POY RJI | Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute

Pictures of the Year International 79
The Winners List

POY was virtually judged Feb. 9 to Feb. 28, 2022, from Smith Forum in the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism.

We are honored to announce the winners. The awards recognize the best in the field of photojournalism in 2021.

The credits appear as they were submitted. Please review the list to make sure the credit and affiliation appears as you wish. Please send updates to: info@poyi.org.

Pictures of the Year International is a program of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and the Missouri School of Journalism.

NEWS DIVISION | SPORTS DIVISION | REPORTAGE DIVISION | DOCUMENTARY DIVISION | EDITING DIVISION

NEWS DIVISION

Category Winners
PORTRAIT (singles)
First PlaceNicolò Filippo Rosso, Independent, “Prayer”
FinalistJay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times, “Anya Taylor-Joy”
Award of ExcellenceChristian K. Lee, Independent, “Damillah and Skylar Lane”
Award of ExcellenceScott McIntyre, Independent, “By the Beach”
Award of ExcellenceLynsey Addario, Independent, Untitled
PORTRAIT SERIES
First PlaceDamon Winter, The New York Times, “When it Costs $53,000 to Vote”
FinalistJay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times, “A Year in Film”
Award of ExcellenceChristian K. Lee, Independent, “Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous”
Award of ExcellenceJoshua Bickel, The Columbus Dispatch, “The Descendants of Hope”
Award of ExcellenceMarcus Yam, Los Angeles Times, “Zohra, Afghanistan’s First All-Female Orchestra”
SPOT NEWS
First PlaceJ. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press, “Guns Drawn”
FinalistKonstantinos Tsakalidis, Independent, “Woman from Evia”
FinalistAshley Gilbertson, Independent, “Officer Goodman”
FinalistTom Williams, CQ Roll Call, “House Chamber of January 6th”
Award of ExcellenceOhad Zwigenberg, Haaretz, “Israel Palestinians”
Award of ExcellenceSteven M. Falk, Philadelphia Daily News & Philadelphia Inquirer, “Father’s Rage”
Award of ExcellenceMohammed Talatene, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, “2021 Israel–Palestine Crisis”
Award of ExcellenceWin McNamee, Getty Images, “Senate Chamber January 6”
Award of ExcellenceVictoria Razo, Independent, “Border Patrol Agent Detaining a Haitian Man”
COMMUNITY AWARENESS AWARD
First PlaceGabrielle Lurie, San Francisco Chronicle, “Evicted in Fresno”
GENERAL NEWS
First PlaceFazry Ismail, European Pressphoto Agency Malaysia, “One Year Coronavirus Outbreak Hit Malaysia”
FinalistJessica Phelps, San Antonio Express-News, “Saying Goodbye”
FinalistSpencer Platt, Getty Images, “Peg”
Award of ExcellenceSL Shanth Kumar, The Times of India, “Chilling in Floods”
Award of ExcellenceJan Grarup, NOOR Photo, Untitled
Award of ExcellenceNicolò Filippo Rosso, Independent, “To Be Reborn”
LOCAL NEWS PICTURE STORY
First PlaceAaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune, “Duty to Mend Regret and Heartbreak”
FinalistJ. Conrad Williams Jr., Newsday, “A Hero’s Farewell”
FinalistGabrielle Lurie, San Francisco Chronicle, “A Mother’s Last Hope”
FinalistAngela Rowlings, Independent, “Boston’s First Black, First Female Mayor”
Award of ExcellenceAaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune, “The killing of Daunte Wright”
Award of ExcellenceRyan Garza, Detroit Free Press, “Oxford Mourns”
DAILY LIFE (singles)
First PlacePontus Orre, Independent, “Red”
FinalistCarsten Snejbjerg, Independent, “Cow Concert”
FinalistJessica Rinaldi, The Boston Globe, “101-year-old Lobsterwoman”
FinalistMarco Ugarte, Associated Press, “Mexico Marijuana”
Award of ExcellenceKirill Kudryavtsev, Agence France-Presse, “Space on the Earth”
Award of ExcellenceEmilio Morenatti, Associated Press, “Separating Love”
Award of ExcellenceEmilio Morenatti, Associated Press, “Puddle Jumper”
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR, LOCAL
First PlaceGabrielle Lurie, San Francisco Chronicle
FinalistAaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune

