Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up - 8th September, 2017

This week on Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up - Getty Images announces grant winners at Visa Pour L'Image, Vlad Sokhin wins for Warm Waters and Head On Photo Festival 2018 calls for submissions.

Awards:
Getty Grants for Editorial Photography 2017

Five photojournalists have been awarded a grant of $10,000 each in this year's round of Getty Images Grants for Editorial Photography which will enable them to continue working on, what are, extraordinary and important stories.

Hugh Pinney, Vice President of News, Getty Images said the winners were photojournalists “working at the cutting edge...ensuring that often ignored global issues are brought to the forefront of public consciousness. The projects selected explore a range of complex and thought-provoking subjects and we are thrilled that, through the Getty Images Editorial Photography Grant, we are able to support such talent as they continue to shed light on some of the most moving and significant moments of our time.”

And the winners are:

Alejandro Cegarra for Living with Hugo Chavez’s Legacy

'In the latter years of Hugo Chavez’s presidency, Venezuela enjoyed an oil-fueled economic boom that made his vision of a more equitable, wealthier and safer society seem almost attainable. But by the time of his death, in 2013, he left his successor an economy in shambles, tenuous political support, and rising violence. Four years on, the country has been plunged back into a state of poverty and conflict, with citizens struggling to afford food and the youth clashing with the security forces on a regular basis. This project seeks to give a voice to the frustrated and disappointed people of Venezuela who feel consistently ignored by those above them." Alejandro Cegarra.

(C) Alejandro Cegarra

Paula Bronstein for The Cost of War 

"Following the US-backed military operation against ISIS in the Iraqi city of Mosul, the threat to civilians in the region remains high. The use of mines in the city poses a serious problem for civilians, who are the most common victims of such devices. More worrying still is the revelation that, according to the Mines Advisory group, these mines contain 60 times more explosives than a standard anti-personnel mine, drastically increasing the likelihood of death or severe and permanent injury. This project aims to document the silent victims of a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and left many more maimed." Paula Bronstein.

(C) Paula Bronstein

Antonio Faccilongo for Habibi 

"The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are typically portrayed as places ravaged by conflict, however for the citizens of these regions they are also home, a place where they must build a life amidst the turmoil. This project focuses on the phenomena of ‘sperm smuggling’ by Palestinian women, a practice which allows them to conceive children with their husbands who are serving long term sentences in Israeli prisons. Family remains the most important social structure for many Palestinians and for many of these women this is their only hope for a family." Antonio Faccilongo.

(C) Antonio Faccilongo

Barbara Peacock for American Bedroom 

"The transformation of the pedestrian into objects of artistic merit has long been one of the aims of photography and it is this tradition that the project seeks to continue. In focusing on the commonplace this project hopes to unveil the idiosyncrasies latent in everyday life. The expansive nature of the project invites us to introspect on the complexity of humankind in the west, particularly in America." Barbara Peacock.

(C) Barbara Peacock

Alessandro Penso for The Deal

"The refugee crisis in Europe has dominated the media over the last few years, with xenophobia and closed mindedness often leading the debate. It is therefore vital that we ask, what are the consequences of such attitudes? This project explores the way in which EU regulation has failed to adequately welcome refugees by depicting the exploitation and long-term displacement faced by many of these already extremely vulnerable people." Alessandro Penso

(C) Alessandro Penso

Since its conception in 2005, Getty Images Editorial Grants program has provided grants in excess of US$1.4 million. Congratulations to the winners!

Award:

Vlad Sokhin wins Visa d'or France Award for the Best Digital News Story

Big shout out and congratulations to Vlad Sokhin for winning this award for his work, Warm Waters. I've interviewed Vlad a few times over the years and he's doing some brilliant work on important topics and drawing global attention.

This year's jury members were: Dimitri Beck / Polka, Samuel Bollendorff, photographer and president of the jury, Agnès Chauveau / INA, Pascal Delannoy / franceinfo, Olivier Laurent / Washington Post, Benoit Leprince / Paris Match, Marie Sumalla / Le Monde and Marie Valla, FRANCE 24. The Award is sponsored by rance Médias Monde, France Télévisions, Radio France and INA.

Some other photos from Vlad's Warm Waters series:

Call for Submissions:

Head On Photo Festival 2018

Australia's largest photography festival, Head On, held annually in Sydney, is calling for submissions for exhibitions. Check out the link here. 

Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up - 1st September, 2017

Stop press: This week Photojournalism Now was ranked number ten on the Top 50 Photojournalism Blogs in the World by feedspot.com! Thanks to everyone for your support.

  
Special Feature:

29th Edition of Visa Pour L'Image

The International Festival of Photojournalism, Visa Pour L'Image starts in Perpignan, France tomorrow and runs until the 17th September. All exhibitions are free and there is once again an amazing diversity in the works on show. 

Here is a curated selection of what’s on offer. Congratulations to Jean-François Leroy and his team for another amazing festival program. But most importantly, thank you to the extraordinary, dedicated photojournalists who bring us these stories often at great personal cost.

Lu Guang
Development and Pollution

Today China is the world’s second largest economy. Its rapid growth has come with a high environmental toll, China’s seven great rivers poisoned by industrial waste, pastureland destroyed by open-pit mines, and villages turned into death traps. Curated by Jean Loh, this exhibition features images from Guang's 12-year study.

Men at work in the dust. Energy-intensive, polluting industry has been transferred from the east to the central and western regions. Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, 2006. © Lu Guang / Contact Press Images


The main industries in and around the city of Holingol are coal, power and chemicals, causing pollution rendering nearby grassland unfit for grazing. Local authorities have replaced the livestock with sculptures. Inner Mongolia, 2012. © Lu Guang / Contact Press Images


Farmer Li Mingzhu has a cornfield near Tengda lead and zinc smelters. The soil has high concentrations of heavy metals and last year’s crop produced no grain. Jinjiling village, Jiahe County, Hunan Province. March 2010. © Lu Guang / Contact Press Images

Daniel Berehulak
They Are Slaughtering Us Like Animals

Australian photojournalist Daniel Berehulak’s latest Pulitzer Prize winning work saw him spend five weeks in Manila covering the aftermath of President Duterte’s murderous drug crackdown. Working with a local reporter, Berehulak covered 41 crime scenes, and 57 fatalities, his documentation going beyond the crimes to uncover the innocents and the families, revealing the other side to the official story. 

Jimji (6), in anguish screaming “Papa!” before the funeral of Jimboy Bolasa (25). His body, showing signs of torture as well as gunshot wounds, was found under a bridge. The police said he was a drug dealer, but according to his family, Bolasa had surrendered earlier, answering President Duterte's call to follow what was supposed to be a drug-treatment program. Manila, October 10, 2016. © Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times


Relatives overcome with grief seeing the bodies of Frederick Mafe and Arjay Lumbago sprawled in the street. Manila, October 3, 2016. © Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times


Michael Araja (29) was one of a number of people gunned down at a “sari-sari” street kiosk. Neighbors said he had gone to buy cigarettes and a drink for his wife when he was shot dead by two men on a motorcycle, a “riding in tandem killing” which is a common modus operandi. Officers from SOCO (Scene Of the Crime Operations) are gathering evidence. Manila, October 2, 2016. © Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Stanley Greene
Homage

Last time I was in Perpignan, in 2013, I had the honour of meeting Stanley Greene. He graciously signed my copy of Trolleyology - “To Alison, be safe in the life!” - this might have been his standard line, but he was generous with his time and interested to hear what this Australian thought of Visa. We talked about his eWaste project, and how he had fallen ill shooting in the toxic environs. In this homage, there is work that spans his career, from the early days of fashion photography through to his profound images of the conflict in Chechnya.


The old souk in the Old City of Aleppo, a UNESCO World Heritage site: once the most charming 4,000 square meters in the Middle East, the most famous postcard in Syria, a vertigo of voices, of tales and colors, overflowing with life. Now all that remains is rubble. April 2, 2013 © Stanley Greene / NOOR


Grozny, Chechnya, January 1995. “Death in Grozny.” Outline of a body in the snow, after a Russian rocket attack: black ash, dark snow, shattered glass, trees now ragged stumps, their branches snapped off by the blasts. The streets of Grozny were a no man's land. © Stanley Greene / NOOR


Downtown Grozny, Chechnya, April 2001. Since the death of her child Zelina often stares into the distance, her eyes seeking something far away, so elusive. She says she is already dead, and if only time would hurry up. © Stanley Greene / NOOR

Meridith Kohut
The Collapse of Venezuela

This distressing, but important body of work from this year’s winner of the Chris Honduras Fund, shows the ravages of the economic collapse of Venezuela on its population. Struggling to survive on meagre rations, Kohut captures a country on the brink of devastation. Her intimate images are raw with emotion, the insights and depth of her storytelling the result of her immersion in the culture; she has lived in Venezuela since 2008.


