The World Press Photo Of The Year Contest Had Some Stunning Entries

Jack Wisniewski Contributor
Font Size:

It’s not everyday you see a protester on fire.  That’s probably why this year’s World Press Photo of the Year captures that exact scene.

Venezuelan photographer Ronaldo Schemidt received the prestigious award Thursday in Amsterdam at the 61st World Press Photo Awards Show for the fiery photo he captured during the 2017 protests in Caracas.

Officially called the “World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest,” this year’s rendition accepted 73,044 entries from 4,548 photographers across 125 different countries

The contest jury of 19 photography and design professionals narrowed down the top entries, which include both singular photos and photo series, among eight categories: contemporary issues, environment, general news, long-term projects, nature, people, sports and spot news. For the first time in the contest’s history, the jury nominated six photos for the distinguished “photo of the year” award.

“The photo of the year has to tell an event, that is important enough,” said director of photography at Geo France and the chair of the contest jury, Magdalena Herrera, of this year’s decision. “It also has to bring questions… it has to engage and has to show a point of view on what happened in the world this year.”

The winner receives 10,000 euros and a selection of camera equipment from Canon, according to World Press Photo.

Like the photo of the year, every other prize-winning photo is also remarkably captivating. From gruesome scenes at the Las Vegas shooting to the symbolism of a bald eagle eating from a dumpster, here’s some of the 1st place winners in their respective categories.

 

The top selections can be viewed at World Press Photo’s site.