Tsunami image wins award
2005-02-11 12:56
Amsterdam - A gripping colour photograph of a woman grieving next to the body of a dead relative, by Indian photographer Arko Datta of Reuters, on Friday won the World Press Photo award for 2004.
The image - in which the woman is captured wailing on the ground with her palms facing the heavens - was shot in Cuddalore, India, on December 28, two days after a devastating undersea earthquake and tsunami struck the Indian Ocean region.
Datta's photo is "graphic, historical and starkly emotional," jury member Kath Ryan, a photo editor with the New York Times Magazine, said in a statement. Datta will receive a cash prize of $12 700 - about R77 727 - and a new camera.
The winning picture was selected from a record 4 266 photographers from 123 countries who entered 69 190 images in 10 categories.
A dozen jury members spent nearly 10 days selecting the best pictures in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam. Prizes were awarded to 59 photographers from 24 countries. They will go on public exhibit at 85 global locations starting April 25.
Reuters big winners
British news agency Reuters won two of three prizes in the prestigious "Spot News" category and came in second place in the "Nature Singles" and "People in the News" segments.
Photographers with Time Magazine won four prizes, including first place in the "People in the News, "Sports Action" and "Contemporary Issues" categories.
James Nachtwey won "Contemporary Issues" with his shot of a refuges woman in Darfur, Sudan, caring for her son.
Another image of the tsunami aftermath, by Australian photographer Dean Sewell, won first place in the "Spot News Stories." It was taken for the Oculi/Agence Vu in Aceh, Indonesia.
The Associated Press, which took two awards, won first place in the "Daily Life Singles" with a picture of an Afghan woman voting, by David Guttenfelder.
British photographer James Hill of the New York Times led "General News Stories" with the image "Beslan, a few weeks after".
Visit the World Press Photo website now.
- AP