SPORTS DIVISION

Category Winners
SPORTS ACTION
First PlaceBrandon Magnus, AMB Sports + Entertainment, “Splatter”
FinalistRamsey Cardy, Sportsfile, “Fading Light”
FinalistKai Oliver Pfaffenbach, Reuters, “Above the Clouds”
FinalistCarlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune, “Blocked”
FinalistMartin Sidorjak, Independent, “A Broken Snake on the Outskirts of Prague”
FinalistScott Serio, Eclipse Sportswire, “The Savaged Turns The Table”
Award of ExcellenceRonald W. Erdrich, Abilene Reporter-News, “Gate Crasher”
Award of ExcellenceAndrej Isakovic, Agence France-Presse, Untitled
SPORTS LIFE
First PlaceQiang Li, Independent, “Gaze”
First Place (2 of 2)Bruce Bennett, Getty Images, “Jubilation”
FinalistPatrick Smith, Getty Images, “Rise”
FinalistAlain Schroeder, Rea and Hemis, Untitled
FinalistChristophe Ena, Associated Press, “Cycling and Vaccines”
FinalistMichael G. Seamans, The Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal, “Canoeniverse”
Award of ExcellenceQiang Li, Independent, “Ice Hockey Lovers”
Award of ExcellenceDean Treml, Independent, Untitled
SPORTS PICTURE STORY
First PlaceThomas Morel-Fort, Independent, “FALLOU DIOP, the Unpredicted Hope of the Racetrack”
FinalistJordi Cohen, Independent, “Faith in Bullfighting”
FinalistMichal Novotny, Independent, “Kyrgyz Rugby on Horses”
FinalistAlain Schroeder, Rea and Hemis, “Muay Thai Kids”
OLYMPIC ACTION
First PlacePatrick Smith, Getty Images, “Allez”
FinalistJoel Marklund, Bildbyrån, “Kaede Maegawa”
FinalistVegard Grøtt, Bildbyrån, “BMX”
FinalistJonne Roriz, Independent, “Finding Nemo”
Award of ExcellenceKai Oliver Pfaffenbach, Reuters, “Splish Splash”
Award of ExcellenceRyan Pierse, Getty Images, “Tokyo Heat”
Award of ExcellenceRamsey Cardy, Sportsfile, “Spray”
Award of ExcellenceFei Maohua, Xinhua News Agency, “Shocking Moment”
Award of ExcellenceMatthias Hangst, Getty Images, “Hit”
OLYMPIC LIFE
First PlacePim Ras, AD Sportwereld, “A Kiss of Comfort”
FinalistFrancisco Seco, Associated Press, “Athletics Japan Olympics”
FinalistRamsey Cardy, Sportsfile, “Record Breaker”
FinalistMandi Wright, Detroit Free Press, “Emotional Retirement”
Award of ExcellenceOli Scarff, Agence France-Presse, Untitled
Award of ExcellenceClodagh Kilcoyne, Reuters, “Tokyo Theatre”
Award of ExcellenceMohd Rasfan, Agence France-Presse, Untitled
Award of ExcellenceElsa Garrison, Getty Images, “Gold Medal Dreams”
SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
First PlaceDean Mouhtaropoulos, Getty Images
FinalistPatrick Smith, Getty Images
Award of ExcellenceJoel Marklund, Bildbyrån
Award of ExcellenceVegard Grøtt, Bildbyrån
Award of ExcellenceAndrew Nelles, The Tennessean

