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