Monochrome war
Italian and Contrasto photojournalist Davide Monteleone, winner of 1st prize Spot News Stories at World Press Photo, talks to Mike Stanton about his winning entry.
I have worked in places like Chechnya, but this was my first time in a place where a conflict was actually going on. I was based Tyre in the south of Lebanon apart the last few days of my month's stay when I was in Beirut. Some pictures taken in Tyre and some in the village of Remesh between Tyre and the Israeli border.
Israeli bombings of Lebanon, July 2006.
I was with a group of photographers and journalists in a convoy of 12 vehicles, and we went to Ramesh to see what was happening. It was the most bombed area of the country and a bit risky. Some of us stayed in the village for one or two hours. The convoy then divided and it became more dangerous because the Israelis were more likely to target one or two vehicles than a large convey.
I do a lot of work using film and medium format, but in this case I was using an EOS 5D with a fixed lens, mainly the EF 35mm f/2.0.
The 5D is great for reportage, the best - very light to carry around and with the full sensor.
It's the third or fourth time I've entered World Press Photo. It's not the prize money [1,500 euros] that it's all about, it's something really good a career, really prestigious. My career is already changing because of this. There has been a lot of attention from the media. Usually photographers are behind the images not the story itself, so it's a little strange.
