The winners of the "Press Photo Contest of the Year", Turkey's most established photography organization, which has been organized by the Turkish Photojournalists Association for 38 years, have been announced.
WAR STAMP ON PRESS PHOTOS OF THE YEAR
The winners of 2023 in the most prestigious photography awards of Turkish media have been announced. Photographs of the war between Russia and Ukraine left their mark on the "Press Photography Competition of the Year", Turkey's most established photography organization, which has been organized by the Turkish Photojournalists Association for 38 years.
The 2023 Press Photo of the Year award was given to the photo of the Russian spy captured by civilians on the streets of the capital Kiev during the war between the two countries. In the competition where approximately more than 4 thousand photographs that left their mark on 2022 participated, 23 photographs and 6 photograph series were awarded in 6 categories. In addition to the Beauties of Turkey Photography Awards, which the Turkish Photojournalists Association carries to world capitals with international exhibitions, this year drone photographs were also evaluated in the Beauties of Türkiye from the Sky category. 7 photographs were deemed worthy of awards in the Beauties of Türkiye and Beauties of Türkiye from the Sky categories.
Kahraman Kaya from Muş Alparslan University received the Ara Güler Encouragement Award, which was organized for the fifth time for high school and university students under the age of 25 with the aim of encouraging young people to take photography. Turkish Photojournalists Association announced that the Lifetime Honor Award was given to master Coşkun Aral this year for his contributions to the profession.
Uğur Yıldırım / Milliyet Newspaper
MARK ON 2022 RUSSIAN-UKRAINE WAR
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on television in the early morning hours of February 24 last year that they had launched a "special military operation in Ukraine". Thousands of people lost their lives and cities were destroyed in the war that has lasted more than a year. So far, 53 journalists have lost their lives in Ukraine, where the world press has flocked. Turkish journalists made successful news about this war, which they followed closely. The Press Photo of the Year was chosen among the photographs taken during the war. The photograph of the Russian spy captured by civilians in the streets of the capital Kiev, taken by Uğur Yıldırım from Milliyet Newspaper, won the Press Photo of the Year award. Yıldırım also received first and second place in the Daily Life Category, first place in the Photo Interview of the Year category, and third place in the Nature and Environment Category of the Year.
Murat Şaka / Hürriyet Newspaper
AWARD-WINNING SQUARES
The News Photograph of the Year Award was given to the photograph taken in Ukraine by Murat Şaka from Hürriyet Newspaper, of a mother who lost her life when a bomb fell near her while she was running away with her two children.
In the Nature and Environment Category of the Year, İsmail Coşkun from İhlas News Agency received the first prize with his photograph of the Bosphorus whose color changed due to rain.
While Mehmet Arslan came first in the Portrait Photography of the Year category with his portrait of the phenomenon 'Uncle Kemal' in Diyarbakır, the photo taken by Yağız Karahan at the Shell Helix 2022 Turkey Rally Championship was awarded in the Spor Toto Sports Photography of the Year Category.
The EU Environment Special Award was given to Seyit Konyalı from Anadolu Agency for his shot depicting the drought in Salt Lake. Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Immigrants (SGDD ASAM) Special Award was given to Hürriyet Photojournalist Murat Şaka's series consisting of photographs of people fleeing the capital Kiev during the war. Şaka won the Red Crescent Special Award with the photo reflecting hope that he took at the train station with his grandmother and her grandson's flowers in Ukraine. Spor Toto Special Award went to Hürriyet Photojournalist Selahattin Sönmez with his series of swimmers from the Islamic Solidarity Games held in Konya this year.
Ufuk Turpcan
BEAUTY OF Türkiye
In the Beauties of Türkiye 2023 Awards, which are open to the participation of all amateur and professional photographers, the photo of a carpet weaver in Uşak taken by Ufuk Turpcan came first. In the Beauty of Türkiye from the Sky category, the photo taken by Gülin Yiğiter of a train crossing the bridge over the Karasu Euphrates River in Erzincan's İliç district won first place. The ASKA Special Award, selected from the photographs in the same category, was given to İsmail Serhat Şahin's photograph of the Dalyan Delta.
Erdem Şahin / EPA
SUPPORT FOR “ZERO WASTE” AWARENESS
The "Zero Waste Special Award" was given for the fourth time at the Press Photos of the Year 2023 awards. The "Zero Waste Special Award", given to support awareness in the "Zero Waste Project", was given to the photograph taken by Erdem Şahin from EPA, in which artist Deniz Sağdıç posed with a bag of waste during her visit to İGA Istanbul Airport Waste Systems.
