”Jill Sneesby, first chairwoman of the PhotographicSociaety of South Africa, agrees. “I think it is coincidencethat black and white photos won more prizes. The blackand white pictures in this contest had more narrativeand rhythm, while many of the colorful images were casualsnapshots taken with comparatively weak expressiveforce.”

Jiang Zhishun, vice president of China PhotojournalistSociety and a jury member in the contest, gave anexclusive interview to China Pictorial. “We have differentjudging standards for different categories,” he explains.“For instance, in Portraits & People in the News, blackand white photos are always more stirring and penetrating.The news photographers should choose appropriateangles and methods to capture different themes andtargets. These days, the most important improvement forChinese photographers is to develop the right mindset –to better unify the theme and expression with content andtechnique.”