Márton Mohos received the Grand Prize of the National Association of Hungarian Journalists (MÚOSZ) at the 42nd Hungarian Press Photo Contest, while Dénes Erdős was awarded the André Kertész Grand Prize on Thursday in Budapest at the Capa Center at the opening ceremony of the exhibition featuring the contest’s images.

MÚOSZ awarded Márton Mohos (24.hu) the Grand Prize for his series Increasing pressure at the Hungarian⁠–⁠Serbian border for the best human-centred documentary photography. The André Kertész Grand Prize for the best human-centred documentary photography was awarded to Dénes Erdős (The Associated Press) for his series Housing as a fundamental right. The photojournalism lifetime achievement award was presented to László Balogh.

The exhibition was opened by Nobel Prize-winning research biologist Katalin Karikó, who emphasized the importance of photojournalists’ work and the images they produce, which convey messages. She compared photography to scientific research, noting that

while people see the results, they often do not know who created them or the work behind them.

Karikó recalled her involvement in a photography club in fifth grade, where they developed, fixed, and dried pictures using the teacher’s camera. At the age of fourteen, she won third place in a national wildlife competition and received a camera as a prize, with which she took pictures of her family, school, and friends. She later donated this camera to the University of Szeged. During the opening ceremony, Karikó was presented with a photograph by Szilárd Koszticsák, an MTI/MTVA photojournalist, taken the day before she and physicist Ferenc Krausz received the Nobel Prize at the Hungarian Embassy in Sweden.

Orsolya Kőrösi, managing director of the Capa Center, where the 42nd Hungarian Press Photo Exhibition is held, noted that last year marked the centre’s 10th anniversary, and a permanent exhibition showcasing Robert Capa’s work was opened to commemorate the occasion. The first-floor rooms were also renovated, providing an enhanced environment for the press photo exhibition.

Kőrösi also mentioned that a memorial exhibition for Barna Burger, a photojournalist who passed away in 2017, based on his book The Blue Rambler, will open at the Hungarian Natural History Museum next Wednesday.

This year,

250 photographers submitted 2,470 entries totalling 6,801 photos for the Hungarian Press Photo Contest.

President of the MÚOSZ Photojournalists’ Section András Bánkuti emphasized that the Photos of the Year 2023 yearbook will be released concurrently with the exhibition opening.

Bánkuti presented the Golden Camera Award, which recognizes the achievements and lifetime contributions of photojournalists working in the press. This year’s recipients were Attila Balázs (MTI/MTVA), Tamás Révész, and Tamás Szlukovényi, curator and president of the jury of the 42nd Hungarian Press Photo Contest.

At the event on Thursday, awards were presented for the first three places in fourteen categories of the press photo contest, along with numerous special awards, the winners of which were announced in February.

The Hungarian Press Photo Exhibition will be open at the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center until 2 June.

Related articles:

Sources: Hungarian Conservative/MÚOSZ