing since entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents. After weeks of rumor and false information, Riyadh announced that Khashoggi had been killed accidentally during an altercation. Turkish authorities and the CIA claimed he had been murdered by Saudi intelligence operatives, working under high Saudi authority.

2019 World Press Photo General News Single Nominees

Unilateral | © Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse

Unilateral | © Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse

Caption: US President Donald Trump leads France’s President Emmanuel Macron by the hand while walking to the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington DC, on 24 April 2018.

Story: President Macron’s three-day visit to the United States was the first official state visit of the Trump administration. Unexpectedly, the two presidents’ body language went beyond the norm for such visits, bordering on the intimate. The leaders also praised each other effusively. The 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran was one of the main topics under discussion. Macron aimed to persuade Trump to adhere to the deal, which limited Iran’s nuclear program in return for a lifting of sanctions, but failed. On 8 May 2018, President Trump withdrew from the agreement, breaking with European allies. The relationship between the two leaders appears to have soured, with Trump later attacking Macron on Twitter.

2019 World Press Photo General News Single Nominees

Still Life Volcano | © Daniele Volpe

Still Life Volcano | © Daniele Volpe

Caption: The living-room of an abandoned home in San Miguel Los Lotes, Guatemala, lies covered in ash after the eruption of Volcán de Fuego on 3 June 2018.

Story: Fuego, around 40 km southwest of the capital Guatemala City, is one of Latin America’s most active volcanoes, and has been erupting periodically since 2002. It is monitored by volcanologists, but this eruption came without warning. People living around the volcano, many at Sunday lunch, were surprised by the suddenness of the event, as Fuego spewed red-hot lava, ash, poisonous gases and flaming debris onto villages below. The eruption was one of the deadliest in Guatemala for over a century. Guatemala’s National Institute of Forensic Sciences reported the recovery of 318 bodies, over a third of them unidentified.

2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Nominees

Flamingo Socks | © Jasper Doest

Flamingo Socks | © Jasper Doest

Caption: A Caribbean flamingo inspects the improvised socks created to help heal its severe foot lesions, at the Fundashon Dier en Onderwijs Cariben, Curaçao.

Story: The bird was brought by plane from neighboring island Bonaire, after spending a few weeks in a local rehabilitation facility. Such lesions are common among captive flamingos, as they have very sensitive feet and are used to walking on soft ground. After a few weeks of care the bird was transported back to Bonaire There are around 3,000 breeding pairs of Caribbean flamingos on Bonaire, and a further 200 to 300 birds on Curaçao.

2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Nominees

Glass Butterfly | © Angel Fitor

Glass Butterfly | © Angel Fitor

Caption: A winged comb jelly, Leucothea multicornis, its wings widely opened, propels itself through waters off Alicante, Spain.

Story: Leucothea multicornis, like other comb jellies, is a voracious predator, capturing its prey using sticky cells rather than by stinging. Little is currently known about the biology of comb jellies. Because the creatures are so fragile and fold their wings in reaction to the slightest vibration, they are extremely difficult to study and to photograph.

2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Nominees

Survival Instinct | © Bence Máté

Survival Instinct | © Bence Máté

Caption: Frogs with their legs severed and surrounded by frogspawn struggle to the surface, after being thrown back into the water in Covasna, Eastern Carpathians, Romania, in April 2018.

Story: Frogs legs are frequently harvested for food in the spring, when males and females gather to mate and spawn. Legs are sometimes severed while the animal is still living. Each year, about US$ 40 million worth are sold annually, with countries across the world participating in the trade.

2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Nominees

Black Birds | © Heba Khamis

Black Birds | © Heba Khamis

Caption: Jochen (71) and Mohamed (21; not his real name) sit in the Tiergarten, Berlin. Jochen fell in love after meeting Mohamed, then a sex worker in the park. They have been dating for 19 months.

Story: Prostitution between consenting adults is legal in Germany, and German aid charities have reported a marked increase in the number of young migrants turning to sex work. While they wait for their documents, refugees are not allowed to work legally or attend school. The German government prioritizes assistance to refugees from countries with an ongoing war; those seeking asylum from countries without war are placed in a second category, where papers take longer to complete. This lack of employment opportunity creates a severe lack of choice for many, with some young men becoming sex workers, sometimes to fund a heroin addiction. The Tiergarten, a large park in central Berlin, is a popular meeting spot for male sex workers and older clients. Mohamed now works in a gay bar, and is quitting heroin.

