Photo of Loving Couple Wins World Press Photo Award

5 minute read

Correction appended Feb. 12

Danish photographer Mads Nissen has won the 58th World Press Photo contest for his portrait of Jon and Alex, a gay couple, during an intimate moment in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The deeply personal and subtle portrait stands in stark contrast with the hundreds of graphic images of protests, suffering and death that have marked 2014 – from Ukraine to Gaza, Ferguson to West Africa, and from parts of the Middle East where militants associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria have shared gruesome images of decapitated hostages.

“We were looking for an image that would matter tomorrow, not just today,” Pamela Chen, a member of this year’s World Press Photo jury and the editorial director of Instagram, said in a statement. “The winning image demonstrates what a professional photographer can do in a daily life situation, setting a professional standard for story-telling in life. This is a contemporary issue, it is daily life, it is news, it has spot news resonance, it has general news resonance, but it also brings up the issue in a very deep and challenging way. It is quite universal.”

Read Fred Ritchin’s essay: Why violent news images matter

The choice is also a reminder of the difficult life lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people have to endure in Russia. In 2013, the Russian government passed a law criminalizing the dissemination of, what it called, “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships” to minors. And in January, another law, supposedly aimed at curbing the country’s high rates of traffic accidents, bans transgender people from obtaining driver’s licenses.

Nissen’s winning picture, which also won First Prize in the Contemporary Issues category, forms part of a larger project called “Homophobia in Russia”.

“It is an historic time for the image,” says jury chair Michele McNally, the director of photography and assistant managing editor of the New York Times. “The winning image needs to be aesthetic, to have impact, and to have the potential to become iconic. This photo is aesthetically powerful, and it has humanity.”

Find out how Nissen’s image became the Photo of the Year

For Vogue Italia senior photo editor Alessia Glaviano, the winning photo offers “a message about love being an answer in the context of all that is going on in the world,” she said in a statement. ” “Today, terrorists use graphic images for propaganda. We have to respond with something more subtle, intense and thoughtful. [This photo] is about love as a global issue, in a way that transcends homosexuality. It sends out a strong message to the world, not just about homosexuality, but about equality, about gender, about being black or white, about all of the issues related to minorities.”

Nissen’s photograph was selected from among 97,912 images submitted by 5,692 press photographers, photojournalists, and documentary photographers in 131 different countries. The jury gave prizes in eight themed categories to 42 photographers of 17 nationalities.

In the Spot News Singles category, one of the most contested fields, Agence France-Presse Bulent Kilic came on top, winning the First and Third Prizes for his work in Turkey.

Read an interview with Bulent Kilic who discusses his award-winning photographs

Tyler Hicks, a photographer with the New York Times, won Second Prize in the Spot News Single category for his raw image of an Israeli strike’s aftermath on a Gaza City beach, which killed four children on July 16.

Magnum Photos member and frequent TIME contributor Jerome Sessini dominated the Spot News Stories category for his heart-wrenching photographs shot in Ukraine this past year. He received First Prize for Crime Without Punishment, a series of photos taken on the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, published on TIME LightBox and in TIME magazine in July.

Read how Jerome Sessini photographed the crash site

In the General News Singles category, photographer Massimo Sestini won Second Prize for his powerful image of asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa on the Mediterranean. The image is part of series that depicts the treacherous conditions in which tens of thousands of migrants and refugees attempt the crossing between Africa and Europe, packed in rickety motorboats with limited supplies. But they also reveal, in a manner rarely seen, the human faces of some of the men, women and children who risk everything to make it to Europe.

Boat Migrants Risk It All for New Life in Europe

Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa in the Mediterranean Sea, June 7, 2014.
Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa on the Mediterranean, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
A soldier using binoculars to spot boats carrying asylum seekers in the Mediterranean Sea, June 2.
A soldier using binoculars to spot boats carrying asylum seekers, June 2, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
Refugees rescued off a boat and carried onto an Italian navy ship on the Mediterranean Sea, June 7.
Refugees rescued off a boat and carried onto an Italian navy ship, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa, June 7.
Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
Italian soldier carries a Syrian child on a ship after the Italian navy rescued 443 Syrian asylum seekers off a fishing vessel, June 5.
Italian soldier carries a Syrian child on a ship after the Italian navy rescued 443 Syrian asylum seekers off a fishing vessel, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
Italian navy rescue asylum seekers
African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italy navy ship, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
An empty dinghy with leftover lifesavers after the Italian navy rescued asylum seekers off the coast of Africa, June 7.
An empty dinghy with leftover lifesavers after the Italian navy rescued asylum seekers off the coast of Africa, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
Italian navy rescue asylum seekers
Syrian refugees sleeping on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
Syrian refugees on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5.
Syrian refugees on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
Syrian refugees sleeping on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5.
Syrian refugees sleeping on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italy navy ship, June 8.
African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italy navy ship, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
African refugees rescued by the Italian navy at night off a rubber dinghy, June 8.
African refugees rescued by the Italian navy at night off a rubber dinghy, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italian navy ship, June 8.
African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italian navy ship, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
African asylum seekers on board a rescue craft dispatched from an Italian navy ship, June
African asylum seekers on board a rescue craft dispatched from an Italian navy ship, June 7.Massimo Sestini—Polaris
Africa refugees on an Italian navy ship after being rescued at sea, June 8.
Africa refugees on an Italian navy ship after being rescued at sea, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
A mother and child on a Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5.
A mother and child on a Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris
Abandoned boats graveyard in Lampedusa, May 29.
Abandoned boats graveyard in Lampedusa, May 29, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris

In the General News Stories category, freelance photographer Pete Muller received First Prize for his work documenting the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone for the Washington Post and National Geographic.

