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Photographers From Around The World Attempt To Describe What ‘Work’ Means To Them, And Here Are The Best 50 Photos
You gotta work work work! From surgery rooms to dusty quarries, we're taking you on a trip among the workers who make the world go round.
These 50 photos have been selected among the #Work2019 Photo Contest by AGORA images, a free-to-use photography app that has been rewarding the world's biggest prizes in global photo contests since 2017.
Which photo should be awarded the Hero title? Have your say and vote for your favorite!
More info: bit.ly
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Tejedora Artesanal
@manele (Barcelona)
Final score:
98points
RELATED:
#2
Fixing Nets
@diepvan (Vietnam)
Final score:
83points
Marie Stanford 6 years ago
The sewing machine has done more positive things for humankind than any other machine in history
PeachPossum 6 years ago
Trivia: The inventor of the lockstitch sewing machine, Elias Howe struggled over the design of the mechanical sewing needle. Traditional hand sewing needles have the point on one end and the eye on the other, and pull a single thread through the fabric. This design would not work in his sewing machine. One night, he dreamed cannibals were about to skewer him with their spears when Howe noticed that the points of the spears all had holes in them. He woke up and knew exactly how to solve the problem.
Load More Replies...
#3
Hard Work
@caiman35 (Venezuela)
Final score:
80points
Aunt Messy 6 years ago
Death from black lung....chemical exposure....cave-ins....lack of proper protective gear like respirators and overalls....
#4
Among The White Umbrellas
@aungthuya (Myanmar)
Final score:
72points
#5
The Doctors
@gaukhar_yerk (Kazakhstan)
Final score:
70points
Fardosa Hashi 4 years ago
Hi! everyone, This work to me is very important. Therefore being a doctor is extremely rewarding. Becoming a doctor means learning everything there is to know about the human body.I like to be a doctor because you can help people.
#6
Harvesting Red Chilies
@azimronnie (Bangladesh)
Final score:
70points
Sara MacFarland 6 years ago
Bet they never rub their faces...especially their eyes. That would be disastrous!
Darlene Michuk 6 years ago
Population Control. They are not telling something. There is not enough food in the world to feed Billions of people. Do not be fooled. There are too many people but not enough food. Look up WHO... World Health Organization..acronym...WHO....They should really have something to say. We just do not hear about it
#7
Pot Worker
@kokosat (Myanmar)
Final score:
69points
Marry Juana 6 years ago
Lol. How'd you go to work? By riding... potsss...
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Aunt Messy 6 years ago
She's doing this backbreaking work because it's cheaper to exploit humans than it is to buy machines. Every pot has to be identical.
#8
Tea Picker Lady
@elsardjono (Surakarta)
Final score:
63points
#9
Umbrella-Making
@carlesalonsophotography (Granollers)
Final score:
60points
#10
Salt Farmer During Sunset
@pokokemoto (Indonesia)
Final score:
57points
Magpie 6 years ago
HoffLensMetalHedLovesAnimalsUK 6 days ago Back breaking labour. ____Thats what I meant.
Load More Replies... Aunt Messy 6 years ago
Note that these people are barefoot, walking in highly concentrated salt water that strips the skin from their hands and feet while dehydrating their entire bodies.
#11
Umbrella Craftsman
@asmodalemdedy (Indonesia)
Final score:
54points
#12
Drying Cloth
@yudybento (Indonesia)
Final score:
54points
#13
Forged In Fire
@nico_edhi (Indonesia)
Final score:
54points
HoffLensMetalHedLovesAnimalsUK 6 years ago
Looks like something out of a movie, the mummy or Indiana Jones or similar.
#14
An Old Lady Is Looking For Clams On The Coast
@nguyenson (Vietnam)
Final score:
53points
varwenea 6 years ago
And their backs are permanently hunched over. So sad.
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#15
Fisherman
@yohanes.setiyanto (Indonesia)
Final score:
49points
Kimlan Lau 6 years ago (edited)
This is so gorgeous! I can't stop staring at it! The colours of the sun reflecting on the water in the photo are like a topaz jewel!
#16
Cultivation
@myothet (Myanmar)
Final score:
48points
I'm A Lazy Panda 6 years ago
I agree with you wholeheartedly. But can we get some appreciation for the oxen as well? They're the ones doing the heavy lifting, after all.
