World Press Photo Exhibition in Budapest – the last chance to be part of it

The World Press Photo Exhibititon, an annually organised international photo competition, has been on display in Hungary since 21 September in the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest and eventually it has come to its final days. A great many people have already visited the exhibition, but it is still not late for those interested in photography and a thought-provoking outing to go and participate in the world-famous exhibition.

This year’s display, similarly to that of last year, is a great success so much so, that thanks to the great interest in the event, the  organisers announced on their Facebook page some new dates for guided tours with 2 Hungarian experts: István Virágvölgyi, the professor of the Budapest Metropolitan University and  the secretary of the Robert Capa Photography Grand Prize in Hungary, and also with András Bánkuti, a photo reporter and the chief editor of the Digital Photo Magazine. The guided tours are free for anyone with a valid entrance ticket and provide an approximately 1-hour-long lecture during which they familiarize the visitors with the photos of this year’s winners.

The tour is extremely though-provoking from the very beginning, since it provides a poignant and honest portrait of social problems. It further reveals that, in fact, it is hard to talk about objectivity or objective perspective in photography because the mere thing of presenting something reflects the artist’s field of interest and  this is what shapes our way of looking at things, too.

The subjects of these photos vary greatly: from unforgettable sport moments (like Usain Bolt’s 100m run) through the problem of migration and crossings between the EU and Turkey to environmental and animal problems,

the photos intend to capture those moments with which many can associate and feel affected by.

Suprisingly and  shockingly, within a moment, we find ourselves in a world full of inhumanities, injustices where even the photos talk about the lack of helping hands in many cases.

This year’s winner is a controversial photo by Burhan Ozbilici who witnessed the assassination of Andrey Karlov, the Russian ambassador, by an off-duty police officer, while speaking at an art gallery. The series of shootings reflect the terrible moments that passed between the murdering and the arrival of the police who finally shot the murderer. In the series, the faces of the people involved in the crime reflect shock, incredulity and grief at the same time. Anyone can be taken aback by witnessing this terrible transgression, while the artist did not seem to be affected so much as not to be able to shoot an some incredible photos about it.