U.S. Photographer Wins Award for Shot of Bombed-Out Beirut

An image of stylish Lebanese youths driving through a Beirut neighborhood devastated by Israeli bombing, taken by U.S. photographer Spencer Platt, has won the World Press Photo of the Year award, the jury announced Friday.

The image contrasts a group of friends against a background of the wreckage of a collapsed building. Tellingly, one woman grimaces as she uses her mobile phone to send a text message to a friend, while another, wearing sunglasses, covers her nose with a handkerchief.

The award, which Platt took while working for photo agency Getty Images, is considered one of the most prestigious for photojournalists.

The photo was taken on Aug. 15, the second day of a cease-fire between Israel and Hizbullah, as hundreds of thousands of Lebanese began returning to their homes. It also won in the category of "Daily Life Singles."

The chairman of the jury, Michele McNally of the New York Times, described the shot as "a picture you can keep looking at."

"It has the complexity and contradiction of real life, amidst chaos. This photograph makes you look beyond the obvious," she said in a statement announcing the winners.

In the prestigious spot and general news categories, Reuters' Akintunde Akinleye won in the spot news singles category for a picture of a man rinsing soot from his face after a pipeline explosion in Lagos, Nigeria, on Dec. 26, while Italy's Davide Monteleone won in the spot news story category for Contrasto with photos of the Israeli bombings of Lebanon in July.

Italy's Paolo Pellegrin, working for Magnum Photos, won in the general news singles category with a picture of a victim of an Israeli rocket attack, taken in Tyre, Lebanon, on Aug. 6. Hungarian photographer Zsolt Szigetvary won in the general news story category for photos of the riots in Budapest in September and October, working for MTI.

In sports news, a shot of French football player Zinedine Zidane headbutting an opponent in the World Cup final in Berlin on July 9 won in the Sports Action category for Dutch photographer Peter Schols, working for Dagblad De Limburger, GPD, and Reuters.

The Associated Press won six awards, the most of any news agency overall, followed by Reuters with five and Getty with four.

Platt will receive his award and $13,000 in a ceremony April 22.(AP)

Beirut, 09 Feb 07, 12:42