World Press Photo 2018 in Auckland

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Car Attack by Ryan Kelly ©World Press Photo 2018 Auckland

 Currently, I am involved in a lot of Nature Photography. I enjoy taking creative shots and getting the perfect photo that will make my soul jump for joy. I spent time appreciating the earth's beauty through looking at different photos in Instagram and Facebook. I admire photographers who are artistic and who can capture the best photo there is. I always visit museums and art galleries to get inspired from the works of other artists. Being so optimistic and ideal, this hobby of mine makes me happy and contented. It provides me a sense of belongingness with others' passion for arts and beauty.





Luckily, I was able to win a double pass from Auckland Zoo to go and visit the World Press Photo Exhibition in Smith & Caughey's at Queen Street after I gave a comment in their Social Media Account. (Thank you very much Auckland Zoo. I did not expect I would win.) The experience I had was life-changing. I will not lie to say that before coming to the exhibit I was full of life and energetic. The hype of winning a pass to an exhibit is still circulating in my veins. If I am in a Disney Movie, I can say that there would be birds chirping and animal singing behind me while I enter the place. Alas! When I came out from the exhibit, I am    really down and devastated. As if all happiness left my body.
A lot of people went in the exhibit to understand the current situation of our world



The exhibit is an awareness of mostly bad things that are happening in our world. If there would be one word to associate with the exhibit... it is AWARENESS! The exhibit is divided into seven different categories which are Contemporary Issues, General News, Daily Life, Nature, Long-Term Projects, People, Sports News and Sports. 
©Photo by Ami Vitale - she is my favourite photographer of this exhibit

The first photo that I saw upon entering was the baby rhino with a red blindfold. It is being held in a secure area before releasing in the wild because it is among the endangered species that people want to kill and take its horn off and sell in the black market.

Another series of photo in the exhibit was the mass shooting in Las Vegas during a concert. It made my heart stopped for a while. I cannot believe that some people could do so much evil in the world. I felt pain for the victims and their families for experiencing so much sorrow. When I was studying St Thomas of Aquinas' Summa Theologica (Hello Sir Jayvee!), it says that evil is the absence of good. But could some men be really that evil? These photos questioned my learnings since college and it also made me read upon Realism and works of Plato again (Thank you Father Bustamante and Dr. Sevilla). 
©Photo by Ronaldo Schmidt. He is one of the photographers who actually risk their life to capture a photo that will provide understanding and awareness to the world. 

I learned about a group of people who ironed their breast to prevent it from growing so that puberty will be halted. I just do not know how the girls could tolerate such pain. If that is acceptable in their culture, are we allowed to intervene? It made me scream inside. I cannot even look at some of the photos displayed.

 Prostitution is also prevailing in Russia. A lot of girls who are degree holders are force to do this job so that they can support themselves and their families. They cannot find other jobs that will help them financially. One of the photos I saw was a woman who had an engineering degree but was forced by circumstances to enter this business. 
©Photo by Eric Sampers. Marathon des Sables. This photo is taken during a 250km marathon in Sahara Desert with up to 50 degree Celsius.


I found out about Resignation Syndrome also known as the Sleeping Beauty Syndrome which is only predominant in Sweden. They become lifeless and the only cure was for the girls to be granted residency. Some said that children are faking it or parents are poisoning their children. Being a nurse tells me that this could be possible (children having this syndrome) because I always look after people who had Takatsubo (when patient had severe stress they had chest pain and test confirmed that their heart muscle in the anterior part becomes dilated and weakened) also known as broken heart syndrome. Emotional, psychological, spiritual and physical health are all related. 
©Jump by Thomas P. Peschak. These are rockhopper penguins. Their number is decreasing  :(

 I saw issues on illegal mining, poaching, deforestation, pollution, extinction, dehumanization, poverty, war, mass killing, etc. There is so much negativity and we need to address this and try to spread positivity. We need to be kind to one another. We need to be a stewards of life. 
©Photo by Anna Boyiazis. Panje Project helps women in the Zanzibar Archipelago to learn how to swim by providing them full length swimsuits so they will not compromise their cultural and religious beliefs
These photographers are amazing. They did an incredible job to provide awareness to the masses so we can help in changing the world for the better. I cannot do what they are doing. They put their life at risk in the name of veracity so they can give light and capture reality before it is forgotten or kept forever. I salute all of them.

 After visiting this exhibit, I felt grateful that I was given a chance to know things that I did not know before. I felt that I need to do something to let others know about certain situations in the world so we can change bad habits and we can be thankful that we are in a place where other people would want to be. I am so moved that is why I am writing this. I am not a journalist or a writer. But hopefully, somebody might be reading this and I might be able to provide awareness and so they can also do the same. I know this is small compared what the others are doing but I hope I can also contribute something.
©Photo by Luca Locatelli to give awareness that the world needs to produce more food in the future. 
You can still visit the Exhibit in Auckland. It will change you somehow.

 Thank you Auckland Zoo. You made a difference in me :) 

 ***No copyright infringement intended 

 To understand more you can visit: World Press Photo 2018 website.
Location: Queen St, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand

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