Astonishing World Press Photo Winners

[Marinade Spatula]

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/02/world_press_photo_winners.html

[Araminta]

I've seen a few of these before but there was some new ones, boy those two you had to click sure did need that warning, they made me gasp! Thanks for sharing.

[Marinade Spatula]

@araminta I thought about a prewarnng on that too, so helpful that you have raised it.

[Cherrill]

@miranda Thanks for the link Miaranda. I had seen most of these before on the BBC website. Having read some of the comments I have to agree how sad it is that the cruel, the sad and the desolate seem to be judged the best photographs for this competetion. Surely there was some happiness in the world of the press?? I'm not shutting my mind to the fact that these things have to be shown to the outside world but there is so much beauty out there too. I'll vote for the swans! :-)

[Marinade Spatula]

@Cherrill YOu make a very important point. Too much focus on the desolate.

[Colleen]

Thank you for sharing and reminding us of the world that is often easier to leave unfocused.

[Spaceman]

Nice to see critics apreciate morbid depressing and deeply disturbing stuff even more then I do...
I`m sorry,but what the F ?! There`s basically no sunlight in any of those shots,and what,there are basically two more "positive" shots-the swans and the fashion shot.
I have a high toleration for all kind of graphyc shot,I`ve seen it all,I mean nothing would surprise me and I feel far less emotion to an "emotional" shot then the normal person,but most of these shots just ... slammed me to the wall... methaphorically speaking.
I`m SURE there could have been and SHOULD have been more positive shots selected...
But yeah,those photos were the best I`ve seen in a long long time...
Allthough I`m glad the afghan girl is now safe,what about the rest who don`t get saved? Wich is the majority...
Thanks for the link,Miranda...

[Marinade Spatula]

@spaceman You know something - iwas wrong. There are is not so much focus on the desolate as I at first thought. I have just gone through again. There are at least half that definitely don't fit that category. Also, others that are of the other half (they aren't all) also speak of human capacity to overcome incredible adversity. However, there are such powerful, dark pictures here that they override those that aren't . It felt like a hell of an experience to go through this collection, traumatic, but a second viewing I stopped on the less traumatic for longer and found there were more there than I thought. Interesting.

[Graham Harcombe]

That was a period of compulsive viewing. What an amazing collection.