2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Nominees

When I Was Ill | © Alyona Kochetkova

When I Was Ill | © Alyona Kochetkova

Caption: Alyona Kochetkova sits at home, unable to face borscht (beet soup), her favorite food, during treatment for cancer.

Story: Alyona shot this self-portrait following surgery and chemotherapy, when, although she knew the vital importance of food, she struggled to eat. Taking photos was not only a way of sharing a difficult and personal story in the hope that it might support others with a cancer diagnosis, it was also a means of accepting her ordeal by doing what she loved.

2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Nominees

Dakar Fashion | © Finbarr O’Reilly

Dakar Fashion | © Finbarr O’Reilly

Caption: Diarra Ndiaye, Ndeye Fatou Mbaye and Mariz Sakho model outfits by designer Adama Paris, in the Medina neighborhood of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, as curious residents look on.

Story: Dakar is a growing hub of Franco-African fashion, and is home to Fashion Africa TV, the first station entirely dedicated to fashion on the continent. The annual Dakar Fashion Week includes an extravagant street show that is open to all and attended by thousands from all corners of the capital. Adama Paris (who has a namesake brand) is a driving force behind the fashion week, and much else on the design scene.

2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Nominees

Sunlight Serve | © David Gray, Reuters

Sunlight Serve | © David Gray, Reuters

Caption: Naomi Osaka serves during her match against Simona Halep from Romania during the Australian Open tennis tournament, at Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, Australia, on 22 January.

Story: Osaka, who was born to a Japanese mother and Haitian father is now based in Florida, USA, went on to win the tournament. In September, she won the US Open women’s singles, defeating Serena Williams. Over the course of 2018, Osaka rose from number 72 in world rankings to number one.

2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Nominees

Shields Strikes Back | © Terrell Groggins

Shields Strikes Back | © Terrell Groggins

Caption: Olympic champion Claressa Shields (right) meets Hanna Gabriels in a boxing match at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan, USA, on 22 June.

Story: Shields suffered a second-round knock down by Gabriels—the first in her career—but went on to win the match by unanimous decision. Shields is the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing, and the first (male or female) to win a gold back-to-back in successive Olympic Games. She has had only one loss in her career, against British World Champion Savannah Marshal, in 2012.

2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Nominees

Boxing in Katanga | © John T. Pedersen

Boxing in Katanga | © John T. Pedersen

Caption: Boxer Morin Ajambo (30) trains in Katanga, a large slum settlement in Kampala, Uganda, on 24 March.

Story: More than 20,000 people live in Katanga, crowded together and often in extreme poverty. The boxing club receives no outside funding. From these disadvantaged beginnings, Ajambo, a mother of seven, went on to box in the Ugandan women’s team. Men’s boxing has a long history in Uganda, bur women boxers are often frustrated by the few opportunities to compete at an international level.

2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Nominees

Warning: the above image is graphic in nature. Click here to see the original photo. The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan

Warning: the above image is graphic in nature. Click here to see the original photo. The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan

The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan

Caption: The body of Michael Nadayao lies in the street after he was shot dead by unidentified men in front of mourners at a wake, in Quezon City, Philippines, on 31 August 2018.

Story: President Rodrigo Duterte began a concerted anti-drug offensive soon after taking office in June 2016, repeatedly ordering increased attacks against suspects. Amnesty International reports that this led to human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings by both civilians and police. A spokesman for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said the campaign had led to 5,050 deaths by December 2018, with Human Rights Watch citing over 12,000. In June, 38 UN member states called on President Duterte to end the killings and probe the causes of the drug war.

2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Nominees

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Caption: Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez cries as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June.

Story: Immigrant families had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were then detained by US authorities. Sandra Sanchez said that she and her daughter had been traveling for a month through Central America and Mexico before reaching the US to seek asylum. The Trump Administration had announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy at the border under which immigrants caught entering the US could be criminally prosecuted. As a result, many apprehended parents were separated from their children, often sent to different detention facilities. After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials. Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June.

