The Art of Photojournalism

Photo By : Timothy O'Sullivan

Image Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2149899/The-American-West-youve-seen-Amazing-19th-century-pictures-landscape-chartered-time.html

Year Created : 1874

Rule of Thirds

I believe Timothy O'Sullivan avoided placing the main subject of this photo not in the center because it captures your attention with the flow of the water. You first find the beginning of the water source and realize it goes in a downward motion. The water source is spread out going in different directions making this a very busy photo. If I were to say where it was specifically, it would be the last two thirds of the photo.

Is the image black & white or color?

This image is a black and white photograph because of the time it was taken. It is important to also mention that it was very well executed even though photography wasn't as advanced as it is today back then. Black and white photography is very unique as it shows different colors in the subjects due to light and we could clearly see that with the water being practically white in this photo and the scenery being black.

Keeping it Simple

In my opinion, I believe this photo is simple. The image has nothing really blocking it besides maybe the mist in the lower left hand side due to the falls. But the image is clearly shown well. We realize that it is a waterfall in a mountain like scenery. All the images are seen clearly, making this photo simple and unique for this time frame.

Why'd I choose this Photo?

I chose this photo because I found it to be very interesting for a photo before the 1900's. The caption below the photo while looking at it compared the waterfall to being the Niagara Fall's of the west. What also really interested me was the motion of the water and how well it was captured really making it the main subject of the photo. The shape of the waterfall as well goes in a curve like shape, making it an interesting point of view.

Photo By : Peter Sekaer

Image Source : http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/2002386-times-square-throughout-the-20th-century/?utm_expid=21082672-12.InTAp1P_QWuf9wSnIRJAqg.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

Year Created : 1937

Texture

The texture in this photo is shiny, and smooth because of the metals making the sign. This was a photo of Time Square in it's early stages. The signs in this picture are very smooth and shiny, but the overall feeling could be considered rough because of the unfinished look in sign in the background but also the buildings being brick. Brick has this rough texture to them, making them seem gritty in a way. It's as if it was still a work in process.

Quality of Light

It looks as if this photo had sufficient amount of light but it also looks like this photo was taken on a cloudy day.  The light to me in this photo is bland or flat. But that may be because of the clouds in the background making this a gloomy day. Nothing really looks bold or pops out to me but it was clearly all visible.

Main Subject

The main subjects is the big tower with the Peanuts sign, Coca Cola sign, a large statue in the middle. All of the main images are in the center of the photo. We don't really focus on the brick buildings to the side. But if I were to decide what really stands out the must, it would be the Peanuts sign because it captures your eye, even from afar.

Why did you choose this photo?

I had chosen this photo because it was one of many photos showing the progression of Time Square. I like the rough feeling of this photo showing how it was still in the works of being something great. All those signs also showed me that there was some sort of city life even back then with entertainment and food.

Photo By : Andrew Harrer - Pool

Image Source : http://www.billboard.com/articles/videos/6745316/obama-thriller-michael-jackson

Year Created : 2014

Subject's Expression

The subject in this particular photo is Barack Obama. Barack is pictured smiling wide and his eyes are squinting. It looks as if Barack is very happy at this point in his presidency. His body language fits the facial expression he has. This photo looks as if it was taken during his laugh and seems to be a genuine reaction from Barack.

What feelings does the image create?

When looking at this photo, right away you smile. Barack Obama's smile here is contagious and creates a feeling of happiness. What I believe really makes you believe this smile is genuine is his eyes glaring to the other direction, most likely at someone else. It's as if you can image someone telling a joke to the President and he just can't contain his laughter.

In Or Out Of Focus

Barack Obama's smile here was taken in focus. Barack's smile is shown very clearly, which really is what creates the overall feeling of the photo. The image of Barack is very sharp and clear while his background isn't as focused. This photo of Barack is so in focus you can see the smallest details in the President's face. You are able to see his dimples and the wrinkles underneath his eyes.

Why Did I Choose This Image?

I had chosen this image because the reaction Barack Obama has here. Barack Obama is smiling in this photo and that is how I want to think of him in is final term as President. This photo was also so clear and sharp that the meaning behind it was very clear. The photographer here captured Barack really enjoying himself which I am sure must be rare with the stress he has to deal with.

