AFP Photographer Adrian Dennis wins 2013 Press Photographer’s Year Prize
AFP photographer Adrian Dennis has won photograph of the year at the press photographer’s 2013 competition for his striking image of Thai rider Nina Lamsan Ligon and her horse at the London Olympics.
He also won the Sports Folio of the Year and Olympic Folio categories in the competition that rewards the best photographs in the British media.
Dennis, working out of the agency’s London office was already hailed as the best sports photographer in 2012 by British sports journalists.
It is the first time an AFP photographer and a sports photo has won photo of the year in the competition.
Adrian Dennis studied journalism at the University of Florida and worked on many publications in the USA from 1989 to 1996. On returning to the United Kingdom, Dennis worked for The Independent and The Independent on Sunday until 2000 when he joined the AFP London office.
This year Dennis also came in first in the Olympics Feature category in the best of photojournalism competition held by the North American Press Photographers Association, and also took a gold medal at the second Sportfolio, the international sports photography festival in Narbonne, France.
The Press Photographer’s Year (PPY) event was launched in partnership with the British Press Photographers’ Association (BPPA) in 2006 and is open to professional photographers.
Over 390 photographers in more than 20 countries in Europe, Japan, South Africa, India, Australia and the USA submitted more than 12,500 photographs on line for the 2013 competition, an increase of more than 50% from the previous year.
AFP has a network of 500 photographers, who have regularly won top international prizes. The agency transmits more than 3,000 photos a day. The AFP image bank has 40 partners and can boast some 23 million images. The international photo service was created in 1985 and has increased its production sevenfold since 2000.