Chapter 3: The Art of Photojournalism

Photo by: Ben Wittck
Image Source: http://www.news.com.au/technology/these-old-selfies-dating-back-to-the-1800s-will-blow-your-mind/story-e6frfro0-1226741497253
Year Created: 1887

Principle 1: Subjects Expression- Geronimo (Indian pictured) has a very grim look on his face. This look creates a tone that portrays how serious he is as an Indian chief, the holding of the gun also helps this.
Principle 2: Backgrounds- the background shows he is outside and in the wilderness, the cactus gives us an idea of the atmosphere around where the picture was taken.
Principle 3: Black/white or color- The picture is in black and white. This helps create a sense of history in the picture, this happened a while ago and will be drawn in history forever.

Photo by: US Department of Navy
Image Source: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/08/hiroshima_64_years_ago.html
Year Created: 1945

Principle 1: What feelings does the image create?- The image creates a feeling of being lost, imagining yourself as the man in the picture just trying to grasp in your mind what has just happened.
Principle 2: What in the image helped to create that feeling?- The background and the destroyed building make you really see how destroyed Hiroshima was, and the man in the middle of the debris helps you really connect with the picture because you attempt to feel what he feels.
Principle 3: Texture- the texture of this photo seems rough. The debris cements this texture, everything is out of place and destroyed.

Photo By: Brendan Smialowski
Image Source: http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2013/11/recreating-photos-from-the-jfk-assassination/#1
Year Created: 2013

Principle 1: Obvious man subject- The main subject is clearly the original picture that they lined up correctly to look like it was happening present day.
Principle 2: In or out of focus- The original picture is in focus, with the background out of focus. But you can clearly see it is lined up correctly to show the recreation.
Principle 3: Use of lines- The photographer uses lines in the background and in the picture to line up and recreate the original image by essentially enlarging it by backing up.


I chose the picture of Geronimo, the indian chief, because of how serious he looked. You can tell he meant business, and he wanted people to know in this picture. The native american lifestyle all seems to be about survival of the fittest, and he wanted to make his claim. The picture of the man in Hiroshima really spoke to me in the perspective of the man in the picture. Just imagine feeling what he felt looking at his home in absolute ruins after the dust settled. That is why I chose that image. The picture of the recreation of the JFK assassination was just so creative to me. Who would ever think of to go back to the perch where Lee Harvey Oswald set up to shoot JFK? And then take the time to line up a picture to make it seem like it where happening right at that moment.

Chapter 2: Pre-Digital Photography Technology

Image By: Tim Takahashi
Source: http://photo.net/equipment/large-format/speed-graphic

Speed graphic cameras, specifically the Graflex speed graphic, was the industry standard from the 1930s until around the 1950s. The term “speed graphic” was used to distinguish any “press” style camera. The Speed Graphic was produced by Graflex, who was out of Rochester, New York.

            Speed Graphics have ceased production ever since 1973, but many regard this camera as America’s first and last great camera. The Speed Graphic was produced for general-purpose commercial photography. It forever changed the efficiency of taking photographs. The Speed Graphic may look complicated, but it is one of the most simple and flexible cameras ever made. Graflex introduced the concept of having two shutters on the Speed Graphic, thus providing versatility.

            The Speed Graphic effected photojournalism by creating an industry standard camera that was efficient and versatile enough to let almost anyone become a photographer, to being an important part of a press journalists career.

            Taking a digital photograph on my phone was an extremely simple process. I opened up my camera app, focused the camera by touching the screen, and took the photograph by touching the screen again. It took maybe ten seconds of my time. Comparing this to a Speed Graphic or any type of photography where you must develop a picture, the convenience and efficiency is unparalleled. With the Speed Graphic you would need the camera, reflector and background lighting, and a darkroom. The process of taking the actual photograph was much longer, and developing the photograph added more time onto the process. Yet the speed graphics innovation for the times was considered extremely efficient with all the features it offered.

            In the end, every way of taking a photograph all reaches the same goal, which is to share your photograph to the world. No matter how you take it, its goal is to connect to somebody.

Below is the picture I took for this assignment: A soccer goal at the local park near my house, where I grew up learning how to play the game I love. This picture has a lot of meaning to me and I hope you all observe and feel the connection too.

Article Source: http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/ 

Chapter 1- Can Photography Change The World?

Can photographs change the world? Essentially, no they cannot. But if you think about the small time effects a photograph has on a community, society, or group of people it could change the world you live in. The point I am trying to make is that one image does not affect everyone in the world the same way, so I feel that it is impossible for one image to change the whole world.

Censorship, as well as resources has a part to play with this as well. People in a third world country who do not have the resources to even see such photojournalism obviously will not be effected by a photograph. A country that censors their citizens from seeing certain news could also be a factor in a photograph not being able to reach everyone, much less create an emotion from it.

To be clear, I think certain pictures in history have affected the world I personally live in. The best example I can think of is the photograph of the firefighters raising the American flag in the smoke and rubble of the twin towers after the planes hit on 9/11. Iconic images like that would definitely affect an American citizen, but it would not mean as much to a citizen of North Korea, for example, if they were even permitted to see such an image. Below is the photograph I have mentioned:

Image By: Thomas E. Franklin

Source: http://www.albany.edu/news/16124.php 

An Introduction

Photo By: Gordon Parks
Image Source: http://96hourssf.tumblr.com/image/44795400987

Photojournalism: (noun)- the art or practicing of communicating news by photographs especially in magazines.

            Essentially, this is a proper definition. But there is much more to photojournalism than just conveying the news through a picture. Photojournalism should not only get the news across, but it should take you on a journey with the image. The image should draw thoughts from your brain about what is actually happening or being portrayed in the picture. It should highlight an underlying meaning to the picture, and tell a story without even a word being explained about it. Even furthermore, you should maybe even feel the struggle it took to capture such a moment. Feel what it was like to actually be there, that is effective photojournalism.

            The history aspect of photojournalism is also important. To understand what photojournalism is now, you need to understand its past. How it has changed through the years with the development of society as well as technology. How photojournalists would present their photographs to the world through newspaper and magazine back then, to the now digital world of news online and at our fingertips.

            Because of the resources available to us now, everything has changed. But for the better, in my opinion. We are exposed to so much more when we look into photojournalism. We can do a little bit of research and come up with so many options to choose from, its quite interesting if you take the time to actually look into it and see the progression from when newspapers and magazines first started printing photojournalism to the present time where a photojournalist could be half way around the world, take a picture, email it to an editor, and it would be online within a few hours.

Photo By: Malcolm Browne  

Image Source: http://www.annedarlingphotography.com/history-of-photojournalism.html

Photojournalism In A Picture

Image By: Joerg Colberg
Image Source: http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/2010/04/review_kiosk_-_a_history_of_photojournalism/