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History of photography; photojournalism
The importance of photojournalism
History of photography; photojournalism
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“I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated” (Nachtwey). Photojournalism is the art or practice of communicating news by photographs, especially in magazines. Photojournalism has evolved immensely from the beginning to the present. Photojournalism developed during the Crimean War, submitted to its evolution throughout the course of the Golden Age, and eventually settled on its present-day existence today.
Photojournalism was started during the Crimean war by a gentleman named Carol Szathmari. Szathmari was born on January 11th, 1812 as a noble descent. He first studied as a painter but then became a very enthusiastic traveler. He first began to experiment with photography in 1848, soon after filled a wagon his supplies and followed the war, capturing many battles and important moments. Roger Fenton was another photojournalist who took pictures of the Crimean War. His mission was to captured evidence that contradicted the description of William Russell who was a war correspondent. Russell was condemning the militaries failure to provide sanitary living conditions for the soldiers. Roger Fenton faced many challenges while photographing the war for four months. Having to develop all of his photos on wet-collodion plates with unclean water proved very demanding in the sweltering heat. He proved to be very successful and came back to London with 360 snapshots of the war between Turkey, Russia, and England. The Crimean War established the base for photojournalism and started a tradition that will live on into the future.
The Golden Age of Photojournalism was when photos started to make a large presence in magazines. The Golden Ag...
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...the potential of these horrifying situations and allowing to see the truth of the matter.
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It was not until a trip to Japan with her mother after her sophomore year of studying painting at the San Francisco Art Institute that Annie Leibovitz discovered her interest in taking photographs. In 1970 Leibovitz went to the founding editor of Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner, who was impressed by Leibovitz’s work. Leibovitz’s first assignment from Wenner was to shoot John Lennon. Leibovitz’s black-and-white portrait of Lennon was the cover of the January 21, 1971 issue. Ironically, Leibovitz would be the last person to capture her first celebrity subject. Two years later she made history by being named Rolling Stone’s first female chief photographer. Leibovitz’s intimate photographs of celebrities had a big part in defining the Rolling Stone look. In 1983 Leibovitz joined Vanity Fair and was made the magazine’s first contributing photographer. At Vanity Fair she became known for her intensely lit, staged, and alluring portraits of celebrities. With a broader range of subjects available at Vanity Fair, Leibovitz’s photographs for Vanity Fair ranged from presidents to literary icons to t...
Johnson, Brooks. Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers on their Art.” New York: Aperture Foundation Inc., 2004. Print.
Susan Sontag once wrote, “To collect photographs is to collect the world.” In her article entitled “On Photography,” she overviews the nature of photography and its relation to people using it. Sontag discusses photography’s ability to realistically capture the past rather than an interpretation of it, acting as mementos that become immortal. Continuing on to argue the authenticity of photography and how its view points have shifted from art into a social rite.With the use of rhetorical devices, Sontag scrutinizes the characteristics of photography and its effects on surrounding affairs; throughout this article Sontag reiterates the social rites, immortality and authenticity of photographs, and the act of photography becoming voyeuristic. With the use of the rhetorical devices pathos, appeal of emotion, ethos, appeal to ethics and credibility, and logos, appeal to logic, Sontag successfully persuades the audience to connect and agree with her views.
Battle field photography was not developed for the sole purpose of recording events as would a newspaper or painting. Battle field photography brought intense images directly from the field to the public, bringing the horrors of war to families so far from their husbands and sons (Niiler). The photography institution brought the reality of war to the public in manners newspapers were incapable of (Harvey 73). Photography had been around prior to the war but commercialization was a new concept thirsty for a new conflict (Niiler). At the start of the Civil War, these photographers took photos of camp life, in field action as well as the aftermath (Harvey 73). There were a few major photographers were making war a reality. One was Mathew Brady, who gave the initial exposure to dead soldiers to the public (Harvey 76). Oliver Holmes commented on a selection of war photos stating, “...all the emotions excited by the actual sight of the stained and sordid ...
Tolmachev, I. (2010, March 15). A history of Photography Part 1: The Beginning. Retrieved Febraury 2014, from tuts+ Photography: http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/a-history-of-photography-part-1-the-beginning--photo-1908
In the chapter, “The Mirror with a Memory”, the authors, James Davidson and Mark Lytle, describe numerous things that evolved after the civil war, including the life of Jacob Riis, the immigration of new peoples in America, and the evolution of photography. The authors’ purpose in this chapter is to connect the numerous impacts photography had on the past as well as its bringing in today’s age.
5 Light, Ken. Tremain, Kerry. Witness in our Time: Working Lives of Documentary Photographers. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000.
William Eugene Smith was an American photographer who produced photographic projects that changed how photographs were portrayed. Rather than a photo being a photo, he told stories through his photographs, through a practice called photojournalism. His photographic projects depicted people in their everyday lives, but in different situations. The photographs he took did not hide anything that he saw from the audience no matter how graphic the scenery may appear to be. His photography methods differed from traditional methods, in that traditional photographs/photographic projects were a distortion of reality, so that it is more pleasing to the audience. Smith on the other showed what was actually going on in the world or wherever he was shooting photos. His photos basically showed his audience what is happening in various parts of the world and showing people as they are living their normal lives, no matter how depressing or graphic their true lives might be. Smith changed photography, and in my opinion, opened the new world of photojournalism by telling stories with his photographs.
Raeburn, John. A Staggering Revolution: A Cultural History of Thirties Photography. Chicago: University of Illinois, 2006. Print.
Sanburn, Josh. "Brief History: Playboy." Time. Time Inc., 24 Jan. 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
Photojournalism is the practice of communicating topical newsworthy events in mass media, by objectively telling the story of an event using a powerful singular image. Their goals are to convey the truth through their photographs, by complying with a journalistic ethical framework, and to raise awareness in an effort to right social wrongs. In contrast to singular images produced by photojournalists, social documentary photographers create a comprehensive series of images following a single topic or story in-depth over time. They have the aim of describing and preserving visual aspects of society while simultaneously drawing the public's attention to ongoing social issues in an effort to promote political, economic and social change. These two styles, though different in their approach to subjects, do share a variety of themes.
Whereas men had a so-called “head-start” with painting and sculpture, photography was pioneered by and equally associated with both genders. Sexualized images of women circulated via mass media. Described as a voyeuristic medium, photography was a powerful tool in deconstructing the male gaze and bringing private moments into the public domain (Bonney 1985: 11).
Photojournalism plays a critical role in the way we capture and understand the reality of a particular moment in time. As a way of documenting history, the ability to create meaning through images contributes to a transparent media through exacting the truth of a moment. By capturing the surreal world and presenting it in a narrative that is relatable to its audience, allows the image to create a fair and accurate representation of reality.
Newton, Julianne H. The Burden of Visual Truth: The Role of Photojournalism in Mediating Reality. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. Print.
A photojournalist must take amazing photos to post them in the newspaper. To have photos like this photojournalist should be “...very quick on their feet and in good physical shape.” (“Photojournalism-Work Environment”). If a photojournalist is not quick on their feet they won't capture the whole moment. If a photojournalist wants to tell a story that has meaning then the must be able to move quickly,silently, and maybe even secretly.Another thing about a photojournalists work environment is that it won't be in just one country. A photojournalist must travel quite frequently to get