Kahraman Kaya / Muş Alparslan University
ENCOURAGING UNIVERSITY YOUTH TO PHOTOGRAPHY
In addition to the Press Photos of the Year competition, the "Ara Güler Encouragement Award", organized by the Turkish Photojournalists Association among students to keep the name of the master Ara Güler alive, was given for the fifth time this year. Ara Güler Encouragement Award was given to the photograph of Kahraman Kaya from Muş Alparslan University.
38 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND EVALUATION
Rıza Özel, President of the Turkish Photojournalists Association, said: "The competition is the oldest photography organization held continuously in Turkey. 38 years is very important for a photography organization. 38 years of experience and evaluation process make the awards of this competition prestigious. Every year, these awards are determined by jury meetings that bring together very valuable names and evaluations that last for hours. We hope to contribute to the awareness of the events taking place in the world with these awards. From the brutality of war to environmental disasters, Türkiye was exhibited in 17 countries last year." "We are carrying the shots that received awards from the Press Photos of the Year, from their Beauty to the Ara Güler Encouragement Award, to the future as historical documents," he said.
LIFETIME HONOR AWARD TO COŞKUN ARAL
Turkish Photojournalists Association gives a Lifetime Honor Award to a master every year. This year, the association gave the Lifetime Honor Award to the master Coşkun Aral. Born in Siirt in 1956, Coşkun Aral started his career as a press photographer in 1974 at Günaydın and Gün newspapers, and continued at Ekonomi and Politics newspaper. He made his name known in the world press for the first time through Sipa Press Agency with the photographs he took during the bloody May 1 events of 1977. His photographs of this event appeared in Time and Newsweek magazines. In 1980, he worked outside Turkey for the first time on behalf of Sipa Press Agency. He made a name for himself in the Turkish and world press by conducting an interview with air pirates for the first time in the world on a hijacked plane on October 14, 1980. Since 1980, he has continuously photographed the wars taking place in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland, Chad and the Far East. The Haberci program, produced and directed by him, was broadcast on international TV channels as well as in Turkey. Coşkun Aral took part in the establishment of Turkey's first information and document channel, İZ TV, and served as its editor-in-chief. In 2012, in accordance with the decision of the METU University Senate, Coşkun Aral was deemed worthy of the Outstanding Service Award for his pioneering role in the development of his profession, his exemplary personality, his national and international achievements and his contributions to his country. Aral, who was selected by the Landskrona Photography Festival in Sweden in 2014, was hosted to work in Landskrona. His exhibition called "Exodus" was exhibited in cities. In 2016, his exhibition project on refugees, called Exodus Déjà vu, took place in Kuala Lumpur with the participation of 6 photographers. The exhibition, which opened in Bangkok in 2018 after Ankara and Istanbul in 2017, was held online in New York in 2020 with the participation of 11 photographers. He took part in the establishment of Foton Photography Organizations Association on June 22, 2020. Coşkun Aral is among the founders of Habitat TV, which started broadcasting on January 11, 2021. Coşkun Aral is preparing for new photography exhibitions today; Coşkun Aral shares his experiences with his audience on his YouTube channel called Anlatiyor; He continues to shoot corporate and independent documentaries in Turkey and in different parts of the world.
WHO IS UĞUR YILDIRIM, THE WINNER OF THE PRESS PHOTO OF THE YEAR?
Born in Tunceli in 1985, Uğur Yıldırım graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism and Faculty of Language, History and Geography, Department of Philosophy. Yıldırım, who started journalism in Ankara in 2008, specialized in urban journalism in the first years of his career and produced many documentary photography works. After working at Sabah Newspaper News Center for 12 years, he started working as a photojournalist at Milliyet Newspaper in 2023. He has been in war, conflict zones and crisis zones in different parts of the world, especially in the Middle East. Yıldırım, who had the chance to report and photograph important events of the world in his professional life, still works on news and photography projects focusing on the humanitarian problems/consequences that emerged during the war and its aftermath. Uğur Yıldırım was deemed worthy of the 'Press Photo of the Year' award given by the Turkish Photojournalists Association in 2021.
