World Press Photo

I went to see the World Press Photo exhibition at Royal Exhibition Hall in London.

Most of the photos on show were part of photo essays from the major world events of the last year.   This display of the photo essays really made the exhibition.   Sometimes a photo needs to be part of a collection for its meaning to really shine through.  

I was amazed at the quality and have come away thinking that photo essays are the way forward.   Your photos really need to be linked with either a visual style, similar subject matter or actually creating a story arc for the photos.

This exhibition also shows the distinct lack of good coverage of world events by British news organisations.   As news programmes become more commercial, it seems that real news is disappearing and in its place is the sound-bite.   This exhibition shows how powerful the display of real news can be.   I think that the media needs to support the ongoing efforts of the photojournalist and get back to real reporting.

Vision 09

Well, yesterday I went to the Vision 09 event in London and saw 2 photographers talks.  

      

The first was Martin Parr.   I loved his work and collections that he has made over the years.  The Saddam Hussein watches were great and his books were inspiring.   His style is very distinctive with saturated colour palettes and similar ideas behind his photography.

The second was Eugene Richards which was a stark contrast to Martin Parrs work.   His lifes work has covered some of the most harrowing subject matter.   His photos were amazing but I found the presentation very harrowing.   I don't think that I could take what this man has done in his life without going mad!

The main thing I found interesting was that both photographers established a visual style early in their careers that has not changed too much.   Each photographer had a distinct vision of the world, coming from a specific direction.   Their visual styles are linked directly to their content of choice.

I think that to make good artwork, both the content and the visual style needs to be closely linked.   Also, from a photography point of view, photo essays are the way to go.