REPORTAGE DIVISION

Category Winners
SCIENCE AND NATURAL HISTORY (singles)
First PlaceBrent Stirton, Independent, Untitled
FinalistEmilio Morenatti, Associated Press, “Under the Volcano”
Award of ExcellenceArturo Rodriguez, Independent, “Cumbre Vieja Volcano”
Award of ExcellenceMario Tama, Getty Images, “Ice in the Port”
SCIENCE AND NATURAL HISTORY PICTURE STORY
First PlaceEmilio Morenatti, Associated Press, “Under the Volcano”
FinalistKacper Kowalski, Panos Pictures, “Event Horizon”
FinalistSimone Tramonte, Independent, “NET-ZERO TRANSITION”
Award of ExcellenceBrent Stirton, Independent, “Wildmeat - Sustainability, Economy and Zoonotics”
Award of ExcellenceGiacomo d’Orlando, Independent, “Nemo’s Garden”
Award of ExcellenceDan Balilty, Independent, “Where Boars Hog the Streets”
ENVIRONMENTAL VISION AWARD
First PlaceKristof Vadino, Independent, “Aoyate”
Award of ExcellenceBrent Stirton, Independent, “Wild Meat - Sustainability, Economy, Conservation and Zoonotics”
Award of ExcellenceMajid Hojati, Independent, “Earth Silence”
ISSUE REPORTING PICTURE STORY
First PlaceCinzia Canneri, Independent, “Women’s Bodies as a Battlefield”
FinalistSteven G. Smith, Independent, “A Daughter’s Long Goodbye, A Caregiver’s Journey”
FinalistNicolò Filippo Rosso, Independent, “Exodus”
FinalistAdrees Latif, Reuters, “Immigration Crisis Along U.S. - Mexico Border”
Award of ExcellenceDavide Bertuccio, Independent, “The Dust of the Forest”
IMPACT 2021: COVID 19, YEAR 2 (Picture Story)
First PlaceFrancesco Reffo, Independent, “Face of Our Time”
FinalistDan Balilty, Independent, “Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Communities During Covid”
Award of ExcellenceRaphael Alves, Independent, “Insulae”
Award of ExcellenceKieran Doherty, Independent, “A Corona Diary”
NATIONAL INTERNATIONAL NEWS PICTURE STORY
First PlaceNicolò Filippo Rosso, Independent, “Consumed by Grief”
FinalistJim Huylebroek, Independent, “Inside the Fall of Kabul”
FinalistGo Nakamura, Independent, “Migrants Cross Rio Grande into the U.S. under cover of Darkness"
FinalistNoah Berger, Associated Press, “Western Wildfires”
Award of ExcellenceMax Whittaker, Independent, “Fighting the Caldor Fire”
WORLD UNDERSTANDING AWARD
First PlaceFabio Bucciarelli, Independent, “The Dream”
FinalistAlessio Mamo, Independent, “Uncovering Iraq”
FinalistTariq Zaidi, Independent, “Sin Salida (No Way Out)”
DAILY LIFE PICTURE STORY
First PlaceDaniele Vita, Independent, “Bagnanti”
FinalistGabrielle Lurie, San Francisco Chronicle, “Bre-Anna: Evicted at Age 10”
FinalistYarin Trotta del Vecchio, Independent, “Nisida - The Island of Youth Suspended”
Award of ExcellenceIsmail Ferdous, Agence VU’, “Sea Beach”
Award of ExcellenceNora Lorek, Panos Pictures, “Pandemic Baby Boom”
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR, INTERNATIONAL
First PlaceLynsey Addario, Independent
FinalistMarcus Yam, Los Angeles Times
Award of ExcellenceDavid Guttenfelder, Independent
Award of ExcellenceMatias Delacroix, Associated Press

DOCUMENTARY DIVISION

Category Winners
DOCUMENTARY NEWS REPORTING
