Awards
Roman Pilipey and Luis Tato awarded at the 2024 Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar
AFP photojournalists Roman Pilipey and Luis Tato received multiple awards at the 2024 edition of the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, held on 16 November.
Pilipey, AFP’s Photo Coordinator in Ukraine, received an honourable mention and secured first place in the General News category. He also won second place in the Feature Picture Story category.
“I am deeply honoured to be awarded alongside many talented colleagues [...]. Sadly, these awards cannot stop the Russian invasion, but they give me another chance to remind the world of what millions of Ukrainians face every day during the brutal Russian full-scale war in Ukraine,” said Pilipey in a post published on his Instagram account.
Tato, AFP’s East Africa Photo Coordinator, won the Best Portfolio award. He also earned third place in the Sports feature category, and second in International Sport News.
The work of both photojournalists was also recognised in the Chris Hondros Memorial International News category, with Pilipey taking first place and Tato third.
The Chris Hondros Photography Award is named in honour of the award-winning American war photographer, who was killed while covering the Libyan Civil War in 2011.
Founded in 1973, the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar is renowned for promoting the highest standards in the field of photojournalism. The event combines an educational conference with a photography contest, with entries judged by a panel of leading photographers and editors.
Roman Pilipey started his career as a freelance photographer for several Ukrainian news agencies. In 2014, he joined EPA to cover Ukraine and later relocated to Beijing. As Russia's invasion of Ukraine unfolded, Pilipey began documenting the war for Getty Images before joining AFP. His work was recognised at the 2024 National Press Photographers' Association (NPPA) Awards, where he won first place in the "Photojournalist of the Year, National" category.
Luis Tato joined AFP as a staff photojournalist in September 2023. Tato's career began with coverage of the Spanish financial crisis, working with print media, news agencies, and NGOs.
At 37, Tato has already garnered several prestigious awards, including NPPA's Best of Photojournalism. His work has been published in leading newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, and Le Monde.