CPB Photo Awards - Edition III - 2022-23
Introduction
The CPB Photo Awards were established to recognise the underrepresented and under-recognised work of photojournalists, press photographers and documentary photographers in India.
CPB Photo Awards 22-23 Winners
The Danish Siddiqui Award for Photo of the year
Supratim Bhattacharjee, Kolkata
Photo Story of the year
Anindito Mukherjee, New Delhi
News and Current Affairs - Single Image
Surender Solanki, New Delhi
News and Current Affairs - Photo Story
Vinay Gupta, Gurgaon
News and Current Affairs - Special Mention
Sankhadeep Banerjee, Kolkata
Climate, Environment and Conservation - Single Image
S L Shanth Kumar, Mumbai
Climate, Environment and Conservation - Photo Story
Sudip Maiti, Kolkata
Climate, Environment and Conservation
Special Mention - Sandipani Chattopadhyay, Kolkata
Srishti Awards for Documentary Projects
Shefali Rafiq, Kulgam
Srishti Awards for Documentary Projects
Harsha Vadlamani, Hyderabad
The Sora are an indigenous people native to the highlands of southern Odisha and neighbouring Andhra pradesh. The belief system of the Sora involves ancestral spirits who live in an underworld that is accessible by female shamans in trance. These shamans “channel” the dead, who converse with the living in a form of bereavement therapy. Every day, they negotiated their wellbeing in heated arguments or in quiet reflections on their feelings of love, anger, and
guilt.
The arrival of Christian missionaries in the region in the mid-20th century brought about a gradual shift in the religious beliefs of the Sora tribe. The missionaries sought to convert the tribe to Christianity and over time, many members of the tribe embraced the new religion. This conversion was not without its challenges, as the traditional shamanic practices of the Sora tribe came into conflict with the teachings of Christianity. However, the appeal of the new religion, particularly its emphasis on education and healthcare, ultimately led to its widespread adoption among the tribe.
Today, most Sora have converted to Christianity and Hindu activists seek to bring the rest into their fold. The old sacred sites are being demolished to build walls and bathrooms. The new generations don’t speak the language and the shamans, without clients to perform ceremonies for, leave their ritualistic paintings to fade. Most Sora who died during the pandemic received Christian burials. The shamans, whose children have converted too, will receive a similar burial, cutting the Soras off forever from the spirits and ancestors that guided them.
Regional Photojournalist's Award
Mukhtar Khan, Srinagar
Regional Photojournalist's Award
Sreekumar E V, Ernakulam
CPB Photo Awards Winner Testimonials 22-23
Glimpse from the Photo Awards Ceremony
Regional Connect Program
The Regional Connect Program of the CPB Photo Awards is being established to encourage more regional and local participation. The mandate of the awards is to reach and recognise the hard work of photographers beyond the tier 1 cities. 5 tier-II/tier III cities will be part of the program this year where senior photojournalists, editors / mentors will introduce the awards and categories to the local photography and press community, and encourage them to apply.
Regional Photo Awards Category : 2 cash awards of INR 50000 each for photographers from tier II/tier III cities will be part of the award categories this year.
Moments from our Regional Connect Program sessions
Award Categories
1. News and Current Affairs - Single Image
Single photo reporting on news, culture, health, politics, gender or any current events across the country.
2. News and Current Affairs - Photo Essay
Photo story reporting on news, culture, health, politics, gender or any current events across the country.
3. Climate Change, Environment and Conservation - Single Image
Single photo documenting wildlife, vegetation, land, ecology, geography, natural resource management, ecotourism, climate justice, local conservation traditions, climate crisis, and related issues.
4. Climate Change, Environment and Conservation- Photo Essay
Photo Essay documenting wildlife, vegetation, land, ecology, geography, natural resource management, ecotourism, climate justice, local conservation traditions, climate crisis, and related issues.
5. The Srishti Award for Documentary Projects
Photo essays documented with a focus on personal or social narratives, including but not limited to, documentary work, staged photography, portraiture, creative documentary.
Eligibility Criteria
- The CPB Photo Awards is free and open to all Indian residents regardless of location, religion, caste/class or gender. Non-resident Indians cannot apply.
- Participants must be 18 years or over at the time of application for the award.
- Team members, patrons, trustees and advisors of the organiser and its partners cannot participate in this award
Submission Criteria
- Submitted work for the awards must be made between 21 Dec 2021 - 15 Jan 2023.
- Applicants can submit unlimited entries in multiple categories. Single image entry can be repeated as part of your photo story submission as well.
Specific to Categories
- Documentary Projects: The work can be, but not limited to, documentary work, staged photography, portraiture and creative documentary. Minimum of 8 and maximum of 25 images can be submitted.
