Photojournalism

Photojournalism Protest Through Pictures

Photojournalism- a visual voice of protest • Discussion: In a world where digital cameras and amateur photos are as ubiquitous as the cell phones that carry them, has the proliferation of images only made us more receptive to, and appreciative of, professional photography? • How could a picture be used as a method of protestation?

Background notes: What is photojournalism? • In its simplest form, photojournalism is the art of communicating news through photography. • Historically, as the medium of news media has changed, so have the way we synthesize it. • From newsprint, to radio, to television, to the Internet.

Picture Stories • The picture story is a news or feature story that uses pictures rather than words as the main vehicle for presenting its information and ideas. • The picture story must be about topics that are inherently visual and that can satisfy the needs of the storyteller and the medium that is used. • Picture stories are a standard and long-standing form for print, especially newspapers. Magazines such as Life and Look – which thrived in the mid 20th century – were made up mostly of picture stories.

To censor or not to censor- • Photojournalism- particularly stories that center around war- tend to be exceedingly violent or provocative. • Depending on the outlet, many photojournalists had to make the decision on whether or not to tell the story they wanted to tell... or tell the story their employer wanted them to tell. • Obviously, with the advent of the Internet, it is much more difficult to censor photographic art.

Take a few seconds to write down any examples of photographs you can think of that stick out in your mind as being especially thought-provoking or discussion-worthy. (You don’t have to know the names; but try to be a bit more descriptive than saying ‘The one with the guy doing the thing!’)

How could this altered photograph of a field used as a trench during duringWWI be used as a method of protest?

George Strock. Dead GI's on Buna Beach, 1943.

Considering its audience, what is actually being protested with this cover of Life Magazine?

This image is from a travel blog, showing the after-effects on the citizens in various areas of Vietnam.

Saigon Execution – Eddie Adams, 1st of February 1968. Published by Associated Press in the New York Times on the 2nd of February 1968 This photo is often cited as the turning point of public opinion in the United States. What this picture doesn’t show is that General NguyễnNgọcLoan is personally executing a known Viet Cong conspirator who had murdered the entire family of one of General Loan’s deputies hours before this photo was taken. Adams won a Pulitzer for this photo, but often refused to talk about it, saying only that he was responsible for ruining General Loan’s life.

Marines throwing Vietnamese back over the US Embassy wall, minutes before the last helicopter left.

Tricks of the Trade • Tabloids have been using heavily edited images to sell papers for decades. • Digital trickery such as Photoshop and other photo manipulation programs have made the public skeptical of what they see.

Examples • http://lightbox.time.com/2014/10/07/nigeria-fantasy-cristina-de-middel/?iid=lb-gal-viewagn#1 • http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/06/30/magazine/sunscreen-look.html?ref=magazine • http://www.fastcoexist.com/1682583/portraitlandia-photos-of-portlands-most-portland-y-residents#1 • http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681375/look-at-the-worlds-greatest-skylines-without-any-lights-on#6

Photojournalism