Photojournalism and Bias

*Going Home*

Photo by: Ed Clark

Photo source: http://www.thegreatleapsideways.com/?p=209

 

Subjects expression: It is obvious that Graham Jackson is very emotional and it almost seems that his emotions are screaming through the accordion.

 

Obvious main subject:  The main subject in this picture is Graham and he is playing an accordion.

 

Is the image black and white or color?: This image is black and white and the photographer had the choice to use color if he wanted to. I think the use of color would have been a distraction from the main focus of Graham and his emotions.

 

When looking at this picture my eyes are first pulled by the expression on Grahams face. I began to see the tears rolling down his face. I feel this image represent his honest sincere emotion either of Franklin D. Roosevelt or someone else he may have be thinking about that he has lost. When noticing the people in the background I became a little bit confused. It seems like all of the ladies were looking at his reaction rather than having their own. I began to wonder if they were being bias as to him being a black man playing the accordion at the burial of Franklin D. Roosevelt. I am very weak individual when it comes to seeing other people cry. I cannot believe the looks on most of these peoples face who have no emotion to the ceremony or Grahams emotional reaction.

 

 

Photo by: Briana Marie

Photo source: http://brianamariephotography.wordpress.com/tag/photojounalistic-portraiture/

 

 

What feeling does this image create?: This image create a happy feeling. What better than to see the most innocent child with a smile on his face representing a happy life with his parents.

 

What in the image helped you to create that feeling?: As odd as it might sound besides the smiles on everyone's face, the bright sun reflecting off of them helps create a happy feeling. (Versus rain which can sometimes symbolize sadness)

 

Use of lines: I feel that the log fence is a great use of line in this picture. It helps the eye of the person looking at the image place the trees in the background far away from the family.

 

 

To me a true image is one that can tell a story without being tampered with. As mentioned in the article about yellow journalism, "the whole point of yellow journalism was to produce exciting, sensational stories, even if the truth had to be stretched or a story had to be made up."  I feel that this image is exactly opposite of that. The little boy in this image is smiling and that is the representation of his happiness. One cannot fake a child's feeling or reaction, especially at such a young age. I chose this image to because it represents a family that is happy. In my ethics chart family was the biggest thing.

 





 

Photo by: Craig Ruttle

Photo source: http://chinese.christianpost.com/news/9-11-%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA%E7%BA%AA%E5%BF%B5%E6%81%90%E6%80%96%E8%A2%AD%E5%87%BB%E4%BA%8B%E4%BB%B611%E5%91%A8%E5%B9%B4-13025/

 



Depth of field: The lady in the picture is in focus and the background is out of focus. This depth of field keeps my eye on the lady and her expression, which is the main focus of this picture. The depth of field in this image was done on purpose. As mention in the video part two by Professor Nordell, the lens choice and angle are different things that are used by photographers depending on what perspective the photographer is trying to get across.

 

KEEP IT SIMPLE: The photographer chose to take a picture of just one lady. I feel that this does not truly represent the full story of the 9/11 aftermath reactions.

 

Does this image remind you of any work of art or photograph that you have seen?: This image reminds me of the many images of different people grieving after the loss of a loved one or a tragic event. When I saw this image I immediately thought about the image we viewed in Module 10 of Aline Marie who was grieving after the Sandy Hook shooting. I began to wonder what the lady in this image reaction was to her being photographed. As mentioned by Professor Nordell, "I wouldn't want to photograph somebody in a way that I myself would not want to be photographed." Do you think she knew she was being photographed, and if she did how did that photojournalists approach her.  

 

 

This may be farfetched, but to me an image that does not represent a whole story can be misleading. After looking at the picture over and over again I began to think back to many of the other images from the 9/11 attack. I feel that this image does not tell the whole story. I can almost see the many other people kneeled over this line up of names and I feel like they are all left out of this image. Although I can see the truth behind the expression on this lady's face, I do not believe this individual picture represents the full truth of all the people who were grieving over this tragic event. Maybe this picture was taken deliberately by the photojournalists to represent just a single woman grieving. I feel there would have been a much bigger impact if it was an image that represented all of the people grieving in those hard days that followed. People looking back at this image may think that this was not an accurate image to represent all of the people that this tragic event impacted.