Burma Protest

I went into town today to see the Democracy in Burma protest. As part of the protest Burmese nationals now living in Ireland were displaying placards showing photographs of the violence currently taking place in Burma. One photograph in particular was pointed out by a speaker. Though she didn't mention him by name the photograph was of Japanese cameraman Kenji Nagai lying on the ground after being shot while a soldier stands over him. Nagai, though fatally wounded, still had his camera raised, possibly still shooting footage or perhaps trying to clearly identify himself as a journalist. This will be one of the iconic press images of 2007 and maybe for years to come.

Partly inspired by this and partly because it is a book I always intend to buy but never have, I went out and bought the World Press Photo 07 book. This is an annual publication showing the best in professional press photography for the previous year. It is always worth a look, but the reader should always remember the risks taken by some journalists to get the photographs that sometimes speak more than 1000 words.