First PlaceYousur Al-Hlou, Neil Collier and Soliman Hijjy, The New York Times Video Team, “‘So They Knew We Existed’: Palestinians Film War in Gaza”
FinalistEd Ou, Katie G. Nelson, Meg Felling, Shane O’Neill and Kassie Bracken, The New York Times Video Team, “In the Middle of Chaos: Living with Daunte Wright Protests at the Front Door”
FinalistDamir Šagolj and Danis Tanović, Freelance, “When We Were Them”
FinalistMauricio Rodriguez and Nadia Sussman, ProPublica, “Buy, Borrow, Die: How America’s Ultrawealthy Stay That Way”
Award of ExcellenceAlexandra Eaton, Christoph Koettl, Quincy G. Ledbetter, Victoria Simpson and Aaron Byrd, The New York Times Video Team, “Searching for the Lost Graves of Louisiana’s Enslaved People”
Award of ExcellenceNilo Tabrizy, Ainara Tiefenthäler, Débora Souza Silva, Elie M. Khadra and Shane O’Neill, The New York Times Video Team, “From Rodney King to George Floyd: Reliving the Scars of Police Violence”
Award of ExcellenceIsabelle Niu, Danielle Miller, Khyber Khan and Nicole Fineman, The New York Times Video Team, “‘We Are Here Alone’: An Afghan Translator’s Plea for Help”
DOCUMENTARY DAILY LIFE
First PlaceJustine Simons, Corinne May Botz, Lauren Knapp, Daniela Mileykovsky, Marianna LaFollette, Carl Mandelbaum, Paul Moakley and Rebecca Teitel, TIME, “Milk Factory”
FinalistJustine Simons, Kaitlyn Schwalje, Alex Wolf Lewis, Katharina Stroh, Alexander Heringer, Rebecca Stern, Justin Levy, Johnes, Meryl Goldsmith, Dana Nachman, Cheryl Dillard Staurulakis, Luciano Vignola and Filipp V. Korostishevsky, TIME, “Snowy”
FinalistSandy Hooper and Jasper Colt, USA Today, “As U.S. Mourns 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths, a Family Says Goodbye to Their Mother, Their ‘Rock’”
Award of ExcellenceMichael Downey, Independent, “The Village Where People Talk in Bird Language”
DOCUMENTARY JOURNALISM
First PlaceEd Ou, Will N. Miller, Ian Urbina, Raphaela Morais, William Ryan Fritch, Soundstripe, Will N.Miller, Chris Michael, Jess Gormley, Ekaterina Ochagavia and Lindsay Poulton, The Outlaw Ocean Music Project/The Guardian, “Unsafe Passage”
FinalistEd Ou, Will N. Miller, Nirma Hasty, Daniella Silva, William Ryan Fritch, Catherine Kim, Madeleine Haeringer, Conor Hanna, Yohance Brown, Eric Pfeifer and Mike Mazzotta, NBC News, “The Intersection: Fatherhood at the heart of George Floyd Square”
FinalistAndreas Haubjerg, Freelance, “The Game”
FinalistKathleen Flynn, Spencer Bakalar and Justine Simons, TIME, “Notice of Eviction”
Award of ExcellenceMauricio Rodriguez, Elizabeth Weill, Nadia Sussman and Almudena Toral, ProPublica, “Unlivable Oasis”
Award of ExcellenceJulia Wall, Jessica Koscielniak, Carli Brosseau, Robyn Tomlin, Scott Sharpe, T. Christian Miller, Almudena Toral, Sohail Al–Jamie, Mauricio Rodriguez Pons, Sylvester Allen Jr and Berk Ozturk, The Raleigh News & Observer in partnership with ProPublica, “Sound of Judgment”
DOCUMENTARY STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR
First PlaceEd Ou, Independent
Award of ExcellenceZoeann Murphy, The Washington Post
Award of ExcellenceRaul Gallego Abellan, Independent

