Image of miner from soon-to-close coal mine wins Czech Press Photo
An image capturing a miner at work has won the main prize at this year’s Czech Press Photo competition. Photographer Lukáš Kaboň was awarded for documenting life underground as the country’s last operating hard coal mine approaches closure. The lifetime achievement award went to veteran documentary photographer Viktor Kolář.
The winning photograph of Czech Press Photo 2025 shows a miner in the ČSM-Sever mine in Stonava, in the Moravia-Silesia region, which is due to cease operations at the end of this month. Stripped to the waist, he is captured mid-task, working with his arms raised above his head.
Speaking to Czech Radio after the award ceremony at the National Museum on Tuesday night, Lukáš Kaboň explained how the image itself came about during one of his many visits underground.
“It’s very demanding work. The miner is drilling anchor cables — six- to nine-metre-long rods — into the ceiling. There’s a lot of water to cool the equipment while drilling into the rock. At one moment, the beam of a headlamp cut through the falling water, and that’s the moment I captured,” he said.
The jury praised Kaboň for not only reflecting the physical demands of the job, but also the end of a way of life and a significant chapter in the country’s industrial history.
His series from the mine also received top honours in the Reportage section, with the organisers announcing winners across nine sections in total.
The jury also presented the Radiožurnál Award, given to photographers working in demanding and dangerous conditions. It went to Pavel Němeček for a series of images from demonstrations in Istanbul.
“I knew it was a key topic and that something would happen. Every time I went to the demonstrations, it was risky. I could be arrested at any moment, and at the same time it was dangerous — especially when projectiles were being fired.” Němeček said.
The award for lifetime contribution to photography was presented to Ostrava-based documentary photographer Viktor Kolář, who said maintaining journalistic integrity has become increasingly difficult in the age of artificial intelligence.
“The task of a photographer — especially a documentary one — is to stick to the truth. The strength of a photograph lies in fundamental truthfulness. It requires personal integrity — the photographer has to put themselves on the line. And that creates responsibility,” he said.
This year’s international jury selected the winners from more than 5,200 photographs submitted by nearly 300 photographers — the highest number in the competition’s history.
The winning images will be on display at the National Museum in Prague, where the Czech Press Photo 2025 exhibition opens on 11 May and runs until 30 November.
