Winner Uganda Press Photo Awards has a story to tell

26 October 2017

Photo: On the top of the world, 1st Place, Story, by Timothy Latim

It is with great pleasure that we present the overall winner of the 2017 Uganda Press Photo Award and the Young Photographer Award: Timothy Latim and Stuart Tibaweswa.

The winners were announced on October 26 at an awards ceremony held at The Square in Kampala, Uganda and the winners' exhibition was launched at the same occasion. The exhibition is now open to the public, free of charge, at The Square and runs until November 26. Jury member and photographer Neo Ntsoma summarized the quality of Latim's work with these words: "It's not only about capturing images, but also about having a story to tell."

Latim was the overall winner with his series 'On the top of the world,' which is shot in the Rwenzori mountains on the boarder of Uganda and DRC. Mountaineering in the Rwenzori mountains is mostly rock, bogs, cold, rain and sunshine. Summiting Margherita, the highest peak of the Rwenzori mountain range, is mostly ice, rock and sweat. Fewer summits in Uganda offer a better reward-based challenge than Margherita, but it may not be the same challenge in 50 years, because every year the glacier line recedes as a result of climate change. As temperatures rise, the Rwenzori’s tropical glaciers- located as high as 16,500 feet- are fast disappearing.

Latim was also awarded with first place for his portrait of a climber, who pauses to pose for a portrait in front of a wall of ice near the summit of Margherita Peak. The glacier which covers the peaks of these mountains is receding year by year, and will disappear in the future. Alongside the many international climbers who come to visit and conquer this challenging environment, there are an increasing number of local tourists climbing the peaks and discovering the beauty of the unique landscape and ecosystem.

Photo: Summiting Margherita, 1st Place Portrait, by Timothy Latim.

The Ugandan Press Photo Award is a photography competition open to Ugandan photojournalists and photographers. It is also a platform for exchanging thoughts and ideas about photography as a medium, through a series of workshops, exhibitions, talks, discussions, portfolio reviews and film screenings. The award's initial aim was to raise the bar for professional photojournalism in Uganda, but throughout the years it has widened its scope to promoting photography and visual literacy in general. In addition, it aims to make photography more visible to the wider Ugandan public. In 2012 the competition was held for the first time and every year it attracts bigger numbers of entries from photographers from across and outside of the country.

Photo: From Ghetto to Parliament by Badru Katumba, 1st Place, News. Pop star and self-proclaimed ‘Ghetto President’ Robert Kyagulanyi a.k.a. Bobi Wine celebrates after winning a seat in Uganda’s Parliament following a contentious by-election race in Kyadondo East. Despite a campaign marred by heavy-handed police tactics against his supporters, the charismatic reggae singer carried the vote with a strong majority, shocking the establishment with his transformation from brash, deadlocked youth to sharp-suited and savvy political operator.

Photo: Night Shift by Zahara Abdul, 1st Place, Daily Life. A security guard scrolls through his phone ahead of a long night's work.

Photo: Reign of Giants by Badru Katumba, 1st Place, Sport. Uganda’s top female kick-boxer, Patricia Apolot continued her dominance in the ring with yet another wonderful display as she defended her intercontinental title for the 3rd time in a row on May 14th 2017. In a fight dubbed the Reign of Giants, Apolot managed to defeat Austria’s Carina Greimel at the MTN Arena in Lugogo. Popularly known as the “Black Pearl”, Apolot was crowned the winner in the 4th round with a victory on points. The 26 year old fighter has continued to rise in prominence with every passing event.

Photo: Giraffe Translocation by Musiime Muramura, 1st Place, Nature. The Uganda Wildlife Authority, with assistance from the Giraffe Conservation Fund, has begun to translocate giraffes from the north of Murchison Falls National Park, where their populations have been increasing, to other areas of Uganda where they are extinct or have not been seen in living memory. The gallant staff of the Uganda Wildlife Authority are instrumental in the capture and translocation process, as pictured here as they attempt to restrain a darted giraffe.

The competition is judged by a panel of international jurors including photographers, photo-editors and curators working in the region and internationally. Each year the panel selects winners in seven categories, namely: News, Daily Life, Portrait, Creative, Sport, Nature and Story and an overall winner of the competition – the photo of the year. The competition in 2017 was judges by: Edwarch Echwalu, Photographer (UG), Annette Sebba, Photography Lecturer, Makerere University, Kampala (UG), Katrin Peters-Klaphake, Curator (DE/ET), Mulugeta Ayena, Photojournalist (ET), Neo Ntsoma, Photographer, first female recipient of the CNN African Journalist Award for photography (SA) and Yasuyoshi Chiba, East Africa Chief Photographer, AFP Agency (JAP/KE). In 2016 Young Photographer Award and a Mentorship Programme targeted at early-career photographers between 18 and 25 years old, was established, to support young people in Uganda who are interested in documentary photography, but they often lack the tools or guidance to develop.

View the UPPA 2017 winners’ gallery.

Overall Winner: Timothy Latim

News
1st Badru Katumba
2nd Abubaker Lubowa
3rd Nicholas Bamulanzeki

Daily Life
1st Zahara Abdul
2nd Douglas Musunga
3rd Muwanguzi Zziwa Collins
HM Peter Tera

Portrait
1st Timothy Latim
2nd Andrew Kartende
3rd Pat Robert Larubi
HM Ampaire Edger
HM Muhammad Hassan

Sport
1st Badru Katumba
2nd Mbaleka Jonas
3rd Wasswa Arthur

Nature
1stMusiime Muramura
2nd David Gonahasa