2004 Photoshare Photo Contest Winners
Photoshare News
2004 Photoshare Photo Contest - Sponsored by The INFO Project and Nikon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2004Stunning Photo of Amazon Jungle Takes Top Prize at Second Annual
Photoshare Photo Contest Sponsored By Hopkins' INFO ProjectBALTIMORE - A photo of young boys playing in a remote area of the Amazon Jungle won 1st Place/Best of Show at the 2nd Annual Photoshare Photo Contest. Caryl Feldacker submitted the winning photo in the competition sponsored by The INFO Project at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's/Center for Communication Programs (CCP).
The Information and Knowledge for Optimal Health Project (INFO) is a reproductive health knowledge-sharing resource supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development. INFO's Photoshare service helps international non-profits communicate health and development issues through photography. By facilitating photo sharing among colleagues in international development, Photoshare has become a leading source for editorial development photography. The Photoshare collection, consisting primarily of photos taken by public health professionals in the field, contains thousands of images illustrating the realities of urban and rural life in developing countries, as well as global efforts to improve and save lives.
Open to amateurs and professionals alike, the contest drew interest from around the globe, including more than 120 participants who submitted more than 400 photos shot in 70 different countries. Prizes were awarded for:
Best of Show | Photoshare Image of the Year | Outstanding Photoshare Contributor | Best of Category | Honorable Mention
Best of Show
Selected by an Independent Panel of Judges
[Click on the images below for a larger thumbnail]
1st Place
Caryl Feldacker
In the middle of the Amazon jungle, young boys play in the setting sun as a man returns from an afternoon of fishing. In this remote location, three days from the nearest town by boat, the people depend entirely on nature to meet their daily needs for food and water. As population growth and environmental degredation threaten these areas, integrated approaches to development become necessary to protect biodiveristy and promote human wellness.
"The exquisite composition of this photo, along with its color and light, portrays the beauty, mystery, and calm of this location. The image is quiet, in a sense, but full of wonder and joy." - 2004 Judges
2nd Place
Tom Furtwangler
Children with tuberculosis and HIV play outside the pediatrics ward at Tambaram Sanatorium, near Chennai, India. Tambaram treats the largest volume of HIV patients of any public medical facility in India, diagnosing more than 1000 new cases per month.
"This photo reminds us that health is so much more than a visit to a doctor's office. It is also about hope and living life to the fullest. The children’s playfulness, in contrast with the subdued colors of their environment, symbolizes the vibrancy of the human spirit in battling with and triumphing over illness." - 2004 Judges
3rd Place
Lydia Martin
A woman living with HIV/AIDS in Stone Town, Zanzibar. The stigma attached to the disease means that people living with HIV/AIDS do all they can to keep their health status a secret.
"The intensity and closeness of the eye in this photo, with its strong, compelling emotion, conveys the sense that something needs our attention, and pulls the viewer into the story of HIV/AIDS in Africa." - 2004 Judges
Photoshare Image of the Year
Selected by Photoshare Staff
The Rural Information Network (RUINET)
An elderly woman keeps an eye on her grandchildren. Although HIV/AIDS cases in Kenya have dropped from 13 to 10 per cent, many young people have died, leaving their children in the care of relatives.
