History of Photojournalism

Photo By Ed Clark           In this image, I see a crying man of color playing the accordion in front of a crowd of white people.  The man is clearly incredibly upset.  Some people in the back also appear to be distraught.  They also seem to have an intense focus on the man.  After looking into the history of the photo, I interpret this man as being heartbroken over the death of progressive president, FDR.  I believe that everybody in this photo is participating in mourning the loss.  To me, it appears the man playing the instrument is the most upset because FDR was a strong advocate for civil rights. This image is very powerful for me.  It is touching to see the kind of impact FDR had on the lives of  his supporters.  I am also moved by the attention the white audience gave this man of color during such a polarizing time.    In his video Photojournalism and Bias- Part 1 , Professor Nordell says, "go ba...

     Photo By Michele Crameri       Photo By Michele Crameri      A controversial time in photojournalism involves Swiss/ Italian photojournalist Michele Crameri.  The article Photojournalist Admits Faking Award-Winning Photos of Honduran Violence by Peta Pixel describes the ethical issue as, "the photographer was joking with the hit men and asking them to demonstrate their execution techniques when the photos were shot." Crameri then published these false photos with the caption deceitfully saying it was actual violence.  Crameri also photographed dramatized scenes of gang members posing to please the camera.  Crameri played all his images off as real, traumatic violence faced by citizens in Honduran cities.        Crameri's deceit came out when people working with him exposed the truth.  Both local journalists and the correspondent that brought Crameri to these areas, explained the truth be...

Charlotte Brooks Photo By UAL Research      Charlotte Brooks was a female photographer for LOOK magazine. According to the American Photography Archives Group (APCA) in the article Charlotte Brooks ,  she "was a photojournalist who worked for LOOK magazine from 1951 until 1971 and was the only long-term woman staff photographer during LOOK’s 35 year history."  She is best know for being a "sociologist with a camera" and her important role in capturing the lives of Americans during the 50's and 60's.     Brook had many triumphs through out her career. Charlotte Brooks by APCA explains Brooks as "[breaking] ground and [changing] the workplace for future women photojournalists."  She began as the one of three female members in the American Society for Magazine Photographers.  Eventually she became secretary, then vice-president while advocating for equal pay between male and female photographers.  Unfortunately, this is an issue that ...

Photojournalism and Natural Disasters    California Forest Fires                                      Photo By  California Department of Conservation                    Photo By  Nature Conservancy         Taking photos of these forest fires are an incredibly dangerous challenge for photojournalists. The intensity  of the situation can be seen in the difference of these two photos.  The serene nature of this tree-line in Sacramento is completely engulfed in flames by the 2020 California wild fires.  There are many dangers when photographing natural disasters, especially wildfires.  To capture a moment like this, the article  Tips for Photographing Safely near Natural Disasters by Noisecast obviously advises from getting to close by stating, "a good photo is worth a lot, but ...

Photo by Insider       A great step in photojournalism is described in Working in the Digital Age Pt 1 by Professor Nordell as, "going somewhere and remotely sending the photos." Wireless Transmitters were a huge step in the advancements of photojournalism and digital photography. In his video Working in the Digital Age Pt 2 , Professor Nordell describes the process of wireless transmitters as taking "a picture and the transmitter would take the digital image, send it to the cellphone which was connected to the Wi-Fi hotspot and it would send the image back to the newspaper." In the 1990's the process proved to be very difficult as "just the time to physically produce the photo and send it on telephone lines was an incredible 3 hours and 40 minutes, assuming the process went perfectly (which, it seldom did)" according to the article How Digital Technology has Changed Photojournalism . This article continues the history to say in the early 2000'...

Photo by: Jacob Riis Year Created: 1892 Rule of Thirds:  The subject is off to the side to show the living conditions.  If the man was centered, a lot of detail would be missed.  With the man on outside of the photo there is a complete view of the back wall. It shows how small the area is.   Subject's Expression:  While the subject's facial expression is not entirely noticeable, his body language is very relaxed.  He is slumped over, but appears to be un-phased. He seems unbothered by his current situation and the photo seems as though it was captured in his natural state.  This photo captured a common, unbothered reality.  Keep it simple: T his photo is clearly cluttered.  It is an organized chaos, however.  While it seems dirty, there is order.  The man has his boots and kettle hung.  I think this picture holds a lot of irony in the shot is very direct but has a lot going on. Why did I choose the image?: I chose this ima...

    Speed Graphic Cameras were produced in Rochester, New York. Production started in 1912 and continued until 1973. The article   Speed Graphic – Large Format Snapshot  by Anatomy Films, Speed Graphic cameras were “standard equipment for many American press photographers until the mid-1960’s."  It got its name from its 1/1000 second shutter achieved by the focal plan shutter.     Photojournalist Arthur Fellig, Weegee, could be one of the most famous users of the Speed Graphic camera in the 1930’s-40’s. Anatomy Films described his freelancing as a photojournalist for a newspaper that captured the harsh reality of Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the article  Speed Graphic – Large Format Snapshot .  The article  Photography that changed the way we view war   by CBS describes the power of photography during the civil war as "the first time true likenesses of the people who lived and died in the conflict remained as a record, ...