History of Photojournalism: Concluding Chapter

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.