World Press Photo 2006
World Press photo arrived in Montreal this past weekend. There was more media attention this year as Canadian, Finbarr O’Reilly, won for best photo.
The gallery is located on the 5th floor of the Just For Laughs building on St-Laurent.
The location for the exhibition was disappointing. The room itself wasn’t very inspiring, especially when considering where the exhibition was last year. That was a truly gorgeous place to hold an event..
The major problem with this year’s showing is in the quality of the prints. The images themselves that were chosen were up to par with previous years.. and I am particularly happy that Africa was showcased with the winner. The media does not spend anywhere near as much time on Africa as it should.. I suspect Africans don’t quite have the media lobby groups that middle eastern groups do.
The prints were printed much too large. Too large to the point where the weaknesses of digital shows. You don’t have to look closely either to see the digital artifacts, they are quite visible. I must profess a bias however. I do not like digital. I don’t like the look. Film, like life, is organic. Nature is not digital. It is organic and the medium that we choose to depict it, especially in the case of photojournalism, should also be organic.
Unfortunately, the prints were too large, larger then what the digital file supported and it really took away from the image itself.
I don’t see the point in printing so large. Images do not take on a greater importance when they are printed 60 inches wide. The importance of the photograph is not in it’s printed size, but in the content of the photo.
There were some portraits of US Marines that I enjoyed. The sports photos in previous years were not quite at the same level as the other domains but this year were rather impressive.
I’m torn as to suggest if it’s worth a visit.
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You beat me to it ;-)
I do agree that the venue really didn’t compare to last year but I disagree on the advantage of large prints. I feel that they really add to the emotional impact of the images especially since many of the subjects are now life-size. I also really enjoy looking around the image for those little details that I may have missed from the web version. Did you notice all of those personal items in the ruins of New Orleans?
If an image to too big for the quality of the camera, then move back. Assuming, of course, that the crowd isn’t too dense.
There are alway one or two of the unheralded images that stick with me. This time it was the pregnant wife of a US soldier who woudn’t leave his coffin for the night preceding his funeral. She just lies in a makeshift bed, illuminated by the laptop that plays their favorite songs.
Obviously, I disagree about the printing size. ;-) Assuming it’s still there, head down to 600 de la Gauchetière, in the lobby of La Banque Nationale, just before the elevators. There is a HUGE print by Edward Burtynsky. It was either shot with an 8×10 or a 4×5 camera. Walk up to it. Stick your nose to the glass. It’s perfect. You don’t have to stand back.
Most, if not all that were viewing the prints were close. Why ? People just naturally stand that close and the caption associated with the print was small.. so you needed to be close.
Maybe I’m just bitter I wasn’t invited this year to the vernisage. ;-)
I saw this exhibition back in May in Amsterdam. There the setting was amazing, in the Oude Kerk, a very old church with a tall ceiling, beautiful windows, etc. (http://www.christellefv.com/pics/showimg.php?file=/m_2006/Europe%20-%20AMS-UK/2006-05-19-1304.jpg) I saw photographs of the setting at the Just For Laughs building and I agree it seemed not to be the best spot……
However I disagree on the prints’ size. I loved seeing the photos on a big scale… Taking a distance to view, coming closer for certain elements, etc. Last year I thought there were too many small ones…! It was much better this year.
Another thing that is a shame… There is now an entry fee right? I read somewhere it was 5$! Previous years it was free!!!!
Either of you guys have a link to the mentioned web versions. I don’t plan on attending, but I’m now curious about a few of the photos that you guys are talking about. :)
You can find them here: http://tinyurl.com/7nm2y
Check out The Digital Journalist website. I haven’t gone to see the exhibit at the Just for Laughs venue, but the images described in this blog seem to be the same images I’ve seen at the DJ site. This month has images from a collection called Visa pour L’image, sponsored by Canon. In general, I find that site of continuing interest.
Check out The Digital Journalist website. I haven’t gone to see the exhibit at the Just for Laughs venue, but the images described in this blog seem to be the same images I’ve seen at the DJ site. This month has images from a collection called Visa pour L’image, sponsored by Canon. In general, I find that site of continuing interest.