2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Nominees

Climbing the Border Fence | © Pedro Pardo, Agence France-Presse

Climbing the Border Fence | © Pedro Pardo, Agence France-Presse

Caption: Central American migrants climb the border fence between Mexico and the United States, near El Chaparral border crossing, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on 25 November 2018.

Story: Refugees who were part of a caravan that originated in Honduras in October 2018, began arriving at the border in November 2018 to find a backlog of some 3,000 people waiting to be processed into the United States, and a potential delay of months. This led to rising tensions, and to people breaking away from the caravan to attempt their own entry.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Clever “Sketches” video shows objects being edited in the real world

01 Dec

A newly published video called “Sketches” from Russian motion graphics designer Vladimir Tomin shows the world around him being edited using video editing tools. The experimental work presents a variety of scenes in which cursors appear to cut and paste birds, type text created from twisted crane pieces, and scrape the painted line off a road.

Clips from the video, which was published on Vimeo, can also be found on Tomin’s Instagram account alongside other videos of clever reality edits. Tomin also offers content on YouTube and through his personal website.

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Keith Ladzinski talks Nikon mirrorless: ‘It’s a different world now. But it’s so much more fun’

21 Nov

Keith Ladzinski is a wildlife and adventure photographer, filmmaker and Nikon Ambassador based in Colorado. He’s been using Nikon DSLRs since the early 2000s, and his most recent film project was created using the new Z 6. In this interview he explains the background of the project, how the Z 6 allows him to bounce seamlessly between photo and video, and what’s changed since he bought his first digital camera in 2004.

Can you describe the project you’ve been working on?

I’ve been working with athletes, old friends, they’re professional climbers and we’ve been shooting in areas where when I first started working as a professional photographer. So one place for example is where I shot my first cover story, and another was where I did another of my first big stories. So we basically went from Utah all the way back to Colorado. As I started thinking about this project, it became sort of one big nostalgic trip in a lot of ways. It was with people I had history with, and locations I had history with.

The way I wanted to put this thing together was to sort of look back right to 2004 when I was working with my first proper digital camera, which was the Nikon D2X. The only things that have stayed the same over that time are my relationships with people, and with those places. So coming back into Colorado, where I first learned to shoot photos in the Rockies, and building a narrative to go along with that story – it just worked so well.

So you’ve got to see 15 years of digital photography evolution.

Absolutely. I’ve been lucky to get a view of the evolution of digital photography from 2004 to where we’re at now, these tiny mirrorless cameras that give you extraordinary video. When I first started it was all about just photography, but now there’s this stills and video duality which is really interesting.

Nikon Z 6 sample images by Keith Ladzinski

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So I’m looking back, and there’s nothing more nostalgic than a road trip. That’s something we can all identify with. There’s a lot of laughter and memories. So there was a lot of serendipity that came together with these themes and this project. This trip was primarily focused on landscape and nature work, with the main activity being rock climbing.

How does the Z 6 fit into your workflow?

I use it for climbing, actually. Climbing is a pretty slow activity but I shoot bursts a lot because there could be that one moment when someone’s on tiny hand holds and there’s this momentary facial expression that tells the story, so having a high frame rate is really useful in that regard.

I lean on the Z 6 for video. There’s no crop shooting in 4K, so your wide lenses stay wide. And I shot some video at ISO 8000 lit by headlamps, and I was expecting crap image quality, but it was amazing. It blew me away how clean it was. I didn’t know what it was going to look like, and it’s damned good.

Is climbing one of the ways that you got into photography?

Natural history, landscapes, wildlife and – oddly enough – skateboarding were actually my initial avenues into photography. Living in Colorado you’re surrounded by wilderness all the time, but skateboarding kind of ruled my youth. And at the time, skateboarding meant trespassing, getting kicked out by security guards from wherever we were – there weren’t a lot of skate parks at the time, so you just went to the city.

And the wilderness is such a different vibe. From a photography perspective, skateboard photography is all about low light, artificial lighting, which of course was required when I was shooting film, but it was also the style of the magazines I was reading at the time. And of course landscape photography is about being alone, being patient, waiting for the moment to unfold.

Image courtesy of Keith Ladzinski.

