TFMD Press Photos of the Year Competition Concluded

The 2026 results of the "Press Photos of the Year" competition organized by the Turkish Photojournalists Association (TFMD) have been announced. In the 41st year of Turkey's most established photography organization, Press Photos of the Year, attention was drawn to environmental problems and climate change with awards. In the competition, 7 photographs and 1 photograph series related to nature, environment and climate change received awards. The grand prize of the competition, Press Photo of the Year 2026, went to Ahmet Faruk Sarıkoç from İhlas News Agency, with his environmental photograph reflecting the construction sites rising among agricultural lands in the region where the Sazlıdere Dam is located in Istanbul and the growth rate of the megacity Istanbul.

Selected from Over 5 Thousand Photos

In the Press Photos of the Year, where more than 5 thousand photographs from the events that took place in 2025 were evaluated, 23 photographs and 3 photograph series were awarded in 6 different categories. This year, 75-year-old experienced photojournalist Kadir Can was deemed worthy of the Lifetime Honor Award, which TFMD gives to a name every year. A total of 390 people, including 343 photojournalists and photographers and 47 students, participated in the organization. The total prize money given in the competition organized with the support of Spor Toto Organization Presidency, ASKA Lara Resort, AJet, SGDD-ASAM and General Directorate of Foundations was announced as 335 thousand liras.

Pay Attention to Environmental Problems with Awards

Press Photos of the Year jury; İhlas News Agency photojournalist Ahmet Faruk Sarıkoç was deemed worthy of the Press Photo of the Year Award with his photograph reflecting the expansion speed of the megacity Istanbul with construction sites rising among the agricultural lands in the area where the Sazlıdere Dam is located in the Hacımaşlı District of Istanbul's Arnavutköy district. Sarıkoç also won the Nature, Environment and Climate Change Photo of the Year Award with the same photograph. The 7th Zero Waste Special Award, given to support awareness in the "Zero Waste Project", went to Adem Albayrak with his photograph showing a pelican trying to fish among environmental pollution in Gölyazı district of Bursa. The Earthquake Martyrs Special Award, given in memory of the 29 journalists who lost their lives in the February 6 earthquakes, and Cem Emir and Sebahattin Yılmaz, who lost their lives in the line of duty in the 2011 Van earthquake, and the special awards given in memory of journalist Mustafa Pekcan, who was martyred in Northern Iraq, were selected from the Environment, Nature and Climate Change Photographs category. The Photo Interview of the Year Award went to Uğur Yıldırım from Milliyet Newspaper with his photo series in which he conveyed the drought experienced due to climate change and uncontrolled agricultural irrigation and the increasing number of sinkholes in the Konya Basin every year.

Honorary Award goes to Kadir Can...

Orkun Emre Küçükerbaş from Izmir Metropolitan Municipality won the News Photograph of the Year Award in the competition with his shot of Republican People's Party Chairman Özgür Özel at the funeral of deceased Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ferdi Zeyrek. Uğur Yıldırım from Milliyet Newspaper won the SGDD-ASAM Special Award with his photograph of children living under difficult conditions in the tent camp in Azez, close to the Turkish border, in Syria, which has been devastated after 14 years of war. The special award given in the name of Rafet Hüner, the founding president of the association, was received by Semih Ersözler from Demirören News Agency with his photograph of the Turkish and Palestinian flags unfurled in the sea in Antalya against Israel's attacks on Palestine. The Portrait Photo of the Year went to Milliyet Newspaper photojournalist Uğur Yıldırım with his shot of Awad Hassan in a school in conflict-ravaged Syria. The Lifetime Honor Award, which the Turkish Photojournalists Association gives to a person every year, was given to 75-year-old experienced photojournalist Kadir Can, who achieved many successes in his career, which he started in 1971.

Spor Toto Prizes

In the Spor Toto Sports Photography of the Year Category, the first prize was given to Okan Akyürek with the shot showing the accident in the World Motocross Championship EMX250 Final 2nd Race held in Afyonkarahisar. Mürsel Çetin was deemed worthy of the Spor Toto Special Award for his photograph depicting the fierce struggle of male and female cyclists during the UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup races at the Konya Velodrome. Elif Çimiç from Ahi Evran University received the Ara Güler Encouragement Award, which has been organized for 7 years among high school and university students in order to keep the name of Master Ara Güler alive and to encourage young people to take photography.

Turkey's Beauties Will Be Announced on April 2

In the Press Photos of the Year, TFMD brought it to the world with international exhibitions; The winners of the Beauty of Türkiye Awards, which has been held as a separate competition open to the participation of all amateur and professional photographers for 11 years, will be announced to the public on April 2.

Aral: "One of the world's leading organizations..."

Coşkun Aral, President of the Press Photos of the Year General Jury, said that it is a great value to hold the Press Photos of the Year Contest uninterruptedly for 41 years, and that sustaining the organization for years requires great effort. Aral said, "Press Photos of the Year is one of the most important photography organizations in Turkey, which TFMD has been running for 41 years. In my opinion, it is one of the world's few and one of the most important photography organizations in Turkey. It brings together very valuable names in its jury. As jury members, we made a serious evaluation for 2 days by arguing among ourselves, criticizing the photos, and without compromising the rights of the photos and photojournalists. I hope the results will make everyone happy. The organization is valuable in terms of explaining how important it is for both the world and our country to keep photojournalism alive."