Omar Mendoza suffers from schizophrenia, and also from severe malnutrition: he weighs only 35 kilos [77 pounds]. The state psychiatric hospital where he is has been crippled by acute shortages of food and medicine. August 25, 2016. © Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

Leidy Cordova (37) with four of her five children: Abran (1), Deliannys (3), Eliannys (6), and Milianny (8). The family had not eaten since lunch the day before, and that was “soup” made by boiling chicken skin and fat. The refrigerator is not working, and contains the only food in the house: half a bag of flour and a bottle of vinegar. June 16, 2016. © Meridith Kohut for The New York Times


Family and friends mourn at a group funeral for four young men who were tortured and killed by members of the Venezuelan armed forces. Capaya November 29, 2016. © Meridith Kohut for The New York Times


Zohra Bensemra
Lives on a Wire

Algerian photojournalist Zohra Bensemra focuses her gaze on those whose lives have been shattered by war. She says her objective is simple: to show that all human beings, no matter their religion or nationality, are the same. 

After fleeing a village controlled by Islamic State fighters, a boy and his family are in a bus that will take them to the refugee camp in Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul, Iraq. February 22, 2017. © Zohra Bensemra / Reuters


The mother at the funeral of Mohammed Ali Khan (15) who was killed in the massacre when the Army Public School he attended was attacked by Taliban gunmen who took hundreds of students and teachers hostage. Peshawar, Pakistan, December 16, 2014. © Zohra Bensemra / Reuters


Voting in the country’s first democratic elections for almost a quarter of a century. Al-Fashir, Northern Darfur, Sudan, April 11, 2010. © Zohra Bensemra / Reuters


Ed Kashi
CKDu - In the Hot Zone

American photojournalist Ed Kashi reveals a deadly epidemic sweeping the Middle East, Asia, South Asia and Central America. CKDu, Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown origin, affects mainly farm workers and their families, the poor and the young. Travelling to Nicaragua, El Salvador, India and Sri Lanka, Kashi has documented the ravages of this fatal disease and its multi-generational impact. 

Jorge Martin Bonilla (29), the youngest of six brothers, three of whom are also suffering from CKDu [Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown origin], worked on sugarcane plantations for five years before contracting CKDu in 2004. He died this morning. Chichigalpa, Nicaragua, April 30, 2014. © Ed Kashi / VII


At Narayana Medical College, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India. January, 2016. © Ed Kashi / VII

Mass screening is conducted by a local CKDu organization, with support from the government. Here, in this CKDu-affected town, 342 secondary school students are lining up for blood tests. Rajanganaya, North Central Province, Sri Lanka, June, 2016. © Ed Kashi / VII

Visit the website for more information

Friday Round Up - 2nd September, 2016

This week on Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up part two of the Visa pour l'Image special with work from Peter Bauza, David Guttenfelder, Andrew Quilty, winner of the Ville de Perpignan Rémi Ochlik Award - 2016 Niels Ackermann and Winner of the Humanitarian Visa d’or award – International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2016 Juan Arredondo. Also the winners of the Getty Grants and some cool book signings happening Friday afternoon, so get down to La Poudrière: Rue Rabelais if you're in Perpignan.

Special Feature:
Visa Pour L'Image - Part Two

Exhibitions

Peter Bauza
Echo Photojournalism

Maria Eduarda (12) lives in one of the five unfinished buildings of what should have been a middle-class condominium. The site where 300 families have found shelter is near Rio de Janeiro, but far from the public gaze. © Peter Bauza / Echo Photojournalism

Maria Eduarda in the bedroom she shares with four siblings. © Peter Bauza / Echo Photojournalism

David Guttenfelder

Coming Home

 An old tank is now a swimming pool on the farm. Van Meter, Iowa, USA. © David Guttenfelder

North Korean veterans of the Korean War entering a cemetery for fellow veterans during a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice ending hostilities on the Korean peninsula. Pyongyang, North Korea, July 24, 2013. © David Guttenfelder / Associated Press

Andrew Quilty

Afghanistan: After Enduring Freedom

Afghan National Army officers resting during a clearing operation in the final days of the counter-offensive by government forces to retake Kunduz City from Taliban insurgents. October 10, 2015.
© Andrew Quilty / Agence VU’

