The nominees for the World Press Photo in 2021 were from Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, India, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Tavakolian participated in the Magnum Photo section of the contest with a photo collection about the mourning ceremonies commemorating Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who was martyred at Baghdad airport in an airstrike ordered by former US president Donald Trump.
In Podium Photos’ section, Eslahi is nominated for ‘Thoughts of Flight,’ which shows Saeed Ramin, a professional traceur – or practitioner of parkour – who injured his spinal cord in a competition seven years ago but is still a daredevil.
Eslahi graduated from the University of Tehran with a master’s degree in theater art and has been working as a photojournalist with Iranian news agencies since 2014.
In 2017, she became a member of the Iranian Press Photographers Association. She became a member of Podium Photos in 2020 and is an active member of the Podium Mentor Program group.
Tavakolian began working for the Iranian press at the age of 16. Over the years, her focus shifted away from photojournalism to photography as art. Through her lens, Tavakolian explores social experiences in her homeland and human conflicts far and near. Tavakolian has photographed female guerilla fighters in Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria, and Colombia.
Tavakolian was the fifth laureate of the 2014 Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award and the principal laureate of the 2015 Prince Claus Award.
The World Press Photo seeks to recognize the best visual journalism of the previous year and rewards images and stories in eight categories. This year, 4,315 photographers from 130 countries have entered 74,470 images. This is an increase from 2020 when 4,282 photographers from 125 countries entered 73,996 images.
The winners are set to be announced on April 15.
Source: Iran Daily