Female photojournalists take centre stage

Female photojournalists take centre stage

The Canon AFJ Award press conference. From left to right: Liz Hingley, Justyna Mielnikiewicz, Pascal Briard (Canon France), moderator Caroline Laurent-Simon, Martina Bacigalupo, Isabelle Fougère (AFJ), and Cyril Drouhet (Le Figaro). © Dan Kendall

Three talented female photojournalists took centre stage at a press conference in the Palais des Congrès this morning during a discussion of the work that has won them acclaim in the annual Canon Female Photojournalist Award, which is presented by the French Association of Female Photojournalists (AFJ).

The trio were Martina Bacigalupo (winner of the 2010 Canon AFJ Award) Justyna Mielnikiewicz (winner of 2009 award), and Liz Hingley. Interestingly, Hingley was chosen by the judges for a special award, from Le Figaro Magazine, for her work depicting the diversity of life in her hometown of Birmingham, England.

Speaking about the work of the three photographers Canon France's Marcom Manager, Pascal Briard, said: "I'm very lucky to be able to view all these wonderful pictures. The work is fabulous – the pictures tell important stories. They (the female photojournalists) are so committed to the work they are doing."

The members of the award's jury were Cyril Drouhet (Le Figaro), Monica Allende (The Sunday Times Magazine), Magali Jauffret (L'Humanité), Dan Torres (Jeune Afrique), Delphine Lelu (Visa pour l'Image) and Jean-Bernard Maurel (DirectSoir). The AFJ was represented by Brigitte Huard and Catherine Lalanne (Pèlerin magazine), and Florence Panoussian (AFP).

Martina Bacigalupo (right), with moderator Caroline Laurent-Simon (left), discusses her work in the Palais des Congrès this morning. © Dan Kendall

Bacigalupo won the Award for her proposed report on 'Uganda: The resistance of the forgotten', that will explore the life Fielda, a 52-year-old woman who has endured great hardships including the death of two husbands, contracting HIV, losing a leg due to sickness, and the murder of one of her children in an ambush. Bacigalupo revealed: "She has to take care of her children, nieces, nephews and mother. These people (in Africa) have to deal with so much and I think that she's a symbol for that."

Explaining the unusual step of giving an additional award to Liz Hingley, Cyril Drouhet, Editor-in-Chief (Photos) of Le Figaro Magazine, said: "I feel like there are almost one-and-a-half winners. There was really a sense of image and composition in her work. If we can shine light on other women, why not try to help them? We like to be generous."

Hingley is now working on a new project in France and explained: "From doing this work, and realising the difference between religion and immigration in different countries in Europe, I decided I wanted to continue and go to another country. I found another place in Paris with a similar sort of diversity... so now I'm beginning the process of making a documentary there."

Justyna Mielnikiewicz's work on the Caucasus region of the former Soviet Union is being exhibited at the Couvent des Minimes. Bacigalupo's new project will be exhibited or feature in an evening programme at Visa pour l'Image 2011.

Canon listens to Ambassadors' feedback

Canon listens to Ambassadors' feedback

Canon Ambassadors give technical feedback to representatives of Canon Inc. today at the Palais des Congrès in Perpignan. The round table sessions were part of the continuous dialogue that Canon has with leading photographers. © Dan Kendall

Learning from the best: Ambassador seminars

Learning from the best: Ambassador seminars

Canon Ambassador and Reportage by Getty Images photographer Brent Stirton presents his 'Papua New Guinea: Culture in transition' project at the Palais des Congrès today. © Dan Kendall

One of great benefits of being at the Visa pour l'Image festival is the opportunity for young photographers to meet and learn from the world's best photojournalists. This year, one of the best ways to get an insight into how assignments and stories of the very highest quality are put together is through the seminars given by the Canon Ambassadors Brent Stirton, Michael Nichols, Ziv Koren and Paolo Pellegrin.

