Awards
Ernesto Benavides rewarded at World Press Photo 2021
Agence France-Presse photographer Ernesto Benavides wins second prize in the "Spot News" category for a series of photos taken during protests against the impeachment of Peruvian president Martin Vizcarra in November 2020.
Ernesto Benavides is a Peruvian photographer for AFP who works mainly in South America. His work for AFP has been published in major media around the world including The New York Times, Grazia, Brand eins, Le Monde, El País, Private, 6Mois, The Guardian and Wired.
A multiple award winner, Benavides received the bronze medal in the 2018 PX3 Prix de la Photographie, won the 2017 Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS) and was awarded second place at the POY LATAM awards for La Pampa, documenting illegal mining in the Peruvian rainforest.
He was nominated for his images of political unrest in Peru in November of last year.
The nominees were announced on March 10 by a jury of independent experts from around the world. They selected the finalists in eight categories from 74, 470 images submitted by 4, 315 photographers in 130 countries.
Announcing the awards, the WPP said : “In an unprecedented year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and social justice protests around the globe, the nominees share a diversity of interpretations and perspectives to these and other urgent issues such as the climate crisis, transgender people's rights, and territorial conflicts”.