By: Martha Jack
Toronto, October 10, 2007
The Toronto showing of the World Press Photo exhibit has always been one of my favourite media events of the year. I’m always excited to head down to BCE Place for the inspiring and insightful photos that have so beautifully illustrated the current events of the previous year.
When I went to the exhibition, it was the Friday before Thanksgiving weekend. Business people and families with strollers were rushing to get home for the long weekend or to catch their train, but the exhibit caught the eye of more than a few people rushing past. Whether it was a celebration in Latvia or a soccer game in England, so many stories were being told in the BCE Galleria.
Despite there being so many people at the exhibit, it was so quiet. Everyone was lost in his or her own thoughts, and some would spend 10 minutes staring at a single image, taking in every telling detail.
In a diverse photo exhibit such as this, the range of emotions you experience is vast. One minute you smile at an aging burlesque dancer, the next you wipe back tears looking at a dead child being prepared for burial in Sri Lanka.
Of all the photos in the exhibit, the one that touched me the most was of bride Renee Kline and her new husband Ty Ziegel. A candid photo taken during a wedding photo shoot, the photo won first prize in the portrait singles category and was taken by Nina Berman of Redux Pictures for People. Ziegel is an American soldier who was injured in Iraq, and to me this photo really showed the human side of war. While we may read about the war, and think of it taking place “over there,” this photo shows how the war will affect this couple and their family forever.
I think another reason this photo is so effective is that wedding photos are such common images, so to see this one, which is typically in the sense that it has a bride and a groom, but atypical in that the groom is severely injured.
The Toronto showing of the World Press Photo exhibit has always been one of my favourite media events of the year. I’m always excited to head down to BCE Place for the inspiring and insightful photos that have so beautifully illustrated the current events of the previous year.
When I went to the exhibition, it was the Friday before Thanksgiving weekend. Business people and families with strollers were rushing to get home for the long weekend or to catch their train, but the exhibit caught the eye of more than a few people rushing past. Whether it was a celebration in Latvia or a soccer game in England, so many stories were being told in the BCE Galleria.
Despite there being so many people at the exhibit, it was so quiet. Everyone was lost in his or her own thoughts, and some would spend 10 minutes staring at a single image, taking in every telling detail.
In a diverse photo exhibit such as this, the range of emotions you experience is vast. One minute you smile at an aging burlesque dancer, the next you wipe back tears looking at a dead child being prepared for burial in Sri Lanka.
Of all the photos in the exhibit, the one that touched me the most was of bride Renee Kline and her new husband Ty Ziegel. A candid photo taken during a wedding photo shoot, the photo won first prize in the portrait singles category and was taken by Nina Berman of Redux Pictures for People. Ziegel is an American soldier who was injured in Iraq, and to me this photo really showed the human side of war. While we may read about the war, and think of it taking place “over there,” this photo shows how the war will affect this couple and their family forever.
I think another reason this photo is so effective is that wedding photos are such common images, so to see this one, which is typically in the sense that it has a bride and a groom, but atypical in that the groom is severely injured.
At the centre of the exhibit there is a guestbook where viewers of the photos can record their thoughts. My favourite comment was from a Sean R., who wrote “I look and I see, but I see nothing because I’ve never experienced anything like it.” I’m so happy that there are exhibits like this that can give us a glimpse of what those around the world are experiencing.
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