Stirton, who today presented his project, ‘Papua New Guinea: Culture in transition', told CPN that it's challenging but rewarding to present images to a specialist audience. "There's something daunting about showing what you think is your best work to an audience of people who know what they're looking at," he said. But he agreed that for up-and-coming photographers hearing the inside story on such projects can be extremely useful.

Canon Ambassador Ziv Koren (Polaris Images) being videoed sitting on a spinning platform in the Canon space. © Dan Kendall

CPN also spoke to Canon Ambassador Ziv Koren (Polaris Images), who earlier today presented his long-term project, ‘Embedded with military forces' in Hall 3 of the Palais des Congrès. He explained: "It's my work with the Israeli military - it's an ongoing project that I've been working on for the last couple of years. I'm going as deep as I can to show different units in the army and different operations."

When asked what his best advice for young photojournalists would be Ziv Koren said: "There are so many other options to get your work out there than traditional magazines. The industry is shrinking, from that perspective, but the web has opened up these amazing new platforms to put up your work and to have people see your work. Facebook, Flickr, You Tube - there are so many options. That should encourage young photographers."

He added: "You can have the combination of stills and video, have stills with music, or create your own clips. I have thousands of people watching my stuff without seeing any pictures in a magazine. You get feedback and you have what is almost a relationship with the audience. I think that's amazing - it's a new era for photography to be exposed."

Fellow Canon Ambassador Paolo Pellegrin (Magnum Photos) today presented the first of two seminars covering his work from 2000 to 2010. He told CPN: "Every specific piece of work and reportage has its importance for me and my career. There are a couple of bodies of work [from the past 10 years] around Palestine and Lebanon that I feel attached to. I've been following the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a lot in these years and, as a photographer, I've grown covering those events and I feel sort of attached professionally and humanistically."

Pellegrin also had some wise words for young photojournalists: "The advice I give myself, and I think I can give others, is that I really believe in quality. If you study your stories, research them, you study photography, and you dig into yourself as an individual to feel compassion for your subject, this slowly will build your photographic voice and your individual voice as a human being. At the end quality always emerges. If you do good work it will always be recognised at some point."

Pascal Briard: Canon at Visa pour l’Image

Pascal Briard: Canon at Visa pour l’Image

Pascal Briard (Canon France) explains the Canon activities at Visa pour l'Image.

Nichols stars in Canon presentations

Nichols stars in Canon presentations

Canon Ambassador Nick Nichols giving his seminar, 'Photographing the Super Trees', at the Palais des Congrès. © Dan Kendall.

Canon's first day of presentations at Visa pour l'Image 2010 packed out Hall 3 of the Palais des Congrès with morning presentations by Apple, Adobe, and Canon France's Thierry Prestat talking about fine art printing with the PIXMA Pro printers. Each of these presentations will also be taking place at 10:00, 11:00 and 12:00 on 2 and 3 September.

The laid-back but enthralling presentation style of Canon Ambassador Michael 'Nick' Nichols amused and informed a crowd of over 100 people as he told the background story of his project shooting the great Redwood trees of Northern California in his presentation 'Photographing the Super Trees'.

Nichols revealed how he shot the 18-metre high montage photograph - of a 300-foot, 1,500-year-old Redwood tree - that is hanging in the Eglise des Dominicains. "It's 45 minutes in the life of this tree. Shot by three [EOS-1Ds III] cameras with EF35mm f/1.4L USM lenses, on a platform, that were controlled by computer. We focused with the precision that you get out of the Live View which was really critical because I shot it all at f/2.8. The ISO was 200 at the top and 1600 at the bottom - I shifted it as we came down. The exposure is too difficult; it had to be perfect. We just kept changing the exposure as we came down. What we had to do was create a lot of precision to give him [Ken Geiger, Senior Photo Editor, National Geographic Magazine] the chance to stitch it together."

