Winter Weather

Photo By: Kristen Foster 

This photograph shows Victor Shanwenda seconds before falling down a hill behind South Hadley High School after trying to snowboard on a sled, just days after the first snow of winter. (December, 2019)

Chapter 11

            

Now that we are nearing the end of this course, I certainly have a revised definition of photojournalism. For instance, at the very beginning of this class, I thought of photojournalism as a hobby, but now I see that it is a means of communication. Photojournalism is a way of sharing news or events, that normally would not be seen with others, with the world.

Knowing the history of photojournalism is so important because you are learning about the world you exist in. The history of photojournalism is like history class using only pictures. As students who will be soon entering the workforce, we can take this history we learned through photojournalism and apply it to society so we do not make the same mistakes as society has in previous years.

During this course I have had a few “Aha” moments. The first one that comes to mind is when I realized that photojournalism really does have a large impact on the world. For instance, Photojournalism brings to light the physical and emotionally crisis that exists in the world. While people can hear about terrible things that happen in another country, it’s entirely different to actually see them. In Maria Jehle’s blog post, she uses a quotation from Thomas Peschak that says “Yet, the photographs I took of the poaching and barren seascapes created a more visceral and immediate response from the public. In that moment, I just knew I could further my efforts in this conservation issue and made my photographs a better insight then statistics”. This quotation shows the awareness that photographs of disastrous events can bring to people around the world that would not have found out about them.

Another “Aha” moment I had was when I realized how motivated photojournalists are. The photojournalists that are still being recognized today were among the most highly motivated, as their hard work left an impact big enough to still be recognized decades later. Great example is in Mechealea Giordano’s profile on the photojournalist Hansel. Mechealea stated “In 1930, when Hansel arrived in the United States and began working as a migrant worker, she acquired a second- hand Leica that began her photojournalism career, capturing her life and others around her”. This quotation shows how Hansel came to this country during the time of the Great Depression, with absolutely nothing, and she made not only a career for herself but a legacy that is still alive today.

Another thing that I learned was from Nahiomy Martinez’s profile on Nicole Tung. What I learned is that innocent people are often put in harmful situations to send messages to others. For instance, Nahiomy included a quote from Tung that said “As a war photojournalist what really moves her is seeing children and young people being used to fuel the fires of war”. It’s so heartbreaking to think about how many innocent people especially young children have been hurt because of war going on.

There have been a few images that I encountered this semester that have changed the way I view the world. One image was taken by Elliott Erwitt in 1950. The picture is of segregated water fountains. The whites’ water fountain was nicer and obviously more expensive, while the African Americans’ water fountain was smaller and beaten down. This imaging change the way I view the world because it allowed me to see the level of hatred humans are truly capable of. I was not when this segregation took place, so it’s always shocks me when I see photographs like these.

Photo By: Elliott Erwitt

Another image that changed the way I view the world was an image of people jumping out of the twin towers after the planes crashed into them. The photographer of this image is unknown. These images were so devastating because this event never should have happened. Thousands of people were lost that day because of terrorism. The people who were jumping literally had to jump out a window over a thousand feet off the ground to avoid burning to death. After seeing this image, it is hard to believe that there is still good in this world.

Photo By: Unknown

 I feel that my photographs from section two are similarly related to section three as I was trying to act more like a photojournalist. I used my polaroid camera for a few of the photographs to get the feel of using an actual camera rather than just using my phone. I also included a picture I took with my phone just to compare the two different cameras.

Photo By: Kristen Foster 

Photo By: Kristen Foster 

Photo By: Kristen Foster 

Chapter 10: Photojournalist Profile

CLink Link Below to see power point and links to sources

Powerpoint Link 

Chapter Nine- What Motivates Photojournalists?

Photo By: Kristen Foster 

Each individual has something that drives them to complete certain tasks or just to guide them through life. This can be a certain goal or person that motivates them to be the best they can be and to get the job done. This is especially true among photojournalists.

Photo By: Peter Stackpole

The first photojournalist I researched was Marie Hansen. Hansen caught my eye typically because she worked during a time when the workforce was male dominant, and she still stuck out. As Kevin Ames states in the article On Photography: Marie Hansen, 1918-1969, “Marie Hansen realized and wrote that women photojournalists had the same capabilities as men. She worked hard to be accepted as equal”. What truly motivated Hansen was the need to rise above society’s beliefs, to be the best photojournalist that she could be. As Lynn Johnson stated in the video Lynn Johnson Women in Photojournalism “This world of photojournalism, world of photography, is still very much a male community”. For Hansen to make her mark in a male predominant field, and still be recognized today she had to be motivated to be better than the societal norms told her she could be. 