Pre-Digital Photographic Technology

The rotogravure was part of a pre-digital photographic technology era that really made printing what it is today. The rotogravure can be said to be an example of intaglio printing. Intaglio means gravure in Italian or engraved in other words. A rotogravure is" a printing system using a rotary press with intaglio cylinders, typically running at high speed and used for long prints, magazines, and stamps " according to Google. The first patent printing system dates all the way back to 1860 in France where a web fed printing on both sides - a process called rotogravure - whereas the first sheet fed machine was built in 1913 in Germany by Schnellpresenfabrik Frankenthal Albert & Cie. This was the start of something very important in photojournalism.

The rotogravure had affected photojournalism in a positive way with it's high speeds used for long prints, magazines, and stamps. One of the most positive things for a photojournalist at this time was that this printing system allowed for the photojournalists photos to be published in massive amounts. That means more people would be able to see the photographs being published by these photojournalist. Sparking more conversations between people and a discussion of what is going on around them. This was typically good for photojournalism because it had allowed more photographs to be printed creating a business for magazines, newspapers, and stamps. Professor Nordell had said " Sundays were a special edition with photographs and they were the most read pages of the newspaper,  or the most looked at pages in the newspaper, and for companies that advertised in that newspaper in those pages where there were photographs those ads sold much more. " It's more enjoyable to view a picture instead of reading words. That is why I think photographs are so important to these newspapers and magazine companies because photos are what make them successful ultimately. Professor Nordell said " facebook if by land and tweet if by sea." This quote, similar to Paul Revere's, makes us realize how easy it is to post our photographs to social media. Easy access to photographs is important to photojournalism because then interest sparks. Photojournalism had changed for the better with the rotogravure because was so talked about, you couldn't escape from it.

Pre-digital photographic technology was much harder to take a photo unlike the photo I had taken today. My smart phone allows for me to take as many photos as I want. Photos back in the day made it harder for the photographer to take a photo because there was so much that went into a perfect shot. According to Professor Nordell, " a Like a camera, made in Germany, came out around 1925, they use very small rolls of 35 mm film, so with one roll you could take 24 to 36 pictures." Which is incredible for that time period, but today we would think that was a joke. Some people take that many photos in a matter of a minute. Those cameras would take a little bit longer as they take the photo and restart the process. But also, sometimes you would just get blanks while taking those photos. With smartphones today, you could press the button on the camera as fast as you''d like and it would take the photo.

According to Weegee, " the subject as news photography is the most wonder experience of any man and or woman to go through, it's like, ... you push the button and it gives you what you want.  News photography teaches you how to become fast . " Weegee realizes the importance of news photography because just by the press of a button you get what you want. He realized you have to think fast and to always be on your feet or you won't get what you want. It amazes me that through all the difficulties that were presented at that time, that they realized how important photographs actually are in telling the worlds its story.

Photo by : Jason Wegiel

Photo by : Maurice Guibert

Image Source : http://twistedsifter.com/2012/09/photo-manipulations-before-digital-age-photoshop/

Can Photographs Change the World

A common question with those who study photojournalism in depth is whether or not photographs have the power to change the world. In my personal opinion, I believe photographs have the ability to change the world. An example of a photograph changing the world would be during Russia's 1996 presidential election when Alexander Zemlianichenko took a photo of Boris Yeltsin dancing at a rock concert which led the Russian's to believe Boris Yeltsin was healthy for another term and essentially helped him win the election. The photo Alexander had published to the world changed the history of Russia because without Boris Yeltsin being reelected, there would have been another president and most importantly, we would never know if Russia would be on the same page as it is today.

There is more power to a photo then most people are capable of understanding. Professor Nordell had an interesting idea on photojournalism, stating " What is reality?, What are our senses? How do we perceive the world? Now lets apply this idea to our study of photojournalism, if a tree falls down in the woods to take a picture of it did the event happen? " Without photojournalist taking photos, how would we possibly know if the event actually happened unless you were actually there, but then again, how would we know it's the truth. Photos unveil this sort of truth. It's as if it were a document without words. But we have to keep in mind, that this document might be altered. The media can be perceived in many ways. Keeping that in mind, that's why the media can be dangerous. According to Business Insider,  "six media giants control 90% of what we read, watch listen to." Whose to say that they are actually telling us the truth? Whose to say that they aren't feeding us what they want us to think? We as the viewers have to realize not everything is as it is. How about when Antonio French according to the guardian said "he and the two professional journalist who were briefly taken into custody after police demanded they stop recording were targeted because they were documenting law enforcement actions." relating to the Ferguson incident. Those police officers that took those photojournalist into custody had realized that those photos taken had so much power and could cause an uprising against the police system.

