Czech Press Photo 2016 at Old Town City Hall

Czech Press Photo is an annual competition, founded in 1995 by photojournalists Daniela Mrázková and Vladimír Remeš. Full-time and freelance photographers compete in ten categories such as sport, arts, nature and science, problems of today and lifestyle (which is a brand-new category).

The professional jury chose a picture taken by Michal Šula (photographer of Mafra) to become the photograph of the year 2016. It shows a fight between supporters of the Chinese president and human rights defenders. Not only does it have good informative value, but it is truly dynamic and perfectly represents the current state of Czech society and its disunity.

Although I absolutely agree this photography deserved to win, my attention got caught by another photographer. Lukáš Mach is a young and a up-and-coming photographer who studies technology in Zlín. He mainly takes photos of people and architecture and his pictures look like they are from another world and from a different era.

His photography set called “One wedding, one funeral” was nominated in the competition this year. It is black and white, mysterious, and taken probably in late autumn. The models look sad and dispassionate at the same time and the atmosphere is filled with melancholia and emptiness. While capturing a wedding and a funeral, he is comparing love and death and uniting them in conformity. He gives a thousand ideas to think about in only nine photos.

The Czech Press Photo Exhibition is a unique chance to see the work of the best Czech photographers of today. Everyone will find a picture or a photographer that will amaze them – so if you are into beautiful photos of nature, people, animals, technology, architecture or anything else, you should not miss this exhibition. But hurry up – it only lasts until 30^th January 2017.