The image took 19 days to shoot, due to waiting for the right moment and weather conditions on each day, to start the drop of the cameras down the tree. The images used in the montage hanging in Perpignan were shot on the 13th day of the shoot with the montage being made possible due to sponsorship from Canon, the Yves Rocher Foundation and Le Figaro. Of the gargantuan print Nichols admitted: "We left the edges intentionally because we want everybody to know it's a composite."

UK film-maker Den Lennie, from F-Stop Academy, then presented some invaluable tips and advice on shooting and editing movies with EOS DSLR cameras. He noted: "It's important to tell photojournalists how it differs from regular photography." Lennie added that the practices of composition, anticipating action, framing and building a story are very similar to some of the key disciplines of photojournalism but that the skill set has to be widened to include shooting moving images, sound recording, video editing and understanding the need for additional gear, such as fluid head tripods.

If you missed Den Lennie's presentation today he will also be presenting on shooting and editing EOS Movies at 15:00 on 2 and 3 September in Hall 3 of the Palais des Congrès.

* Unfortunately, due to a delayed flight Paolo Pellegrin was unable to make it to Perpignan in time to deliver his 16:00 presentation today. Instead he will be making a re-scheduled presentation 'Works 2000-2010' tomorrow - 2 September - at 17:10 in Hall 3 of the Palais des Congrès following fellow Canon Ambassador Ziv Koren's presentation 'Embedded with military forces'.

CPN filmed reports shot with EOS 5D Mark II

Israeli photographer Gali Tibbon being filmed with an EOS 5D Mark II. The CPN film crew has been using the camera with the Canon EF85mm f/1.2L II USM prime lens to shoot all of the CPN interviews this week in Perpignan. © Dan Kendall

'Animated' pictures with the EOS 5D Mark II

'Animated' pictures with the EOS 5D Mark II

Click here to watch Olivier Föllmi's video work with the EOS 5D Mark II in Burma.

The serene still images of Olivier Föllmi feature in the exhibition 'Wisdom of the Human Race' in the Chapelle du Tiers but this gifted photographer is now embracing moving images using the Full HD movie functions of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR.

CPN met up with Olivier Föllmi, and his wife Danielle, to discuss their ongoing project that, for the past seven years, has seen the publication of an annual book of 365 photographs and thoughts and will soon include online video footage.

Olivier Föllmi is bringing his still image approach to video as he explained: "I have been a stills photographer for 30 years and I have switched to 'video photography' because of the EOS 5D Mark II - it has opened another world. Before I didn't want to switch to video or work for TV, because I am not a documentary photographer or a film-maker, but the EOS 5D Mark II gave me the opportunity to express myself with video with the eye of a photographer."

Photographer, and now EOS 5D Mark II film-maker, Olivier Föllmi.
© Dan Kendall.

He added: "The kind of video I will do in the future will be with the same approach as with my pictures. I remain a photographer, but this 'photography' is more animated and it gives more value to the picture. What is magical with this camera is this opportunity to take a still picture when you're shooting a movie."

The film shown above - 'Chemin de Vies' - was shot in Burma whilst Föllmi was trying out the abilities of the EOS 5D Mark II and getting to know the camera better. He has a minimalistic approach to shooting, as he explained: "What I found with the video with the EOS 5D Mark II is to be careful with the editing. The main worry with the digital cameras is that you can shoot a lot but, after that, the work of editing is very hard, and very long. So, I always try to work with a digital camera as I used to work with a film camera to shoot as little as possible to avoid long editing."

Föllmi revealed: "As a photographer I consider that you don't need to shoot everything - you have to compose your picture, you have to measure your light, you have to be sure of your picture and then you press (the shutter). Then you don't have to worry, you don't have to look back to the camera to know if it's successful or not. You have to be confident of your pictures when you shoot - so I do the same with the EOS 5D Mark II with the video."

Sample article Canon in Perpignan

Ambassadors, products and presentations

Canon's space at Visa pour l'Image 2010 is in the Palais des Congrès in central Perpignan.