 A baby girl who suffered burns from an oil heater at home. Boost Hospital, Lashkar Gah (capital of Helmand Province), Afghanistan. February, 2014. © Andrew Quilty / Agence VU’

A mother with her daughter waiting for emergency treatment. Boost Hospital, Lashkar Gah (capital of Helmand Province), Afghanistan. February, 2014. © Andrew Quilty / Agence VU’

Niels Ackermann
Winner of the Ville de Perpignan Rémi Ochlik Award - 2016

Employees of a local TV and internet provider (Maket) during the city’s annual day celebration.
Slavutych, Ukraine, June 1, 2013 © Niels Ackermann / Lundi13

 Zhenya and Yulia with their witnesses, Irina and Artiom, at their wedding ceremony in the City Hall.Slavutych, Ukraine, June 1, 2013 © Niels Ackermann / Lundi13

In a playground in one of the neighborhoods in the city. Slavutych, Ukraine 2012 © Niels Ackermann / Lundi13

Juan Arredondo
Winner of the Humanitarian Visa d’or award – International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2016

A father carrying the coffin of his son killed by FARC forces (46th front) as the indigenous community of Tortugaña Telembi walks through the mountains to bury 11 of their members accused by FARC of aiding the Colombian Army, including two young boys who deserted. Bellavista, Nariño, November 12, 2014. © Juan Arredondo / Getty Images Reportage 

 A field trip to the city for former child soldiers taking part in a government program to help them return to civilian life. Manizales, March 31, 2015. © Juan Arredondo / Getty Images Reportage 



Members of the ELN (Ejercito de Liberación Nacional) at their camp. A quarter to half of child combatants are girls. Chocó, Colombia, February 17, 2014. © Juan Arredondo / Getty Images Reportage 

 

Awards:

Getty Images Grants for Editorial Photography

This years recipients of Getty Images’ annual Grants for Editorial Photography programme were announced last night at Visa. Congratulations to the five photojournalists:

Sergey Ponomarev for Exodus, a project which explores the migrants and refugees of the Middle East and Africa.

 
Katie Orlinsky for Chasing Winter, which examines the effects of climate change in Alaska. 

 
Mary F. Calvert for Prisoners of War: Male-on-male Rape in America’s Military, a body of work that documents American military rape survivors who are forced out of service.

Jonathan Torgovnik for The ‘Hijacked Life’ of African Migrants in Johannesburg, a project which examines the complex issues faced by migrants from the African continent upon arrival in South Africa. 

Kirsten Luce receives the David Laidler Memorial Award for Border Security. Her project, captured in the southernmost point of Texas, examines the busiest corridor for human and drug trafficking in the US. 

Each receives a grant of US$10,000, as well as collaborative editorial support from Getty Images.

ANI-PrixPalace Award: Australian-based Dutch photographer Ingetje Tadros has won this year's Ani-PrixPalace Award for her work This is My Country, a visual documentation of Australia’s indigenous people. It communicates the legacy of historical domination and oppression of Australia’s first inhabitants within a contemporary context. BOOK SIGNINGS AT VISA: This is My Country Ingetje Tadros Signing: September 2nd at 3 pm at La Poudrière: Rue Rabelais, Perpignan Ingetje Tadros’s, This is My Country is a compelling book, which takes an in depth look at the indigenous community of Kennedy Hill, in Broome, Western Australia, a people balanced on the precipice of life, who for the most part are disenfranchised, neglected, and often forgotten. Ingetje has won numerous awards for this body of work including the Walkley Award for Excellence in Photojournalism - Feature Photographic Essay - 2015; the Amnesty International Media Award 2015, photography; Best Feature Photographic Essay at the West Australian Media Awards 2015; the Exposure Award, digital display at The Louvre in Paris 2015. Talibes Modern Day Slaves Mario Cruz Signing: September 2nd at 3 pm at La Poudrière: Rue Rabelais, Perpignan Mario Cruz gained rare access to the dark side of many darras (Koranic schools) in Senegal and captured disturbing but stunning photographs of the lives of young boys subjected to slave-like conditions. The book Talibes Modern Day Slaves documents an alarming development among the darras that impacts at least 50,000 young boys in Senegal, aged between five and 15. The work received the 2016 World Press Photo Award for Contemporary Issues and was a finalist for the 2016 FotoEvidence Book Award. Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Paula Bronstein Signing: September 2nd at 4 pm at La Poudrière: Rue Rabelais, Perpignan World-acclaimed photojournalist Paula Bronstein presents a photographic portrait of this war-torn country’s people across more than a decade. With empathy born of the challenges of being an American female photojournalist working in a conservative Islamic country, Paula gives voice to those Afghans, particularly women and children, rendered silent during the violent Taliban regime.

