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HELSINGIN SANOMAT INTERNATIONAL EDITION - CULTURE |
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| You arrived here at 20:35 Helsinki time Friday 25.5.2012 |
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"A photographer should never belittle his subject", says Hannes Heikura, 47, the Press Photographer of the Year for 2005. During his years with Helsingin Sanomat, Heikura has had to take on all kinds of assignments.
Another veteran photographer working for the same employer, Markus Jokela, 53, who received the Best News Photo of the Year award, agrees with Heikura: "You usually end up taking the most interesting pictures on the crappiest of assignments." During last summer's Sonera trial, Jokela had to wait for ages for the right moment to capture the two main defendants in the same frame. Amid all the bustle he was ultimately given only one opportunity, and he seized it. The resulting image taken in "the decisive moment" spirit of Henri Cartier-Bresson earned Jokela his award. Two years ago Jokela received the Press Photographer of the Year acclaim for a photo taken in a Baghdad arms market. For Heikura, this was the second time he was awarded the Press Photographer of the Year title. The first one came in 1992. In addition, he has shot the best press photo of the year four times. "It feels good to be recognised for what you do", Heikura explains. "But this will have no effect whatsoever on future assignments." Artistry is a word that the professionals shy away from. "That term is irrelevant in this context", Jokela argues. "You just go into situations to see and to observe. That in itself inspires you." For the third prize-winning Helsingin Sanomat photographer, Sami Kero, 27, this was the first distinction of this calibre. The awarded feature story photos from Gaza were taken before the photographer himself had even graduated from the Lahti Institute of Fine Arts. "Personally, I feel I have taken better series of pictures here in Finland. On domestic assignments you are often better prepared than during these dashes to foreign lands", Kero explains. Exotic surroundings or famous targets do not necessarily bring more depth to the images. "During my first summer at Helsingin Sanomat, I photographed the Rolling Stones and a cow on consecutive days. The second one was more interesting to shoot", Kero confirms. The award-winnining photographs will be on display in the Senaatintori branch of the Nordea Bank, at Aleksanterinkatu 30, from March 13th-23rd during bank opening hours. See also: 
A sequence of the images taking prizes in the 2005 Press Photo Awards (captions are in Finnish, click on thumbnails)
Helsingin Sanomat
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