Photographs can change the world for better or for worse. Jonathon Klein of Getty Images said " the images of Guantanamo had a profound impact, the publication of those images as opposed to the images themselves often caused a government to change it's policy, some would argue that those images that did more to fuel the insurgency of Iraq than virtually any other single act."   It's as if a spark ignited and not only the government, but also everyone who viewed the image had a say. Photographs change the world because it sparks a fuel in people that create action. Those actions can change everything going on and alter everything. With different reactions from everyone, creating their own opinions, photos can change the world because of their response and or action to the photo. If that photo weren't published, then that response or action would have never happened.

One photograph that has affected me personally was the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This picture stands out to me the most because I remember seeing this photo in my History and my English class and just thinking to myself how destructive it actually was. It was mind boggling to me that the War between the US and Japan was as bad as it was. But more importantly, what really stands out to me besides the explosion in the picture, were all the lives lost after the bombing. Just thinking to myself, how unfortunate that all those lives were lost for something some may not have believed in. That photo is so iconic;I don't think even generations further down the road will ever forget.

Photo by : Courtesy of Library of Congress
Image Source : http://www.american.edu/ucm/news/20150804-Kuznick-Hiros

Photo By : Alexander Zemlianchenko
Image Source : http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/world/europe/24yeltsin.html

Book Introduction Blog Post

When it come to defining photojournalism, we can break the two words up into photo and journalism. With that being said, we could say it is communicating news through photos and visual works. Photojournalism is an important news source as it is an outlet to the world. Those who don't speak the same language can still perceive a picture the same way. Pictures don't typically have words but show clear action. Photojournalism is unique because the photos that are presented display emotions that can range anywhere from being sad to happy. It is important to realize how powerful a photo is to those who look at them and what kind of impact it has to the world.

We study the history of photojournalism because as Garvey had once said " a people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” To me, this quote is important when trying to understand history because history contains the word story in it, and to really get why it is important goes back to its story. Journalism is essentially a story being written. But the question is, why is it being written. We also have to realize the importance of how far photojournalism has actually come along to where it is today. Studying the history of photojournalism is important because without knowing where it had started we would never be able to tell where it would be going.

According to Professor Nordell, it had all started " with Mathew Brady's photographs of the Civil War considered by many to be the beginning of photojournalism, that there was just exhibits of photos and people would just stand in line to see the photos." The Civil War was one of the most controversial wars as it essentially had split the United States into two. So those photos that Mathew Brady had photographed had people who were divided deciding whether or not those photos were on the same side they stood for. But if you really think about it like that, isn't it amazing to think that those photos could spark so much interest and discussion without actually having words. What Mathew Brady did with those photos sparked all of photojournalism to what it is today.

Today, we have different kinds of photojournalism. We have photojournalist who work for local newspapers, magazines, or even as far as a war photographer.  However, there are challenges that apply to all photojournalist but in their own way. According to Jason Henske who runs a local newspaper, says his challenge is " with a small paper and a small market you got to do it all in order to be successful. " Jason Henske has to find stories throughout the day that will allow him to run a successful newspaper whether his topic is crosswalk safety or a car accident, it all depends on him to where he takes his newspaper. But for war photographer James Nachtwey, he often tells people he " experiences pre-traumatic stress disorder, there is a lot of things that can happen in a war zone that you can't expect. " A war photographer has to risk their lives to capture the moment they are searching for in war. War photography is dangerous because not only do they not get enough credit for what they are actually putting themselves through, but it isn't always a promise you will get something in return. Overall, understanding the history of photojournalism is important because not only had it branched out to different areas but it also lets the viewers realize how much of an impact there really is with a photo.

Photo By : Mathew Brady
Image Source : http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/the-all-seeing-eye/

Photo By : Horst Faas

Image Source : http://www.ap.org/Content/Press-Release/2012/Exhibit-to-remember-AP-photojournalist-Horst-Faas