Triumph of life and tragedy of death captured

The 13th World Press Photo exhibition at Building 18 of Katara Gallery until June 15, portrays stories of life in all its shades and emotions, with a view to inform and to inspire an understanding of the world.The exhibition is an effort by the Qatar Photographic Society with the Cultural Village Foundation, Katara, in collaboration with the World Press Photo organisation.One of the most haunting images is the “World Press Photo of the Year”, by Swedish photojournalist Paul Hansen, who has worked for the daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter since 2000.The haunting frame shows the bodies of two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and his elder brother Mohamed, almost four, being carried by their uncles to a mosque for their funeral, in Gaza City.The children were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike on November 19, 2012. The strike also killed their father, Fouad, and severely injured their mother and four other siblings.Another image that stands out is that of smoke rising in Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike on November 18, 2012.The photograph that bagged first prize for “Spot News Stories” was by Spanish lensman Bernat Armangue, who became an Associated Press photographer in 2005.If the two photographs present grim views of life, two other frames, which have won first prizes in “Sports Action Singles” and “Daily Life Singles”, dwell on the lighter side of life.Malaysian freelance photographer Dr Wei Seng Chen, who is also a family physician, won the top honour in “Sports Action Singles” for his capture of a competitor and his charges reaching the finish line of a bull race in Batu Sangkar, West Sumatra, Indonesia.Portuguese photojournalist Daniel Rodrigues bagged the first prize in “Daily Life Singles” for a black and white image of youths playing football on a field that was once part of a military barracks, in the village of Dulombi, Galomaro, Guinea-Bissau. World Press Photo is dedicated to supporting photojournalism and documentary photography worldwide, and to stimulating high standards.The body strives to generate wide public interest in photography, to build appreciation for the work of photographers, and to encourage the free exchange of information.Each year, World Press Photo invites photographers from across the globe to participate in the World Press Photo Contest, the top photojournalism competition worldwide.An independent international jury of 19 experts judges all entries in Amsterdam, and an annual exhibition takes the prizewinning images to 100 locations in 45 countries. It is seen by millions of visitors.Among other activities developed by World Press Photo are an annual contest for multimedia, exhibitions on a variety of current themes, and the stimulation of photojournalism through educational programmes.World Press Photo, established in 1955 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is run as an independent, non-profit organisation.1 Dr Wei Seng Chen’s winning entry in the ‘Sports Action Singles’ category.2 The ‘Daily Life Singles’ category winner by Daniel Rodrigues.