Young Lebanese drive through devastated neighborhood of South Beirut, 15 August.
Posted on 02/12/2007 10:11:49 AM PST by NYer
The international jury of the 50th annual World Press Photo Contest selected a color image of the US photographer Spencer Platt of Getty Images as World Press Photo of the Year 2006. Click here for the award winning picture.
The picture shows a group of young Lebanese driving through a South Beirut neighborhood devastated by Israeli bombings. The picture was taken on 15 August 2006, the first day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah when thousands of Lebanese started returning to their homes.
World Press Photo jury chair Michele McNally describes the winning image: "It's a picture you can keep looking at. It has the complexity and contradiction of real life, amidst chaos. This photograph makes you look beyond the obvious."
This year 4,460 professional photographers from 124 countries entered 78,083 images in the most prestigious annual international competition in press photography. The judging sessions took place in Amsterdam from 27 January to 8 February. The jury gave prizes in 10 theme categories to 58 photographers of 23 nationalities from: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Palestinian Territories, People's Republic of China, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and the USA.
The 2007 jury:
Chair:
Michele McNally (USA), assistant managing editor The New York Times
Members:
Peter Bialobrzeski (Germany), photographer Laif Photos & Reportagen
Philip Blenkinsop (Australia), photographer Agence Vu
Ruth Eichhorn (Germany), director of photography Geo
Adrian Evans (UK), director Panos Pictures
Maya Goded (Mexico), photographer Magnum Photos
Diego Goldberg (Argentina), photographer
Wen Huang (People's Republic of China), picture editor Xinhua News Agency
Alexander Joe (Zimbabwe), photographer Agence France-Presse
Jerry Lampen (the Netherlands), photographer Reuters
Jean-François Leroy (France), director Visa pour l'Image
Maria Mann (USA), photography consultant
Secretary:
Stephen Mayes (UK), director image archive Art + Commerce Anthology
 Spencer Platt, the author of the World Press Photo of the Year 2006, will receive his award and a cash prize of 10,000 euro at the awards ceremony in the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, on Sunday 22 April 2007. In addition, Canon will donate Platt a Canon Pro SLR camera. The awards ceremony is preceded by a three-day program of lectures, discussions and screenings of photography. Three exhibitions will be shown at the Oude Kerk: the annual award-winning pictures, a special selection of Platt's work and a theme exhibition about climate change in Africa, documented by African photojournalists. The exhibitions are open to the public from 24 April to 17 June and the annual exhibition will subsequently visit over 85 locations around the world. For a provisional exhibition schedule see: www.worldpressphoto.nl/exhibitions. World Press Photo receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and is sponsored worldwide by Canon and TNT. ------------------------ Editors please note: A selection of the winning images is available on the international wire services of Reuters, ANP, AP, AFP and EPA. It is also possible to download the images from our Press Download Area. To access the Press Download Area you are required to register for an account. |
It seems to portray a nice car full of rich kids who came into the seamy side of life to gawk for a while.
World Press Photo jury chair Michele McNally describes the winning image: "It's a picture you can keep looking at. It has the complexity and contradiction of real life, amidst chaos. This photograph makes you look beyond the obvious."
The picture is a "contradiction" because our preconceived perceptions are false.
The "chaos" is not so chaotic. You could shoot that same photo in front a condemned building that has been razed for new development.
It is "chaotic" because we are told that it is a war zone.
A war zone with a CLEAN new convertible driven by the victims of Israeli aggression. Meanwhile Lebanon did nothing to stop terrorist from launching attacks at Israel.
If the Minutemen on the US border started launching rockets at Mexican cities, would the US government permit this activity? Would the Mexican government accept a non-response from the US government when it comes to a war being waged lobbing missiles across the border because the citizens are not "officials"?
Like they care about me.
Maybe this carload of tourists can be added to the shot of the 2 polar bears on the iceblock.
A red one. Probably, a convertable. But that's just a guess.
a SHINY red car.
ha HA (sarc)
HF
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