The Drama of Immigration

A photo sequence of 168 exposures. From the photographer: “Can an image be defined as a photograph simply because it was taken with a camera?
From my point of view no. Over the years I have always believed that a photograph without a story to tell does not have the same evocative power of a simple image. Of course it is not always possible to tell stories and often it depends on the kind of photography you are experimenting with as well as, of course, on the sensitivity of the shooter. This image, like many taken that night, is a concrete example. It is not just a star trail embellished by the reflections on the water of Venus, Procyon and Sirius. Astronomy is just the pretext to show us a context. It tells us about the drama of immigration; of a boat of migrants beached on the shore of one of the coves of the Vendicari reserve. It tells us about the tragedy these people have faced and confronts us with our inability as a modern civilization (without distinguishing between borders and political alignments) to tackle a very important issue. Astronomy is just a way to sweeten the story and to push us to remember that if we are one people under one sky we should do everything so that borders are not an occasion for death and tears.”

Technical details: Canon 6d, sigma 14mm, f/2.5, iso 2500 (168 frames stacked)