Exhibition showcasing reality for photojournalists

Photo exhibition ‘Journalism and Safety’ organized by Photojournalist (PJ) Club in association with International Media Support (IMS) kicked off on Friday at Nepal Art Council, Babermahal.

The two- day photo exhibition is divided in four different categories -- photojournalism as a tough job, insecure working condition, attacks and damages, and advocacy for safety. The photographs are collected from around 30 photojournalists working with various media houses. The exhibition features around 45 photographs. The photo exhibition was inaugurated by Speaker of the Parliament, Onsari Gharti Magar.

Talking about the objectives of the photo exhibition Bikash Karki, president of PJ club shared, “This exhibition aims at raising awareness about how a photojournalist works during unfavorable conditions such as agitation and natural calamities. Moreover, the four sections in the exhibition show the condition of photojournalists while working in adverse situations.”

At the exhibition, one of photojournalist Bikas Karki’s photos shows three journalists wearing neon jacket and helmet, while one of them is severely injured with blood gushing out of his head. The other two journalists are clearing way to take the injured one to a hospital.

In another photograph, Kiran Panday has captured a condition of photojournalists where they take a risky position on a temple’s fence to photograph protestors defying a curfew at Asan, during the 2006 People's Movement.

Sharing his experience as a photojournalist, Karki explained, “You cannot do photojournalism without passion. One should also have the means (camera and vehicle) as well as proper news sense to be a good photojournalist. This is an expensive job without any security.”

He added, “Even if your camera parts are broken while you are on the job, the media houses do not compensate for the damage. We organized this exhibition to make everyone aware about the condition of photojournalists in Nepal.”