Here are some photos to make you think

Welcome to the new look blog! I've given it a fresh coat of paint & a new header image, to signify the start of the Holland chapter (only 7 weeks too late). I'll post some fun things in the next wee while but in the meantime, I wanted to share a couple of snaps from the World Press Photography Exhibition I went to in Groningen over the weekend. It's hard core photojournalism at its finest; hard-hitting, often gruesome and unpleasant photos, but ones that really make you think. I liked how one of the photographers described his set as "challenging perceptions" - the idea of shaking up what you think you know and making you see things in a different light/perspective. So here you are.

This is the Photo of the Year, I personally think it's a bit blah but hey I'm not a judge.

>Pietro Masturzo, Italy.Women shout their dissent from a Tehran rooftop on 24 June, following Iran’s disputed presidential election. The result had been a victory for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, but there were allegations of vote-rigging. In the ensuing weeks, violent demonstrations took place in the streets. At night, people shouted from the roofs, an echo of protests that took place during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

I personally found this set to be my favourite. Brutal, in-your-face, but so refreshingly honest. How can you not respect that?

It's nice hi-res so click on it to see more detail.

This set reminded me of City of God, the Brazilian film. This set is actually from Guinea Buisseau, where the Prime Minister got shot then chopped up with a machete, and people wrap up cocaine in condom pellets to smuggle across borders. I wondered how the photographer managed to get himself in these situations and be able to take the pictures, let alone publish them.

Link to the winners' gallery 2010:
http://www.worldpressphoto.org/index.php?option=com_photogallery&task=blogsection&id=20&Itemid=257&bandwidth=low

If you're in or near a city where the exhibition is going to be on display, I highly recommend you go.

Until next time
ML