"This colorful, intimate photo poignantly illustrates the changing composition of families affected by HIV/AIDS, and the generational bonds that hold families together in the face of enormous challenges. This photo, shared by The Rural Information Network (RUINET) in Eldoret, Kenya, was requested seven times in just a few short months after its inclusion in Photoshare. RUINET is a community-based organization working to ensure that vulnerable youth from urban slums and rural villages have access to reproductive health information and services." - Photoshare Staff
Outstanding Photoshare Contributor
Selected by Photoshare Staff
Sammy Ndwiga Njamburi
"Sammy Ndwiga’s passion for sharing his photos and stories with the rest of the world has been a great inspiration to Photoshare staff. In 2002, Ndwiga sent more than 200 prints through the mail from his grassroots education activities in Kenya and Tanzania - the largest donation from a local resident in a developing country at the time. We were moved by the effort he put into writing thoughtful captions, knowing how busy he was with Njamburi/Cabak Educational and Library Services, an NGO working to increase public awareness about population-related issues. We were alarmed to learn that his original prints were lost in the mail, eventually reaching him one year later! However, nothing seemed to dampen Ndwiga's enthusiasm for Photoshare. In 2003, he outdid himself, sending more than 600 captioned photos taken with a borrowed digital camera. Ndwiga, a videographer, is currently in Kenya helping his brother organize community screenings for educational videos on HIV/AIDS and family life. He is also writing a script for a short film he intends to make in Tanzania." - Photoshare Staff
Best of Category
Selected by an Independent Panel of Judges
Family Planning & Reproductive Health
Georgina Cranston
CHETNA (Centre for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness) staff promote safe motherhood in a traditional ceremony for pregnant women in Ahmedebad, Gujuart, India. The pot, representing a piggy bank, is for savings that will go towards the child’s birth. Mary (dressed in red and white sari in the centre), who is 21 years old and 4 months pregnant, is saving for private care for her delivery. This ceremony (adapted to include all pregnant women and not just those completing 7th months of their first pregnancy) encourages women to prepare for labor.
"The photographer did a very good job of involving the audience of the photo into the middle of the group of women and children." - 2004 Judges
HIV/AIDS
Lydia Martin
A woman living with HIV/AIDS in Stone Town, Zanzibar. The stigma attached to the disease means that people living with HIV/AIDS do all they can to keep their health status a secret.
"A provocative and powerful image - the minimal information of a truncated face and an engaged eye is arresting and reminds us that behind the vast "numbers" of new infections there are human beings." -2004 Judges
Environment
Ambre Murard
A nomad woman with her child looks after water in the Tibetan grasslands. Because of the low rainfall and the distance of the villages, water supply is a problem for Tibetan nomads during summer. They used to collect the stagnant water of the puddles.
"This photo highlights a dilemma the world is facing more and more. Nomads like these have been confronting the issue of water for thousands of years, and so, symbolically, the image calls attention to how we interact and deal with our environment on a day to day basis." - 2004 Judges
Agricultural & Economic Development
Philippe Blanc
Fathma plants seaweed ("euchema spinosum" and "euchema cottoni") while sitting in the shallow water at low tide. These algae are grown for two months and are then collected and dried for export. There are 10,000 women in Zanzibar to collect more than 4,000 tons of dried algae. In the past five years, the women living in different locations of the island have decided to collaborate and work together on this sustainable enterprise. The extracted and purified material from this algae is broadly used everywhere in the world, particularly in the food and cosmetic industry. Orange juice, milk, cream, and even ketchup contain the algae extract (it keeps orange juice as a "homogenous solution").
"A very well-executed photo with gorgeous colors - we get a sense of place and a strong sense of being with this woman in the water." - 2004 Judges
Democracy & Governance
Moushegh Baghdasaryan
A woman holds the Armenian national flag during a political meeting in Yerevan. The political situation is very strained in Armenia, and the opposition is trying to come to power by democratic ways.
"A dramatic photo of a woman holding a flag - demonstrating her power with her voice instead of a gun - this best illustrates democracy and the power of the individual." - 2004 Judges
Humanitarian Assistance
Lauren Goodsmith
A young girl feeds her baby sister at a community feeding center (centre d'alimentation communitaire) in Daghveg, Mauritania. This feeding center is one of several operated by the aid organization World Vision International with supplies provided though the World Food Programme. At the centers, malnourished children receive two meals daily of porridge made from high-nutrition corn/soya blend. At the time of this photograph, Mauritania was in its third year of severe drought, with crisis concentrated in the south-central (Assaba) region.
"This photo best illustrates the motivation behind assistance - supporting those who are the most vulnerable. A beautiful moment." - 2004 Judges
Open Category - Global Health
Tom Furtwangler
Children with tuberculosis and HIV play outside the pediatrics ward at Tambaram Sanatorium, near Chennai, India. Tambaram treats the largest volume of HIV patients of any public medical facility in India, diagnosing more than 1000 new cases per month.
