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World Press Photo 2019
world
the year’s best photojournalism was
presented at the World Press Photo awards
and festival last month. Amy Davies
presents her pick of the nominees
L
ast month, I had the
enormous privilege of
being in the same room
as some of the world’s
best photojournalists. It was an
incredibly humbling experience –
both in terms of the subject matter
and those responsible for creating it.
Intimidating as it was to be in the
presence of such genius, there were
also other important messages to
take home. For example, this year,
32% of the nominees were female- a big increase from last year’s 16%.
While it doesn’t represent complete
gender equality, it’s a huge stride
forward in a genre that is still
overwhelmingly dominated by men.
In total, there were 78,801 entries
by 4,738 photographers from 129
countries. The judging panel was
equally as diverse, with the World
Press Photo Organisation striving
to achieve a good mix of people
from different photographic
backgrounds, and importantly,
from all across the globe.
The judging panel was headed
by chair, Whitney Johnson, who
is the Vice President of Visuals
and Immersive Experiences at
National Geographic. It was her
responsibility to make sure that
every one on the panel had an equal
voice and opportunity to put their
point across. You can read more
about the judging process and the
role of the jury on page 25.
In the past few years,
documentary and reportage
photography has arguably never
been more important. Its role is
crucial in holding those to account
that need to be, but in an era of
so-called ‘fake news’, it is also held
under intense scrutiny itself, and
constantly faces attack from other
areas of the media, politicians and
those in power seeking to discredit
the content of those images. In that
regard, the jury was also mindful to
ensure that photographs were held
to the highest standards. In an age
of careful ethics and representation,
other issues, such as consent,
manipulation, and exploitation
were also considered.Winning images
If you’re at all interested in the
World Press Photo Awards, you may
have already seen John Moore’s
winning image in other outlets,
as well as the newly introduced
categories, Story of the Year and
2019 Digital Storytelling Contest:
the Interactive of the Year and
Online Video of the Year. If you
have missed any of these, you can
see them all at worldpressphoto.org.
Across these next few pages, I’ve
selected just a few of the images
that had a big impact on me, sitting
among the audience on 11 April, the
evening of the World Press Photo
awards announcement. I hope you
find the following images thought-
provoking and moving, and that
even if documentary and press
photography is not something you
partake in personally, you find
them inspiring.© Olivia Harris
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