Special: "We Have Been Making Notes in Türkiye's Visual History for 41 Years"

TFMD President Rıza Özel stated that the Turkish Photojournalists Association has made a note in Turkey's visual history for 41 years with the Press Photos of the Year Competition and said, "We do not just select photographs in the Press Photos of the Year, we make a note in history. Our jury sends a message with its selections and contributes to awareness. This year, our jury chose to draw attention to environmental problems. We see the world we live in as entrusted to us by our children and we approach environmental problems with this sensitivity. Our jury members spend 2 days in a room." "I would like to express my gratitude to each of them for their meticulous evaluation processes. I also congratulate all my colleagues who received awards and thank each of our friends who sent photographs to this organization."

Who is Ahmet Faruk Sarıkoç, the winner of the Press Photo of the Year Award?

Ahmet Faruk Sarıkoç was born in Istanbul in 1992. His curiosity about the power of the image and tracking the truth took him to the field at an early age. His interest in journalism materialized with the first step he took when he was a 16-year-old high school student, photographing the mining disaster in Soma. Since then, it has attracted attention especially with its visual journalism and environmentally focused work. Sarıkoç, who produced news, videos and photographs focusing on Istanbul and the Marmara Region using aerial imaging techniques, raised public awareness on issues such as environmental pollution, nature destruction and urbanization. Sarıkoç, who attaches importance to the correct and safe use of drone technology in the media field as well as journalism, provides training on aerial imaging and drone operatorship.

The Story of the Press Photo of the Year

İhlas News Agency photojournalist Ahmet Faruk Sarıkoç told the story of his award-winning photo with the following words: "I caught this shot during a shoot with a drone on the Hacımaşlı District of Arnavutköy district, in the north of Istanbul. When you look from the sky, it is possible to see with the naked eye how Istanbul has grown and even changed direction. On one side, the agricultural lands that are still green, on the other side, hundreds of rapidly rising residences... In the middle, one of the water resources of Istanbul. Sazlıdere Dam.

When these three elements meet in the same frame, it is not actually a single photograph; Istanbul's transformation story is revealed. When I raised the drone hundreds of meters, the view I saw was striking: A giant construction site was rising in the area where fields and empty lands once stood. The concrete texture created by the constructions contrasted sharply with the vibrant green fields right next to it. My goal when taking this photo was not just to record a landscape. Our aim was to describe the growth of Istanbul, the border of urbanization with nature, and the view we will leave to the future in a single frame. Because when viewed from above, the city is not just about buildings; It also seems like a map of our decisions and preferences. "This shot called 'Growing Istanbul' is a silent document that tells the speed of expansion of a metropolis and the delicate balance it establishes with nature."

Who is Kadir Can, who received the Lifetime Honor Award?

Kadir Can was born in Istanbul in 1951. He started his career at Günaydın Newspaper in 1971. Can worked in Günaydın until 1983, and later worked in Cumhuriyet, Hürriyet, Sabah and Güneş newspapers, as well as Atlas and Gezi magazines. Some of the photographs taken by Can, one of the photojournalists of the French Sipa Press Agency in Turkey between 1984 and 2010, were published in the world's leading magazines and newspapers such as Time, Paris Match, Newsweek and Stern. In the media organs he worked for, "Hunting Kalkan in the Black Sea", "Pink Male Pigeons of Urfa", "Last Yazidis and Assyrians", "Love Triangle of Tunas", "Why Did God Create Hell While Cizre Was Standing", "Living Loneliness in the Green", "Land Reform", "Albania Behind Closed Doors", "55-Year-Old Young Man" Many of his interviews have been published, such as "Lefter", "Horseback Fishermen of Çıldır Lake", "Misery Convoy Chasing Anchovies", "A Planet in the East", "Malatya Gold", "Fish Dream" and "A Morning in Kumkapı". Kadir Can; He won 25 awards in competitions he participated in domestic and abroad, especially Yunus Nadi, Sedat Simavi and Burhan Felek. His books titled "The Istanbul We Lived and Forgot", "Bazaar Pazar Istanbul", "September 12, 1980: Eclipse of Mind", "Fish Caught in the Nets" and "Islands, the Pearls of Istanbul" were published. Can, who has a permanent press card; He is a member of the Turkish Photojournalists Association, the Turkish Journalists Association and the Press Council.

Press Photos of the Year 2026 Jury

Press Photos of the Year General Jury President: Photojournalist Coşkun ARAL

Turkish Beauties Jury President: Photograph Artist İzzet KERİBAR

Jury Members: Depo Photos Editor-in-Chief Tolga ADANALI, Media Business Vice President Zihni Oğuz AKIN, AFP Photojournalist Adem ALTAN, İhlas News Agency General Coordinator İrfan ALTIKARDEŞ, Akdeniz University Faculty of Communication Dean Seçil DEREN VAN HET HOF, TFMD President Rıza ÖZEL, Photojournalist Sebati KARAKURT, Photographer Sefa YAMAK.

Special Juries: General Directorate of Foundations Representative Gül AŞIK, Ministry of Youth and Sports Representative İlhan DEMİR, ASKA Otels Representative Cengiz KESİCİ, SGDD-ASAM President Cumhur ÖZEN, AJET Representative Saffet YİĞİT.

(Written in order of surname)

41st ANNUAL PRESS PHOTOS AWARDS

Press Photo of the Year

Nature, Environment and Climate Change Photo of the Year

Ahmet Faruk SARIKOÇ / İhlas News Agency

Environment, Nature and Climate Change Photo Second Place

Salih KUŞ

Environment, Nature and Climate Change Photo Third Place

Fatih YILMAZ

Zero Waste Special Award

Adem ALBAYRAK

Earthquake Martyrs Special Award