Winners of the 56th World Press Photo Contest were announced on 15 February.
This year’s competition attracted entries from 5,666 photographers from 124 nationalities and involved a total of 103,481 pictures. The international jury selected a picture by Paul Hansen the Swedish daily, Dagens Nyheter, as the World Press Photo of the Year 2012. The image, shown above, is of a group of men carrying the bodies of two dead children through a street in Gaza Cityon the way to a mosque for the burial ceremony. Their father’s body is carried behind on a stretcher. Two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and her three-year-old brother Muhammad were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. Their mother was put in intensive care. The picture was produced on 20 November, 2012 in Gaza City, Palestinian Territories.
Two Australian photographers, both working for Getty Images, were also successful in this year’s awards. The international jury selected Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images, for third prize in the General News Stories category for Japan After the Wave. The image taken on 7th March 2012 in Rikuzentakata, Japan, depicts pine trees uprooted during the tsunami lay strewn over the beach. Australian Chris McGrath, Getty Images, was also awarded third prize in the Sports Action category for his collection London 2012 ““ An Overview, which provides a bird’s eye view of the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
The winning images in all categories can be viewed at http://www.worldpressphoto.org/2013-photo-contest. An exhibition of the prize-winning pictures will tour more than 100 cities in over 45 countries. The first 2013 World Press Photo exhibition opens in Amsterdam on 26 April 2013 and will be in Sydney at the New South Wales Library for 28 days from 29 June 2013 until 26 July 2013. (World Press Photo receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and is sponsored worldwide by Canon.)
