Inspiration from Focus Awards Lifetime Achievement Award winner Eliane Laffont

The Griffin Museum's 2009 Focus Awards ceremony was held last week, recognizing "people who are not photographers, but who have been instrumental in increasing awareness of the photographic arts among the general public."  A well-deserved Lifetime Achievement award was given to Eliane Laffont, who has been a driving force in the industry for over 40 years. Those fortunate enough to be at the ceremony heard Eliane's speech, but for the rest of us, she has graciously allowed us to reprint it.  It's definitely worth a read: PHOTOJOURNALISM IS MY PASSION! “Photojournalism” is a word that evokes heroic stories and the call of adventure. It is a mirror of the world and a witness to its time. When Jean Pierre, and I — along with our French partners — created the photo agencies Gamma in 1968 and Sygma in 1973, we wanted to redefine the nature of photojournalism, reveal and explain the world's…

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Congratulations to Visa Pour L’Image

MediaStorm would like to extend a special congratulations to Jean-François Leroy and everyone at Visa Pour L'Image, for winning the Spotlight Award at this year's Lucie Awards. This year marked the 20th anniversary of Visa Pour L'Image, and the impact the festival has had on photojournalism in that time is immeasurable.  We would certainly not be able to do the work we're doing without people like this in our profession, and we offer our sincere appreciation for all of the efforts Visa has made to ensure that photojournalism has a home. If you ever find yourself in the south of France in early September, it's well worth a trip to Perpignan. Above- Left to Right: Caroline Laurent-Simon, Eliane Laffont, Alain Tournaille, Sylvie Grumbach, Jean-Francois Leroy (with the award), Christine Terneau, Lucas Menget, Claire Baudean, Cedric Kerviche, Valerie Bourgeois, and Delphine Lelu. Photo by JP Laffont. There were many other notable award winners,…

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