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Swiss Press Photo 2022 winners – in pictures

Sitzungszimmer mit Männern
Swiss Press Photo / Reuters / Denis Balibouse

A selection of images from this year’s Swiss Press Photo 2022 winners, announced on Wednesday evening in Bern.

Denis Balibouse won the top prize – the Swiss Press Photographer of the Year 2022 – with a photo of the 2021 Geneva summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was announced at the Swiss Press Awards 2022External link held by the Reinhardt von Graffenried Foundation on April 27 at the University of Bern.

From the preparations at the Villa La Grange to the world leaders’ arrival and the meeting itself, BalibouseExternal link, who has worked for Reuters since 2007, captured the diplomatic frost of the June 2021 summit in the Swiss city. He had exactly 45 seconds to take the winning picture in the villa’s library before security personnel ordered the press away.

Putin, Cassis, Biden
Swiss Press Photo / Reuters / Denis Balibouse
Biden steigt aus Flugzeug
Swiss Press Photo / Reuters / Denis Balibouse
pensive Putin
Swiss Press Photo / Reuters / Denis Balibouse

Geneva-based Mark HenleyExternal link won the “Daily Life” category with the poetic series “Phantom Culture” taken during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It showcases cultural workers who became phantom-like figures in closed rooms, empty squares and silenced streets as fear of the pandemic and anxiety about the future put a stop to events with large audiences. SWI swissinfo.ch published this body of work in May 2021.

Violin player
Swiss Press Photo / Panos Pictures / Mark Henley
Musicians at night
Swiss Press Photo / Panos Pictures / Mark Henley
Praying woman
Swiss Press Photo / Panos Pictures / Mark Henley

In the “Swiss Stories” category, press photographer Gaetan BallyExternal link won over judges with his report highlighting the “Biodiversity Hotspot” on Alp Flix in canton Graubünden. It is considered a treasure island for entomologists.

Man with insect net
Swiss Press Photo / Keystone / Gaëtan Bally
Frau sucht Insekten
Swiss Press Photo / Keystone / Gaëtan Bally
Man examines insects
Swiss Press Photo / Keystone / Gaëtan Bally

Joël HunnExternal link earned the Portrait Prize with a report on a homeless young woman in Bern.

View into the blurry night
Swiss Press Photo / Joël Hunn
zwei Porträts
Swiss Press Photo / Joël Hunn
Underpass
Swiss Press Photo / Joël Hunn

In the “Sports” category, 20-year-old Gabriel MonnetExternal link won first place with a shot of wheelchair athlete Marcel Hug winning the gold medal at the Paralympics in Tokyo.

Athlete with crash helmet
Swiss Press Photo / Gabriel Monnet

Klaus PetrusExternal link works as a freelance photojournalist and reporter. Since 2016, he has been documenting escape routes through the Balkans to EU countries, for which he won the top prize in the “World” category. 

People walking through a field
Swiss Press Photo / Klaus Petrus
a man petting a deer
Swiss Press Photo / Klaus Petrus
zwei junge Männer
Swiss Press Photo / Klaus Petrus

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR