Throughout this course I have
learned a lot of new things. In the beginning of the course we had to answer
the question, what is photojournalism? My response to this was simple I stated
that photojournalism is when you write a story and the photo adds to the story
with deeper meanings. It also helps the readers understand what is going on the
article. Now that this course is coming to an end, I have a similar definition
of photojournalism but it is now more specific. Photojournalism is using
photography to tell a story, lots of photojournalist has specific motivation to
keep them doing their job, and coming up with creative ideas to better
themselves.
I still agree with my earlier
statement that having photos added to the writing provides the readers with visuals
of what’s going on, but also add emotion so society can connect with them. I
think it is very important for people to know the history behind
photojournalism and the photographers because from what I learned, many of them
have background stories that got them started, and helped them continue through
their struggles and succeed and open doors for future photojournalist. Some big
“ah-ha” moments throughout this course was when we were learning about the
technology and the advancement of cameras. I was never really into that so I
was impressed to see how photojournalist back then were able to have great
photos with little to no technology, lots of trial and error for them during
that growing process. When we were talking about images that show the truth verses the non truth, many images stood out to me. I posted in one of my blogs an example of a truth photo that represented what actually goes on during the war. That was powerful to me because it made me have a connection with the photo. It showed that the soldiers are strong, but they also build a bond with the other soldiers and help them out when they are wounded or killed. It not all serious business like people think.
For this module, I chose to
appreciate photojournalist by taking pictures with an old Polaroid camera. This
was interesting because I got my images printed right away from my camera. They
would print and have to air out for the picture to come in fully. One downfall
of using this was I was unable to zoom in get close to my subject without
invading their personal space. Also this camera has no settings at all, I was
unable to adjust my lighting, have the ability to take photos in black and
white, work on my shallow dept of field, and I was unable to capture blur.
Surprisingly I was able to capture freeze motion though. Taking photos with
that type of camera were I was limited to do many things, I had to became
creative and I feel that back when we only had basic cameras, being creative
was the key to being a successful photojournalist. It also made me appreciate
the advancement in technology today.
I do think that photos change the
world. Many photojournalists focused on service photojournalism where they not
only took photos for enjoyment, but also to get messages across the world for
people to see. For example my classmate Heather
did her photojournalist profile on Dorothea Lange, who took photos during the
time of Depression. She wanted to show the world how people were suffering
throughout the country. Another student that challenged the way I was thinking
was Devonte’s
photojournalist profile on Dith Pran. Pran had to struggle his way through
life; nothing was given to him easy. He was held hostage and faced things
people could not imagine. He then decided to dedicate his life to photography
and help people see what is going on in the world, good or bad. Lastly, I
looked through Steven
who studied Robert Capa. He was an interesting photojournalist, because he not
only photographed the war and the struggled they faced like other photojournalist.
He also photographed humans and their experience they go through in their
everyday lives.
Photo by: Dorothea Lange
Photo by: Dith Pran
Photo by: Robert Capa
Photo by: Stephen Herz
