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Conclusion

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Beginning the course, I didn’t really have a definition of photojournalism. I assumed that it could be any type of photos posted in a journal. After beginning the course vividly remember a video post in course content stating that photojournalism is simply- pictures of people doing things. Ever since then I have adopted that definition. However, after studying all the journalists I believe I have developed my own definition of photojournalism- pictures that have the ability to tell a story. I do not think that every picture is capable of telling a story and only ones that do should be considered photojournalism. In order for pictures to tell a story oftentimes, people are in it because facial expressions, poses, actions, body language all help tell that story, but there are other cases that a story could be told as well without people.  Photo by:  James Nachtwey Photo by:  James Nachtwey Photo by:  James Nachtwey Above are ...

James Nachtwey: Photojournalist Profile

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Hi photojournalists, For my photojournalist profile, I decided to do my project on the well known James Nachtwey. This is a link to the photobook "by" James Nachtwey comprised of all of his pictures. The pictures have a specific order to them because they tell a story of what it is like to live in a third world country. Below is a zoomed-in version of the book with captions that the website wouldn't accommodate. The profile I created for James Nachtwey is below the images of the photojournal.  Photos By:   James Nachtwey   Both children in this photo were being held what was described as an "orphanage for the incurable."   Photos By:   James Nachtwey   These two images are taken from Nachtwey's photojournal titles "AIDS." The photo on the is an AIDS victim. The image on the bottom is of a grandmother comforting her HIV infected granddaughter.    Photos By:   James Nachtwey   The photo on the top is a sur...

What Motivates Photojournalists... And Me!

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Everyone has different reasons for wanting to achieve. Everyone perceives achievement in different ways. For me, achievement is being happy, pursuing a career that I enjoy, starting a family, and doing my best in everything I participate in along the way. The driving factor behind my motivation is my willingness to achieve. This is the motivation map I created based on what motivates me to achieve.    Based on this map I created I was inclined to compare my motivations to some photojournalists I researched. I want to know why they do what they do, why they think it important, and what motivates them to continue doing it. One photojournalist I researched is Peter Di Campo. He spends most of his time in Africa documenting what it is like to live there on a daily basis. One of his most recent works is a photo essay called “Everyday Africa.” Peter is very different compared to most people because he views the world differently. In an interview with “TIME Magazine” Peter says...

Photojournalism and Bias

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"Going Home" Photo by: Ed Clark Year Created: 1945 Principle #1: Black and white The picture is black and white probably because that's the technology that the photojournalist had on hand. The color matches the facial expression of the man. The black and white adds to the mood of the photo. Principle #2: Facial expression The main subject in the photo has a facial expression that resembles pain and sadness. It seems like he is grieving because he looks like he is crying. He could be at some sort of event because it looks like he is performing for a crowd. Principle #3: Contrast The photo has a lot of contrasts in it between the dark greys of the subject and the white of the building and piano. The piano keys really stand out because the white keys are adjacent to the black ones. The subject is stand out a lot because he is up against the white wall of the building. In this picture, the main subject looks like he is in emotional pain or distress over something...

Controversial Ethics in Photojournalism

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Everyone has ethics and morals that they follow that help them navigate through life. Morals help people make decisions like if someone in front of you drops a $100 bill, do you tell them or pick it up and keep it? This would fall under the umbrella of honesty. I think that an individual who admires honesty would give the $100 bill back to their owner. Sometimes in these situations where your morals are tested, you have to think about if the roles were reversed. If you dropped a $100 bill would you respect the person that takes it or the person that gives it back to you? Something that I admire along with honesty is loyalty. To me, I always want people surrounding me that will always be loyal and supportive of my decisions, right or wrong. I also admire faith. When I was young I really didn’t understand the point behind having faith and it wasn’t until recently that I discovered the importance behind it.  With this being said, there are things in life that test your m...

Ethics of Photojournalism

As with everything else in life, I think there are two sides to everything. When you have the profession as a photojournalist, you will do basically “whatever it takes” to get the photo you want. However, the question is, are there boundaries within doing whatever it takes to get that perfect photo? In my opinion, there are boundaries, but they are situational and a very gray area when it comes to photojournalism.  One of the examples used was a woman named “Aline praying outside St. Rose Lima Church in Newton, Conn., on the day of a school shooting.” Is this considered an okay moment for a photojournalist to take a picture or is it crossing oral boundaries? I think that taking pictures discretely or waiting until Aline is done praying and asking her if she could pose in that same way again so a picture could be taken is more appropriate. If a person does not want their picture taken I do not think they should be put in a position where a photographer takes a picture wi...