Insight | World Press Photo in Macau

Paulo Barbosa

I had the opportunity to visit the World Press Photo (WPP) exhibition that opened last week in Casa Garden. As with previous years, I couldn’t help but notice that visitors to this world-class photojournalism exhibition are apparently scarce in Macau. I was the lone visitor on Thursday, but let’s hope that the public’s interest is piqued before the local leg of the exhibition closes on November 1.
The exhibition displays the results of a worldwide annual contest and has been set up across several locations in Macau since the organizers, Casa de Portugal (with the Macau Foundation’s support), signed an agreement with the World Press Photo Foundation in 2009. This year’s competition saw entries from 5,692 photographers in 131 countries.
As I did last year, I’m going to highlight some of the pictures and stories that touched me the most from this year’s contest, with a focus on our region.
In the long-term projects category (third prize), former factory worker Lu Gang captured an impressive series of pictures commissioned by Greenpeace about the consequences of air pollution in China, particularly its link to the birth of handicapped babies. Since many parents cannot afford treatment and therapy for their children, they give them up. In one of the most horrendous pictures, a villager is seen digging a hole to bury a baby that lies dead beside him.
Also about China, Yongzhi Chu captured an almost human expression of fear in a rhesus macaque, cowering as its trainer approaches, while training for a circus act in Suzhou. The shot netted “first prize singles” in the nature category.
The issue of refugees desperately trying to reach Europe is the subject of a picture taken from an helicopter by Massimo Sestini (general news, 2nd prize singles), showing a fragile and overcrowded boat being rescued off the Libyan coast. It’s interesting to reflect on the faces of the refugees, most of whom are looking up at the helicopter. They smile as if they have entered a new world (Europe) where poverty and war are nonexistent.
Another story that made headlines recently is the Ebola outbreak. Awarded first prize (general news), US photojournalist Pete Muller captured an excruciating moment when medical staff escort a delirious man back into the isolation ward from which he had escaped. The despairing victim is in the final stages of Ebola; we can almost see death itself flickering over his face.
Technically speaking, I would like to highlight the spectacular series “Conquering Speed”, that depicts ski jumpers mid-leap, almost as if they were in flight. Captured by European Pressphoto Agency’s photographer Sergei Ilnitski, the work won second prize (sports).  The slow shutter speed gives the skiers a bird-like look.
The big winner this year was Danish photographer Mads Nissen, who pictured a gay couple in St. Petersburg, addressing the issue of homosexual discrimination in Russia.
Like previous years, the 2015 edition of the WPP contest has been marked by controversy. After reviewing 97,912 images submitted by international photographers, the jury announced that 22 percent of the entries that made it to the final round were disqualified for sloppy or blatant post-processing.
The question of the pictures’ authenticity is a contentious one. As the Columbia Journalism Review noted, “nearly all digital files require some post-processing — changes in contrast, light, shadow, white balance, and sharpening done to a digital file before it is sent for publication.” But this work goes too far “when objects are added or removed, or the scene is radically transformed through excessive burning or dodging.”
The prize-winning pictures will be presented in a traveling exhibition to 100 cities in about 45 countries. In Macau, they are best viewed at Casa Garden, although they can also be seen online at http://www.worldpressphoto.org.