2002 World Press Photo: Looking back with anger and joy<\/p>\n
K. Basrie, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A cute face of a one-year-old Afghan boy is lying on a white
\ncloth. His eyes, decorated with adorable eyelashes and well-
\nshaped eyebrows are closed, but he's not sleeping nor even
\ndreaming of entering a wonderland.<\/p>\n
His little lips curve into a peaceful smile, as if he's both
\nhappy and somber for his short journey. The subtle natural
\nlighting piercing through the refugee camp softly kisses the
\nboy's innocent face that simply looks like a rhapsody for an au
\nrevoir.<\/p>\n
Three pairs of hands, all with veins strongly visible,
\ncarefully cover the small body with a piece of white cloth, but
\nthe baby appears undisturbed. The Afghan refugee boy is dead!<\/p>\n
He died of dehydration. The aging hands of his grieving family
\nmembers that framed the top prize-winning 2002 World Press Photo
\nare preparing for his burial at Jalozai refugee camp in Pakistan.
\nThe cloth is a shroud of unbleached white cotton used by Muslims
\nto wrap a dead body before a funeral.<\/p>\n
The picture was taken last June by Erik Refner, 31, a Danish
\narmy sergeant-turned-photojournalist working for the Berlingske
\nTidende newspaper. The well-composed black-and-white photograph
\nis the World Press Photo of the Year in the world's premier
\ncontest for photojournalism.<\/p>\n
For the outstanding image, Refner also collected a cash prize
\nof 10,000 euros (more than Rp 80 million).<\/p>\n
\"It is simple, iconic and symbolic. It comes from a set
\nexplaining the plight of the Afghans and it is about something
\nwhich goes to the root of our current travails.<\/p>\n
\"It points towards matters which need to be addressed and,
\nwith the benefit of hindsight, it reproaches us for having
\nignored Afghanistan since the end of the Cold War. It also
\nreminds us what a photographer is,\" Roger Hutchings, chairman of
\nthe panel of the 12-members jury, said in his foreword of the
\n2001 World Press Photo catalog.<\/p>\n
That's the choice of the adult jury, which other members
\ninclude photographers from Russia, the Netherlands, and National
\nGeographic, picture editors of AP (U.S.), El Comercio (Peru),
\nSunday Times (South Africa), and Geo France (France), plus
\nexecutives of Lookat Photos (Switzerland), Visa pour l'Image
\n(France), Time South Pacific (Australia), Indian Express (India)
\nand The Miami Herald (U.S.).<\/p>\n
The other panel of jury, which consists of children arranged
\nby The Netherlands-based World Press Photo Foundation -- the
\norganizer, accredited their honor to a brilliant work of
\nAleksander Nordahl from Norway.<\/p>\n
This color picture has at least two similarities with Refner's
\nimage: children and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
But Nordhal's image bears a true smile of a teenage girl
\nstanding close to a door with her eyes starring into the lens of
\na foreigner. The true magnet for the young juries is perhaps the
\ngirl's two older sisters -- also wearing a veil -- hiding behind
\nthe doorway in Northern Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Technically, the portrait is fine. The cracked paints of the
\ndoor and the shade of the smiling girl are not distracted by the
\nflash, which provides a strong gaze for a powerful expression
\nfrom the eyes of her sisters.<\/p>\n
Their eyes render viewers at least two meanings: afraid of the
\nrules that young women are forbidden to appear unveiled in front
\nof men, or they just refused to be pictured by a stranger.<\/p>\n
But just like for any other art works, viewers, jury and the
\nartists have their own perception and prejudices.<\/p>\n
To arrive at the final results of the world's best
\nphotojournalists capturing the 2001 events, the jury of the 45th
\nWorld Press Photo contest spent two weeks of intensive
\ndeliberation to judge 49,235 entries submitted by 4,171
\nphotographers from 123 countries, including 92 participants from
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
According to Hutchings, the fine works of the talented
\nphotographers participating in the contest make their job \"so
\ndifficult\".<\/p>\n
The number of images in digitized format has been doubled from
\nthe previous year's figure of 27.5 percent from the total entries
\nis another stunning record. This time, the number reached more
\nthan half (55.7 percent).<\/p>\n
Like in the previous competition, the contest is divided into
\nnine categories: Spot news, general news, people in the news,
\nportraits, sports, arts, science and technology, nature and the
\nenvironment, and daily life. Each category has two parts: single
\nand story.<\/p>\n
As has been widely predicted, the winning prints for the first
\nfour categories are dominated by horror of the Sept. 11 tragedy,
\nthe bloody war in Afghanistan afterwards, and terror in Ramallah.<\/p>\n
Hefner's work is also part of a story that won 2nd prize in
\nthe People in the News Stories category.<\/p>\n
Regarded as the most prestigious international contest in
\nprofessional press photography, the 158 prize-winning pictures
\nare scheduled to tour some 60 countries this year, starting from
\nAmsterdam last April, to inspire, inform and entice viewers.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, the pictures -- with the help of the Royal
\nNetherlands Embassy -- have been exhibited at the Erasmus Huis in
\nSouth Jakarta and are currently on display for the public in
\nSemarang and Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
When the hot category fills with many shocking scenes, the
\narts colors the world 2001 diary with cool and humorous images.<\/p>\n
Australian Narelle Autio won the 1st prize with his low-speed
\nbut clever angle of 11 young ballerinas -- with hands clutching
\neach other -- going downstairs in a dim-light building after a
\nperformance in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
In the sports category, the jury seemingly decided to take an
\nangle different from today's popular norms. Here, golfer Tiger
\nWoods is heavily framed by hundreds of golf enthusiasts in a
\nwide-angle shot with harsh sunlight streaming from a 45 degree
\nposition.<\/p>\n
An unusual but well-executed shot of a Chinese gymnast
\npracticing by Jia Guorong of China News Service reflects the high
\nstandards for talent, sense of art, innovation, and mastery in
\nphotography required to win the contest.<\/p>\n
Unlike in many previous years, prize-winning photos in the
\nscience and technology this time feature images snapped by a
\n\"simple\" gadget. No moving fetus. No complicated laboratory
\nworks. No faraway stars.<\/p>\n
The 2nd place is an ordinary reportage photo of half a dozen
\nwomen waiting for cosmetic surgery for their eyelids, noses and
\nchins at Bangkok's Yanhee hospital in Thailand. The only
\nenticement of this \"simple\" picture is perhaps the white spot on
\nthe women's eyelid, nose and chin.<\/p>\n
But just like in real life, simplicity is sometimes the key to
\nvictory.<\/p>\n
In general, some of the shots worth the awards, while some
\nothers are questionable as they are \"too\" airy with distracting
\nelements, with nowhere for the eye to settle, and nothing of
\nparticular interest to focus on.<\/p>\n
The image of a Pakistani girl with a ballooning bubble gum on
\nher lip and bending over in a shamed-looking face leaning on a
\nbamboo fence is just one example.<\/p>\n
But the winning images of the contest have at least recorded
\nparts of the drama -- joy and pain -- in the universe in 2001 and
\nsent the messages worldwide.<\/p>",
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