The international jury of the 52nd annual World Press Photo Contest have selected a black-and-white image by American photographer Anthony Suau as World Press Photo of the Year 2008. The picture shows an armed officer of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department moving through a home in Cleveland, Ohio, following eviction as a result of mortgage foreclosure. Officers have to ensure that the house is clear of weapons, and that the residents have moved out. The winning photograph, taken in March 2008, is part of a story commissioned by Time magazine. The story as a whole won Second Prize in the Daily Life category of the contest.
 
Jury chair MaryAnne Golon said: “The strength of the picture is in its opposites. It’s a double entendre. It looks like a classic conflict photograph, but it is simply the eviction of people from a house following foreclosure. Now war in its classic sense is coming into people’s houses because they can’t pay their mortgages.

Follow this link to view the rest of this years World Press photo contest winners.

— Ken Geiger

About this time of year, the world over, photojournalists are simultaneously struck with a nearly paralyzing affliction. A malady so severe it causes the heart rate to rise, sweating, trembling, weakness, and at times manifests in its victims a near debilitating stupor.

The ailment: Contest Fever. So called because the most heralded of photo contests, for works created in 2007, all have January deadlines. Like the major presidential primaries, the caucuses first to vote, can set the tone for the preceding competitions.

One of the first to be judged every year is the White House News Photographers Association (WHNPA), Eyes of History contest. For two days, three judges view thousands of images and vote by a process of elimination for what they subjectively consider to be the best images produced by the White House press corps in 2007.

The 2008 overall winner, WHNPA photographer of the year, was Washington Post photographer Jahi Chikwenhiu. If you are interested at all in what it takes to be photojournalist in our nations capital, then browse through winning entries on the Eyes of History 2008 website.

— Ken Geiger