As I got older and I started finding my own voice as a photographer, the two activities sort of came together. Along the way I got into rock climbing, and with every activity in my life, photography has a way of taking over whatever it is, and merging into it.

It’s a wonderful thing, because you end up compelled to document what you love. Once that started happening, I didn’t realize it but I’d inadvertently created a style that the climbing world hadn’t seen up until that point, because I was shooting it the way I’d shoot skateboarding. I shot the way I knew, which was a mix of using available light and artificial light. I got some magazine work and developed a career.

The challenge is that when you’re shooting photos often you’ll see video moments, and when you’re rolling video you’ll see still photography opportunities

How do you plan a multi-media trip like this?

There’s more involved, for sure. If I was doing a story on just rock climbing, I’ve covered that a lot for so many years, so like any photographer that’s shot something for long enough, I kind of know what I’m doing. But when you’re putting things into a video timeline you’re quadrupling your shot list, and you’re looking for moments that maybe have more personality and character to them, like soundbites, something funny someone’s doing, or an unexpected moment.

The challenge is that when you’re shooting photos often you’ll see video moments, and when you’re rolling video you’ll see still photography opportunities. That’s the conflict, but on a shoot like this I had help. I had two other people with me, capturing behind the scenes footage but also capturing some A roll and B roll as needed. Video is so much more of a team sport than photography.

Keith Ladzinski on location in Antarctica. Picture by Cristina Mittermeier, used with permission.

How does your kit now compare to your kit back in 2004?

Oh my god, it’s so much lighter now. I used haul a 70-200mm F2.8, 17-35mm F2.8 and a 24-70mm F2.8 up the wall with a D2X, and it was heavy! Lenses have made tremendous progress. The current 70-200mm F2.8 compared to the original, it’s so much lighter. Now you look at mirrorless, and it’s smaller, lighter, faster. Things have become so much better for outdoor photographers.

I love looking through an EVF, too. I much prefer it because focus peaking is really important for me. There are times when I’ll switch to manual focus, even if I’m just shooting still photos, and of course just for blocking out the light. Living on the back of an LCD is just not effective if it’s high noon, for example. Those things mean a lot if you’re in the field.

What are your must-have camera features?

Focus peaking is huge for video, for sure. But I’ve tried the face detection autofocus on the Z 6 and I was very, very impressed. I ended up using it a lot on this shoot. 120fps video is so standard, now too. The camera has to have that now for shooting video, because those moments do present themselves. I don’t like to lean on it too much, but I need it when I need it. So that is really important to me. Being able to shoot in low light, obviously I need that too but I feel like the low light game was changed when the D3 came out [in late 2007] and it’s just been great since then.

You’ve used several generations of digital cameras – what are the biggest changes that you’ve seen?

ISO sensitivity is a big one, it’s incredible really, the kind of light you can work in these days, it’s so great. The introduction of video into DSLRs and mirrorless has been a huge thing, too. When the D90 came out and all of a sudden we had this capability to shoot video and I started to look into that world, first I was doing it out of fear. People were saying ‘you need to be a director, you need to shoot video, you don’t want to be left behind’ so I was reading all this information thinking ‘oh my god I should really figure this out’, and going down that wormhole.

Video was just such a completely different thing. I was told if you want to get serious about it, you’d better know how to edit, you’d better know how audio works.. it was this whole new thing. But the fear turned into love.

It’s a completely different world now. But it’s so much more fun

In photography you’re hunting for a moment, but in videography you’re looking for a sequence, and a scene. And it made me work differently. I started to think in terms of scenes and edits. You learn that when you first attempt to make films, you realize what you don’t know! You quickly realize ‘ok, I need to look at what I’m doing, differently’. That helped me become a better story teller, which helped me later when I started working with National Geographic and magazines like that because they require so much more. They require photographers to look at a subject differently because they’ve seen it all. It’s a high pressure place to work.

Working in video actually really helped me. I started breaking into a dual role, so that technological advancement, seeing that and living through it, I’m very grateful. Coming from film, into digital and now true multimedia where you’re working with stills and audio and video, it’s a completely different world now. But it’s so much more fun.

This is sponsored content, created by Nikon. What does this mean?

