By Merve Berker and Aise Humeyra Bulovali
ANKARA (AA) – Bloomberg photographer Konstantinos Tsakalidis' photo titled "Woman from Evia" won the Photo of the Year award at the Istanbul Photo Awards, the eighth edition of the annual international photography contest held by Anadolu Agency to support photojournalists.
A prestigious jury selected the award-winning photographs for the Istanbul Photo Awards 2022.
Tsakalidis' photo was selected among more than 16,000 photographs submitted from different parts of the world.
In the Single News category, Getty Images photojournalist Drew Angerer received second prize for his work, in which he captured the violent Jan. 6 siege on the US Capitol.
AFP photojournalist Paul Ratje won the third-place award with his photograph reflecting the difficulties faced by refugees who try to enter an encampment in Texas.
Professional photojournalists entered the contest with photos demonstrating last year's global events, from the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan to floods in Indonesia, from the Australian Open tennis tournament to protests over the UK's coronavirus restrictions.
Two finalists were awarded at the suggestion of jury members in the Story Portrait category, in total, 19 photographers received prizes in seven categories.
This year, the contest was supported by Canon, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and Turkish Airlines (THY), the nation's flag carrier.
The jury members selected the winners through a platform designed exclusively for the contest by the Anadolu Agency Information Technologies team due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 'Istanbul Photo Awards will continue to support the photography sector'
Speaking about this year's contest, Serdar Karagoz, the agency's director general, said the power of photos extends news content beyond language, space and time.
He praised photojournalists for continuing their work with dedication despite the disruption to normal life due to the pandemic.
Noting that the importance of the quality of the photographs submitted is increasing every year and the jury members are speaking highly of the organization, he continued: "I would like to thank all the photographers who made us witnesses of the anxiety of the California fires, the excitement of the Olympic Games, and the heartbreaking moments in refugee camps. Additionally, I thank each jury member for their invaluable contributions to the contest."
He stressed that Anadolu Agency will continue to support photography in the coming years with the Istanbul Photo Awards, which has turned into a platform that all professional photographers in the world wait for with interest.
Congratulating Mehmet Aslan, who received the first prize for "Single Nature and Environment" with his photo that exposes the effects of drought, Karagoz said: "Special news projects spanning several years will be evaluated in the long-term projects category that we will open next year."
Information related to the jury and award-winning photographs can be accessed via the website (http://istanbulphotoawards.com).