A Prayer Against War

From the photographer: “When the year 2022 began, all of us were somewhat tired of having faced two extremely difficult years due to the pandemic. We all made sacrifices and faced a health crisis that soon became an economic crisis as well. With the first days of January we hoped that, by continuing with the vaccination and accountability strategy, we would soon leave this terrible period behind and look to the months to come with a little more hope. The vaccinations had provided good resistance against the most severe cases of the infection and the economies of our countries were starting to recover. Unfortunately, our hopes were literally shattered when the war between Russia and Ukraine began in Europe. Not only have our economies returned to suffer, putting the jobs of many families at risk, but, unfortunately, the effects of the war are increasing the level of poverty in our countries. But this is nothing compared to the suffering endured by all those who have seen their life directly turned upside down by the war.

In the shot, the planet Mars seems to be the protagonist among the stars. Mars has always been seen by the ancients as the god of war mainly because of its orange-red color. When I took this photograph, I imagined conveying the symbolic idea of ​​the Creator inviting us to reflect on the beauty of the universe. Today the emotion it transmits to me is different. Instead, he seems to want to address a prayer with his arms outstretched towards the sky, here taken in the form of a globe or a small planet. A prayer that seems to implore the world so that the war can end and everyone can begin to admire the beauty of creation represented by this wonderful Milky Way once again.”

Technical details: Canon 6d, Canon 8-15mm f/4, iso 2000, 180 sec, A composite of 2 shots