On Oct.11–12, 2024, the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for war correspondents waspresented in the French city of Bayeux. This year, the honorees includedUkrainian photographers Kostiantyn and Vlada Liberov. Their photo seriesdedicated to the war in Ukraine received several prestigious distinctions.
Held since 1994 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, theBayeux ceremony brings together the world’s leading war correspondents eachyear. The Liberovs’ work took second place in the “Photography” category andalso won the Audience Award, in which the winner is chosen by the public.
“This isour shared victory”
KostiantynLiberov said the award came as a surprise and felt like a shared achievementfor the two of them:
“Honestly,it was very unexpected for us to receive this statuette. We applied in the‘Photo’ category, where we took second place. I say ‘we’ because everythingVlada and I do, we do together. Although the contest rules allow submittingphotos under only one author’s name, this is our joint work, and that’s animportant clarification.”
Kostiantynsays that, given the global audience’s fatigue with news about theRussia–Ukraine war, winning the Audience Award is even more meaningful forthem:
“We felttremendous support from both the jury and the public. Truthfully, in the thirdyear of the war it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep the world’sattention on Ukraine. And the fact that we received this recognition—especiallyin such a strong competition—means a lot to us.”
Onselecting photos for the series
Kostiantynand Vlada have been documenting the Russia–Ukraine war since the first days ofthe full-scale invasion, working in some of the hottest areas along the frontline. Their photographs capture frontline life and the tragedies of bothsoldiers and civilians. Images in the Liberovs’ photo series span 2023–2024 andconvey the complex emotions of wartime. Vlada was responsible for selecting theimages for the series “War in Ukraine. Pain, Despair, and Hope.” She speaksabout the challenges the photographers faced:
“For us,the hardest part is choosing the photographs. We wanted to show the war fromdifferent angles—not only the suffering of civilians, but also the pain ofsoldiers and their families. This war affects everyone, and everyone has theirown losses.”
Since theLiberovs had no prior experience participating in photo contests, Vlada notesthat preparing for this award became an important lesson for them:
“Maybenow I would approach the selection differently after the jury’s and colleagues’feedback. But even with the mistakes we made, receiving this award isincredibly important for us.”
As areminder, Kostiantyn and Vlada have documented the war since the first days ofRussia’s full-scale invasion, working directly on the front line. Theirphotographs capture combat, the lives of soldiers and civilians, andUkrainians’ personal tragedies. Their work involves constant risk to theirlives. In December 2023, Vlada sustained a shrapnel wound to her thigh whileworking in Donetsk Oblast. “This isn’t only about awards. It’s a reminder tothe world that the war continues,” Kostiantyn concludes.
Kostiantynand Vlada Liberov are a married couple of photographers from Odesa. They began theirjourney with creative, emotional love stories. Within a few years, they becameamong the most recognizable photographers in the field and moved into activeteaching, with thousands of grateful students worldwide. At the start of thewar in Ukraine, they changed the direction of their work, focusing on artisticdocumentary photography: their images from Ukraine’s hottest spots go viral onsocial media, garnering hundreds of thousands of reposts; they are published byinfluential outlets such as BBC, Welt, Vogue, and Forbes; and are shared onsocial media by the President of Ukraine and other high-ranking officials. InEurope, the Liberovs have already held two solo exhibitions, and theirphotographs have also become part of many thematic exhibitions. Kostiantyn andVlada’s goal is to ensure that as many people as possible learn the truth aboutthe war in Ukraine. For them, photography is both a life’s purpose and a way tospread harmony in the world. Photographers’Instagram.
Workedon the piece:
Topic researcher, text author: Vira Labych
Photo editor: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary editor: Yuliia Futei