Photo By:Marie Hansen

“A good news photographer, particularly in magazine work, must fill some rather awesome qualifications. He, or she, must have a reporter’s nose for news, a movie director’s sense of the dramatic, an artist’s eye for composition and lighting, a scientist’s interest in chemistry and optics, and a public relations expert’s diplomacy.”-Marie Hansen 

Photo By: David Burnett

Another photojournalist that stuck out to me in my research was David Burnett. Not only was he a photojournalist, but he also became and entrepreneur when he opened up his own phot agency. According to Ash Grant’s article Top 10 Photojournalists “Even though he opened his own photo agency, Burnett was still heavily devoted to his job and passion as a photographer”. Burnett used his passion for photojournalism as his motivation to keep pursuing his own career aside from owning a business. In the video Kenyan Photojournalist Felix Masi says “I could see joy, I could see pain through my lens”. This quotation closely relates to Burnett’s motivation because he truly cared about successfully conveying human emotion in his work .

Photo By: David Burnett

“The greatest photographs are motivated by human feeling” -David Burnett 

Photo By: Ruth Orkin 

The final photojournalist that stuck out to me during my research was Robert Capa. What was so unique about Capa was that he, at a very young age, started a completely new life on his own, even changing his name. According to Ash Grant’s article Top Ten Photojournalists, “Robert Capa, born as Endre Friedmann, is well-known for his wartime photos during WWII as well as his boldness and bravery and his involvement in Magnum Photos. His life as a photographer started at the age of 18 when he moved out of his native home in Hungary and left for Berlin where he worked as a darkroom apprentice”. What motivated Capa was to create a new life for himself centered around what he was passionate about, photojournalism. As stated on the Gordan Parks Foundation’s website “Born into poverty and segregation in Kansas in 1912, Parks was drawn to photography as a young man when he saw images of migrant workers published in a magazine”. Photojournalist Gordan Parks’s story resembles the life of Capa. Both rose above the situations they were born into and changed their lives for the better as a result of their passion for photojournalism.

Photo By: Robert Capa 

“If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough.”-Robert Capa

A similarity in motivation that I noticed among these photojournalists and myself was the drive to make a better life for ourselves. For instance, Capa literally moved to an entirely knew country to make a better life for himself. A significant difference that I noticed was that none of these photojournalists brought up money as a motivation to them, whereas I included money on my motivation chart. I think that this difference has a lot to do with the fact that they are much older than I am and they have more life experiences that have matured them. Overall, the most significant motivation among these photojournalists has been the passion for photojournalism.

Chapter 8: Photojournalism and Bias

Photo By: Ed Clark

When looking at this image, taken by Life Magazine photojournalist Ed Clark, it is difficult to not get emotional. The man playing the piano accordion appears to be a sailor as he is wearing a United States Navy hat. Just the raw emotion on the mans face is enough to bring tears to my eyes. It seems that he is experiencing the loss of someone he loves potentially a friend he served alongside. That kind of loss is something that we can all potentially relate to, which makes the emotion even more intense.
As Professor Nordell states in his video Photojournalism and Bias-Part 2 “Today, I more likely subscribe to the rule that I wouldn’t want to photograph somebody in a way that I, myself, would not want to be photographed”. This photograph captures one of the moments many would not want to be photographed. The subject is in such a vulnerable state right now due to the loss he has experienced. The rest of the people in the photograph seem to display the same sadness, which contributes to the melancholy interpretation of this photograph.

Is the Photo in Black and White or Color? This photograph being in black and white really adds to the emotion portrayed. The grief in this photo is emphasized by the darkness and lack of bright colors. The choice of using black and white draws the audience’s attention to the subject

Subject’s Expression: The subject of this photograph is extremely upset. He is in tears while grieving the loss of a loves one. He appears to be holding it together enough to be playing the music at the funeral.

Obvious main subject, about ¼ to 2/3 of image area: It is very obvious who the subject of the photograph is. The man takes up the most space in the center of the photograph. He also appears to be the most emotionally impacted.