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#17
The Undisturbable Lecture
@travelmomentcaptures
Final score:
48points
Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch 6 years ago
Everyone is all impressed... till its revealed that he's reading his massive Playboy collection. :-)
#18
Women At Work
@sandipani_c (India)
Final score:
47points
Christine Gutkowski 6 years ago
They have probably been doing this since they were very young 😟
Eagle Girl 6 years ago
Please forgive me but I can't help myself.. Cue the music "She's a Brick. House. Mighty, Mighty.."
#19
Mother's Affection
@kyawswarmyint (Myanmar)
Final score:
46points
#20
Drying The Crackers
@dharmaku (Indonesia)
Final score:
46points
#21
Salt Harvest
@dungpham (Vietnam)
Final score:
43points
Aunt Messy 6 years ago
Not to mention that salt is intensely corrosive and that the skin is being stripped from them while they're inhaling toxic amounts of salt and destroying their health. These people don't live very long.
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#22
I Can Handle It
@bimopradityo (Indonesia)
Final score:
43points
Alan Wilkening 6 years ago
Always remain on the very best of terms with your crane operator. 😇
Aunt Messy 6 years ago
The sad thing is that WHEN (not if) he is seriously injured or killed, there are dozens of others to take his place.
Load More Replies... #23
Work
@rufusa (Nigeria)
Final score:
42points
Marcia Leary 6 years ago
And, teenagers in the US complain about working in the fast food industry.
Caleya Echo 6 years ago
I live in the US. I work with teenagers. Do you know when they complain? When they had four hours of sleep because, after school, they went to a fast food job, home for four hours of homework, then straight to bed to do it again the next day because the money they made is going to help mom pay the rent. Or when they had to go from their office job making minimum wage to a fast food job, then home to four roommates and one shower to Uber on the weekends to make ends meet. Or when they're working at McDonalds and also Favor, and trying to go to community college four days a week, knowing they’ll still have debt leveraged by our wonderful education system in a for-profit system. Marcia, you may not be part of the problem at all. You could be a grandmother who knows many teenagers are doing their best. But if you’re a baby boomer, just yelling “kids today!”, like kids weren’t handed a system that constantly screws them, kindly stop making comments like this. Thank you.
Load More Replies... #24
Always Busy
@alexfotografiertes (Germany)
Final score:
42points
#25
Cleaning Service
@baliphotographer (Bali)
Final score:
41points
Eagle Girl 6 years ago
The photographer should be nominated in this one. Making window washing look good.
#26
Making Tofu
@ajuriaguerra
Final score:
41points
#27
Fish Dryer
@tutul1410 (Bangladesh)
Final score:
39points
HoffLensMetalHedLovesAnimalsUK 6 years ago
Only rotten fish smell fishy, if these are freshly caught there shouldn't be a strong fish smell at all.
Load More Replies... Awkward Manatee 6 years ago
Ive never seen dead fish look so pretty... like a metallic curtain of shiny blue
#28
Tale Of Shades
@pranab_basak (India)
Final score:
38points
#29
Iron Castings
@tksnoz (Vietnam)
Final score:
38points
#30
Iron Works
@jayanath2000 (Sri Lanka)
Final score:
36points
#31
Untitled
@andrydenisah
Final score:
35points
#32
Life In Colour
@zayyarlin (Myanmar)
Final score:
35points
#33
Machine Man
@sohelchy07 (Bangladesh)
Final score:
35points
#34
Rythm
@prit28 (India)
Final score:
35points
#35
Female Factory Workers
@ginyu21 (Indonesia)
Final score:
35points
Me123 6 years ago
I feel like if the workers were male the caption would simply be "factory workers"... shows how we still can't get past a default of men being the ones to do jobs like this in our society
Me123 6 years ago
I may be wrong, but it at least seems like that is how it is in a lot of situations (where a male scientist, for example, is just a "scientist" while a female scientist is considered a "female scientist")
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Jody Taylor 6 years ago
OMG...identical robots under florescent lights, breathing exhaust from hundreds in tight trapped surroundings, no back supports, hard benches, no talking, no stretching, no air conditioning, limited access to toilets... for $0.08 cents an hour. yeah, where do i sign up?
HoffLensMetalHedLovesAnimalsUK 6 years ago
I wonder what brand name garments they are making for the western world.
Eagle Girl 6 years ago
Is this supposed to be ironic? They look like they are in fancy prison uniforms.
