The World Wide Panorama

Introduction

The theme for our 2015 3rd quarter event is “Peace”. The photography period started July 1st and ended September 30th, 2015.

Theme Essay: Peace

The essay conveys the team’s idea of the event. It is usually published together with the Theme announcement and offers a starting point for the contributing photographers.

This event’s essay was written by Keith Martin

“Peace”

“Peace” covers many things, but at the same time, all around the world, it boils down to the same thing: harmony, tranquility, equality, balance, calm, the absence of strife, stillness and rest... it is the opposite of what is happening in so many parts of the world, from conflicts in the Middle East to racial tensions in the US.

Peace can be considered to be an absence. Nothingness, emptiness and stasis are inherently peaceful, although they can also become stagnation. On that note, death is sometimes considered to be a state of peace, or "being at peace".

Peace is an important part of organised religion and culture. The Arabic greeting "As-salamu alaykum" has the same meaning as "Peace be with you", a formal Christian blessing commonly heard particularly in Catholic Mass that comes from Jesus greeting his disciples. Peace is an ideal that's often ignored by subgroups within religions, but it is still considered to be an important goal by most.

Beauty pageant winners are practically expected to say they want "World peace", to the point that it's become a standard joke. However, world peace is also a goal that led to the foundation of important international institutions over the last century or so; the Nobel Peace Prize, League of Nations, even the Olympic Games came out of late 19th ideals of promoting world peace.

Peace can be found in small things such as a secluded corner in the middle of a busy city or pets sleeping soundly. It's also found in the moment after the end of action or conflict; the sun coming through clouds after a rain storm, or people relaxing after finishing tough activities.

Peace is also the goal and, importantly, the driving principle of 'nonviolent resistance' or peaceful protest, popularised in modern times by Mahatma Gandhi, Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr, Lech Wałęsa, and others. This aspect of peace is often more proactive and interventionist than classic pacifism, but it is its close brother.

What does peace mean to you?
How can we capture peace as a feeling and demonstrate it in our panoramas?
What are the colors of peace?
What actions show this?
What symbolises this state of being?