The winner of the Objektiv 2016, the Austrian Press Photo Award

This week the best press photos were awarded with the “Objektiv” Award 2016 in Austria. Only works by male and female press photographers that had been published in an Austrian medium were accepted in the competition.

Every year the jury of the “Objektiv” Award consists of experienced media and photography professionals. To name just a few, the panel included members of diverse newspapers, the Austrian Press Agency (APA) and the Chairman of the Photography Department of the Höhere Graphische Bundes- Lehr und Versuchsanstalt in Vienna.

The Objektiv Press Photo Award was awarded in the following categories:

• Contemporary History
• National and International Politics
• Arts and Culture
• Sports
• Economics
• Photo Series

Besides that an overall winner was also selected. Martin Peneder received this particular award for his photo “Refugee girl in a flower dress”. He shot this picture during a cooling exercise of the Volunteer Fire Department in a refugee home in Feldkirchen an der Donau.

On a hot summer’s day with 36°C degrees in the shade hydro shields were set up so that the people in the shelter could cool down.

The photo was first published on 20 July 2015 in the “Kurier”. He did not only receive the title of the overall winner but his winning photo was also awarded in the category “National and International Politics”.

You can also notice the great impact the refugee issue has on Austria by the fact that Christian Bruna won in the category “Photo Series” with his series “Auf der Flucht” (“On the run”). In this series he has covered the journey of refugees on their way to Austria in Nickelsdorf (AT), Röszke (Hungary) and Šentilj (Slovenia) in pictures. It’s really worth taking a look more than once and reflecting on it.

The winner in the category “Contemporary History“ is called Volker Weihbold, who could convince the jury with his photo “Überlebend” (“Surviving”). It shows two elderly gentlemen leaning on to each other’s shoulder and laughing. The photo was taken during a reunion of the last Holocaust survivors and liberators of the Concentration Camp Mauthausen in Upper Austria.

In the category “Arts and Culture“ Robert Newald won with his image of a great photographer, Lisl Steiner. The picture was taken shortly before her 88^th birthday during a stay in Vienna. It was first published on 21 November 2015 in “Der Standard”.

 

Heinz Stephan Tesarek was awarded in the category “Economics“ for his photo titled “Die letzte Naht“ (“The final stitch”). He took a picture of a female worker finishing the final stitches on a bra. The photo was shot on the last working day in the factory of the underwear manufacturer Triumph in Oberwart, before the production of the company was outsourced to Morocco.

The winning picture in the category “Sports“ was taken by Andreas Pranter who shot ski jumper Gregor Schlierenzauer on the set during the break of a commercial spot. It shows Schlierenzauer in a quite unusual jumping pose –when he was doing a high jump in a gym.