Photojournalist, Yannis Behrakis has been honoured as The Guardian’s agency Photographer of the Year for 2015.
Known for his work abroad documenting significant events including the Libyan crisis in 1989, along with wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, Somalia and Afghanistan, this time around the photographer was recognised for his work documenting events in his home country of Greece.
Behrakis spent the majority of the past year travelling throughout the country and capturing images of the unfolding economic crisis and the thousands of refugees arriving on the shores.
In an interview with The Guardian, Behrakis said “I have been covering refugees and migrants for over 25 years, but this year has been different: migrants are arriving in my homeland”.
Along with his moving photographs of refugees, his photos of the crisis are just as affecting, capturing the hardships of his fellow countrymen in a time of bank closures, capital controls, demonstrations and riots.
For Behrakis it is clear that photography is far more than just a job, passionate about the medium itself and its power to “leave people speechless”.
“It can send a message to the audience, make people cry or laugh or both. It can make people feel guilty – or give money for a good cause. And it can make people think twice before pulling the trigger…” he said.
Behrakis completed his studies in photography at both Athens’ School of Arts and Technology and London’s Middlesex University.
He has gone on to receive a number of awards, including European News Photographer of the Year by the European Fuji Awards, and News Photographer of the year by the Greek Fuji Awards, amongst others.
Behrakis is not the only Greek photographer to receive an accolade this year however; Angelos Tzortzinis was recently named Photographer of the Year by Time Magazine.
Source: Press TV/ Pappas Post
