Nature, 2nd prize
toxic beauty
Kacper Kowalski
Panos Pictures
Panos Pictures
16 June, 2013
Effluent from the Belchatów Power Station, the largest coal-fueled thermal plant in Europe, and one of the highest emitters of CO2 among power stations worldwide.
Views from the air reveal an impact of industry on the environment that is hard to see from the ground, as effluent leeches into the Polish landscape—coal ash (the waste that remains after coal is combusted, containing toxic heavy metals) from power stations, by-products of mining, emissions from chemical factories.
Kacper Kowalski
Kacper Kowalski, born in 1977, was supposed to be an architect. Yet five years of studies and four of designing were more than enough for him. In 2006, he eventually quit his job...
Through our education programs, the World Press Photo Foundation encourages diverse accounts of the world that present stories with different perspectives.
Our exhibitions showcase stories that make people stop, feel, think and act to a worldwide audience.
Our annual contest recognizes and rewards the best in photojournalism and documentary photography.