World Press Photo 2006 winners announced

by Jon Mitchell

This year's winners of the 2006 World Press Photo contest have been announced, with Spencer Platt of Getty Images bagging the top prize with his image of the aftermath of an Israeli bombardment of Beirut (see image left).

French footballer Zidan featured in the winning sports story, with his infamous headbutt captured by Peter Schols. Lebanon's woes featured heavily in this year's competition and other crisis areas like Darfur and Iraq also featured in these awards.

If you have some time, then the galleries on the organiser's web site has a lot of interesting work and while the industry is in some senses suffering, it seems that photo-journalism is still quite healthy.

Interestingly, some images have "something of Martin Parr about them" - showing the growing influence of that photographer's work on both editors and shooters. The winning image is a prime example and captures an unusual aspect of war which we usually don't see so much from.

Spencer Platt's image is full of juxtapositions and contradictions, perhaps as is war itself? More traditional reportage styles still held their ground though and black and white photography is also well represented. With some noteable examples from Davide Monteleone's coverage of the Israeli bombing of Lebanon and Jan Grarup's Darfur images. In fact, about 50% of the winning work is monochrome!

Damon Winter's bewitching portrait of Clint Eastwood is also a noteable example of how monochrome is still popular with many photo editors.

National Geographic scored three of the five wildlife awards, with a story on Chipstrap Peguins in the South Sandwich Islands and a great picture of Serval Cat in Chad. Chang He of China won 2nd prize for his story on Chinese zoos.

A full list of the prizes:

WORLD PRESS PHOTO OF THE YEAR 2006
   
Spencer Platt, USA, Getty Images
Young Lebanese drive through devastated neighborhood of South Beirut, 15 August


SPOT NEWS SINGLES

1    Akintunde Akinleye, Nigeria, Reuters. Man rinses soot from his face after oil pipeline explosion, Lagos, Nigeria, 26 December
2    Arturo Rodríguez, Spain, The Associated Press. Migrants wait for transportation, Tenerife, Spain, 7 September
3     Mohammed Ballas, Palestinian Territories, The Associated Press. Public execution of suspected collaborator, Jenin, West Bank, 13 August
Honorable mention: Jeroen Oerlemans, The Netherlands, Panos Pictures. Paramedics show the dead body of a baby to the press after Israeli bombing of Qana, Lebanon, 30 July


SPOT NEWS STORIES

1    Davide Monteleone, Italy, Contrasto. Israeli bombings of Lebanon, July
2    Agnes Dherbeys, France, Cosmos/Eve. Protests against absolute monarchy, Nepal, April
3    Yonathan Weitzman, Israel, Reuters. Forced evacuation of Amona outpost, West Bank, 1 February
Honorable mention: Joao Silva, South Africa, The New York Times. Sniper attack, Karmah, Iraq, 31 October


GENERAL NEWS SINGLES

1    Paolo Pellegrin, Italy, Magnum Photos for Newsweek/The New York Times Magazine. Victim of Israeli rocket attack, Tyre, Lebanon, 6 August
2    Jan Grarup, Denmark, Politiken/Newsweek. Darfur refugees, Sudan-Chad border, November
3    Daniel Aguilar, Mexico, Reuters. Accused burglar, Oaxaca, Mexico, 18 October


GENERAL NEWS STORIES

1    Zsolt Szigetváry, Hungary, for MTI. Riots in Budapest, Hungary, September-October
2    Peter van Agtmael, USA, Polaris Images. Night raids, Iraq, January-August
3    Moises Saman, Spain, Newsday. Presidential elections, Haiti, February


PEOPLE IN THE NEWS SINGLES

1    Oded Balilty, Israel, The Associated Press. Settler woman struggles with Israeli security officer, Amona outpost, West Bank, 1 February
2    Christopher Anderson, Canada, Magnum Photos for Newsweek. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, 27 November
3    Stephanie Sinclair, USA, NPR. Family flee Israeli bombings, Lebanon, 27 July


PEOPLE IN THE NEWS STORIES

1    Q. Sakamaki, Japan, Redux Pictures for Newsweek. Sri Lanka: War Without End
2    Arturo Rodríguez, Spain, The Associated Press. Tourists on Tejita Beach help migrants, Tenerife, Spain, 30 July/3 August
3    Espen Rasmussen, Norway, Verdens Gang. Kashmir earthquake aftermath, January


