The winners of the 2012 World Press Photo awards have been announced. The overall winner is Paul Hansen for his image of a group of Palestinian men carrying the bodies of two children killed in an Israeli missile strike (above). The photograph was taken on 20 November 2012 in Gaza City and appeared in the Swedish newspaper Dages Nyheter. The jury gave prizes in nine themed categories to 54 photographers of 32 nationalities from: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Malaysia, the Palestinian Territories, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, USA, and Vietnam. You can view the winning photographs at the website below.

Website: World Press Photo

World Press Photo Press Release

SWEDISH PHOTOGRAPHER PAUL HANSEN WINS PREMIER PHOTO CONTEST AWARD

Fri, 02/15/2013 - 01:11

The international jury of the 56th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected a picture by Paul Hansen of the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter as the World Press Photo of the Year 2012. The picture shows a group of men carrying the bodies of two dead children through a street in Gaza City. They are being taken to a mosque for the burial ceremony while their father’s body is carried behind on a stretcher. Two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and his older brother Muhammad were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. Their mother was put in intensive care. The picture was made on 20 November 2012 in Gaza City, Palestinian Territories.

The jury gave prizes in nine themed categories to 54 photographers of 32 nationalities from: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Malaysia, Palestinian Territories, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA, and Vietnam.

The members of the jury announced the winners at a press conference held at the World Press Photo office in Amsterdam on 15 February.

Comments on the winners by the jury
Mayu Mohanna, jury member from Peru, said of Paul Hansen’s winning picture: “The strength of the pictures lies in the way it contrasts the anger and sorrow of the adults with the innocence of the children. It’s a picture I will not forget.”

Santiago Lyon, vice president and director of photography at The Associated Press, spoke of the selection of prizewinners: “When I look at the results, as chair of the jury, I think that the World Press Photo of the Year, and all the other photos that were given prizes, were solid, stellar examples of first-rate photojournalism that is powerful, that is lasting, and that will reach whoever looks at them.”

The judging was conducted at the World Press Photo office in Amsterdam. All entries were anonymously presented to the jury, who discussed their merits over a two-week period. The jury operates independently and a secretary without voting rights safeguards the fairness of the procedure. The contest drew entries from professional press photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographers across the world. By the mid-January deadline, 103,481 images had been submitted by 5,666 photographers from 124 countries.

2013 Photo Contest Jury

A group of 19 internationally recognized professionals in the fields of photojournalism and documentary photography convened in Amsterdam from 2 to 14 February 2013 to judge all entries. The first and second rounds of judging concluded on 7 February and the final rounds started on 8 February. Video interviews with the chairs juries, with observations from the early rounds, can be viewed in the video library.

The final rounds are judged by:

Chair: Santiago Lyon, USA, vice president and director of photography The Associated Press
•  Elisabeth Biondi, Germany/USA, independent curator
•  Bill Frakes, USA, photographer Sports Illustrated
•  Staffan Widstrand, Sweden, photographer and managing director Wild Wonders of Europe
•  Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Iraq, special correspondent The Guardian
•  Mayu Mohanna, Peru, photographer and curator
•  Véronique de Viguerie, France, photographer Reportage by Getty Images
•  Anne Wilkes Tucker, USA, curator photography Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
•  Gu Zheng, China, professor at School of Journalism, Fudan University, Shanghai
The first round in News and Documentary was judged by:
Chair: Santiago Lyon, USA, vice president and director of photography The Associated Press
•  Monica Allende, Spain, photo editor The Sunday Times Magazine
•  Jocelyn Bain Hogg, UK, photographer VII Photo Agency
•  Rena Effendi, Azerbaijan, photographer
•  Riason Naidoo, South Africa, director South African National Gallery, Iziko Museums of South Africa
The first and second rounds in Sports were judged by:
Chair: Bill Frakes, USA, photographer Sports Illustrated
•  Anja Niedringhaus, Germany, photographer The Associated Press
•  Pim Ras, the Netherlands, freelance photographer Algemeen Dagblad

The first and second rounds in Nature were judged by:
Chair: Staffan Widstrand, Sweden, photographer and managing director Wild Wonders of Europe
•  Barbara Stauss, Switzerland, photo director and founding member Mare magazine
•  Steve Winter, USA, contributing photographer National Geographic magazine
The first and second rounds in Portraits were judged by:
Chair: Elisabeth Biondi, Germany/USA, independent curator
•  Jérôme Bonnet, France, photographer
•  Platon, UK, photographer CLM/David Maloney
Jury secretaries:
•  Secretary for News and Documentary and for the second week of judging: Daphné Anglès, France/USA, European photo assignments editor The New York Times
•  Secretary for Nature, Portraits and Sports: Simon Njami, Cameroon, independent curator, lecturer and art critic

Awards

The jury awarded first, second and third prizes in all categories. First-prize winners in each category receive a cash prize of €1,500. Winners of second and third prizes and those awarded an Honorable Mention receive a Golden Eye Award and a diploma. The premier award, the World Press Photo of the Year, carries a cash prize of €10,000. In addition, Canon will donate a professional DSLR camera and lens kit to the author of the World Press Photo of the Year 2012. The annual Awards Days, a celebration of the prizewinners, takes place in Amsterdam from 25 through 27 April 2013.

Exhibition

The prize-winning pictures are presented in an exhibition visiting more than 100 cities in over 45 countries. The first 2013 World Press Photo exhibition opens in Amsterdam on 26 April 2013.

World Press Photo receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and is sponsored worldwide by Canon.

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