#36
Weaving A Thread
@juliuspram
Final score:
33points
#37
The Glass Cleaners
@rollimages (Dubai)
Final score:
33points
Sandi Leach 6 years ago
And I thought I hated cleaning the glass in my house. I sure hope they get paid a lot.
Rolando Batacan 6 years ago
They are paid pretty good. This is just the regular 40 stories building. Imagine these worker rapelling at Burj Khalifa more than 600 meters high😊
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#39
The Basic Material For Making Bark Cloth
@jellyisnotagaragar (Palu City)
Final score:
30points
#40
It's My Charcoal
@bastian_as (Indonesia)
Final score:
30points
miaow 6 years ago
This one is striking, idk but the color of his eyes glisten reflectively as bright, dark and strong as the charcoal. I love it!
Aunt Messy 6 years ago
I'm sure he'll thank you for that when he's dying of lung cancer.
Load More Replies... #41
Working 2
@marklaszlo76 (Romania)
Final score:
29points
#42
Batik Maker
@recaear (Central Java)
Final score:
27points
HoffLensMetalHedLovesAnimalsUK 6 years ago
Looks like my Nan's old net curtain from her front room,
Load More Replies... #43
No Different Man And Woman In Work Time
@pcd (Bangladesh)
Final score:
27points
Lorne Archer 6 years ago
A certain amount of "grog" (already bisque fired, and ground into small pieces) mixed back into clay will strengthen the next batch of pottery, and make it more heat-tolerant as well.
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#44
At Work
@sufiartphotography (Sargodha)
Final score:
26points
#46
Batik Tulis
@dikyedarling (Jakarta)
Final score:
25points
I'm A Lazy Panda 6 years ago
I destroyed our ironing board, and subsequently one of my mom's dresses, batiking when I was maybe 12. Oops...
#47
Harvest Time For Tomatoes
@koi_harvey60 (Philippines)
Final score:
24points
miaow 6 years ago
might not look like red tomatoes I usually eat, but theyre yellow and orange tomatoes I think.
Load More Replies... #48
Mantenimiento Del Buque
@juliannieves (Spain)
Final score:
23points
#49
Worker
@arisdaeng (Indonesia)
Final score:
22points
#50
The Eye
@m1qbalimages (Indonesia)
Final score:
21points
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Katinka Min 6 years ago
Some of the world's worst exploitation hinding behind stunningly beautiful photos.
Carol Emory 6 years ago
Actually, most of these are not people being exploited..they are people doing what they've done for generations in their families. Some of these are factory or mining situations in which the employees are paid very little involve people that are being taken advantage of...but most of the arts and craft type jobs are skills passed down through generation of tradesmen. Most of them either sell their own crafts and own the shops that produce them.
Load More Replies...
Carol Emory 6 years ago (edited)
Anyone that wants to see more people that do handcrafting for a job, check out a YouTube series from Japan called Japanese Originator. They have English subtitles throughout the shows and they show things like a maker of longbows, a couple that makes fabrics for Kimonos, a person that carves bowls from blocks of wood. Even a man that makes delicate boxes of art from various woods. They even have an episode that shows 24 hours in Kyoto.
AGORA images (Post author) 6 years ago
And the winner is... 'Harvesting Red Chilies'! Congratulations to Azim Ronnie, the #Work2019 Hero - check the behind the scenes footage of his winning photo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymdtkbgn0Sg azimronnie...27379c.jpg 
Katinka Min 6 years ago
Some of the world's worst exploitation hinding behind stunningly beautiful photos.
Carol Emory 6 years ago
Actually, most of these are not people being exploited..they are people doing what they've done for generations in their families. Some of these are factory or mining situations in which the employees are paid very little involve people that are being taken advantage of...but most of the arts and craft type jobs are skills passed down through generation of tradesmen. Most of them either sell their own crafts and own the shops that produce them.
Load More Replies... Carol Emory 6 years ago (edited)
Anyone that wants to see more people that do handcrafting for a job, check out a YouTube series from Japan called Japanese Originator. They have English subtitles throughout the shows and they show things like a maker of longbows, a couple that makes fabrics for Kimonos, a person that carves bowls from blocks of wood. Even a man that makes delicate boxes of art from various woods. They even have an episode that shows 24 hours in Kyoto.
AGORA images (Post author) 6 years ago
And the winner is... 'Harvesting Red Chilies'! Congratulations to Azim Ronnie, the #Work2019 Hero - check the behind the scenes footage of his winning photo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymdtkbgn0Sg azimronnie...27379c.jpg
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