2012 Photo Of The Year

[Jon Levatte]

Consideredone of the most prestigious and coveted awards in photojournalism, the World Press Photo of the Year is awarded to the image that "... is not only the photojournalistic encapsulation of the year, but represents an issue, situation or event of great journalistic importance, and does so in a way that demonstrates an outstanding level of visual perception and creativity."[1]

The single, best photo of 2023. All photos submitted to this category will be reviewed for the short list, narrowed down to 30 Selections that will be critiqued on video, then cut down to 10 Finalists, again critiqued on video and finally the winner will be announced. Submit as many images as you like!

There is no way to change the key photo in the Library views. Photos will pick a different key photo, if you hide the current key photo, but Photos seems to favor photos of smiling people and pets. I stopped using the Years, Months, Days, because the key photos are not helpful to find the major events of the year. I am using smart albums instead, where I can change the keyframes.

Salem took the photograph at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. There, he found families had gathered to search for the bodies of loved ones killed in Israeli bombardment on civilian homes, as families have done since Israel began its genocidal assault on Gaza on October 7.

Prestigious awards for photography and the juries that determine what is worthy of exceptional praise tend to favour images that hint at layered, if limited in what layers are permitted, narratives, allowing viewers to engage with just enough complexity. Juries often reward images that provide easy entry for those perceived to be the dominant group of viewers.

In another photograph that Salem took of Abu Maamar, in which her face is visible, her mouth is open in a naked expression of distress. This image gives her an individual identity; her grief is a screaming, uncontainable horror.

And photojournalists infamously embedded with the US army, as it invaded and occupied Afghanistan and Iraq, producing images that celebrated and legitimised the brutal actions of armies and contractors hired by participating states.

Salem is from Gaza, and clearly working under horrific, dangerous conditions. There is no need to undermine his work. Some may criticise Salem for photographing a grieving woman at one of the most vulnerable moments in her life. Such photographs usually evidence vast imbalances in power. It brings about attendant questions about why anyone should have the right to photograph a person without their consent, if consent is even possible at such a moment.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year tells the story of a planet under pressure. Help us harness the power of photography to advance scientific knowledge, spread awareness of important issues and nurture a global love for nature.

There is a sense of living in the shadows, adapting and thriving in a human landscape that made this photograph resonate with the jury. This is what urban wildlife is all about. The photograph is also beautiful, the interplay between light and silhouette, the interaction between the adult and chicks come together to capture a wonderful moment - nature persevering.

This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Mohammed Salem of the Reuters news agency won the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Palestinian woman Inas Abu Maamar, 36, embracing the body of her 5-year-old niece Saly, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17, 2023. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters/World Press Photo via AP)

This is not the first time Salem has been recognized for his work on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; he received a World Press Photo award more than a decade ago for another depiction of the human toll of conflict in the Gaza strip.

This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO is part of a series titled Valim-babena which won the World Press Photo Story of the Year Award and shows Joeline (Fara) Rafaraniriana (41) watches her father, Dada Paul Rakotazandriny (91) clean fish at home on Sunday afternoon. (Lee-Ann Olwage/Geo/World Press Photo via AP)

This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO is part of a series titled Valim-babena which won the World Press Photo Story of the Year Award and shows Dada Paul Rakotazandriny (91), who is living with dementia, and his granddaughter, Odliatemix Rafaraniriana (5), get ready for church on Sunday morning at his home in Antananarivo, Madagascar. 12 March 2023. (Lee-Ann Olwage/Geo/World Press Photo via AP)

This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Alejandro Cegarra for The New Times/Bloomberg is part of a series titled The Two Walls which won the World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award and shows Carlos Mendoza, a Venezuelan migrant, crossing the Rio Grande river to seek asylum in the United States. Piedras Negras, Mexico, 7 October 2023. (Alejandro Cegarra/The New York Times/Bloomberg/World Press Photo via AP)

This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Julia Kochetova is part of a series titled War is Personal which won the World Press Photo Open Format Award and shows the training of mobilized conscripts of 68th brigade in Donetsk region, not far from frontline. (Julia Kochetova/Der Spiegel/World Press Photo via AP)

This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Julia Kochetova is part of a series titled War is Personal which won the World Press Photo Open Format Award and shows a stabilization point near Bakhmut, Ukraine, of the 5th assault brigade and 77th brigade. Hospitalliers battalion - volunteer battalion of combat medics are helping here. (Julia Kochetova/Der Spiegel/World Press Photo via AP)

This image provided by World Press Photo is part of a series titled Afghanistan on the Edge by Ebrahim Noroozi, Associated Press, which won the World Press Photo Asia Series category and shows an Afghan refugee rests in the desert next to a camp near the Torkham Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Torkham, Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

With the new year, there are some things to note. We are changing the entrance fee. It is $50 per person to register until Jan. 7, 2024. On Jan. 8, the fee will increase to $60 per person. It is the first time we have raised the fee since we started accepted entrance fees more than 20 years ago. Regardless of when you register and pay, you may submit photos until Jan. 14. The fee does not affect the deadline.

We know the entrance fee is a significant sum and are grateful for your support and trust. POY is a non-profit educational program. Approximately 40% of your fees goes directly to the students who manage POY. Additionally, your entrance fee supports the award money as well as POY Latam and POY Asia, which do not charge entrance fees. Your support keeps POY programs open to photographers working in dozens of countries around the world.

A word on AI images. POY will not accept AI-generated images or text in any category. Photojournalism is based on eye-witness reporting with a camera. We would not accept AI images any more than we would accept a painting.

The rules regarding manipulation stay the same as in previous years. Entries must not be digitally manipulated or altered through post-production processing. Routine post-production processing of images for exposure correction, white balance and color toning is acceptable. Adding, altering, or removing elements is not permitted. Color images should replicate what the human eye experiences. Flagrant pre- or post-production effects that use excessive tonal aberrations, textures, vignettes, color saturation or other manipulations may be disqualified.

POY is dedicated to principals of journalistic freedoms. We will not accept manipulated images. Nor will we accept images and stories from government agencies or state-sponsored media that do not practice editorial independence. Additionally, we do not accept entries in which the subject is also the employer or restricted access was granted only to photographers hired by the organizing agency, such as a political party or a corporation. For example, you cannot submit entries that feature your employer.

Each year we feature categories that focuses on especially impactful news. This year the categories are Impact 2023: Israel-Hamas War (single images) and Impact 2023: Israel-Hamas War Picture Story. The categories will focus on the conflict as well as the responses felt around the world.

The judging will be virtual. POY curators will vote in the first rounds on their own. We will then meet for the final rounds of discussion and voting, which will be livestreamed Feb. 5 through Feb. 27, 2024.

Next, I set out to creating the pages for my yearly photobooks. You could use the autofill function to fill all the template designed pages with your photos. Since I wanted to jam in as many photos as possible, and wanted them to follow a logical progression for the year (christmas at the end of the book), I did this manually.

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