Eduardo Lima – 2016

I had a moment of disbelief when I got the phone call from Graeme Roy to let me know I had won the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award, I was surprised. I knew how tough the competition was and I had applied a few times before so I didn’t have much hope when I decided to give it one last shot. I submitted my portfolio only a couple of days before the deadline.

After the shock wore off, I was felt grateful for having been given such incredible opportunity. I had worked briefly in a newsroom before moving to Canada but this would be my first time since arriving here that I would be back in that kind environment. And this time it was with a wire and not a newspaper so the pressure seemed bigger.

On my second day at work, I landed the front page of The Globe and Mail with a picture of Raptors fans outside the ACC (pictured above) watching their team lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers. That gave me some confidence and helped me focus on my goals.

During my second week, photographer Frank Gunn invited me to tag along to a baseball game between the Jays and the Yankees. It was my first time photographing major league baseball and that first game got me hooked. Since I didn’t know much about baseball, I watched some tutorials to understand it better. I learned to pay close attention to it’s unique rhythm and that the picture that defines the game is not necessarily an action shot but it could be a gesture or a facial expression. A highlight of my internship was seeing a picture I took during my fourth and last game published in The New York Times.

During the next weeks I shot all kinds of events: spot news, portraits, features, press conferences, Justin Trudeau’s visit to Toronto and many more. What I enjoyed most about the internship was learning from other photographers by talking to them, watching them at work, and the wide variety of assignments I received.

After my internship, I did some freelancing with The Canadian Press and a few weeks later I got a job as a staff photographer with Metro Toronto. I’m so thankful to Graeme Roy, Frank Gunn, Nathan Danette and Chris Young, for all the advice they gave me, to Tom’s family, The Canadian Journalism Foundation and all those involved with the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award. It was a great honour to spend six weeks working at the Canadian Press.

(All photos Copyright 2016 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Eduardo Lima)

To read more about the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award, visit the award page.