An exhibited dedicated to the 15th anniversary of Photolure news agency opened at the AGBU Armenia building in Yerevan. In the photo exhibit titled Instant were 125 photos of the agency.

Photolure Director and Chief Editor Melik Baghdasaryan says they selected the exhibited materials with a great deal of difficulty.

“Initially we intended to select the best photos of each year, but all the years are not alike in terms of the significance of events. There are still 15 years of photos included, but we’ve selected them by topic: culture, sports, political events, rallies, army, the church, Yerevan, and so on,” he says, then comments on the exhibit’s title. The basis of photography is chasing that instant, catching the moment of a one-thousandth of a second.

The agency’s director says news lives for a day, but a photograph lives for all time.

He says that the agency was established in a very short time because it was created on a professional foundation. “Photolure is my family. I’m in the newsroom more than with my family, especially since my sons work with me. My brother, Herbert Baghdasaryan, created the agency with such standards that it was established at once. It was easier to enter the market. Now Photolure is established, has a young and professional team of staff. The only issue is the lack of news. There’s no news.”

It was different 15 years ago, but now almost every media outlet has its photographer, experienced or not as much. On the other hand, every journalist also does the work of a photographer. The number of Photolure’s partners, those who buy photos from the agency, has dropped a little. In Baghdasaryan’s words, the demand for Photolure’s work in the active areas of public and political life is increasing, since many media outlets seek to publish professional shots for the most important events. 

Armenpress news agency photographer Felix Arustamyan, speaking about the exhibit, says: “They’re magnificent photos. I saw Reuters’ 100 best photos of the year and allow me to say that Photolure is no different. I can mention one difference: our foreign colleagues work a lot in conflict zones.”

Chief editor of Azg daily newspaper Hakob Avetikyan says that the work of Photolure’s photographers is like a sculptor’s work: in some cases their photos are like a sculpted statue.

The exhibit Instant dedicated to the 15th anniversary of Photolure agency will be on display at the AGBU Gallery up to and including December 3, 2017.

Gagik Aghbalyan