CBC photojournalists win national photography awards

Two CBC Vancouver photojournalists received national photography awards on Saturday by theNews Photographers Association of Canada.

Ben Nelmswas awarded photojournalist of the year inthe 13thannual National Pictures of the Year (NPOY) awards competition for a portfolio of work. He was also nominated for spot news.

Originally from Edmonton, Nelmsbegan shooting with CBC in April 2019.He has previously been nominated for multiple NPOYs, winning an award forphoto story of the year in 2012.

"I'm really honoured to have won the photojournalist of the year award," Nelms said when asked for comment.

"This is something I've been working towards since the beginning of my career, and it feels even more meaningful winning this award not as a freelancer, but as a part of the CBC team.

"Canadian photojournalism is something I'm very passionate about contributing to and preserving, and to see our national broadcasting corporation investing in photojournalism as a way to connect with our audience is extremely exciting."

Maggie MacPhersonwas awarded first place in the "Personality" category for her intimate portraits of Stephen "Red" Robinson, a former resident of Oppenheimer Park.

"It's an honour to work as a photojournalist in this country, an honour to share stories with the public through my lens," she wrote.

"Thank youNews Photographers Association of Canada for this recognition and toCBC Vancouver for your constant support."

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MacPherson is from Vernon, B.C., and started working with CBC in June 2019.

Over 2,000 photographs along with 22 multimedia productions from across Canada were entered in this year's competition, which is the largest of its kind in Canada.

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The nominated photographs can beviewed online here.

The nominated photos are featured during the Capture Photography Festival held at the Pendulum Gallery inVancouver, British ColumbiafromMarch 23 toMay 15.