It's important to know the history of photojournalism for a couple different reasons. When people or photojournalists know the history then they are more aware of how things came to be. Of how technology has evolved over time and how it made it easier for images later to be captured. Also how different technologies and images made the industry of photojournalism into what it is today. With the evolution of photojournalism, images have become more powerful and more known to our society that isn't aware of what photojournalism actually is.
A big “ah-ha” moment that I had was when we discussed truth and not truth. I never really thought about how images could be photoshopped, staged, placed in a certain way or even taken at a certain angle just to get the “right picture”. I always imagined that photojournalistic images were just the raw truth, but after discussing this topic and seeing a lot of different images that presented falseness, I became to see the truth. I saw how some images are manipulated just for more attention or just for it to look better for the final photo. The two images below are taken during the civil war by photojournalist, Alexander Gardner. The two images are clearly different, and taken in different locations but have the same deceased man in both photos. It is clear that at least one of these images was staged.
Photo by : Alexander Gardner
Image source : https://www.oddee.com/item_99568.aspx
Another "ah-ha" moment that I had was when we were discussing the different compositional principles of images. I really got to look at different photojournalistic images and think about the different principles that were applied to the photos to make them so powerful and perfectly composed. A big one that stood out to me and one that I never heard of before was the "rule of thirds." I got a sense of why photojournalists take images this way. I got to see the effect that taking an image a certain way has on the overall final picture. The rule of thirds, for example, gives the image space and gives it a bigger story then if it was taken of just one object or person. It gives the person viewing the image a bigger presentation and imagination of what is going on in that photo. I found the compositional principles very interesting and eye opening towards how that compose a photograph.
Photo by : Lynsey Addario
Image source : https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/courageous-photography-lynsey-addario-180954386/
Photo by : Marc Riboud
Creative Experimental Exercise :
Below are photographs that I took in black and white. While learning the different compositional principles I really got a sense of the black and white images, and how much effect this has on the final image. To me personally, photos that are black and white show more emotions and are more powerful, so I chose to experienced with that. I took photos of my friends and family, then later looked at them through the black and white perspective.
Photo by : Liliya Stepanchuk
Photo by : Liliya Stepanchuk
Photo by : Liliya Stepanchuk
Photo by : Liliya Stepanchuk
Photo by : Liliya Stepanchuk
Reviewing my Classmates Photojournalist Profiles :
Photo by : Dorothea Lange
Image source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Owens_Thompson
Photo by : Ruddy Roye
Image source : http://www.stevenkasher.com/artists/ruddy-roye
In Leah Przybyszewski’s blog her photojournalist profile was on James Nachtwey. James started his photography career in 1976 in New Mexico but then became a freelance photographer photojournalist when he moved to New York. He photographs different conflicts like homelessness, drug addiction, poverty and global health issues. James photos have had a very big impact on today's society because of his powerful images. His photos are the kind that stay in ones mind and are unforgettable because of the power they hold.
Photo by : James Nachtwey