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Study sheds light on selfie deaths from around the world

06 Oct

A study newly published by the US National Library of Medicine NIH sheds light on deaths that occurred while taking selfies. The team behind the study found a total of 259 selfie-related fatalities had occurred between October 2011 and November 2017 from a total of 137 incidents around the globe. Risky behavior is cited as the primary cause of these tragedies.

The researchers conducted their study “to assess the epidemiology of selfie-related deaths across the globe,” according to the published research paper. Selfie-related deaths were categorized into two “causes” categories: non-risky behavior and risky behavior.

Risky behavior accounted for the majority of deaths, 72.5% of which involved male and 27.5% of which involved female victims. India was found to have the highest number of reported incidents, with Russia, the US, and Pakistan following. Falling, drowning, and transport-related incidents topped the reasons for the deaths.

As well, the study found that male victims were three times more likely to die during selfies due to risky behaviors, whereas non-risky behavior was the primary cause of female selfie-related fatalities. A recent example of such a tragedy involved 26-year-old Chinese “rooftopper” Wu Yongning who died after falling from a skyscraper.

The researchers conclude that regions with tall buildings, bodies of water, and other similar perilous places should be declared “no selfie zones” to help protect people from potential injuries or death.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos

12 Sep

sunset photo - How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos

I have a really cool idea for you. One that is so simple, and yet so amazingly impactful, that if you start utilizing this concept now you will immediately see the benefits in your photography and you will create better photos.

I come across some very common issues in my workshops. One huge problem is that the photos people take are often too busy. The subject doesn’t stand out and there isn’t a clear relationship between the subject and the elements around it.

Or, in reverse, the photos are so focused on the subject, that nothing else is in the frame, so the photo ends up being relatively flat.

How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos - forest stream and mossy rocks

Everything within your frame is an element: the expanse and color of the sky, the child playing in the background, the rush of cars behind your subject, etc.

Each element that is within your frame must have a function, a purpose and must contribute to the overall image. If it doesn’t, it shouldn’t be there.

Your job as a photographer is to break down the scene you want to photograph into its elements. Then arrange the elements into an interesting and complementary combination.

rolling hills Tuscany - How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos

Nature photography by a street photographer

For this article, I have used photos from a project I did in Tuscany. For seven weeks, I stayed in a castle over the winter with my family and a bunch of other traveling families. I spent my time wandering in the quiet hills, photographing. It is an intensely beautiful place.

I am using these photos as examples because I am not a nature photographer. I usually photograph cities, often at dawn, when the light is beautiful and the streets are empty.

So I wanted to show you how I approached a subject I love, but am not super experienced at shooting, and how by using this technique I got some pretty awesome photos.

cemetery in Tuscany - How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos

I like to always be developing as a photographer, to push myself beyond what I am already doing. So being out in the silent forests and undulating hills of Tuscany on a winter’s morning was incredibly inspiring.

Nature can be notoriously tricky to photograph. Wandering out into a forest with thousands of trees and millions of other elements that all look the same or similar, can be a case of where do I start?

You are not just waiting for the perfect moment to happen and then to photograph it. You are creating the photograph with the elements around you.

castle silhouette - How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos

I am going to use examples of how I approached organizing the elements in the world around me into compelling photos. So let’s get started!

Shapes and Lines

The first example is the photograph below, made almost totally of interesting shapes and lines. Can you see them? These lines and shapes were the elements I used to create the image.

One day, I was walking along this path and the first thing that piqued my interest was the lines that the path created.

rural path and stone wall - How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos

They are really strong, so I started to play around with them. From further away the lines were pretty straight and not very interesting, just heading off into the distance. However, as I started to get closer to the curve of the path, the lines of the path started to turn. Then the fence started to come into play and echo the twist of the path. I thought that was interesting.

Now another element I worked into the shot (and I took a lot of shots of the path, going from left to right, and moving further away) was the wall. What a cool wall! The relationship between the chaotic, curved fence, the smooth curve of the path, the strong lines of color, worked really well with the element of the heavy stone wall made up of oblong or square shapes.

So, from an elements perspective, this photo is almost entirely made up of lines and shapes, placed together to form an interesting composition.

My final flourish (and I like to do this in my images because I don’t always want the photo to be too clean) is waiting for the rise of mist. This creates a pleasing contrast to the organized shapes, a little bit of nature and wildness.

