Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-28)

24 28 March 2020 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

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MAGES

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FEDER

CO

BORELLA

C

limatechangeis probablythe

biggestsingleissueof moderntimes.

Oftenit is portrayedthroughabstract

concepts.Weknowthatsealevels

arerisingandtheplanetis gettinghotter,butit

canbedifficultto understandexactlyhowthese

problemswillaffecttheindividual.

FedericoBorellawantedtoshowa tragic–

andlittlediscussed– consequenceof climate

change.Hediscovereda studycarriedoutby

BerkeleyUniversityresearcherTamma

Carletonthatseemedtoshowa correlation

betweenthenumberof farmers’suicidesand

climatedatafromthepast 47 years.The

conclusionwasthatrisingtemperatureshave

directlyplayeda rolein thedecisionby

thousandsof farmerstotaketheirownlives.

TheIndianagriculturalsectoris sensitiveto

extremetemperaturefluctuations.It is

estimatedthata totalof 59,300farmers’

suicidesoverthepast 30 yearsareattributable

toglobalwarmingandclimatechange– the

principalproblemsbeinga risein temperature

anda lackof precipitation.

Debtis a hugeproblemforfarmers,who

oftensourceloanstoinvestin productionand

machinery.Harvestswhicharedamagedby

adverseweatherandshort-sightedwater

managementoftenmeanthesedebtscan’tbe

repaid,a sourceof greatshameformany.

Speakingtomefromhishomein Bologna,

Italy,Federicosaysthathespentmuchtime

tryingtodecidehowbesttorepresentthis

sensitivetopic.‘It wasverydifficulttotranslate

thisconcept– a conceptbasedondeathand

absence– withoutshowinggraphicpicturesof

deathandmourning.’

Hefoundthesubjectsseenin theproject

viaa ‘fi xer’andbyworkingwithvarious

associationsandNGOsthatworkcloselywith

thewidowsof farmerswhohavetakentheir

ownlives.Thoseaffectedbysuchcruel

circumstanceswereveryhappytohave

someonetheretoreportontheissue,and

showtheworldwhatis goingon.

Human impact

FedericoBorella’sprojectwonthemainprizeat

theSonyWorldPhotographyAwards2019.Here

hetellsAmyDaviesmoreaboutthemovingstory

Federicochosea

squarecroptofocus

yourattentiononthe

subject

The Indian agricultural sector

is extremely sensitive to

temperature fluctuations

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Federico describes how the leader of the

Farmers Association showed him a document

showing how wages have changed in the past

fi ve decades. While the annual salary for most

professions – including teachers, doctors and

the police – have risen, farmers are stuck at

the same kind of payments as in the 1960s.

Increasing temperatures

The project, Five Degrees, is so-called because

experts are predicting that temperatures in

India could increase by a further fi ve degrees

by 2050, with more worrying consequences

for the agricultural sector. It’s especially

concerning for a country where agriculture

accounts for 14% of GDP, but it’s clearly an

issue which will have far-reaching

consequences for us all.

Federico shot these compelling images with

a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, choosing to use a

square crop. ‘I like to challenge myself – and

the viewer – to squeeze everything in a small

and ultra-compact format. It’s a way to force

my view on a specifi c element of the picture –

it means you don’t have any distraction, you’re

forced to see what I want you to see.’

Visibility is the driving factor behind

Federico’s work, and the key reason why he

decided to become a photojournalist. ‘Winning

an award like the Sony World Photography

Awards is the best way to reach as many

viewers and readers as possible – the audience

of this competition is probably one of the

biggest,’ he says.

It’s been almost a year since Federico took

home the prize. The shortlist for the 2020

Sony WPAs have now been announced, and

the winners will be unveiled soon.

Unsurprisingly, the shortlist features many

more climate change projects and stories.

Sadly, this isn’t an issue that is going away

• but it is at least heartening to see a cohort of
  photographers, such as Federico, using their
  medium to highlight the problems. Visit
  worldphoto.org to see the shortlist.

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