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Visitor Information: The RPS Gallery and coffee shop will be closed on Saturday 7 December

Mother And Child
CREDIT: Alan Hodgson ASIS HonFRPS

Plight and pleasure

Learning by sharing stuff

Visiting the Centro Portugues de Fotografia to take in some more photojournalism through the  Estação Imagem 2019 competition winners. The competition is focused on the promotion of photographic reporting and had some heart-warming and heart-breaking examples of the genre. I found photojournalism at its finest, exploring world issues with a combination of the decisive moment and technical excellence.

Particularly taken by the work of Leonel de Castro, the overall winner with a monochrome study of care workers in Portugal. The work of Rodrigo Cabrita took the Contemporary Issues prize with a study of cancer victims viewed with humanity. Also featured in this category was the work of Tono Arias; a set of portraits exploring Entudo tradition in Galicia.

A substantial amount of the subject matter of this exhibition was both disturbing and thought provoking at the same time, perfect for the genre. The plight of some of the subjects and subject matter was brilliantly illustrated by the photography. The setting (a former prison) seemed to suit the theme too and I felt privileged that the photographers had shared their work with me in this setting.

Photography allows us to share experiences and as I left I came across a live example of this. A mother and child sharing visual experience through a smartphone, presumably with friends or family. This sense of community is important going through this period and that message remained with me as I left. I hope you take the same pleasure from sharing your photography.

Read more like this in President's News.