Up close and personal at press photo exhibition

P.J. Leo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Photographers need both eyes wide open to work. Otherwise what is portrayed would not be considered as the authentic view of the photographer. Photographers indeed work with their eyes and the with the aid of modern technology.

A camera is not just a tool but becomes a very important part of the photographers' eyes. Without eyes and camera, a photographer will be blind as the camera enables them to achieve an aesthetic view.

These thoughts were part of the background to Story of the Eyes, the World Press Photo 2001 exhibition, as expressed by journalist Seno Gumira Ajidarma who opened the exhibition at Erasmus Huis, Jl. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta on Sept. 25.

The best photos taken by photographers around the world will be on display until Oct. 7. The same exhibition then moves to the Vredeburg Fort in Yogyakarta from Oct. 11 to Oct. 19.

Story of the Eyes illustrates how photographers around the world work with their eyes open and come to an event early. Being late means missing good photos.

World Press Photo Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization, founded in the Netherlands in 1955. Its aim is to support and promote the works of professional press photographers internationally.

Over the years, World Press Photo has evolved into an independent platform for photojournalism and free exchange of information. Beside managing the extensive exhibition program, the organization also runs a number of educational projects.

This year, 42,321 photos by 3,938 photographers from 121 countries were submitted. The international jury for the 44th annual World Press Photo has selected Lara Jo Regan's work, a freelancer in the United States, as the best picture.

Her work depicts an immigrant family from Mexico in their new home in Texas. The color photograph was also awarded First Prize in the category Daily Life Singles and for the Children's Award 2001.

The jury also awarded Stephan Vanfleteren, the Belgian photographer for the Swiss Lookat Agency, the Children's Award. His black and white picture shows an Afghan boy who lost a leg after stepping on a land mine. The boy was recruited as a soldier by the Taliban in their conflict against the Mujaheedin.

Compared to entries of previous years, this year's winning photographs captured lighter moments and were, therefore, less dramatic.

Looking at Regan's photograph -- a mother surrounded by three children preparing food in a kitchen -- we notice the house is in a slum area. The bare light-bulb highlights the glaring absence of home appliances that consumer society normally offers.

World Press Photo 2001 for Portraits category did not show photographs of international public figures. Instead, the jury opted to select portrait photographs of common people.

American Bill Phelps, winner of the First Prize Singles in this category, blurred his photo. He only focused on the face of the eight-year-old girl, a victim of Crigler-Najjar syndrome.

Hien Lam-Duc of France, First Prize Stories winner, also did the same. He walked the streets in and around Baghdad for hours on end and came face to face with a wide range of the city's inhabitants.

There are several photos in the exhibition that contain artistic aspects. Trent Parke and Narelle Autio of Australia, who won the First Prize Stories in the Nature and Environment category, used graphic arts to illustrate how Australia's native animals are killed annually on the expanding network of roads crossing the outback.

The other categories for World Press Photo 2001 are not unlike previous contests namely demonstrations, refugees and sports, which were dominated by track and field.

The board of the World Press Photo Foundation invites press photographers and photojournalists throughout the world to participate in the 45th annual contest.

This competition accepts press photographs taken during 2001 and intended for publication. The deadline for submission of entries is Jan. 17, 2002 and this deadline will be strictly observed.