Winning images put frame on history

A STUDY of Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, framed in a doorway at his Belfast office, has won an international prize for David Rose, a photographer on The Independent.

The Georges Bendrihem Prize, dedicated to the memory of a French photographer who died covering President Jacques Chirac's visit to Tunisia in 1995, is presented for the year's best picture depicting a European political figure. Rose was presented with the award and a cheque for 25,000 francs (pounds 2,700) yesterday by the President at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

Two other Independent photographers, John Voos and Brian Harris, were highly commended.

Presenting the award, President Chirac said that in Rose's black-and- white picture one could feel pressing on the shoulders of the leader of Sinn Fein "all the crushing weight of a future difficult to construct". Rose is the first photographer from outside France to win the prize since it was set up in 1996.

Andy Blackmore, picture editor of The Independent, said: "David Rose's portrait shows some of the timeless qualities seen in all classic photojournalism: the instant bite of its geometric composition with the lingering after- taste of its depth. David has employed what can be a cliched tool of composition to outstanding effect by framing Gerry Adams in the door frame.

"He goes on to notice the light behind the subject, which gives the image an ethereal feeling. The highlight on the door handle to the left, and the shape of the light switch to the right add an extra dynamic to the image, to produce a photograph that is both graphic and subtle at the same time."

Voos's entry was a picture of Emma Nicholson having her eyes tested in Brighton on the second day of the Liberal Democrat conference in September.

Harris snapped a comradely embrace between Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein and Cyril Ramaphosa, former secretary-general of the African National Congress, during a Sinn Fein rally in Belfast.

Congratulating Rose on becoming "laureat du premier prix Georges Bendrihem 1998" President Chirac presented him with the trophy, a silver plate marked in the centre by a medal symbolising photography. The prize was decided by a jury made up of international photo-journalists.

Independent photographers have consistently won awards since the paper's launch in 1986 and The Independent is Newspaper of the Year for Photography. The award continues The Independent's tradition of promoting striking photography, which has been recognised in awards including the Nikon Press Awards and UK Guild of Picture Editors Awards.

The Georges Bendrihem Prize was created by friends and colleagues of the photographer.