Indian photographer's striking image wins Andrei Stenin Contest

In a momentous victory for the Indian photography community, a young and talented photojournalist from India  Kabir Jhangiani has emerged as the winner of the 2023 Andrei Stenin Press Photo Contest. The top five works, which were chosen by voters, also included photos by journalists from Russia and Burundi.The winning photograph, an emotionally charged and visually captivating snapshot, has earned both the photographer and the nation widespread acclaim. 

The winning image shows a man rowing his boat along the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi, India, surrounded by a massive flock of seagulls. “Migratory birds come to India for the winter. They get to different parts of the country by October and usually leave in March,” Jhangiani said, commenting on his photo.

Second place was awarded to a series of female portraits made by a Burundian photographer, Fabrice Mbonankira, which shows women and their families surviving by working at the largest landfills in the nation’s capital, Bujumbura, according to media reports.

Third and fourth place went to two Russian photographers, Pelagia Tikhonova and Yevgeny Filippov. Another Indian photographer, Sayan Adhikary from Calcutta, won fifth place.

Internet users could vote on the contest’s shortlisted works between early July and early August. This year, 3,000 photos were submitted by contestants from a total of 50 nations, with individual pictures and a series of photos from 16 countries making the shortlist, according to recent updates.

Image caption:A photo of seagulls around the Yamuna River by Kabir Jhangiani was picked for first place.