If a picture is taken by a man or woman it may seem irrelevant. But the fact is that the Picture of the Year competition has for many years been criticized for being too male-dominated, not least when it comes to the finer prizes such as the Picture of the Year. Now that it seems to have turned around – seriously – it is therefore appropriate to draw attention to it.
Virtually all top prizes this year went to female photojournalists. Eva Tedesjö from Dagens Nyheter won the grand prize: Picture of the Year 2021 and thus became the second woman in the competition’s history to do so. First out was Anna Tärnhuvud, 2018.
Lisa Mattisson, freelancer, was named Photographer of the Year 2021 and became the third woman to win the award. The last time this happened was as late as last year, when Lotta Härdelin won the prize.
Honorary award to Ragnhild Haarstad
This year’s report 2021 was also photographed by a female photographer: Anette Nantell from Dagens Nyheter. And all female successes were framed by that This year’s honorary award went to Ragnhild Haarstad, who in 1971 became the first woman to be named Photographer of the Year. But then she did not receive her award during the ceremony itself.
– I had to work when there was an award ceremony. And no one wanted to change passports with me. It was also noticed afterwards that many men did not appreciate the attention I received as a female photographer, he said Ragnhild Haarstad to Kamera & Bild when we interviewed her in 2018.
Tonight she was honored together with this year’s prize winner.
“An early battlefield”
This year’s picture 2021 by Eva Tedesjö is photographed on the Belarusian plain in Baranavitjy, where it was the end of the giant military exercise Zapad-2021. Russia carried it out in cooperation with Belarus, where the official purpose was to test the ability to fight a war against NATO.
Today we see the horrific consequences of what they prepared.
“Like a classic painting from an early battlefield,” writes the Picture Jury of the Year in its motivation for the award. Eva Tedesjö herself describes the photo opportunity as follows:
– It was almost like me and the reporter Michael Winiarski thought about not going to the exercise, because it was so much trouble with times. But in the end we went and I thought it probably would not be so fun. Right when we arrived, it was like ending up in a movie out in a muddy field, with soldiers, folk dancers and orchestras. We were both a little shocked, it was a very special experience, says Eva Tedesjö to Dagens Nyheter.
Exhibition at Galleri Kontrast
This year’s picture is Sweden’s most prestigious award for picture journalists. It was founded in 1942 by the Press Photographers’ Club and today the competition is open to all professional photographers. The award ceremony for the 79th edition was held tonight at Nalen in Stockholm.
On March 19, an exhibition opens with the pictures from the Picture of the Year Gallery Contrast in Stockholm. The exhibition runs until April 24.
The winners in Picture of the Year 2021 are:
Picture of the year
Eva Tedesjö (DN)
Photographer of the year
Lisa Mattisson (Freelancer)
This year’s report
Anette Nantell (DN)
Rookie of the year
Paul Wennerholm (GP / Nordens Fotoskola)
News report domestic
Magnus Hjalmarson Neideman (SVD)
News picture domestic
Janerik Henriksson (TT-Nyhetsbyrån)
News report abroad
Anna Tärnhuvud (Aftonbladet / Frilans)
News picture abroad
Joel Marklund (Bildbyrån)
Everyday life reportage domestic
Miranda Solvang (Freelancer)
Everyday life image domestic
Anna Nordström (Freelance)
Everyday life report abroad
Niclas Hammarström (Expressen / Frilans)
Everyday life abroad
Eva Tedesjö (DN)
Portrait report
Åsa Sjöström (Freelance)
Portrait image
Magnus Wennman (Aftonbladet)
Sports report
Jack Mikrut (Dagens Industri)
Sports picture
Joel Marklund (Bildbyrån)
Tv reportage
Paul Hansen (DN)
TV news
Lars Lindqvist, photo (DN)
Daniel Costantini, photo (DN)
Anita Szava, photo (DN)
Madeleine Longo, editor (DN)
Dennis Ylikangas, editing (DN)
Tv sport
Oscar Dahl, David Elfgren, photo (C More & TV4)
Oscar Dahl, editor (C More & TV4)
Kajsa Kalméus, reporter (C More & TV4)
This year’s honorary award
Ragnhild Haarstad
All nominated entries are available at aretsbild.se.
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