Friday Round Up - 26 August, 2016

This week we celebrate the 28th edition of Visa pour L’Image, which opens this Saturday. It’s a fantastic line up once again showcasing some of the most important reportage work, that which is known and also that which flies under the radar and perhaps doesn’t garner the attention it should. 

This week Friday Round Up previews the work of four female photojournalists exhibiting at Visa – Marie Dorigny, Catalina Martin-Chico, Anastasia Rudenko and Claire Allard. Next week more on the world's most important, and longest running, photojournalism festival in the beautiful French town of Perpignan. 

Feature:

Visa pour l’Image: Part One

Four Female Photojournalists

Marie Dorigny: 

Displaced - Women in Exile 

In a report commissioned by the European Parliament, French photographer Marie Dorigny documents the women and children, who now make up more than half of the refugees who are fleeing war, violence and terror. 

Lesbos, Greece. A young Greek volunteer with a sea rescue team comforting a distressed and pregnant Iraqi refugee who has just made the crossing from Turkey. © Marie Dorigny / MYOP for the European Parliament 2016

Hotspot, Moria, Lesbos, Greece. Refugees who reach Europe first register at the “hot spot” where they are sorted according to nationality. The waiting seems interminable as the formalities go on and on. © Marie Dorigny / MYOP for the European Parliament 2016

Catalina Martin-Chico: 

The Last and the Lost - The Brave Nomads of Iran

A century ago there were five million nomadic people in Iran. Today they number only 1.5 million. While many are trying to assimilate into urban environments and adapt to a sedentary existence, others continue to lead a traditional nomadic lifestyle, but it is feared they will disappear as the government moves to end their roaming. 

During transhumance, the Bakhtiari people, such as Mahsan and her family, spend the night at a different point so that their animals can graze on fresh pastures. Shirin Bahar, near Lali, Khuzestan, Iran, April 2016. © Catalina Martin-Chico / Cosmos

Primary schooling in the mountains to learn basic literacy and numeracy. For any further education the children have to move to the city and abandon their traditional nomadic lifestyle. Near Qir, Fars province, Iran, February 2016. © Catalina Martin-Chico / Cosmos

Zohreh and her sister-in-law, their bodies misshapen from their harsh living conditions. For nomads, “women are men” so that means doing the same physical work. Basoft, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran, April 2016. © Catalina Martin-Chico / Cosmos

Anastasia Rudenko:

Institutions for the Mentally Disabled in Russia
In this series, Anastasia Rudenko, who won the Canon Female Photojournalist Award 2015 (supported by ELLE magazine) is pursuing the project she started in 2012, investigating life in institutions for mentally disabled people in the Russian provinces. According to official statistics in 2013 there were more than 1,000 mental care centres for adults in Russia. 150,000 patients reside in these centres including 50,000 who are in long-term social care institutions known as Internats, which are for adults who were previously housed in orphanages for mentally disabled children.

Women near the fire bucket stand outside the women's asylum.
Over the past three years more than 100 patients in mental institutions in Russia have been victims of fires. Ryazan region, Russia, 2015.
© Anastasia Rudenko


The “House of Mercy” is a facility for severely dysfunctional patients, and those likely to run away and get lost. Ryazan region, Russia, 2015. © Anastasia Rudenko

Patients walking in the forest near the village. Elat’ma, Ryazan region, Russia, 2012. © Anastasia Rudenko

Claire Allard:

Backstage
This series by Claire Allard extends over a number of years in which she followed and observed the technical crews who work behind the scenes to make sure the show goes on.  

During an alternative music festival, Yann, the lighting technician, is doing an emergency repair perched on the scaffolding – a great vantage point for the concert. © Claire Allard

Summer is the peak season for rock festivals across Europe, and technicians rarely have a break. Here, Thierry, the sound engineer, is busy setting the stage speakers. Other crew members have brought him something to eat.  Ronquières Festival, Belgium, August 2, 2015. © Claire Allard

To see the full programme visit the Visa pour l'Image website.