EPA: the world from a different angle
Way back in the 1980s, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, a new photographic press agency was created by staff from seven leading European agencies. Dan Synge talks to Cengiz Seren, the editor-in-chief of European Pressphoto Agency (EPA), about how EPA and photography has changed in the past two decades.
EPA was launched on 1 January 1985, and its founders shared the vision of an independent world picture service designed to suit the specific needs of the European market.
“We were offering a purely European service with European shareholders,” recalls current editor-in-chief Cengiz Seren from his Frankfurt office. “Before that, there was only an American service so we provided an alternative to the US agencies and the Anglo-Saxon way of reporting news pictures. In those days, we used to receive a lot of baseball and basketball pictures so obviously there was a need to control input more closely and have a more tailored service.”
Nearly two decades later, and having established a reputation for its unique Euro-centric coverage, EPA launched an international 24-hour wire service in 2003. Today the agency produces around 1,000 images daily provided by more than 200 photographers worldwide, the vast majority of whom use Canon cameras. Around 40% of these images come from Europe. Subjects covered by EPA photographers include business, fashion, entertainment and culture – although news and sport predominate.
Monks at Shaolin Temple, Henan Province, China work out some of their martial arts routines. Shaolin Temple is known as the home of kung fu, and judo, karate and kendo all find their origins amongst the fighting monks here.
The EPA slogan, ‘The world from a different angle’, suggests not only a commitment to producing standardised event shots but also to maximising the resources that enable highly creative popular images.
Asked what distinguishes EPA from other agencies, Seren explains: “We are based in Germany, adopt a Dutch business structure and offer an international service – that’s a true multi-cultural approach. Right from the beginning, our approach to the images has been multi-cultural and, for example, we had 26 photographers from all over world covering the Olympic Games in Beijing. Despite the fact also that we are based in Frankfurt, 99% of our photographers work in their local region.”
Since the service began back in 1985, both the agency and the business of photography have changed immeasurably. There was a time when most of the agency’s revenue came from so-called ‘classic media’ (newspapers and magazines), yet Seren admits that this now accounts for only half their business.
“An agency must attend to all the niches, and the market has diversified considerably. Images move much faster now and of course their resolution can be hiked up to 10 times higher. One thing that has not changed, however, is the search for that single image that makes the difference,” he says.
‘In the old days it was simply one story, one picture and you were lucky if the line held during the 15 minutes of transmission. Nowadays you can have live feeds or slide shows showing how the events unravelled. But I believe there is always one best picture in any series of images.”
Chinese police officers take a break in the lobby of the National Aquatics Centre before the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games – Beijing, China, 30 July 2008.
Seren admits that the digital revolution in photography has made the process of shooting and delivering images a whole lot simpler. So, has EPA benefitted from the turbo-charged shutter speeds and virtual disappearance of film development, not to mention the gradual demystification of the photographer’s art?
“Photography has become more accessible but it’s still about talent, the eye and instinct,” he replies. “It’s certainly tougher for those who had the advantage of knowledge to stay on top of their trade, but it has also given them the chance to improve their talent and find different ways of looking at an event.”
When talking about great images that have ‘made the difference’, Seren refers to such pre-digital classics such as the black and white picture of Lee Harvey Oswald being shot by Jack Ruby (by Bob Jackson), or Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out (by UPI photographer Arthur Sasse). On the other hand, he concedes that old technology would be hard pressed to compete with much of the agency work around today.
Current EPA photographers Nic Bothma and Alaa Badarneh are the embodiment of the agency’s philosophy. Bothma won first prize in Sports Action at the Best of Photojournalism Awards 2007 for his series on amputee footballers in Sierra Leone.
Members of the Single Leg Amputee Sports Club of Sierra Leone playing football in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
“Bothma is a local photographer who always captures the human side of the story and works with a tenderness and approach that an outsider could never replicate,” says Seren.
Alaa Badarneh, the Palestinian reportage photographer and winner of the Tom Hurndall Photojournalism Prize 2005, is another EPA man known for his unique human insights into areas normally associated with conflict. Work like his would once have almost definitely been covered by ‘outsiders’, but EPA began developing ties with local photographers in the Middle East and, over time, provided them with better equipment to achieve their aims. He lives and works in the West Bank,” explains Seren. “For people like him, the conflict is a daily thing and therefore he is closer to the story than anyone else.”
Photo dated Wednesday, 9 June 2004 of a Palestinian woman clashing with Israeli soldier during a demonstration against the controversial security barrier near the West Bank village of Al-Zawiya, north west of Qalqelya city. This image by EPA photographer Alaa Badarneh won the prestigious 2005 Qattan Journalism Prize from the Tom Hurndall Prize committee.
EPA’s policy of developing close alliances with people at ground level also extends to places like Afghanistan. The agency issued a number of locals with Canon PowerShot cameras to record what was going on around them.
“There weren’t any proper photographers living there. They’d have been killed if they’d been discovered with a camera,” says Seren.
“We were so amazed with the results that we decided to provide them with more sophisticated equipment. Today, all our Afghanistan-based team work professionally.”
Providing adequate training is another way of guaranteeing long term success in a particular region and it is important for agencies to develop whatever talent is available. EPA has around 50 staff photographers and 150 team members (not to mention hundreds of stringers) all over the globe. It is particularly established in Africa and the Middle East where many of the best stories today emanate. ‘You cannot stop people with talent,” adds Seren, “and once they make the connection between what the camera can do and what the image shows, it’s like playing music.”
One of Christie’s auction house staff looks over Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Little Sperms’ 1997, artwork at Christie’s auction house in London on 25 June 2008.
Having been with EPA since 1990, Seren remains key to the day-to-day running of the service. If he were a young photographer starting out today, would he consider joining an agency like EPA?
“Of course, but I would also be asking myself ‘Can I have a say in the way I shoot pictures?’ Here at EPA, we don’t set down limits or say you should only use a certain type of lens. Photographers don’t want to feel like robots.”
While continuing to build the output and reputation of the agency, perhaps to its landmark 25 years, the Turkish-born, Belgian national’s eye for a good picture seemingly never rests and his editorial skills spill over even into the family home.
He laughs: “My wife hates it when I start editing the family holiday snaps but at least the photo album is no longer filled with 28 pages of Tenerife. Four snaps are usually enough.”
| EPA BY NUMBERS | |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | number of images produced daily. |
| 200+ | of EPA photographers (excluding stringers). |
| 11 | leading European news agencies that are EPA shareholders (from both eastern and western Europe). |
| 1,600,000 | the amount of images in EPA’s digital archive. |