"This photo reminds us that health is so much more than a visit to a doctor's office. It is also about hope and living life to the fullest. The children’s playfulness, in contrast with the subdued colors of their environment, symbolizes the vibrancy of the human spirit in battling with and triumphing over illness." - 2004 Judges
Open Category - Human Interest
Caryl Feldacker
In the middle of the Amazon jungle, young boys play in the setting sun as a man returns from an afternoon of fishing. In this remote location, three days from the nearest town by boat, the people depend entirely on nature to meet their daily needs for food and water. As population growth and environmental degredation threaten these areas, integrated approaches to development become necessary to protect biodiveristy and promote human wellness.
"The exquisite composition of this photo, along with its color and light, portrays the beauty, mystery, and calm of this location. The image is quiet, in a sense, but full of wonder and joy." - 2004 Judges
Contest Judges
Entries were judged on the basis of content and quality by an independent panel of volunteer judges. Marshall Clarke, Shawna Gibbs, and Steven Rubin generously volunteered their time to judge entries for this year's contest. All three judges are professional freelance photographers who share an interest in international development.
- Marshall Clarke currently directs Youthlight, a photography and media literacy project empowering youth in Baltimore city to explore their creativity and become activists in thier neighborhood through creating photographic images.
- Shawna Gibbs works with international development organizations on website development and photography projects. She is currently preparing for a documentary project on a women's craft cooperative in Ecuador.
- Steven Rubin is presently directing the innovative program "Healing Images" which provides digital photography, instruction, and therapy to survivors of torture, with Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (ASTT) in Maryland.
Honorable Mention
Selected by Photoshare Staff
Family Planning & Reproductive Health
Thomas Jaenisch
A father and his child wait for the mother at a health clinic on Pemba Island in Tanzania. Pemba Island is one of the areas with the highest fertility rates in East Africa (6-8 live births per woman). Here, in a traditional Muslim society -as well as elsewhere - it is of crucial importance to include fathers in family planning and reproductive health.
HIV/AIDS
Georgina Cranston
Guardians of AIDS orphans and vulnerable children act out a drama about HIV/AIDS at CHILOCA (Child Love Care), a local NGO in Molo, Kenya, to the children at the centre. In this scene of the skit, the patient has gained strength from the home-based care and love she finally received from her family, once the stigma of HIV/AIDS had been beaten. The actors are praying, saying that they will educate others on behaviour change, to stop them from contracting HIV/AIDS.
Environment
Lisa Folda
Once forested with baobabs, the western part of Madagascar now sees them as "sentries" posted at each corner of a rice paddy.
Agricultural & Economic Development
Lauren Goodsmith
Nagi, a member of the women's agricultural cooperative in Daghveg, Mauritania, displays a melon grown in the group's 1-hectare garden. Despite a period of severe drought that particularly affected the south-central (Assaba) region where the village is located, the garden project flourished, with the help of heat-resistant seeds, a motor-pumped well, training, and tools provided by World Vision International.
Democracy & Governance
Philippe Blanc
A soldier from the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in Timen, South Sudan, Nuba mountains, talks on the radio during a cease fire between the SPLA rebels and the government of Khartoum.
Humanitarian Assistance
David Snyder
A Catholic Relief Services partner stands amidst bags of maize before a food distribution in the Touloum refugee camp in eastern Chad. The refugees in Touloum are among an estimated 200,000 who have fled the fighting in Darfur, Sudan. More than 4,000 people were on hand to receive this distribution - a monthly ration of corn and cooking oil.
Open Category - Global Health
Laura Lartigue
Madame Aissata Konaté, Director of Elizabeth Nursery School in Koulewondy, helps distribute vitamin A to the children in her nursery school. Says Konaté, "The health agent explained to us how to cut the capsule and squeeze the whole thing into their mouths. We have charts that the Health ministry gave us, and we wrote down the name of each child, and that each one received vitamin A. We gave one capsule to each child under five years of age."
Open Category - Human Interest
David Snyder
A young refugee in the Kounoungo camp in eastern Chad. Conflict in the Darfur region of neighboring Sudan has killed an estimated 30,000 people and displaced nearly 1.5 million others since early 2003. This young boy is one of the 12,000 who now crowd the Kounoungo camp, awaiting the peace that will allow them to return home.
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