subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 25 May 2019 25
World Press Photo 2019
AmyDavies:Canyoutellusa bit
abouttheshortlistingprocess?
WhitneyJohnson:It’squitea
rigorousprocessthattheWorld
PressPhotoFoundationhas
outlined.I wasonthejurylastyear
soI wasfamiliarwithit.Having
theseparametersinplacereally
helps– youhavetocreatesomeway
tomakeyourwaythrough78,000
pictures.Therearefourspecialist
juriesinthefirstweek:there’sthe
newsanddocumentaryjury,which
I’mchairof;theenvironmentand
naturejuries;theportraitjury;and
thesportsjury.Thespecialistjuries
forsports,nature,environment,and
portraiturenarrowtheworkfrom
everythinginthatcategorydown
to 12 singleimagesand 12 stories.
Thenewsanddocumentary
juryconsideredthegeneralnews
category,thespotnewscategory,
contemporaryissuesandlong-term
projects.Therewasmoreworkin
thosecategories,soit wasnarrowed
toa widerrange,somewhere
between 50 and 200 percategory.
Thenthejurycamebackthe
followingweek.Thechairofeach
specialistjuryreturned,plusthree
newjurymembers,whohadnot
beentherethefirstweek,andthen
welookedattheworkthatthejuries
hadputforward.AD:Whyisitimportanttohavea
diversejury?
WJ:Aschair,I didn’tknowwhomy
fellowjurymembersweregoingto
beuntilit wasannounced,butI
askedif thejurywasgoingtobe
diverse,andwasassuredyes.They
havea broadnetworkofpeoplethat
areinvolvedinphotography,sothey
madeit a priority.
Youhave 17 differentperspectives
onphotography.We’renotjust
photoeditorslikemyself,and
photographers;we’realsocurators,
historians,peoplewhouse
photographyinverydifferentways
andhavedifferentopinionsonwhat
a goodphotois.AD:Isitalsoa consciousdecision
topicka diverserangeofpeople
asthenominees?
WJ:No,it’scompletelyanonymous.
Wedon’tknowwhotookthe
picture,whatpublicationit was
inorwhatcountrythephotographerWhitney Johnson was the chair
of the World Press Photo Awards
2018, and is the Vice President of
Visuals and Immersive Experiences
at National Geographic.Judging World Press Photo
Chair of the WPP jury, Whitney Johnson, tells us about
the process of whittling down a huge number of entriesis from. None of that is revealed
until after the voting is finished.
There are more women – there was
a slight increase in entrants this
year – I think it was 19% women,
which is still too low, but it’s an
increase from last year where it was
16%. But, over 30% of the nominees
are women, whereas last year only
12% of the nominees were women.
I can’t say why that is – I think this
jury was open to looking for a wider
range of stories, not just in content
but also in approach. ‘Slow
journalism’ has been mentioned a
few times – perhaps there is some
sort of connection between that and
there being more female nominees.
I can’t say for sure, but anecdotally
I might say that.AD: What do you do as the chair if
there’s a disagreement?
WJ: We did not always agree, by
any means. We come from such
different perspectives in
photography. But nobody ever
stormed out of the room or anything
like that. My job as a chair is to
allow everyone to speak – my vote is
just one vote like everyone else’s. I
try to get the team to work together
and to listen to one another and be
respectful, and I think be willing
from the outset to have your mind
changed. I think for some of us,
that can be quite difficult –
photographers are used to working
in isolation, and photo editors are
used to getting their way.
We kept making sure that our
decisions sat well with us. We have
a discussion and then you vote in
private. Afterwards, you see the
decision, and you can make a
decision to discuss and re-vote if it
really doesn’t sit well. Every decision
to move a photograph forward from
the first week all the way to the end
requires a majority vote, so there’s
never an opportunity for any one
person, whether it’s a chair of one
jury or the chair of the whole jury,
to truly dominate in any way.Nadia Shira Cohen, USA
2nd Prize environment (stories)
Mennonite farmers growing soy in Campeche, on the
Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, are allegedly adversely
impacting the livelihood of local Mayan beekeepers. This
careful and considered work explores the impact on a
local community – a story which may not have otherwise
garnered widespread attention. Environmental groups and
honey producers say that the introduction of genetically
modified soy and the use of the agrochemical glyphosate
endangers health, contaminates crops, and reduces the
market value of honey by threatening its ‘organic’ label.
Alyona Kochetkova, Russia
3rd Prize Portraits (singles)
This self-portrait, taken while Alyona was receiving
cancer treatment, resonated with us in many ways.
Here at AP, we have often discussed photography’s power
to heal, to help us cope with problems such as loss and our
own personal circumstances. For Alyona, taking photos
was not only the sharing of a difficult and personal story in
the hope that it might support others, it was also a means
of accepting her ordeal by doing what she loved.
© AlyoNA KochEtKoVA
© NAdIA ShIrA cohEN