A shot of two Palestinian boys watching men stand on the roof of the remains of a synagogue at the Netzarim settlement in the Gaza Strip has won the grand prize at Editor & Publisher's Sixth Annual Photos of the Year contest.
Marco Di Lauro of Getty Images won the prize for the photograph taken as Palestinians celebrated the Israeli withdrawal on September 12, 2005. Thousands of Palestinians set on fire the synagogue and what was left of the settlement after the Israeli Army withdrew. Di Lauro won $1,000 and a Nikon digital camera and lens system. Di Lauro joined Getty in 2002 after working as a freelancer and for Associated Press (AP). He has covered conflicts in the Balkans, Afghanistan and around the Middle East and Africa.
The only India-related photograph to be awarded was that of Harish Tyagi, European Pressphoto Agency, in the News (Spot/General) category for publications with a cicrulation of more than 250,000. The photograph was that of a mother weeping over the dead body of her son, a tsunami victim, on Silver Beach in Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu on December 27, 2004.
Di Lauro told E&P that to get the winning photograph, he waited in front of the synagogue "for hours" capturing the destruction of the building by Palestinians after Israeli settlers in Gaza were ordered out of the area by their government. "I like to shoot a lot of images," he says. Thankfully, he reports, the boys in the photo didn't notice him taking the picture; if they had, they probably would have mugged for the camera. While taking this image, Di Lauro wondered, "What could the boys be thinking, looking up at their friends and neighbours?"
Photos were eligible for the Photos of the Year contest if they were published in a newspaper or on a newspaper's website between September 1, 2004 and the contest deadline of September 16, 2005.
The other winners are:
- News (Spot/General), More than 250,000 circulation: Harish Tyagi, European Pressphoto Agency, Frankfurt, Germany
- News (Spot/General), 100,000 - 249,999: Mike Woods, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Arkansas, US
- News (Spot/General), 25,000 - 99,999: Marc Vasconcellos, The Enterprise, Brockton, Massachusetts, US
- News (Spot/General), Less than 25,000: Don Clark, Eagle Times, Claremont, US
- Features, More than 250,000: David Guttenfelder, the Associated Press, New York, US
- Features, 100,000 - 249,999: Michael Kubel, The Morning Call, Allentown, Philadelphia, US
- Features, 25,000 - 99,999: Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Ontario, California, US
- Features, Less than 25,000: Michelle Stocker, The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, US
- Sports, More than 250,000: Robert Duyos, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US
- Sports, 100,000 - 249,999: Craig Litten, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach, Florida, US
- Sports, 25,000 - 99,999: Shmuel Thaler, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Santa Cruz, California, US
- Sports, Less than 25,000: John Nowak, The Ottawa Herald, Ottawa, Kansas, US
- Multiple Images/Photo Essay, More than 250,000: David Guttenfelder, The Associated Press, New York, US
- Multiple Images/Photo Essay, 100,000 - 249,999: David Goldman, Boston Herald, Boston, Massachusetts, US
- Multiple Images/Photo Essay, 25,000 - 99,999: Dominick Fiorille, Times Herald-Record, Middletown, New York, US
- Multiple Images/Photo Essay, Less than 25,000: Joe Duty, Wise County Messenger, Decatur, Texas, US
- Local Heroes (Nikon Category), Winner: Karl Rabe, Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, New York, US
- Local Heroes (Nikon Category), Runners-up: Mike George, The Sun Chronicle, Attleboro, Massachusetts, US; Christine Dunshee Peterson, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Massachusetts, US
