Photographer Fares AL-DLIMI working for Agence France-Presse in Iraq¡¯s Fallujah, won the top prize of ¡°Photo of the Year¡± and the gold prize in Spot and General News Sinlge with his "Wounded Iraqi Boys". The first China International Press Photo (CHIPP) contest unveiled its awarded works in Shenzhen, Guangdong on March 24, 2005. (Xinhua Photo/CHIPP)

    BEIJING, Mar. 25 -- An Iraqi photographer's picture of two boys wounded in US airstrikes on the country has won "Photo of the Year" at the first Chinese International Press Photo Contest (CHIPP).

    Fares Al-Dlimi's shot of the two young victims, hurt on September 25, 2004, by US bombs aimed at suspected militant hideouts in Falluja, was taken as the pair lay head to head inside one of the besieged city's ambulances.

    India's Prashant Panjiar, one of the competition's 15 judges said: "The picture is so strong that it can affect viewers emotionally, which truly reflects the cruelty of the war. At the same time, it's beautifully composed."

    According to another judge, James Dooley, director of photography for US company Newsday, the top three finalists' works all related to the war in Iraq.

    However, Al-Dlimi's image stood out from the rest, he told the China Daily.

    "This one is unique. It shows the innocent victims of the war...the blood of the boys reminds people of the horror of the war," he said.

    More importantly, the two judges agreed, the picture accurately highlighted the theme of the contest: Peace & development.

    Xu Zugen, chairman of the competition jury and director of Photography Department for the Xinhua News Agency, told a press conference yesterday that the purpose of war photography is to promote peace, while pictures highlighting hunger and poverty can accelerate development.

    According to the sponsor, the Photojournalist Society of China, the aim of the contest, the first of its kind in China, is to provide a platform for photojournalists and photographers worldwide to exchange experiences and to exhibit their best work.

    In the run up to the competition, the organizing committee received more than 21,000 entries from 1,765 photographers in 76 countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and India.

    Entries were classified into seven categories of Economic, Scientific and Technical News, Portraits, Daily Life, Arts & Entertainment News, Sports and Nature & Environmental News.

    Over the three-day judging process, the jury, which included seven senior photographers and photography editors from abroad and eight from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, selected 225 award winning pictures.

    Besides the "Photo of the Year 2004," the organizing committee also awarded 14 gold prizes, 28 silver prizes and 42 bronze prizes.

    The remaining 140 pictures received special recognition for excellence.

    Commenting on the home country's performance in the competition, Xinhua's director of photography Xu said: "We can see that although our Chinese photographers have made huge progress, there is still a long way to go before we catch up with our foreign peers."

    He added that Chinese photojournalists had been less involved in internationally critical events such as the of Indian Ocean tsunami, Iraqi War and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than their foreign counterparts, and so had missed key photojournalism events of the last year.

    The annual contest, which intents on becoming one of the most influential press photo contests in the world, will be held in Shenzhen again at the same time next year.

    Related: Shenzhen hosts international photo contest

Entries in the first international press photo contest hosted by China will begin being evaluated in Shenzhen on Monday (March 21st).

    Judges for the China International Press Photo Contest (CHIPP) arrived from home and abroad Sunday and will choose the best works this week.

    Sponsored by the Press Photography Society of China, the Shenzhen Association for Cultural Exchange and the Shenzhen Press Group, the contest is the first of its kind in China aimed at establishing an international brand name for press photography.

    "There are the well-known Pulitzer Photography Prize in the United States and World Photo Press awards in the Netherlands, and there will be one more influential international photo contest in China," said Hu Ying, secretary general of the organizing committee.

    Since the contest was launched last September, it had attracted more than 23,000 works from 76 nations in the past six months, including the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Iraq and South Korea. The world's major news agencies such as Reuters and AFP have also sent entries. The photos feature environment, culture and social life, but they all share a common theme of peace and development.

    The prompt and extensive response from worldwide photographers indicated a good start for CHIPP.

    The Oriental perspective would unavoidably become a cornerstone of the evaluation criteria, Hu said. However, it would pay no less attention to the common ground of international photography to make the contest a world event, Hu said.

    He hoped more foreigners would be prizewinners. "It will be a failure if CHIPP awards are shared only by Chinese," said Hu.

    Vincent Mentzel from the Netherlands was the first to arrive in the city. A member of the executive board of the World Press Photo Contest, Mentzel gave an overview of Chinese press photos.

    "It is a trend that many Chinese press photographers are starting to depict the relics and heritages on the verge of extinction, which are very unique and impressive."

    The other six foreign jury members include American Maryanne Golon, the photo editor of Times Weekly, and Miguel Angel Larrea, the director of Chile National Photography Institute.

    Fourteen prizes in seven categories will be awarded. Each prize consists of gold, silver and bronze prizes and every category will include one single and one series entrants. The top award for the Best Press Photo of 2004 will ultimately emerge from the above prizes. The results will be announced March 25.

(Source: China Daily/www.newsgd.com)