Photo By: Tara Copp

                             

The article The Rules of Photojournalism Are Keeping Us From the Truth by Donald Weber describes truth as “objectivity, righteousness, infallibility, etc”. This image displays what I believe to be truth. Soldiers who were killed in the Korean war over fifty years ago were finally brought home in 2014. During this event, they were recognized for the bravery and loyalty to their country and they were finally put to rest. In his video Photojournalism and Bias-Part 2, Professor Nordell talks about “opening the doors for the photographs and ideas, a viewpoint of photographers from developing nations”. This image is one that can resonate with almost anyone of any culture or background. The emotions this photograph brings on are so pure. The families of those who were killed can now get closure for their loved ones.

Depth of Field: The appropriate amount of area is in focus in this image. The main focal points can be seen with is. For instance, the flag-covered coffin can be easily seen along with the military personnel gathered around.

Background compliments or detracts from composition: There is a lot to this photograph. For instance, there are people gathered all around and even farther back are the graves of other soldiers who have died. All of these components compliment the photo and make it more powerful.

In or Out of Focus: The image Is very sharp. You can see great detail in the entire photograph. For instance, the tree branches and writing on the closer tombstones can easily be seen.

Photo By: Joe Raedle

I chose this image to represent not truth because there is not a career more filled with lies than that of politics. It is a known fact that some of the most well-known political faces have been caught in severe scandals, some even resulting in actions like impeachments. In my opinion, politics is the least important societal aspect today. There are people in this world that are starving and rather than actually getting up and doing something about it, these people will sit around and debate over how they would change it if they were elected, and those who are elected rarely ever follow through with the promises they made that got them elected in the first place. A perfect example of this is from the Watching America article The American Circus by Francisco G. Basterra who says “The man in the White House has caused the international order to become unhinged, detaching it from its classical axes. The international reliability of Trump’s America, wrapped up in itself, has evaporated”. People in other countries can see just how messed up our political system and priorities as a country are, but citizens of our own country cannot. This idea can be connected with that of yellow journalism. For instance, in module eleven content, there’s a New York Post with the headline Trump slams media over sham dossier with the caption “yellow journalism” under Trump’s photograph.

KEEP IT SIMPLE: The image isn’t too cluttered. There are three subjects. Attention is brought mainly to Elizabeth Warren, as she is in the center of the photo. The background of the photo is pretty simple.

Contrast Appropriate: There is a lot of contrast in this photograph. There is a lot of dark colors that can be seen in the background and on the male clothing. Brighter colors appear on Warren’s clothing, the podiums, and the flag displayed in the background.

Quality of Light: The light can be seen as both engaging and dramatic. For instance, the bold colors add a darker tone drawing the viewers’ attention in. The lighter aspects and more of a dramatic aspect in contrast to the darker areas

Chapter 7: Ethics of Photojournalism

Photo By: Kristen Foster 

It may come as a surprise to some to realize that photojournalism can be a very controversial profession. When a photojournalist sets their mind to capturing a certain moment, they will usually do just about anything to not let that moment slip away. That is when the lines between what is ethically right and wrong begin to blur.

 A perfect example of controversy in photojournalism is brought to light in the History Channel’s article These Are the 10 Most Controversial Moments in the History of Photography. The controversy was started by a photographer named “Mathew Brady—whose 1864 portrait of Abraham Lincoln is visible on the $5 bill—organized an exhibition in his New York studio called‘The Dead of Antietam’”. Photographer Alexander Gardner, who worked for Brady, was sent to photograph the bodies of dead soldiers to be shown to the entire country.

Photo By: Alexander Gardner

  

There were many conflicting viewpoints when it came to the perception of Brady’s photographs. For instance, some were not bothered by the work, while others were completely shocked. In the History channel article previously stated the sentence “If he has not brought bodies and laid them in our dooryards and along the streets, he has done something very like it” was used to describe Brady’s work. This quotation really brings to light the ethical issues of Brady’s photographs. The same article mentions a quotation from The New York Times that reads as follows “Mr. Brady has done something tobring home to us the terrible reality and earnestness of war”. This specific quotation touches upon Brady’s main focus behind these gruesome photographs, and that is to expose the harsh reality that is war (death, blood, corpses, etc.).