SPORTS ACTION SINGLES

1    Max Rossi, Italy, Reuters World Championship Gymnastics, Denmark, 14 October
2    Alex Livesey, United Kingdom, Getty Images for Sports Illustrated
Peter Crouch of Liverpool scores against Galatasaray, 27 September
3    Jeffrey Phelps, USA, The Associated Press. Milwaukee Brewers against San Francisco Giants, 4 May


SPORTS ACTION STORIES

1    Peter Schols, The Netherlands, Dagblad De Limburger/GPD/Reuters. Zidane’s exit from World Cup final, Berlin, 9 July
2    Craig Golding, Australia, Sydney Morning Herald. Sports portfolio
3    Steve Christo, Australia, Sydney Morning Herald. Sports portfolio


SPORTS FEATURES SINGLES

1    Franck Seguin, France, Deadline Photo Press. Freediving world champion Guillaume Néry
2    Nicolas Gouhier, France, Abaca Press for Sports Illustrated. Arena Sprint swimming competition, Rouen, France, 3 November
3    Lorenzo Cicconi Massi, Italy, Contrasto. Students of Beijing Guoan Football Club School exercise


SPORTS FEATURES STORIES

1    João Kehl, Brazil, Cia de Foto. Boxing gym, Sao Paulo
2    Pep Bonet, Spain, Panos Pictures. War amputees’ football team, Sierra Leone
3    David Klammer, Visum, Germany. World Cup fans, Germany, July


CONTEMPORARY ISSUES SINGLES

1    Walter Astrada, Argentina, World Picture Network. Victim of violence against women, Guatemala
2    Daniel Beltrá, Spain, Zuma Press for Greenpeace. Soy fields in the Amazon, Brazil
3    Per-Anders Pettersson, Sweden, Getty Images for Stern. Esther, child sex worker, with her friends, Kinshasa, DRC


CONTEMPORARY ISSUES STORIES

1    José Cendón, Spain. Psychiatric hospital inmates, Burundi and DRC
2    Massimo Berruti, Italy, Grazia Neri. Condemned residence, Rome
3    Bruno Fert, France, In Visu. Tents for homeless, Paris


DAILY LIFE SINGLES

1    Spencer Platt, USA, Getty Images. Young Lebanese drive through devastated neighborhood of South Beirut, 15 August
2    David Butow, USA, Redux Pictures for US News & World Report. Street corner, New York
3    Steven Achiam, Denmark, Dagbladet Børsen. Bangladeshi migrant worker, Kuwait


DAILY LIFE STORIES

1    David Guttenfelder, USA, The Associated Press. The lonely man, Tokyo
2    Jon Lowenstein, USA, Aurora Photos. Chicago South Side
3    Moises Saman, Spain, Newsday. Afghanistan


PORTRAITS SINGLES

1    Nina Berman, USA, Redux Pictures for People. Wounded US Marine returns home from Iraq to marry
2    Wang Gang, People’s Republic of China. Yi shepherd, Sichuan province, China
3    Damon Winter, USA, Los Angeles Times. Clint Eastwood


PORTRAITS STORIES

1    Nicolas Righetti, Switzerland, Rezo
“Father of the Turkmen” President Nyazov of Turkmenistan
2    Mathias Braschler & Monika Fischer, Switzerland, Grazia Neri for L’Equipe/Guardian Weekend/Sports Illustrated/Stern. Faces of football
3    Erin Trieb, USA. Texas candidate for Governor Kinky Friedman


ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT SINGLES

1    Espen Rasmussen, Norway, Verdens Gang. Collecting flowers for midsummer night celebrations, Latvia
2    Carolyn Cole, USA, Los Angeles Times. Performer Debbie Davis prepares for her show, New Orleans
3    Paul Zhang, People’s Republic of China, The Beijing News. Blind student learning latin ballroom dance, Beijing


ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
1    Denis Darzacq, France, Agence Vu. Street dancers, Paris
2    Magnus Wennman, Sweden, Aftonbladet.Ms. Senior Sweetheart of America Pageant
3    Meyer, France, Tendance Floue for VSD/La Vie. Traveling cinema


NATURE SINGLES

1    Michael Nichols, USA, National Geographic Magazine. Serval cat, Zakouma National Park, Chad
2    Fayez Nureldine, Palestinian Territories, Agence France-Presse. Migration of starlings, Algeria
3    Jørgen Flemming, Denmark. Buzzards fight over a hare, Denmark


NATURE STORIES
1    Paul Nicklen, Canada, National Geographic Magazine. Leopard seal hunting, Antarctica
2    Chang He, People’s Republic of China, Oriental Morning Post. Chinese zoos
3    Maria Stenzel, USA, for National Geographic Magazine. Chinstrap penguins, South Sandwich Islands