For my Creative Experiential Exercise, I went to a Tie dye event on campus hosted by some Resident Advisors. I felt like this was a good event to get great shots of people engaging and interacting with each other. I wanted my shots to be candid and just of people in their natural element. I didn't want anyone overly posed or looking at the camera. I wanted to capture what the event was truly about and how events like these get various different people on campus to come together.
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| Image by: Ariyon Mickle |
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| Image by: Ariyon Mickle |
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| Image by: Ariyon Mickle |
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| Image by: Ariyon Mickle |
After the many blog posts this semester I do have a revised definition of photojournalism. Before I thought photojournalism was taking photos to report the news. But now I know photojournalism is so much more than just taking pictures. Photojournalists do take images of happy, sad, tragic events but they also take images that bring awareness to upsetting causes around the world. I also realized photojournalists don't just take images for money and recognition but actually to promote a cause they feel passionate about. I also learned that photojournalists don't just capture nouns, but verbs. They capture images that tell stories and are more than just nice to look at. They even put their lives in danger in order to get the true stories and capture the best images.
It is important to know the History of Photojournalism because it gives insight into how technology has evolved over time. It also causes people to appreciate how far the photograph technology has come. People need to understand how easy taking images are compared to how much work went into getting one image back then. There was the wet collodion or the photogravure process, that is nothing compared to the easy snapping of a photo today. The sharing of images is so much easier and quicker today that it takes a second where back then photos had to be sent via planes in order to be printed and published. The technology timeline was very eye-opening and allowed me to realize how big of an impact the new technology would have on back then and vice versa. People today wouldn't be able to handle the process it took just to take an image or upload it to their social media sites if they still had the old technology.
My big "Ah-ha" moment was when I did the research for the blog post named "What Motivates Photojournalist". It was very nice to think of my own motivations and compare them to different photojournalism. I also thought it was interesting to see what truly motivated people whether it was similar to mine or very different. The research I found just showed me that some photojournalists go into their career with either bad intentions but end up doing good or good intentions and end up doing bad. Some went in only for the fame and praise but end up realizing being a photojournalist is more about capturing the truth. Then there are some that went in wanting to capture the truth but soon let the fame get to them and just captured whatever would get them in the spotlight. I liked that I did found more photojournalists that actually were motivated by making a difference and getting the truth out for the world to see. I could relate to them because my motivations in life are to making an impact and be an aid to anyone in need.
Another "Ah-ha" moment was when we did the unit of ethics in photojournalism. At first, I thought images that went against a lot of ethics shouldn't be taken and posted but now I understand certain situations are okay. I feel like sometimes an image is the only way to help and bring awareness to certain causes. For example, the image below, it's very upsetting and sad to look at but it spreads a powerful message behind it. It brings awareness that help is needed and people need to do something in order to help children like the one pictured.
My answer to this question is still the same and I agree even more after what I have learned in this course. Photographs definitely have an influence on the world and can produce change. Photographs first produce emotion and once people decide to follow up on that emotion with a reaction a change can come. I believe photos have more impact on our thoughts and emotions than a written story. I think because actually seeing something whether in real life or photographed compared to reading words has an effect on people. That image can easily be implanted in your head and lead to thinking about it continuously compared to some words that can be easily forgotten. For example, the image below of the man that fell onto the train tracks really stood out to me this semester. I along with many were confused about why the photographer decided to take an image of the man, instead of trying t help him off the track. I understand the photojournalist, R. Umar Abbasi, probably didn't think he had enough time to save the man without putting himself in danger but I think taking the image was not the thing to do. I do believe this is a powerful image because it is seconds before someone's death but I think the background story is very upsetting and I just wished something more could have been done. This image, in my opinion, proves that people should stop being so quick to take out their phone when bad things occur and instead try to help out. People in this generation are so quick to take out a camera and recording instead of helping a person out. People would watch someone get beat up, bullied or robbed and post it online but not think they could have saved that person. People should look at images like this and realize how horrible it is to be that person behind the camera, while someone is literally seconds away from dying. This might help someone decide not to pick up their phone so they could get the best image and instead think of a way to prevent this from happening again.
Actually playing the role of a photojournalist and going out to take images was a very interesting experience. It gave me more of an insight into how being a photojournalist isn't an easy task and takes time. I had to think harder about the images I wanted to produce and where exactly I would capture them. This experience made me understand more of how photojournalists had to think about the message they want to capture and how they want their images to come across to their viewers. Many of the photojournalists I have learned about wanted to bring awareness with their images and capture true stories. I wanted to make sure my images did the same thing. Even though my images don't really reflect an important cause, I believe it still captures the truth. Like many other photojournalist, my main motivation behind my images was just making sure I told the truth with my images. I didn't want my images to be fake or forced. I also made sure to talk to the people in my images and build a rapport with them.
I feel more connected to a photojournalist in the present just because I know the technology used today is something I would be more comfortable with. I believe that photos are widely used to convey messages and share stories more today compared to the past. The messages that many photojournalists are putting out there today are definitely messages I can stand behind and support. After my experience, I definitely do feel more aware of what photojournalists today go through and how they go about capturing images. I realized I would chose to take a picture of an event to show what happened instead of having to write down what happened.
Overall this course was very eye-opening and introduced me to a field that I knew nothing about. Along with the knowledge I learned from the course content posted by Professor Nordell, I learned a substantial amount from my classmates in this course. In
Halima Johnson's blog post, I thought is was very inspiring how David Burnett was dedicated to taking images of the war. I like how the image was very simple and natural but it caught the essence of the time period. Even though there isn't much going on there is a sense of confusion but seriousness taking place. Images like this gives you a better sense of the emotions that were created during this period of time.
I really liked
Gates Kelliher's blog post because it gave me knowledge about a photojournalist that I never heard of. I liked how he was focused on taking images of African Americans and the struggles they went through. I really enjoyed the statement that Gates quoted from the Times article,
Why we do it: Photographers and Photo Editors on the Passion That Drives Their Work, where
Ruddy Role stated,
"I shoot because I see, I shoot because if I don't, I don't know who will." This quote just proves how much Ruddy does this for African Americans and to bring awareness to their struggles. It shows that he understand if he isn't the one doing it than its possible no one else will. He knows if he wants the images out there than he can't leave it up to anyone but himself.
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