World Press Photo Winners 2015
By Billy Kung
Since 1955, when a picture of a motor-cross competitor taking a tumble from his motorcycle won the first ever World Press Photo of the Year, the contest has become one of the most anticipated events in the calendar for the photographic community. The Dutch photojournalists' union initiated the award in hopes of creating an international competition that would broaden their support and also one that would complement their national photo award, the Zilveren Camera.
Over the years, the photojournalism competition gained considerable prestige and the number of entrants have increased significantly. The 2015 contest drew 97,912 images from 5,692 press photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographer from 131 countries. With increase contact between photojournalists around the world, World Press Photo also began to establish itself as an educational platform for young photographers.
Each year, the contest is judged by a group of leading experts in visual journalism who represent various aspect of the profession. All the prize-winning photographs are shown in a traveling exhibition that will tour 45 countries over the course of the year and also published into a yearbook. Among the various categories in the contest, a new one under the title "Long-term Projects" has been added in this year's competition.
Video interviews with observations from the jury can be viewed here. And the winner's photo gallery can be seen here.
