Swedish Photographer Paul Hansen Wins World Press Photo Award
Image Credits: World Press Photo of the Year 2012 Paul Hansen, Sweden, Dagens Nyheter
The 56th annual World Press Photo Awards, the world’s most prestigious award for photojournalism, was announced in Amsterdam on February 15th, 2013. A photograph of Paul Hansen of the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter was adjudged 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, on their way 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 20th November 2012 in Gaza City, Palestinian Territories.
“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,” said Mayu Mohanna, jury member from Peru, of Paul Hansen’s winning picture.
The jury awarded first, second and third prizes in nine categories. The winners were selected from 103,481 images had been submitted by 5,666 photographers from 124 countries. 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 D-SLR camera and lens kit to the winner of the World Press Photo of the Year 2012. The annual Award Day, a celebration of the prizewinners, takes place in Amsterdam from 25th through 27th April 2013.
 1st Prize General News Single Rodrigo Abd, Argentina, The Associated Press 10 March 2012, Idib, Syria Aida cries while recovering from severe injuries she received when her house was shelled by the Syrian Army. Her husband and two children were fatally wounded during the shelling. |
 1st Prize Contemporary Issues Single Micah Albert, USA, Redux Images 03 April 2012, Nairobi, Kenya Pausing in the rain, a woman working as a trash picker at the 30-acre dump, which literally spills into households of one million people living in nearby slums, wishes she had more time to look at the books she comes across. She even likes the industrial parts catalogs. “It gives me something else to do in the day besides picking [trash],” she said. |
 1st Prize Sports – Sports Action Single Wei Seng Chen, Malaysia Pacu Jawi Bull Race, Indonesia 12 February 2012, Batu Sangkar, West Sumatra, Indonesia A jockey, his feet stepped into a harness strapped to the bulls and clutching their tails, shows relief and joy at the end of a dangerous run across rice fields. The Pacu Jawi (bull race) is a popular competition at the end of harvest season keenly contested between villages. |
 1st Prize Daily Life Stories “Mirella”, Fausto Podavini, Italy 01 June 2010, Rome, Italy Despite her husband’s life-threatening disease, Mirella devoted her life to assisting Luigi, trying to be positive and reassuring, looking after him with intense love and respect. Everyday care, usually done in a few minutes, takes hours when it concerns someone with dementia. Mirella, 71, spent 43 years of her life with the only person she loved, with all of life’s difficulties, laughter, and beautiful moments. But over the last six years things changed: Mirella lived with her husband Luigi’s illness, Alzheimer’s, and devoted her life to him as his caregiver. |
