The Art of Photojournalism

Photo by: Marcus Aurelius
Photo source: http://www.old-picture.com/daguerreotypes/Family-1800s-the-in.htm
Year created: 1851

Is the image black & white or color?: This photo was taken during a time when only black and white was possible. The photographer did not have a choice.

Quality of light: The quality of light is bland. One half of the photo is darker than the other. It looks like there might have been a window that allowed some light to shine in. The direction of the light from the window only illuminated half of the room.

KEEP IT SIMPLE: The composition in this photo is simple. Four members of a family are posing for a picture with very little distraction from the chairs used to position the two youngest kids.

When I first saw this picture I noticed the quality of light and it caught my eye. It almost makes you wonder if it was taken at this spot of the room on purpose.

Photo by: Unknown publisher

Photo source: http://feefeern.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/returning-home/
Year created: 1945

What feelings does this image create?: When I looked at this image the first thing I felt was love. I could see the smile on this woman's face that shows how happy she is that this man is home.

What in the image helped to create that feeling?: All of the body language in this picture helps you feel the emotions going through them both. The lady has a huge smile and her foot is kicked up behind her. Both the man and woman are holding on to each other as if they do not want to let go.

Background compliments or detracts from composition: After seeing the happiness between these two people I noticed the "Merry Christmas" sign on the door. The background is in focus and I feel that it completes the picture.

I chose this picture because it was a picture of pure joy. It was a picture that represented happiness at a special time of the year, Christmas. What better gift to be at your door step then the presence of a loved one that has been gone for a period of time.

 

Photo by: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Image source: http://chelseacharliecarter.blogspot.com/
Year created: 1954

Subjects Expression: The little boy in this picture is walking down the street with two bottles in his hands and a huge smile on his face. His body language fits his facial expression. It almost seems that he knows he is being photographed.

Depth of field: The portion of this picture that is in focus is perfect. There is a great depth of field. As the depth of field increases it gets more blurry. Even though my eyes are focused on the little boy, his expression makes me want to investigate more in to the picture to see what other feelings have been captured.

Obvious main subject, about 1/4 to 2/3 of image area: It is obvious that the little boy is the main subject in this photo. Even though I can feel the innocents and happiness in this little boys face I feel like the expressions on the other kids face in the background add to the overall picture.

I chose this image because it put a smile on my face. It reminded me of innocents. The boy in the picture looks a little bit older than my son and all I could think about was many of the moments that my son had an expression like this on his face.

Pre-Digital Photographic Technology *Cameras with motor drives*

Photo of: Elijah and Aaliyah Ramos
Phot by: Melissa Gorneault
Photo source: iPhone 4s

Only being 23 years old I have kind of been spoiled with the newer technology. Growing up I enjoyed looking through photo albums that both my mom and grandma have put together. Prior to taking this class the only things I noticed that were different were the color of the photos and the outdated clothes they wore.

It is obvious that photography, like many others things, have tremendously advanced over the past 100 plus years. Photography has change greatly, starting with how a photo was taken to how it was developed. Over the years photography continued to improve in how fast it could be developed to the quality of the picture. Specifically, cameras have now been equipped with motor drives.

Traditionally, all camera options including film loading, advancing, and rewinding were all done by hand. According to Wikipedia “The desires of professional photographers for more efficient shooting, particularly in sports and wildlife photography, and the desires of amateur and novice photographers for easier to use cameras both drove the development of automatic film transport.” As mentioned in the video by Professor Nordell “Before There Were Pixels – Part 1” it could take “five to eight minutes” to take a picture with a wet plate, which relied on the person in the photo to stay very still which limited action in a photo.



Photo of: Elijah and Aaliyah Ramos

Photo by: Melissa Gorneault

Photo source: iPhone 4s

I am very thankful for the more recent technology because I am a Mom who is crazy about taking pictures of everything my kids do. From crawling to walking, running, riding bikes, baseball, gymnastics, just about everything and anything! Without the new advances in cameras and the motor drive it would be great trouble trying to capture all these memories and I would look back on many of these as a blur – literally.

Motor drives allow the photographer to take several pictures at a time of things that are moving. It is then easy to look at these pictures and choose the one that is the best image(s) they wanted to capture. This can be done by the simple touch of a button which can capture anywhere from two to ten frames per second.

According to Wikipedia “At first, motor drives were external units that attached to the basic camera body, normally beneath it, with an interface consisting of a physical drive socket and some electrical contacts to signal the drive when to actuate.” As technology has advanced cameras now have the motor drive integrated in the cameras themselves.

 

Photo by: Wikimedia Commons

Photo source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nikon_F2_High-Speed.jpg

 

Along with all of the other advances in technology and before motor drives were invented photojournalist were limited to what kind of photos they could take. Now with thousands of dollars they can choose to spend on equipment, they can take a limited amount of pictures to capture stories that will one day be a part of history.

