'Fighting Locust Invasion in East Africa'
The 64th edition of World Press Photo Contest, the prestigious contest that each year awards the best of visual journalism, has made known to the 45 nominees of this 2021, among which we find three Spaniards. One of them, Louis Tattoo, aspires to be with him World Press Photo of the Year.
The image with which Tato could achieve this award was taken on April 24, 2020, when Henry Lenayasa, head of the Archers Post settlement in Samburu (Kenya) , tried to scare away a swarm of locusts They were destroying a crop area. Posted in The Washington Post, Fighting Locust Invasion in East Africa (Fighting the Locust Invasion in East Africa) tells how these insects devastated large areas of the country, just as the arrival of the pandemic disrupted the livelihoods of many people in Kenya.
The World Press Photo of the Year honors the photographer whose visual creativity and skills have led to an image that captures or depicts an event or topic of major journalistic importance. The Spaniard, whose work is also nominated in the Nature category, is competing against Evelyn Hockstein and her Lincoln Emancipation Memorial Debate; Valery Melnikov, with his work Leaving Home in Nagorno-Karabakh; mads nissen, with The First Embrace; Oleg Ponomarev and The Transition: Ignat; and finally, Lorenzo Tugnoli and his Injured Man After Port Explosion in Beirut.
In addition to the World Press Photo of the Year, this contest also puts the spotlight on World Press Photo Story of the Year, recognizing the work of that photographer who has been able to tell a story with great editing and sequencing quality. There are three applicants: Those Who Stay Will Be Champions, from Chris Donovan ; Habibi, of Antonio Faccilongo ; and Paradise Lost, from Valery Melnikov.
The 45 nominated photographers are divided into eight categories: Present (images documenting cultural, political, or social issues affecting individuals or society); general information (photographs that portray current affairs and its consequences); Environment (images that show the impact of human beings on the environment); long-term projects (have required at least three years of work); Nature (show the flora, fauna or landscapes); News (for those images that captured the precise moment the news was happening); Sports Y Pictures.
'New Life'
In them we find two other Spanish photographers: Aitor Garmendia, with your work Inside the Spanish Pork Industry: The Pig Factory of Europe (In the interior of the Spanish pig industry: Europe's pig farm), a series of photographs that document what happens inside the pig industry in Spain and how these animals are mistreated; Already Jaime Culebras by new-life (New Life), in which Wiley's Glass Frog eggs can be seen resting on a leaf in a tropical Andean forest in Ecuador. The first aspires to become the winner of the Environment category (stories) and the second in the Nature category.
Total, 4,315 photographers from 130 countries have submitted 74,470 images to this edition of the World Press Photo Contest, exceeding the 73,996 of the year 2020.
“In an unprecedented year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and social protests around the world, the nominees have presented widely diverse interpretations and perspectives of these and other pressing issues, such as the climate crisis, the rights of transgender people and territorial conflicts”, explains Rodrigo Orrantia, a member of the jury for this edition, in statements collected in a press release.
The winners will be announced on April 15. and those who win the World Press Photo of the Year and the World Press Photo Story will receive a prize of 5,000 euros each. After revealing the result, will open its doors to its already legendary international exhibition, which will start on April 17 at the De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, where it will be until July 25.
You can consult all the nominees for the World Press Photo of the Year and the World Press Photo Story of the Year at our gallery.
'Inside the Spanish Pork Industry: The Pig Factory of Europe' ('Inside the Spanish pork industry: Europe's pig farm')