MADRID – Three Spanish photographers have been nominated for the 64th edition of the World Press Photo Contest. This prestigious competition annually awards the best of visual journalism.
There are 45 nominees including the three Spanish photographers. Luis Tato is one of them and he has the ambition to win the World Press Photo of the Year 2021. As such, he took what he hopes will be the winning photo on April 24, 2020 in Samburu (Kenya). There, the head of the Archers Post settlement wanted to chase away a cloud of locusts that threatened to destroy his crops. Consequently, the photo “Fighting Locust Invasion in East Africa” was published in The Washington Post . Moreover, it tells how the locusts devastated large areas of the country and disrupted the livelihoods of many Kenyans.
Tato competes in the Nature category against the following;
- Evelyn Hockstein category and her photo Lincoln Emancipation Memorial Debate
- Valery Melnikov, with the work Leaving Home in Nagorno-Karabakh
- Mads Nissen with The First Embrace
- Oleg Ponomarev and his The Transition: Ignat
- Lorenzo Tugnoli and his photo of a wounded man after the port explosion in Beirut.
Eight categories
The 45 nominated photographers are divided into eight categories:
- News (images documenting cultural
- Political or social issues that affect individuals or society)
- General information (photos showing the news and its consequences)
- Environment (images showing people’s impact on the environment)
- Long-term projects (this requires at least three years of work)
- Nature (shows the flora, fauna or landscapes)
- News (for those images that captured the exact moment when the news happened)
- Sports and portraits.
Other Spaniards
Spanish photographer Aitor Garmendia documented a series of photos about what happens in the Spanish pig industry. More importantly, his photography shows how badly these animals are treated. Above all, he wants to win in the Environment (stories) category. Also, Jaime Culebras is the other Spanish nominee in the Nature category. His photo shows frog eggs on a leaf in a tropical forest in the Andes in Ecuador.
74,470 images
A total of 4,315 photographers from 130 countries submitted 74,470 images for this edition of the World Press Photo Contest. Moreover, this surpasses the 73,996 submissions in 2020. In a recent press release, jury member Rodrigo Orrantia states: “This has been an unprecedented year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and social protests around the world. However, the nominees have presented very different interpretations and perspectives on these and other pressing issues. For example, the climate crisis, rights of transgender people and territorial conflicts.“
In conclusion, the winners will be announced on April 15 and will receive €5,000. Following this, the world-famous international exhibition will open its doors first in De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam on April 17. Furthermore, the photos can be viewed here until July 25.
Luis Tato
Luis Tato is a photojournalist from Nairobi, Kenya. And he is currently combining his work mainly covering East Africa for Agence France-Presse and other international publications. Also with his own photojournalism projects, he focuses on sociology, identity and resilience. Tato holds a degree in audiovisual communication. But he started his career in the Spanish financial crisis for print media, news agencies and various NGOs. After that he was a regular contributor to the Spanish newspaper LaVanguardia with daily news and sports. Likewise, his work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Financial Times, The Telegraph, National Geographic, Der Spiegel, Die Welt, Internazionale, El País, El Mundo and La Vanguardia among others.
Click here for all nominees, including the three Spanish photographers, for the World Press Photo of the Year 2021.