And for me, I'm no photojournalists but I will say I appreciate the new technology which allows me access to take a photo with the push of a button and then upload it on to my computer within minutes to then upload on to my first blog ever!

 

Can photographs change the world?

A photograph is “a picture made using a camera.” Photographs have been taken for many years. Photographic images can have an impact on oneself and society. In the video by TED the speaker Jonathan Klein said “people believe that images can change the world,” but he disagrees. He believes that “images provoke a reaction in people which cause change to happen.”

When people look at a photograph it can be interpreted differently by each person that looks at it.  Specifically as mentioned in our course content there was a photo of a woman’s grandchild in which she said had changed her world. This photo has changed the world of her, but if you or I were to look at this photo it does not necessarily change our world. In regards to a photo that has changed my world, similarly I would say all of the photos taken of my children at different stages in their life mean something special to me. Many of these photographs document the different milestones that my children have gone through. Not only do these photos mean something special to me, in the years to come when my kids look back on them they will be able to see the different stages growing up in their life.

Photo by: JcPenny Portrait Studio

Some photographs that specifically affect me personally are photographs of my son Elijah. The first photo that my boyfriend ever took of him he was blue and he was not breathing. Shortly after that he was in the NICU and he had his face covered because he was scared of the light. Finally a couple of hours later I have a picture of me holding him for the first time. When looking back on these three photos it reminds me about how life can be taken for granted and before you know it how life can have unexpected turns. As the years have passed and my son has grown to be a strong 5 year old boy I will never forget the day he was born.

Photo by: Jose Ramos

Photojournalists take photos all the time of events that happen, specifically the aftermath of the event. These photos are put all over newspapers, magazines, and the internet. These photos are viewed by many people in the society and have a huge impact of many people. These photos do not only have an impact on the event the day and shortly after it happens, they also are a part of history and when looked at many months or even years later it can be easy to remember the impact the event had on society and people at the time. The first photos that were taken after war really had and still do have an impact on society because it expressed the reality of what was happening and the death of many people. I feel like many of the photos taken by photojournalists after such events can and will have a huge impact on anyone who was affected by that event.

 

Photo by: unknown
Photo source:  http://www.corvalliscommunitypages.com/Americas/US/ww1/wwi.htm

One of the photographs taken by Charles Moore that has changed the world is a photo taken in Birmingham of three black people being sprayed by a “liquid battering ram.” This photo “rallied support for the plight of the blacks.”

 

Photo by: Charles Moore
Photo source: http://fansinaflashbulb.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/charles-moore-1931-2010/
Photography is a great way for people to be able to view the world. Many photos have a different impact on different people. It is the keen eye of the person looking at the photo that decides the impact the photo can have on that individual itself or the society as a whole.

History of Photojournalism

Photojournalism is the use of photographs to tell a news story to the public. These images tell a story about an event and can be used with text or independently. For centuries, photojournalists have been taking images of specific events. The Crimean War was the first big event that was captured with photography.

 

Photo by: Roger Fenton
Photo Source: http://theredlist.fr/wiki-2-16-601-798-view-pioneers-profile-fenton-roger.html


There is a distinct difference between a photographer and a photojournalist. A photographer is someone who takes pictures, but a photojournalist is someone who takes specific pictures of the aftermath of an event to tell its story in the news. Furthermore, in more recent time photojournalism has now adapted to multimedia and even documentary filmmaking. These photos form collective memories around the world because of the technology developed through the internet, and other mobile devices

(I just thought this would be a fun clip to add in because it goes to show how phone friendly many of us have become! But think how fast she can send that pic to news media or post it online.)

Photo by: "Found via Reddit"
Photo Source: http://www.globalnerdy.com/2012/04/09/sign-of-the-times-or-has-13000-worth-of-camera-gear-uses-phone-instead/

Photojournalists create pictures that capture many different emotions. The work of good photojournalists represents images that become a part of history. It is important to know the History of Photojournalism because it allows us to look back on an event through a photo that represents the story; days, weeks, months, and even years later. It is truly amazing how in just one picture a story can be told. Hence the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

 

 9/11 Firefighters walk of courage.

 

Photo by: Robert McMahan
Photo Source: http://www.mcmahanphoto.com/walkofcourage.html

Photojournalism

Photojournalism is the use of images to tell a story. When I think of photojournalism I think about the pictures that have been taken after an important time or event that has occurred. These photos capture the story of an event and keep that memory easy to remember in the near and far future.

Springfield Ma, Tornado Storm Damage

 

Photo by: Jessica Hill
Image Source: http://www.vosizneias.com/84844/2011/06/01/springfield-ma-update-4-reported-dead-dozens-injured-after-tornadoes-in-mass-photos/