EDITING

Category Winners
NEWSPAPER PICTURE EDITING
First PlaceKevin Martin, Star Tribune, “Trump-incited Mob Storms U.S. Capitol”
FinalistJeffrey Furticella (Photos by Kholood Eid; Story by Julia Carmel), The New York Times, “What is Life Without Burlesque?”
FinalistJeffrey Henson Scales, The New York Times, “The Year in Pictures 2021”
Award of ExcellenceTiffanie Graham (Photos by Brenda Ann Kenneally; Story by Jessica Bennett), The New York Times, “The Primal Scream: Three American Mothers, On the Brink”
Award of ExcellenceBronwen Latimer (Photos by Salwan Georges, Michael S. Williamson, Philip Cheung, Matt Roth, Ramsay de Give, Carolyn Van Houten, Kimberly Workman, Paul Ratje, Elaine Cromie and Rachel Wisniewski), The Washington Post, “Covid Winter”
Award of ExcellenceKevin Martin (Local Photos by Elizabeth Flores, Jerry Holt and Jeff Wheeler; Olympic wire photos; Stories by Rachel Blount; Zoë Jackson, James Walsh and Jim Souhan; Design by Stacie Kammerling, Josh Jones and Steve Zimmerman), Star Tribune, “St. Paul Native Suni Lee Brings Home Olympic Gold”
Award of ExcellenceNicole Fruge (Photos by Gabrielle Lurie; Story by Heather Knight), The San Francisco Chronicle, “A Mother’s Last Hope”
MAGAZINE PICTURE EDITING
First PlaceKathy Moran (Photos and Story by Laurent Ballesta), National Geographic Magazine, “They Spent 28 Days under the Sea—and Found Another Earth”
FinalistKristen Geisler, Shannon Simon, Rory Walsh and David La Spina (Photos by Tyler Chan, Ashley Peña, Mosijah Roye, Mamadi Doumbouya, Sara Messinger, Ahmed Gaber, Malike Sidibe, Emmersen Tormey, Myles Loftin, Nadine Zhan, Kana Motojima, Victor Llorente, Jasmine Clarke, Steven Molina Contreras and Maridelis Morales Rosado), The New York Times Magazine, “The New York Issue: The Month New York Woke Up”
Award of ExcellenceAlexa Keefe (Photos by Jaime Culebras; Story by Angela Posada-Swafford), National Geographic Magazine, “Glass Frogs”
Award of ExcellenceTodd James (Photos by Henry Leutwyler; Story by Patricia Edmonds), National Geographic Magazine, “Artifacts Pulled from the Rubble of 9/11 Become Symbols of What Was Lost”
Award of ExcellenceSamantha Clark (Photos by Elliot Ross; Story by Alejandra Borunda), National Geographic Magazine, “Los Angeles Confronts its Shady Divide”
VISUAL EDITOR OF THE YEAR
First PlaceKevin Martin, Star Tribune
FinalistCheryl Diaz Meyer, Star Tribune
Award of ExcellenceNatalia Jiménez, The Washington Post
Award of ExcellenceJennifer Samuel, National Geographic Magazine
ONLINE STORYTELLING: NEWS REPORTING
First PlaceNicole Fruge (Photos by Gabrielle Lurie), San Francisco Chronicle, “A Mother’s Last Hope”
Award of ExcellenceNatalia Jiménez (Design and Development by Tara McCarty), The Washington Post, “‘One Down, 44 to Go’: Inside the House Impeachment Team’s Uphill Battle”
Award of ExcellenceElissa Curtis and Stephen Reiss, The Wall Street Journal, “Photos That Defined 9/11, and the People in Them—20 Years Later”
Award of ExcellenceBrett Roegiers, CNN Digital, “20 Years in Afghanistan: America’s longest war”
Award of ExcellenceJennifer Samuel (Photo by Nichole Sobecki), National Geographic Magazine, “Meet Some of the Millions of Women who Migrated Recently, Risking Everything”
ONLINE STORYTELLING: DAILY LIFE
First PlaceOlivier Laurent (Photos by Matthew Abbott. Editing by Reem Akkad, Olivier Laurent, Armand Emamdjomeh, David Crawshaw and Tim Meko. Graphics by Hannah Dormido and Júlia Ledur. Design and development by Emily Wright. Video editing by Jason Aldag. Copy editing by Karen Funfgeld), The Washington Post, “Australia Mice”
FinalistTiffanie Graham (Photos by Brenda Ann Kenneally), The New York Times, “The Primal Scream: Three American Mothers, On the Brink”
Award of ExcellenceMaura Friedman (Photos by Alex Welsh), National Geographic Magazine, “How Do You Find Moments of Grace, Beauty and Joy during a Pandemic?”
Award of ExcellenceCraig Allen, Sarah Almukhtar, Gray Beltran, David Furst and Gaia Tripoli (Photos by Dan Balilty), The New York Times, “‘How Many Funerals Will Come Out of This One?’”
Award of ExcellencePhaedra Brown (Photos by George Tatakis), The New York Times, “Exploring Greece’s Unseen Corners”
ONLINE STORYTELLING PROJECT OF THE YEAR
First PlaceNatalia Jiménez, Madison Walls, Tyler Remmel, Jake Crump, Matthew Callahan, Irfan Uraizee, Garland Potts, Brian Gross, Daniela Santamariña, Kevin Uhrmacher, Lauren Tierney, Sarah Cahlan, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Meg Kelly, Elyse Samuels, Adriana Usero, JM Rieger, Phoebe Connelly, Nadine Ajaka, Erin Patrick O’Connor, Whitney Shefte, Jorge Ribas and Jesse Mesner-Hage., The Washington Post, “The Attack”
FinalistBrett Roegiers, Nell Lewis, Thomas Page, Samantha Bresnahan, Sarah Lazarus, Mark Tutton, Stephanie Bailey, Rochelle Beighton, Tom Bouchier-Hayes, Samantha Bresnahan, Rebecca Cairns, Bijan Hosseini, Nell Lewis, Jenny Marc, Tom McGowan, Maheshpreet Narula, Thomas Page, Gio Prati, Sandy Thin, Woojin Lee, Wafaa Ayish, Agne Jurkenaite, Jonathan Fagan, Shaun Weaver, Sarah Tilotta and Bureau International des Expositions, CNN Digital, “A History of World Expos in 40 Objects”
Award of ExcellenceEmily Jan, Nicole Fruge, Guy Wathen, Deb Wandell, Andrea Behr, Sarah Feldberg, Caron Creighton, Alex K. Fong, Daymond Gascon, Abhinanda Bhattacharyya, Paula Friedrich, Hilary Fung and Evan Wagstaff, San Francisco Chronicle, “San Francisco Chronicle 2021 Photos of the Year”
ANGUS McDOUGALL EXCELLENCE IN EDITING AWARD
First PlaceBernadette Tuazon and editing team, CNN Digital
FinalistKathy Ryan and editing team, The New York Times Magazine
FinalistDeb Pastner and photo/video team, Star Tribune
FinalistWhitney Johnson and editorial staff, National Geographic Magazine
Award of ExcellenceMaryAnne Golon and editing team, The Washington Post
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