It is no accident that the only all-Ukrainian newspaper holding annual international photo contest is called Den’/The Day. When this name had been chosen, it was assumed that the publication would provide an information imprint of daily events. This proved to be exactly the case. Creating an informational picture of the day, we paid special attention to photo illustrations from the very beginning. Soon we noticed that the best of them were not simply photo commentary to the text but had independent meaning. The expressions, gestures, or postures perceived by the camera tell no less, and sometimes even more, than spoken words do. This is especially true for the politicians. In this respect classics of the genre are Dyrektoriya. Forming the Parliamentary Majority by Leonid BAKKA (second prize in The Day nomination at the 2000 photo contest) and Breaking into Context by Anatoly MEDZYK (first prize in the Event nomination at the 2001 photo contest).
We chose the names for our contests so that the photos presented by the participants would form a photo chronicle of our time. And, speaking about the best pictures, it worked.
1999 — In the Light of The Day. First prize went to Zhytomyr-based Serhiy HLABCHUK for his Stepping into Business. The work simply beams with optimism, which we lack in our life so often. Personally, I was amazed then with the work by another prizewinner, Bohdan BARBYL, a documentary photograph taken after the flood in Transcarpathia, Four Candles — Four Lives Under the Debris of a House. The Carpathian Mountains series by Yevhen KOMAROV (Yalta) was also impressive. Incidentally, the author is among the most renowned Ukrainian photographic artists.
2000 — Faces. Fates. Day. Century. The main prize went to Lionka-Politics by photo amateur Oleksandr SVYSTUNOV from Vinnytsia oblast. Amazing how the author succeeded in reflecting the peasants’ attitude towards the processes in the village through the image of this modern Karmeliuk (Ukraine’s rough answer to Robin Hood, except that he was certainly real — Ed.): a tattoo on the hero’s arm reads, “Urge on but know when to stop.” Also marked with prizes were The Twentieth Century Behind by the State Prize of Ukraine laureate Vasyl PYLYPYUK, The Thirst by Serhiy BUSLENKO, renowned photo master from Rivne, An Old Original by Kolomyia-based Yarema PROTSIV, and Bill Clinton’s Will by Anatoly MEDZYK, The Day.
2001 — Day of the New Millennium. The main prize was awarded to Mykola LAZARENKO, The Day, for his A Grade. I will refrain from naming all the seventeen works marked by the jury, since they had been published in this newspaper a relatively short time ago. Let us mention only two that stuck most in my memory: Vatican. The Official Charm of Theocracy by Kyiv-based professional photographer Vasyl ARTIUSHENKO (second prize in the Event nomination) and They Don’t Put Crosses on Mass Graves by Chernihiv-based press photographer Valery INIUTIN (special prize from Den’/ The Day’s editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna).
By tradition we form photo exhibitions out of the best works sent to our photo contests and display them in the oblast centers of Ukraine. Looking for accommodation in a city center, we always lay down the only condition, entrance free. The residents of Sumy, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, Lviv, Truskavets, and Odesa have already made acquaintance with the works by our photo correspondents and authors. The major wish from the exhibitions’ visitors was that we keep it up.
Today we announce the conditions of our new photo contests, which will be summed up at Den’/The Day’s sixth anniversary celebration in September 2002.
