(image via Loyalist College)
Photographers use their cameras as tools of exploration, documentation and ultimately, as instruments of change. In the National Pictures Of the Year competition, photojournalism students are recognized for their contributions to the medium of photography. The only multi-year photojournalism program in Canada, Loyalist College consistently sees its students and graduates honoured in this competition, which accepts over 1,880 images for consideration for the awards.
Loyalist College second-year Photojournalism student Annie Sakkab is the recipient of the Student Photographer of the Year award from the News Photographers Association of Canada’s (NPAC) National Pictures of the Year (NPOY) awards competition, recognizing excellence in Canadian photojournalism.
“Receiving this award feels amazing,” said Annie who will graduate in June. “It gives me a lot of confidence in my work. When I started the program, I was lost photographically; I didn’t know how to take my work further. So this recognition really shows how much I’ve grown as a photographer through Loyalist Photojournalism.”
In the NPOY Single Multimedia category, Annie was awarded third place for ‘Hearts of Feather’ and an Honourable Mention for ‘To be a Boy.’ Born in Jordan, Annie has lived in some of the world’s largest cities – London, Rome, Dubai and Amman. Today, she lives in Toronto where she runs Toronto Events Photography, a company specializing in corporate portraits, on-site corporate reportage and private events.
“Through the lens, students like Annie capture human interest stories that captivate our imaginations and inspire change,” said College President Maureen Piercy. “In Loyalist’s Photojournalism program, Canada’s only multi-year photojournalism program, we teach the ‘triple threat skill set’ of news and feature writing, still digital photography and multimedia storytelling. As photographers and journalists, our graduates are working throughout the world, from national dailies and smaller weekly newspapers to public broadcast stations and wire services.”