Silhouettes

How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos - trees in silhouette

Onto my next image. What do you think are the strong elements in this photo above?

Most obvious are the silhouettes of the trees. I was very inspired by the beauty of the sky. The soft pinks and blues, the sun and the little stretch of clouds. But photos of skies, of really simple things, can be pretty boring. So I was trying to move beyond just pretty.

What I love about photographing silhouettes of bare trees is how they add such strong and intriguing shapes to photos. The branches can look wild and chaotic, but they are also contained and ordered by their structure.

I could have taken the photo of the trees against the sky as it was – two very strong elements of sky and trees. But I wanted to add a more grounding element, something that didn’t really look like an important element, but somehow brought it all together.

For that, I have used the view of the forest running along the bottom of the image. And of course, the brilliant sunburst is important.

Detail

How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos - signs in the forest

In the photo above is a detail shot, where I honed in on an interesting, simple element. Detail shots are a gift in nature photography, as there is so much you can focus on up close.

But I didn’t want it to be too simple, I didn’t want to just have the sign as to me it wasn’t that interesting. So I used a shallow depth of field to create an attractive, out of focus background of color and indistinct shapes.

I think that this adds a nice bit of depth to the photo. Plus, I have a couple of pine cones sticking out in the front. Again this helps my image from being too clean and organized, but reflect a bit of that wild nature feeling.

Build with the Elements

How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos

The photo above is an excellent way to illustrate this idea of building your photo with the elements around you. I saw the tree and I liked the shape of it. But to photograph a tree against a pretty flat blue sky – with not even any interesting cloud formations behind it – would have made a dull photo.

I looked around to see what else I could bring into the shot to make it a more appealing scene. What other element was in my surroundings that could be used to add depth and complexity to the image?

I saw a bush with small, pretty little leaves, and decided that this would make a nice framing element for the tree. Using a shallow depth of field ensured the bush was an interesting frame, but not in focus, and thereby it created a feeling of depth to the image.

road in the trees - How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better PhotosA road to…

Put it all together

The key is – you don’t just go shooting. When you find something interesting that you want to shoot, don’t just raise the camera and snap. No! You need to stop and look around.

What elements are jumping out at you? What shapes are being made by the light? Look at the different parts of the scene. Ask yourself – what happens to these shapes when I move over here?

Pause, look around, organize your position, and then start shooting.

Now – look at the photo below and tell me what is the subject, and what are the supporting elements?

house in a field - How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos

If you picked the houses as the subject, you guessed correctly! Can you tell me what the next most significant element is?

Of course, it’s the mist! I’ll tell you why. If the mist wasn’t covering much of the rest of the photo, the landscape would be in equal focus and therefore very confusing to the eye. The house would just blend into the landscape and it would be a flat, undynamic shot.

So part of understanding about elements is knowing when to shoot, where to shoot and how to shoot your subject.

How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos

So there you go! Those were my ideas on how to break the world down into elements. I would love to know what you think. Was it useful?

Please let me know in the comments below what you think.

The post How to Break the World Down into Elements to Create Better Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Real World Test: Using the Sony A7R III with Canon Lenses

31 Aug

Here’s a review from Julia Trotti who has been testing the Sony A7R III mirrorless camera alongside Canon lenses. With mirrorless technology coming to the forefront, but the number of native Sony lenses available being limited, using third-party lenses like this is not far from a necessity.

Trotti has spent her entire 10-year photography career shooting with Canon, but recently got the Sony A7R III and wanted to integrate that camera into her workflow with the Canon glass she already owns. This is a similar boat to that which many photographers moving from DSLR to mirrorless may find themselves in. By using an adaptor (and making sure you keep the firmware for it up to date) you are able to use your DSLR glass on mirrorless bodies.

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While adaptors are great, Trotti does point out their shortcomings. She found some issues with focusing while testing the combination, meaning that her workflow was slowed down by having to wait for the lens to catch up with her (thanks to the adaptor).

Trotti loves the Sony A7R III, as well as her Canon glass, but advises that you should be aware of the limitations of the adaptation when it comes to shooting situations where you might only have one chance to get it right, such as weddings.

Check out the full video above to see all of her thoughts and some example photos from the shoot.

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