By BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI

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Summit Margherita is a photograph of mountain climber Rhona Namanya standing against a natural frame of snow atop the Rwenzori Mountains’ highest peak.

The photo, by Timothy Latim, is significant because the site where it was taken is threatened by climate change. Experts have warned that the snow on the Rwenzoris — a Unesco World Heritage Site — is melting at such a high rate that it could be gone in a decade.

The photo won the first place in the portrait category in this year’s Uganda Press Photo Award (UPPA).

Asked about his win, Latim said, “Surreal. I wasn’t expecting it. I thought I’d be in the honoured mentions.

“I pointed the camera and shot the scene. It was cold, we were getting damp, and on looking to the right we saw this tall rock-like ice formation. Rhona wanted a snow angel picture, but this is what we got.”

Latim’s prize was a Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR camera kit and a backpack. South African judge Neo Ntsoma said: “We salute it as an example of enterprising journalism. An image that not only captures the essence of the story but serves as a reminder that at its best, photography is not only a storytelling tool but also an art form.

Summit Margherita, by Timothy Latim. PHOTO | BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI | NMG

The other judges were Edward Echwalu, Mulugeta Ayene, Yasuyoshi Chiba, Annette Sebba, and Katrin Peters-Klaphake. Each year the panel selects winners in seven categories: News, Daily Life, Portrait, Creative, Sport, Nature, Story, and an overall Photo of the Year. 

The winners were announced at a ceremony on October 26 held at The Square in Kampala, where the winners exhibition was launched.

The exhibition is open to the public until November 26. Latim is a lecturer of architecture at Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi. The Daily Life award went to Zahara Abdul for her photo Night Shift, of a security guard scrolling through his phone ahead of a long night’s work.

Musiime Muramura scooped the Nature category award for his photo Giraffe Translocation showing Uganda Wildlife Authority staff restraining a darted giraffe for translocation.

The other winners were Badru Katumba (News and Sports); and Gilbert Yoti (Creative). The second Young Photographer Award went to 22-year-old Stuart Tibaweswa. He received a Canon EOS 1300D camera kit which he will use during a mentorship programme.

The Young Photographer Award competition targets aspiring photojournalists and documentary photographers between the ages of 18 and 25. UPPA is supported by the Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung Uganda, Canon Central and North Africa and the Foreign Correspondents Association of Uganda.