More Israel photos & World Press Photo in Ottawa
An article I wrote along with a series of photos I took during my time in Israel last year ran in the July 2008 issue of Maximumrocknroll. Some people may have already seen it but I’ve been waiting to put it online. The wait is over. There’s also another collection of images I shot in Israel which have been up for a while.
Last night, I visited the Canadian War Museum where this year’s winning images of the World Press Photo contest are on display. It was neat to see photos from Israel and Kenya, two countries I’ve seen a decent amount of in the last 12 months. What stuck out most for me though, were the Sport Feature Stories by Erik Refner, Erika Larsen and Travis Dove. Each were so bizarre and so far removed from sport that I found it sort of hard to imagine them as relevant to the category. But still, it worked. It made obvious an essence of each sport (marathon, hunting and skateboarding, respectively) that most people tend to ignore and each story, I think, stands as a cultural monument to these pasttimes.
The Nature Stories by David Liittschwager and Paul Nicklen were also rather striking and spoke to my own experiences in the Arctic. What’s amazing is that Paul Nicklen won both 2nd and 3rd prizes in this category. This guy’s physical limits are nearly unnatural to do the things he does.
Finally, I wish I could find a copy online but perhaps it is only available at as part of the travelling exhibit. Gary Knight, the chair of the World Press Photo 08 jury, had a written statement of introduction walking into the exhibit that was refreshingly honest and offered great advice to photographers. Essentially, he called out to those who entered the contest using photos that resembled winners from previous years and how taking photos with a contest in mind is exactly the worst thing to do. Again, unless it is already and I haven’t found it, his statement should be online so everyone can read it.
If you’re in Ottawa, do not miss this. It’s only the second time it comes here and it’s one of only four North American dates (the others being Montréal, NYC and Mexico City).
World Press Photo 2008 winners gallery
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