World Press Photo of the Year

What is seen is the heat of passion in a cold, sterile museum. This is a photo of contrast: black and white, life and death, high and low. Mevlüt Mert Altintas shouts to the crowd at an art exhibit in Ankara, Turkey in front of Andrey Karlov’s lifeless body. Burhan Ozbilici caught the moment immediately following the fatal shooting of the Russian ambassador to Turkey on December 19, 2016.

Ozbilici captured an instant of rage powerful enough to earn World Press Photo of the Year for 2017.  

Apart from impeccable timing, Ozbilici certainly maneuvered his Canon EOS 5D with prowess and composure in a delicate situation.

Annually, a jury must decide which photograph narrates an important event from the past year with an emotional force wrought through creativity and technical skill. It is clear to see how the Associated Press photographer earned the coveted Photo of the Year with a powerful shot of conflict and defiance.

This was the 60^th year of a contest that awards photographers in the categories Contemporary Issues, Daily Life, General News, Long-Term Projects, Nature, People, Sports and Spot News. Each section honors three winners for both single images and stories. Ozbilici’s collection of six photos of the occurrence titled “An Assassination in Turkey” won first prize in stories for the Spot News Category as well. More than five thousand talented photographers from around the globe contributed 80,408 pictures to the World Press Photo contest substantiating a mission to promote quality visual journalism.

You can check out the collection of winners at https://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo/2017.