There's an abundance of photography competitions out there these days, from the best fish photos to landscapes and nature, even the "Weird Beard Photo Contest".
Shining through the haze is a competition that brings out essential stories of humanity throughout the world, and the underlying issues of human rights: Anthropographia.
A combination of the Greek words ἄνθρωπος (anthropo) and γράφω (graphia), Anthropographia's mission is "to write and convey the stories of humanity, using photography as the medium." Here's an interview with the founder of Anthropographia, Matthieu Rytz, on the contest, mission, and exhibition:
Stunning and moving, the entries in the annual Anthropographia contest tell the stories of humanity, raw and unfiltered. The images are a collection of contrasts, at once tragic and heart-wrenching, and also full of joy and hope.
Be forewarned: Many of the images in this collection are painful to see and contemplate. But, they tell important stories about our world and about the tragedies we, as humans, wreak on one another. Below are some of the images and stories which jumped out at me; click on the individual pictures to jump to the specific exhibit at Anthropographia, or see the exhibit as a whole on the website.
ADDICTS, a generation lost to Afghanistan,
by Alfonso Moral
Darfur,
by Alvaro Ybarra Zavala
No Friends but the Mountains: Women of the PKK Guerrrillas, Kurdistan, Iraq,
by Anastasia Taylor-Lind
The Loudest Whisper – scars of leprosy in Brazil,
by Anderson Schneider
Weapon social club Kentucky, U.S.A.,
by Javier Arcenillas
Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.