- Photo Story: A minimum of 8 photos and a maximum of 15 photos are allowed in News and Current Affairs and in Climate, Environment and Conservation categories.
- Photo Stories in all categories must be accompanied by a document (PDF) sharing the concept note about the story/project and captions for all images in accordance to image numbers.
- All photographs must be accompanied with a caption written in English or submitted with English translations along with the original native language. The caption must contain all the information that will accurately describe the incident, the date and time as well as the location of the photograph. Quality of English language will not be a criteria for judging the entry, only accuracy of information will be a criteria.
Technical Criteria
File Specification: Submitted photographs must meet the following specifications:
Images to be submitted online to the contest platform with the following dimensions: 1500 pixels on the long side at 100 dpi.
AdobeRGB, sRGB or grayscale Gamma 2.2 are recommended.
No CMYK files will be accepted.
Images must be uploaded in JPEG format at the highest quality setting.
Shortlisted participants will be asked to submit untouched RAW files along with Full-Res processed TIFF images.
Image Editing
For applications under the categories “News and Current affairs” and “Climate, Environment and Conservation”: Only single exposure and single frame pictures will be accepted. The following are not accepted: Multiple exposures, diptychs, triptychs, stitched panoramas, in-camera or with image editing software in these categories. For applications under the category “Documentary”, the above rule does not apply.
The content of a picture must not be digitally altered by adding, rearranging, reversing, distorting or removing people and/or objects from within the frame. There are two exceptions:
Cropping that removes extraneous details is permitted. Only standard format crops are permitted. No cloning or straightening of an image after a crop will be permitted.
Removing sensor dust is permitted, but it should not in any way remove any detail from the picture along with the dust. For instance, removal or sensor dust should not be an excuse for removing a mole from a face, or a bird from the sky, or a bullet from a scene of crime.
Adjustments of colour or conversion to grayscale that do not alter content are permitted, with the following exceptions:
Changes in colour should not result in significant changes in hue, to such an extent new colour is introduced, and is different from the original scene.
Changes in density, contrast, colour saturation levels that alter content by obscuring or eliminating backgrounds, objects or people are not permitted. For instance, an increase in contrast or brightness levels should not end up making a telegraph wire in the sky go away.
Other Terms and Conditions
Awarding:
Entries that have received any other awards (with or without financial compensation) will be eligible if it is made within the timeframes of this award.
Any entry, if awarded in a specific category, will not be considered for any other category.
Photo of the Year/Photo Story of the Year: All submitted Single Images and Photo essays are automatically eligible for the Photo of the Year and the Photo Story of the Year awards respectively. An entry, if awarded the Photo/Photo Story of the Year, will not be considered for the category award.
Usage:
For shortlisted and awarded pictures, the applicants grant the organizers unlimited non-exclusive use of high-resolution pictures for activities in all media, including social media, online and print, in relation to promotion of the contest, the exhibition(if any), and all promotional activities without any remuneration being due. The photographer will be credited wherever the image is used in the future for promotional purposes of the CPB Photo Awards only. Winning entries will be published on the Awards website for perpetuity.
For all submitted photographs, copyright holders will grant the organizers non-exclusive use of low-resolution pictures in a public archive for its research and educational activities, without any remuneration being due.
Copyright:
The photographer or the agent or representative entering on their behalf, must be the copyright holder(s) or have been authorized by the copyright holder(s) to submit the material in case of a deceased photographer.
Applicants retain copyright of their work.
The applicant will ensure that the submission of the pictures does not breach any law, and has required consent from human subjects, further that no third party can hold any claims or any objections regarding the all rights granted to the organizers. The applicant will hold the organizers harmless of any claims from third parties after submission.
Disqualification:
The conditions set out in the Entry Rules are binding and the organizers reserves the right to refuse or exclude any entry at its own discretion.
The organizer retains the right to disqualify any entry.
Contacting or attempting to contact any of the jurors, will attract immediate disqualification.
If the photographer has in some way influenced the elements/subject(s) within a composition, this fact must be clearly disclosed. (For eg: the survivor points to the direction from where the gunmen descended.) If an attempt to influence the situation/image in any unethical way is observed or is brought to the award organizer's notice, subsequent to the award ceremony, the image will be disqualified.
The organiser is entitled to revoke the issued award for any kind sexual harassment allegation against the applicant. By applying to the CPB Photo Awards, each applicant confirms that there is no past or present allegation, publicly or privately, against them. Should there be any allegations that the applicant is aware of, they must mention it in the application form in the relevant field.
Allegations of plagiarism and unethical practices will be duly investigated by the organiser and if the accusation is found to be of merit, the entry will be disqualified.
In case your city is not in the list mentioned in the form, please select your nearest city & send your city of residence via email.
For queries or help with translation to English from your regional language, write to photoawards@chennaiphotobiennale.com.