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When vision is touched by empathy, a remarkable photojournalist is born, and the image captured in that moment becomes history, said Chief Minister’s Media Advisor K.V. Prabhakar while inaugurating World Photography Day celebrations organized by the Bengaluru Photojournalists’ Association.
Prabhakar explained that long before a child speaks, it perceives the world through sight, a language beyond words. Love at first sight proves vision carries deeper meaning than speech. For photojournalists, this power of observation is vital, he added.
He described Kevin Carter and Sangolli Sangavva as symbolic texts of photojournalism. Carter’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1994 image of a famine-stricken Sudanese child stalked by a vulture sparked global debate but also drove him into depression and suicide. In contrast, a simple image of Karnataka’s Sangavva bowing before the steps of a state bus, after the launch of free bus travel for women, silenced critics and turned her into a social media sensation overnight.
Words may twist the truth, but photos never lie. They stamp authenticity on journalism, Prabhakar stressed, adding that technology, including artificial intelligence, poses challenges but can never replace human creativity and compassion in photography.
Recalling the past, he said photography was once arduous, but modern tools have simplified it. Still, only imagination and sensitivity can transform images into meaningful stories. A powerful photo is never discarded, unlike a report that may be set aside, he advised young professionals. The event was attended by K.N. Shanthakumar, Ayesha Khanum, veteran photojournalist Bhagyaprakash, Association president Mohan, and senior journalist Sadashiva Shenoy.
Photojournalists are historians too, preserving faces of freedom struggles, wars, and generations, Prabhakar concluded.
KV Prabhakar, Media Advisor to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah being felicitated by the Photo Journalists Association of Bangalore on the occasion of World Photography Day celebrations held in the city on Tuesday. (Photo Caption)