THE STORY OF THE PRESS PHOTO OF THE YEAR
I'm in Kiev to follow the Russia-Ukraine war. The 8th day of the war was about to end and the Russian Army was approaching the city from the north. Kiev residents were fleeing to safe areas in panic in the city. In Kiev, a curfew was imposed to ensure the security of the city. Intelligence had spread that there were Russian sabotage teams in the capital. There were allegations that saboteurs were giving information to the Russian side by marking critical places and carrying out assassinations. The Ukrainian Army and civil defense units were hunting the saboteurs. Sounds of clashes were heard in the center of the city throughout the night. Ukrainian soldiers, who carried out a security check at the Buchha crossroads in the north of the city, caught 3 people with maps on which military locations were marked, on the grounds that they were saboteurs. These captured people, with their hands, arms and eyes tied, were waiting on the side of the road to be handed over to intelligence soldiers. I took the photo in this environment, amidst the brutality of war.
Selahattin Sönmez / Hürriyet Newspaper
PRESS PHOTOS OF THE YEAR 2023 JURY:
Press Photos of the Year Jury President: Photojournalist Coşkun ARAL
Jury Members: Depo Photos Editor-in-Chief Tolga ADANALI, AFP Photojournalist Adem ALTAN, İhlas News Agency General Coordinator Z QX00006 TFMD President Rıza ÖZEL, , AP Turkey Photography Editor Francisco SECO, Photojournalist Mustafa SEVEN, Akdeniz University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Photography faculty member Uğur Günay YAVUZ, photojournalist (Netherlands) Gerrit VANKEULEN.
(Written in order of surname)
İsmail Coşkun / İHA
HERE ARE THE AWARD-WINNING SQUARES;
TFMD Lifetime Honor Award
Coşkun ARAL
Press Photo of the Year - Uğur YILDIRIM / Milliyet Newspaper
News Photo of the Year - Murat ŞAKA / Hürriyet Newspaper
News Photo Second Place - Tuncer Ömer KUŞÇU / DHA
News Photo Third - Erdem ŞAHİN / EPA
Earthquake Martyrs Special Award - Erdem ŞAHİN / EPA
Mustafa Pekcan Special Award - İsmail COŞKUN / İHA
Rafet Hüner Special Award - Sedat SUNA / EPA
Nature and Environment Photo of the Year - İsmail COŞKUN / İHA
Nature and Environment Photography Second Place - Mehmet ASLAN / Freelance
Nature and Environment Photograph Third - Uğur YILDIRIM / Milliyet Newspaper
EU Environment Special Award - Seyit KONYALI / Serbest / Anadolu Agency
Daily Life Photo of the Year - Uğur YILDIRIM / Milliyet Newspaper
Daily Life Photograph Runner Up - Uğur YILDIRIM / Milliyet Newspaper
Daily Life Photograph Third - Ali İhsan ÖZTÜRK / Freelance
TFMD Special Award - Ahmet Faruk SARIKOÇ / İHA
Jury Special Award - İsmail COŞKUN / İHA
Portrait Photo of the Year - Mehmet ASLAN / Freelance
Portrait Photography Runner Up - Barış ACARLI / Gazete Oksijen
Portrait Photo of the Year Third - Barış ACARLI / Gazete Oksijen
Red Crescent Special Award - Murat ŞAKA / Hürriyet Newspaper
Spor Toto Sports Photo of the Year - Yağız KARAHAN / Freelance
Spor Toto Sports Photo Second Place - Emre Tazegül / Serbest
Spor Toto Sports Photo Third - Necati SAVAŞ / Cumhuriyet Newspaper
Photo Interview of the Year - Uğur YILDIRIM / Milliyet Newspaper
Photo Interview Runner Up - Emre TAZEGÜL / Serbest
Photo Interview Third - Sedat SUNA / EPA
SGDD ASAM Special Award - Murat ŞAKA / Hürriyet Newspaper
Zero Waste Special Award - Erdem ŞAHİN / EPA
Spor Toto Special Award - Selahattin SÖNMEZ / Hürriyet Newspaper
ARA GÜLER ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD (Encouragement competition among university students)
Kahraman KAYA / Muş Alparslan University
Türkiye BEAUTY PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS (Photo contest open to general participation)
ASKA Special Award - İsmail Serhat ŞAHİN
Türkiye's Beauties Winner from the Sky - Gülin YİĞİTER
Türkiye's Beauties from the Sky Runner Up - Esengül ALICI
Türkiye's Beauties from the Sky Third - Esengül ALICI
Türkiye's Beauties Winner - Ufuk TURPCAN
Turkish Beauties Runner Up - Hasan İÇEL
Turkish Beauties Third - Abdurrahman KURT
You can view all the photographs at Turkish Photojournalists Association (tfmd.org.tr) .
