MOST AMAZING PICTURES OF 2010... simply breathtaking

[JustDezIt]

World Press Photo: winners - The Big Picture - Boston.com (http://beat-box.com/?url=http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/02/world_press_photo_winners.html)

click link for more...

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http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/worldpress_2011/bp19.jpg

[SaltwaterServr]

Numbers 16 and 17 are shocking. 16 specifically. Damn.

[vta]

A lot of great shots, but frankly I'm getting pretty tired of tragedy and grief taking center stage in these photo contests. Nat Geo, Smithsonian, etc, it certainly appears as if humanity has simply grown numb to the beauty in life and just wants to look at the awful proof of mans barbarism.

[JustDezIt]

Numbers 16 and 17 are shocking. 16 specifically. Damn.

i know right, harsh realities. cant imagine being the photographer on that one

[WV Cowboy]

A lot of great shots, but frankly I'm getting pretty tired of tragedy and grief taking center stage in these photo contests. Nat Geo, Smithsonian, etc, it certainly appears as if humanity has simply grown numb to the beauty in life and just wants to look at the awful proof of mans barbarism.

True, and the nightly news reflects that as well.

[SaltwaterServr]

A lot of great shots, but frankly I'm getting pretty tired of tragedy and grief taking center stage in these photo contests. Nat Geo, Smithsonian, etc, it certainly appears as if humanity has simply grown numb to the beauty in life and just wants to look at the awful proof of mans barbarism.

Those type of photos have been winning Pulitzers for eons. They touch people in ways a shot of a perfect landscape or sunrise cannot. They bring the tragedy home and push people into action. Even the photographer is not immune to the effects of it.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y212/quickmelt1028/pulitzer1.jpg

That won the Pulitzer in 1994. The photographer, Kevin Carter, committed suicide that same year in no small part to the guilt he felt over having left that child there to die, with an aid station only a kilometer or two away.

There are other stunning photos that usually play on the juxtaposition of beauty surrounded by everything but beauty. Some of the most striking landscape shots I've ever seen were of bristlecone pines growing out of a barren rock cliff at altitude.

Pretty much everyone knows this one:

http://www.worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/afghan-woman.jpg

The only reason that her portrait is special is because she's got stunning eyes, and is in a war torn refugee camp, having fled from Afghanistan. Would it have made the cover of Nat Geo if she wasn't in those circumstances? Doubtful.

[Sam I Am]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y212/quickmelt1028/pulitzer1.jpg


That is without question a very creepy, but very real picture.

[SaltwaterServr]

That is without question a very creepy, but very real picture.

I've got somewhat of an odd story to go with that. Last year sometime a friend from back home was complaining that her twins weren't eating, or were only eating what they wanted to, when they wanted to despite negative reinforcement.

Sent her a copy of that photo. She printed it out, and served up only what the twins wouldn't eat, mostly veggies and I forget if it was pork or shrimp. They wouldn't eat, so she shows them the photo, explains that the vulture ate the living child (not entirely true) that could have been saved by what they weren't going to eat, pinched the crap out of both of them to simulate how it might have felt, and then sent them to bed without dinner.

Repeated that routine the next morning. By lunch, they were hungry enough that the negative reinforcement worked to perfection. I've seen her suggest it, with pretty good feedback, to several other mothers on facebook.

[vta]

Those type of photos have been winning Pulitzers for eons. They touch people in ways a shot of a perfect landscape or sunrise cannot. They bring the tragedy home and push people into action. Even the photographer is not immune to the effects of it.
That won the Pulitzer in 1994. The photographer, Kevin Carter, committed suicide that same year in no small part to the guilt he felt over having left that child there to die, with an aid station only a kilometer or two away.

There are other stunning photos that usually play on the juxtaposition of beauty surrounded by everything but beauty. Some of the most striking landscape shots I've ever seen were of bristlecone pines growing out of a barren rock cliff at altitude.

Pretty much everyone knows this one:


The only reason that her portrait is special is because she's got stunning eyes, and is in a war torn refugee camp, having fled from Afghanistan. Would it have made the cover of Nat Geo if she wasn't in those circumstances? Doubtful.

I wouldn't tend to say eons, but more like a generation. A generation somewhat disenchanted with and yes, numb to what is good in the world because it is no longer highlighted and essentially ignored for the shock value of misery. It's a broader comment on a society that has had it soft and finds it's entertainment and reward in highlighting misery.

There are greater things in life and beauty can be found in more than simple landscapes, (which are beautiful), but in any direction in which we'd care to look, if we cared to look. I'm sure initially it began as a way to counter apathy and remind people it's not all peaches and cream but conversely, the effect of constant misery and ignorance of charity and it's place in the world certainly isn't the way to keep things balanced.

[Boom]

http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/worldpress_2011/bp19.jpg

For some reason every time I look at this photo, I envision Mortal Kombat and a booming "FINISH HIM!" voice goes off in my head.

[vta]

For some reason every time I look at this photo, I envision Mortal Kombat and a booming "FINISH HIM!" voice goes off in my head.

Yeah that dude looks like Liu Kang.

[VietCowboy]

http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/worldpress_2011/bp4.jpg

I completely bawled...this hits close to home.

[ChldsPlay]

While some of the moments captured were significant, from a photography point of view, I'm pretty unimpressed by most of these.

[WarC]

That suicide jump pic from Hungary is something else.

On the dying child and vulture pic: The photographer who took that picture was deeply engrossed in a lot of the African famines and civil wars of the 70's and 80's, I believe he ended up committing suicide. One of the things he talked about was the feeling of helplessness as a photographer; He had his equipment and enough provisions to take care of himself, so once he put himself in these situations to capture these images there wasn't much he could do as an individual to make a change.

[WarC]

For some reason every time I look at this photo, I envision Mortal Kombat and a booming "FINISH HIM!" voice goes off in my head.

I know what you mean, the look on that guys face combined with the cig's stickin out of those helmeted faces, we're looking at warfighters in the trenches. I find that picture pretty impressive.

[Heisenberg]

Wow. Number 18 is crazy.