Two outstanding photojournalists, Kevin Frayer and Diana Markosian, have been awarded grants from Getty Images and the Chris Hondros Fund to continue their work.
Canadian photojournalist Kevin Frayer has been chosen to receive the fourth annual Getty Images and Chris Hondros Fund Award. The Canadian photographer will receive a grant of US $20,000 to support his documentary photography work. This year the Chris Hondros Fund also selected Armenian-American photographer Diana Markosian as the emerging photojournalist recipient. She will be awarded a grant of US$5,000. The emerging photojournalist award goes to a photographer whose work demonstrates exceptional promise and who is committed to documenting a visual history of newsworthy events.
The Getty Images and Chris Hondros Fund award was judged by a panel of industry experts and CHF Board members, including Getty Images Vice President for News Pancho Bernasconi, New York Times Photographer Todd Heisler, freelance photojournalist Jeff Swensen and CHF Board President Christina Piaia.
Kevin Frayer said, “As a long-time admirer of Chris' exceptional work and his dedication to it, winning an award bearing his name is incredibly humbling. I aspire to use this opportunity to create meaningful photography that would move Chris in the same way his images reached me and so many others. I am grateful and so very proud.” Diana Markosian commented, “Chris encouraged me to take a chance on myself, to find my own way. I am deeply touched to receive this grant. It is a way to keep a mentor and friend’s memory and work alive.”
The Getty Images and Chris Hondros Fund award was created to honour Getty Images photojournalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Chris Hondros, who was killed on April 20, 2011 while on assignment in Misrata, Libya. Established by Christina Piaia, Hondros’ fiancée, and with the support of his family, the Chris Hondros Fund advances the work of photojournalists who espouse his legacy and vision. The fund sponsors fellowships, grants and education to raise understanding of the issues reporters face in conflict zones.
Kevin Frayer is an award-winning photojournalist whose work has appeared in the world’s leading news publications. He has contributed images to two Pulitzer Prize finalist packages, is a winner at World Press Photo, and has been recognised by several photography contests. From India’s religious festivals and its streets to the mountain cultures of western China, Frayer is drawn to capturing the people of Asia. Frayer is currently a freelance photographer working with Getty Images in Beijing, China.
The Canadian began his photojournalism career in 1991 as a young freelancer in the former Yugoslavia. He has since documented conflict in the Middle East, including the Gaza Strip, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Libya. After shooting at The Winnipeg Sun newspaper, in 2003 he joined the Associated Press in Jerusalem, first basing himself in Gaza City then becoming Chief Photographer for Israel and the Palestinian Territories. He then shifted to New Delhi as Chief Photographer for South Asia. In 2013, he moved to China and joined Getty Images as a contract photographer.
Diana Markosian is an Armenian-American photographer whose work explores the relationship between memory and place. She received her master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism at 20 and her work has since taken her to some of the most remote corners of the world. Her images have appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker and Time. Markosian is a contributor to Getty Images Reportage.
Image by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images.
Image by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images.
Image by Diana Markosian.
Image by Diana Markosian.