5 Photojournalists Receive Getty Images Grants

Getty Images completed its fifth annual photojournalism grants program by announcing that Krisanne Johnson, Brenda Kenneally (both from the United States) and Zalmai (from Afghanistan and Switzerland) have been selected to each receive $20,000 grants, as well as collaborative editorial support from Getty Images, to pursue their documentary photography projects.

Getty Images also named two student winners in the grants program: Ed Ou, (Canada) studying at the University of Southern California, and Carl Kiilsgaard, (United States) a student at Western Kentucky University. Each will receive $5,000 and editorial support to pursue their projects.

Aidan Sullivan, vice president of photo assignments for Getty Images, said, "We're very grateful to our judges who carefully considered 199 applications and proposals from professional photojournalists across 26 countries, along with 24 student proposals from 8 countries."

The grant judges included:

- Cheryl Newman, Picture Editor, Telegraph Magazine (UK)

- Jean-Francois Leroy, Director General, Visa Pour l'Image (France)

- Volker Lensch, Department Head, Stern Magazine (Germany)

"Getty Images is honored that in its first five years, our grants have empowered 24 photojournalists to bring eye-opening visual essays to the world's attention," said Sullivan. "We're delighted with the judges' choices of the newest winners, whose projects deal with some of the most compelling issues of our time."

- Krisanne Johnson's project, "I Love You Real Fast," examines the lives of young women in Swaziland, where women have a life expectancy of close to 31, due to the country's high rate of HIV infections.

- Brenda Kenneally's project, "Upstate Girls: What Became of Collar City," studies the issues of class and poverty in Troy, New York, a once-prosperous city whose traditions and culture have been disrupted by numerous economic and social issues.

- Zalmai's project, "Promises and Lies," reveals the human cost of the war on terror in Afghanistan.

- Carl Kiilsgaard's project, "The White Family," follows a family that has lived in rural Kentucky - where, in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared a war on poverty that has not yet been won - for generations.

- Ed Ou's project, "Perilous Journey," documents the full journey that Somali refugees take as each year thousands flee from the violence in Mogadishu to the port city of Bosasso and the perilous boat journey to Yemen begins, as they seek work as laborers in the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

Getty Images is a creator and distributor of still imagery, footage and multimedia products, as well as a provider of other forms of premium digital content, including music.

Information:

gettyimages.com/grants

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