Images shot for and first published by TIME LightBox were also represented in this year’s winning crop, with Malin Fezehai’s photograph of an Eritean wedding in Haifa, Israel receiving the Third Prize in the Daily Life Singles category, and Sofia Valiente’s Miracle Village series, which won First Prize in the Portraits Stories category.

Absent from this year’s winning entries were images of the terrifying civil conflict that has overtaken Central African Republic this past 18 months, as well as images out of Ferguson, Mo., which became the epicenter of a months-long racial debate in the U.S.

–With additional reporting from Richard Conway and Ye Ming

— The original version of this story misattributed the following quotation: “Today, terrorists use graphic images for propaganda. We have to respond with something more subtle, intense and thoughtful.” It was said by Alessia Glaviano instead of Pamela Chen.

Jonathan Jacques Louis, 21, and Alexander Semyonov, 25.
World Press Photo of the Year 2014 First Prize Contemporary Issues, Singles Jon and Alex, a gay couple, during an intimate moment, St. Petersburg, Russia. Mads Nissen-Scanpix/Panos
Laurinda waits in her purple dress for the bus that will take her to Sunday School.  Moree, New South Wales.
First Prize Portraits Category, SinglesLaurinda waits in her purple dress for the bus that will take her to Sunday School, Moree, New South Wales, Australia. Raphaela Rosella-Oculi
moldovachild
Second Prize Daily Life Category, SinglesTwin brothers Igor and Arthur hand out chocolates to their classmates to celebrate their ninth birthday, Baroncea, Moldova. Åsa Sjöström-Moment/Institute for Socionomen / UNICEF
Second Prize Daily Life Category, StoriesJohn wears his grandson’s bowler hat. Sarker Protick
Crisis in Ukraine
First Prize General News Category, SinglesDamaged goods lie in a kitchen in downtown Donetsk, Ukraine. Sergei Ilnitsky-EPA
Second Prize Contemporary Issues Category, SinglesWei, a 19-year-old Chinese worker, wearing a face mask and a Santa hat, stands next to Christmas decorations being dried in a factory as red powder used for coloring hovers in the air. Ronghui Chen-City Express
Dallas Cowboys v New York Giants
Second Prize Sports Category, SinglesOdell Beckham of the New York Giants makes a one-handed touchdown catch in the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium.Al Bello-Getty Images
Cadet in the  Koninklijke Militaire Academie, Breda.
Third Prize Portraits Category, StoriesCadet in the Koninklijke Militaire Academie, Breda, The Netherlands Paolo Verzone-Agence Vu
Mindsuckers
First Prize Nature Category, StoriesWhen spores of the fungus land on an ant, they penetrate its exoskeleton and enter its brain, compelling the host to leave its normal habitat on the forest floor and scale a nearby tree. Anand Varma for National Geographic
In Drones We Trust
Third Prize Contemporary Issues Category, StoriesStudents in a schoolyard, El Dorado County, Calif. Tomas van Houtryve-VII for Harper’s Magazine
Ami Vitale
Second Prize Nature Category, SinglesA group of young Samburu warriors encounter a rhino for the first time in their lives., Lewa Downs, Northern Kenya. Ami Vitale—National Geographic
The julie project
First Prize Long-Term Projects Family Love 1993-2014 – The Julie ProjectDarcy Padilla—Agence Vu
Ebola Virus for National Geographic Magazine
First Prize General News Category, Stories Medical staff at the Hastings Ebola Treatment Center work escort a man in the throes Ebola-induced delirium back into the isolation ward from which he escaped in Hastings, Sierra Leone on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014. Pete Muller—Prime for National Geographic / The Washington Post
Operation Mare Nostrum
Second Prize General News Category, Single Shipwrecked people are rescued aboard a boat 20 miles north of Libya by a frigate of the Italian navy. Massimo Sestini
Jérôme Sessini Orthodox priest bless the protesters
Second Prize Spot News Category, Stories An Orthodox priest bless the protesters on a barricade in Kiev, Ukraine on Feb. 20, 2014.Jérôme Sessini—Magnum Photos for De Standaard
Argentina player Lionel Messi comes to face the World Cup trophy
First Prize Sports Category, Singles Argentina player Lionel Messi comes to face the World Cup trophy during the final celebrations at Maracana Stadium. His team lost to Germany 1-0, after a goal by Mario Götze in extra time.Bao Tailiang—Chengdu Economic Daily
Mass Abduction in Nigeria
Second Prize General News Category, Stories On April 14, 2014, nearly 300 girls were kidnapped from a remote school dormitory in Northern Nigeria by Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group. These are the school uniforms belonging to three of the missing girls.Glenna Gordon
Bulent Kilic World Press Photo
First Prize Spot News Category, SinglesA young girl is pictured after she was wounded during clashes between riot-police and protestors in Istanbul on March 12, 2014. Bulent Kilic—AFP
First Prize Nature Category, Singles
First Prize Nature Category, Singles A monkey being trained for circus cowers as its trainer approaches. With more than 300 roupes, Suzhou is known as the home of the Chinese circus. Yongzhi Chu

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