The ‘Problem’ With Photography Prizes
Written by duckrabbit
‘As I prepared pictures to submit to a contest I could not stop thinking that all these past years the main photo contests chose their winners from among the pictures depicting wars and conflicts. I think that this year will be the same, due to the many bloody events around the world.
I do not know why those pictures are still chosen, they show horrors. They show the pain of the helpless victims and the joy of the gun-toting bullies. They show, some in a dignified way, some in a gruesome way, humanity at its worst, people killed by other people. They will haunt your memory; they will be published again and again … But do their images really belong to a pictures contest? Does anyone think about their impact in the future, about their impact on young photographers?
Throughout those years, many young photographers looked at those pictures and what have they learned? They have learned that to be a great photographer and to make a great picture you must go to a conflict or a war zone, because you get instant recognition. But that’s built on others’ ordeals. Generations of photographers thought this way, even today, in an easily accessible conflict zone, the place is swarming with photographers, sometimes they outnumber the combatants.’
Read the full post by Radu Sigheti on Reuters here.
Author — duckrabbit
duckrabbit is a production company formed by radio producer/journalist Benjamin Chesterton and photographer David White. We specialize in digital storytelling.
Discussion (3 Comments)
I think what is most unsettling about the saturation of war photography is that the unchecked coverage of conflict in these areas overshadows that positive changes that are taking place in conflict zones at the same time, such as democracy movements and other pushes for benevolent social change. There is hardly any mention of the grassroots democracy movements that are taking place in areas like Afghanistan, or the preservation of Kurdish culture in Northern Iraq. These are the stories that are more diverse and more important, shining a light of hope on certain areas instead of ubiquitous misery.
Hi Ty,
good point.
Its also the limited appreciation of anything that doesn’t go BANG. People are currently being tortured in Misurata presumably by the same group of rebels that were being pained as hero’s a few months earlier.
Where are the cameras now?
I agree in seeing the tragic trend in associating war/conflict photography with the chance to be “quickly” recognised through awards, festival and grants. This has triggered in young photographers the idea that if they cover a conflict of some sort, they will be “famous” and eventually praised as “courageous” “cool” adventurers/photographers, while they do not necessarily have any experience or training nor any particular photographic skills.
However you wish to put it, at the end of the day, in such competitive environment, what appears to be ultimately celebrated is the photographer himself and his “hero-like” characteristics, rather than placing a real substantial focus on the subjects covered by them. I think that’s sad!