Afrikaans daily newspaper Beeld has claimed the MTN / Fujifilm Photographer of the Year award. Halden Krog, Beeld's chief photographer in Johannesburg, was awarded the Press Photographer of the Year at the annual Fuji Awards held on 22 of September.
Beeld's Pretoria senior photographer, Leon Botha, Beeld's chief photographer in Pretoria, was also commended on the feature and contemporary discipline of his portfolio.
Halden previously walked away with the prize in 2002. The judges rated Krog's portfolio as containing the best photographic interpretation in the areas of sports, news and features as well as best overall exposure.
"His progression in the field, his passion for people, icons and places comes clearly to the fore in his work," said the Fuji judges. A number of Krog's individual photos were also highly commended in the sport and news categories.
Dawid Roux, Beeld's picture editor says: "Krog's success has a lot to do with his artistic eye for composition, his technical advancement and people skills. His intolerance for mediocrity can sometimes drive his colleagues insane, but by the same token, they have the utmost respect for it."
Other photographers in the limelight were Kim Ludbrook from the European Pressphoto Agency (second runner up) and Antoine de Ras from Rapport whose portfolio was complimented with honour.