Some ethic principles that I mentioned in my map include empathy and respect. These two principles were missing from Brady’s work. For instance, it does not seem that he really considered the families of the dead soldiers he had Gardner photograph. It was both insensitive and disrespectful for these pictures of these soldiers to be published, when considering their own families that will be exposed to these photographs. Overall, ethics need to be determined by the photojournalist at that specific moment, but I really do not believe that Brady’s work was ethically right in this situation.

Photo By: Alexander Gardner

Chapter Six: Women Photojournalists

              

Photo By: Paula Bronstein

The woman photojournalist that I chose to research was Paula Bronstein. According to the book “Paula Bronstein Photojournalist”, an interesting fact about Paula is that she “ is one of the world’s leading female photojournalists with a career that spans over three decades”. Bronstein is from Boston, Massachusetts, but she has travelled all around the world for her work. According to Getty Images “Bronstein worked for newspapers including The Hartford Courant and The Chicago Tribune before moving overseas to Thailand in 1998 to cover the Asian region including Afghanistan and Pakistan”. While she has worked at many different locations, Bronstein is most known for her work with Getty Images where she worked for about 15 years.

According to paula “Paula is currently freelance, her images have been published in almost every globally recognized publication and exhibited in numerous countries”. As Lynsey Addario states in the video Lynsey Addario, Institute Fellow and Award-Winning Photographer by InstituteWomenGender, “most of photojournalism isn’t actually about photography, it’s about relationships”. This fact is so significant because females tend to be much better at establishing relationships with certain populations including other woman.

As Professor Nordell states in his video Women Photojournalists “…women in many different professions have encountered barriers unlike any that their male counterparts have endured”. Gender discrimination in the workplace has been a common occurrence all around the world ever since women joined the work force. To this day, women are discriminated against by men in their own careers because of their gender. According to the article Discrimination Against Women in the Workplace: Everything You Need to Know by Up Counsel, “Examples of discrimination against women in the workplace are when a woman is rejected for employment, when a woman loses a promotion to a less-qualified male employee, or when a woman is harmed in any way because of her gender”.

According to the article Female police officers vs Male. Why does the discrimination still exist? By Liana, “Female police officers experience a higher level of stress vs. male policemen. This is because of existing gender stereotypes, which have a bad psychological effect on female police officers”. Women police officers are often not taken seriously by both civilians and their co-workers. This kind of treatment is not uncommon in the world today as females are often overlooked.

As stated in the article Said to Lady Journos, phrases like “Can I speak to a man?” are often used to discriminate against women of any field. Women are sometimes treated as objects in the workforce. They are often overlooked, ignored, and sometimes even sexually harassed. While this treatment may not be as prevalent today as it was a century ago, it stills occurs all around the world.

Photo By: Josephine Photography 

Year Created: 2013

Texture: In this photograph, you can really see the texture of the women's skin and hair. Both of which appear to be rough. The women's skin is covered in dirt and her hair appears frizzy and untaimed and there are wet spots on her cheeks from tears implying that this woman has been through something traumatic,

Quality of Light: The lighting in this photograph is rather dramatic. The subject, who is clearly in despair, is looking up towards the light source. The light source makes the image appear more optimistic, as if the subject now has hope.

Keep it Simple: The photograph is very simple and not cluttered. Attention is immediately drawn to the subjects face and nowhere else. The dark background also helps to draw the viewer's attention tho the woman.

 I chose this image because it portrays a seemingly battered or abused woman. In my opinion, this photograph goes great with the idea of gender discrimination. This photo may portray exactly how one of the women who have been discriminated against feels.

Photo By: Mihaela Noroc

Year Created: 2018

Contrast Appropriate: There are a lot of contrasting colors in this photograph. The dark colors in the background along with the subject's hair directly contrast with the lighter color of her skin and paint. Overall the contrast emphasize the subject's natural beauty 

Feeling: The image creates a happy feeling. The bright colors are rather cheerful and happy. The subject has a slight smile which adds to the cheerfulness of the photograph.

Black and White or color? The image is in color, which really makes it pop. The subject stands out to the viewer with the bright colors painted on her face and the fabric of her shirt.

I chose this photograph because it went along with the theme of empowering women. This photograph represents women of other countries as well as women in America who are faced with adversities and still must maintain a positive outlook.