3 photos showing ‘harsh realities’ in PH to vie for ‘Oscars’ of photography

Out of 5,000 entries, three photos reflecting the situation in the country topped the 2017 regional Philippine competition for the International Photography Awards (IPA).

Described as the “Oscars” of photography, the IPA’s chosen regional photos from the Philippines covered religion, poverty and the war on drugs.

Ezra Acayan was awarded the IPA Philippines Photographer of the Year for his chilling entry, “Blood in the Streets.”

Rolando Mesuga bagged the IPA Philippines award for Discovery of the Year for his submission, “Traslacion.”

Jed Regala won acclaim from the IPA Philippines as the Deeper Perspective of the Year Awardee for his haunting photo of a child’s piercing gaze in his entry, “Hunger.”

IPA Philippines chairman Ruston Banal expressed confidence that the regional winners have a real chance of competing for the main prize in New York. Banal also expounded on photography as a catalyst for change.

“The entries shows the power of photography in exposing harsh realities that we need to look into as a country. I hope these entries can be a weapon for a real change we expect for the Philippines,” he said.

The three prizes mentioned are also the same awards handed out in different regions (China, Russia, and Spain).

The awardees from each region will compete as finalists for the prestigious IPA prize during the Lucie Awards.

The Lucie awards ceremony will be held at the Zankel Hall in New York on October 29, 2017. /je