During the professional week of the Visa pour l'Image 2010 international festival of photojournalism (from 30 August until 5 September 2010) Canon has an expanded CPS area, a programme of special presentations, and a special Canon-sponsored exhibition by Canon Ambassador Michael Nichols.

The Canon exhibition space in the Palais des Congrès in central Perpignan showcases the latest range of Canon products and solutions, from image capture right through to large format printing. This year the 'Canon Space' includes an expanded Canon Professional Services (CPS) area, where EOS DSLR bodies, lenses and accessories can be borrowed, and where accredited Canon photographers can have their equipment checked and cleaned.

A 'Photo Space' is displaying the latest Canon EOS DSLRs, EF lenses, Canon accessories, and the popular G-series of PowerShot digital compacts. There is also a 'print-on-demand' area, where visitors can discover more about Canon's range of PIXMA printers and print their photographs. The capabilities of the EOS system are being demonstrated in a professional photo studio with images being printed instantaneously via Canon's PIXMA Pro and ImagePROGRAF printers.

The 'Canon Space' also includes a professional video area featuring the latest Canon professional video products, including the impressive XF305 and XF300 camcorders that shoot 4:2:2 Full HD footage at 50Mbps straight to CompactFlash memory cards.

Canon Ambassadors exhibition

Also in the 'Canon Space' a photographic exhibition is displaying large prints of the works of Canon Ambassadors, including photographs shot by Gary Knight (VII), Ziv Koren (Polaris Images), Michael Nichols (National Geographic), Paolo Pellegrin (Magnum Photos) and Brent Stirton (Reportage by Getty Images). Many of the Canon Ambassadors will also be involved in the special Canon 'Presentation Programme' (see below for more details).

Visa pour l'Image 2010 also includes an exhibition by Canon Ambassador Michael Nichols. 'Redwoods: California's Timber Wars' that showcases a photographic project for National Geographic in which Nichols documented the mass deforestation in Northern California, where 95% of the region's trees were cut down during the last century. Canon is supporting Michael Nichols' work by co-sponsoring an 18 metre-long print from the 'Redwoods' project that is hanging in central Perpignan.

Special 'Presentation Programme'

Canon's special 'presentation programme', runs from 1-3 September 2010, and features six presentations per day by a mixture of Canon Ambassadors, and editing software, printing and EOS Movie experts. The presentations will all take place in Hall 3 on the ground floor of the Palais des Congrès (diagonally opposite the Canon Space) in central Perpignan. The times and schedule for the presentation programme are shown below.

* Please note that the schedule for all of the presentations above is provisional and may be subject to some changes.

Canon Female Photojournalist Award

At Visa pour l'Image 2010 Canon and the French Association of Female Journalists (AFJ) are celebrating the talent of Italian photographer Martina Bagicalupo, winner of the Canon Female Photojournalist Award for 2010. She will receive a Canon grant of €8,000 at an award ceremony on 4 September to help fund her project during the coming year. The work will be presented as an exhibition or screening at Visa pour l'Image in 2011. The recipient of the 2009 Canon AFJ award, Justyna Mielnikiewicz of Poland, is showcasing her work on the Caucasus regions of the former Soviet republics at this year's Visa pour l'Image.

Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Association Award

Sponsored by Canon, the Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Association was formed in 2007 in memory of the late Life magazine photojournalist Pierre Boulat and his daughter, VII photographer Alexandra Boulat who died, aged 45, in October 2007. The Boulat Association Award was launched in 2008 and the award is presented annually to a professional photographer of any age, sex or nationality who wishes to cover a social, economic, political or cultural issue in a journalistic manner. The winner is chosen during the Visa pour l'Image festival and representatives of the Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Association and Canon will present the selected photojournalist with the award. The winner receives a grant of €8,000 in two parts – the first one at Visa pour l'Image in Perpignan in September 2010, and the second one after showing his/her work to Visa pour l'Image, the Boulat Association and Canon Europe six months later.