UNIT 57- PHOTOGRAPHY- What is Photojournalism?

Photo journalism

What is photojournalism?

• Documenting Events
• Documenting the news stories
• Telling a story- Aiding that story
• Documenting a period of time
• Documenting culture and society
• Capturing an artistic/subjective image of something that is somewhat normal

Impacts/Effects of Photojournalism on photographers and on how photos are used

• Pictures can be staged- Subjective
• Images can tell a story whether that is positive or negative. Photos can be seen in a different light by different people. We at home would see the wars as atrocities however soldiers doing the killings may think that the photos are showing them in a positive light
• A picture tells a story but not the whole story sometimes
• Pictures tell the absolute truth whereas spoken/written word can be manipulated/censored
• Photojournalism involves capturing events but it is difficult to get directly involved or intervene in dangerous events
• Photojournalism is a dangerous job in certain circumstances
• There are certain moral dilemmas with being a photojournalist in some very harsh environments and dangerous locations of the world such as in a war zone. One dilemma faced is whether or not it is right to take photo or if it is worth it to reveal the harsh truths
• Anyone can get into photojournalism despite their background. They just need to have the right mindset and artistic image
• Gives photographers the ability to be artistic with normal, generic and every day objects, locations and items.
• Photographers get to travel the world and be a part of the big events that happen in the world
• It  can be psychologically damaging for photographers
• It can be emotionally distressing
• Rewarding to capture and expose traumatic events revealing the atrocities to the world
• Photos show the severity of certain events and tell of the environments/atmospheres surrounding them. Puts the events into perspective.
• The photographers see the world in a different way

What are my thoughts on photographing graphic events? Does anyone have the right to photograph these events? What can or shouldn't be photographed? Why?

I think that graphic and traumatic global events need to be documented. I think that it is correct to document these events through any means whether that is through official documents, video or photo evidence all as a means of educating people about these horrors so that they do not happen again or even so on a scale even comparable to the atrocities of the past such as the Holocaust and the Vietnam War. I do think that anyone who wants to take photographs for this reason as a means of educating people do have the right to take these photographs. Those who try to glamorise these events or make them out to be something that they are not do not have the right to take these photographs in my opinion. For example if someone tried to use photographs to question the legitimacy of particular events like within the Holocaust should not have a right to use photography in that light as they are taking away from the point of having the opportunity to take those photos in the first place. Likewise I think that if someone uses a photo to glamorise that sort of behaviour or encourage war should not have the right to do. I also agree with what McCullin has taken photos of and therefore do not think that there should be a limit to what can or cannot be photographed. This is because photojournalism should convey the truth and in some cases the harsh truths of what these events are like. If something cannot be photographed then therefore this is a form of censorship and stops the photographer from being able to tell the whole story which will then make something look not as bad as is actually is.

Information from Don McCullin Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mSEjxfXBsg 

UNIT 57 PHOTOGRAPHY- History of Photography and My Relationship with Photography

History of Photography

Introduction to the task
For this task I was asked to research the history of photography, technologically speaking. I looked into the different technological advancements that there have been from when the first photograph was taken to how the different evolutions of the camera came about. This involved looking into the creation of different film, polaroid and digital cameras and the people who invented them. I also spoke about my own personal relationship with photography and how it has had a personal effect on me over the years. Lastly I spoke about selfies which in itself is a type of photography today and how they have become popularised over the years and made easier with the introduction of different applications.

When was the first Photograph taken?

The first photograph was taken in 1826 by Joseph Nicephore Niepce who was an inventor and the first photographer so to say seeing as he invented photography. The early technique that he used was known as heliography which was the process of using the sun to react with substances in order to capture images. This was the first instance of photography being done on film

Timeline/History of Photography

• In 1834 a man named Henry Fox Talbot created permanent negative images using paper soaked in silver chloride. In order to turn them into positive images he would then put that image on another sheet of paper and through physical contact the photo would transfer.
• In 1855 the stereoscopic era began. Stereoscopic photography is when there are two parts to see down known as a stereoscope. There is one for the left and one for the right eye. Viewing the image through a stereoscope helps our brains combine the two flat images and the objects how there should look. This is because if we see the image through only one eye through a singular scope then it will look different to how the other eye see it. Stereoscopic photography was the main form between 1850 and the early 1900's producing millions of photos throughout this period
• The first Kodak camera came around in 1888 which was invented and patented by a man name George Eastman. Thus starting the beginning of the Kodak camera company. Eastman also started manufacturing paper film which was later perfected into a roll of film. Eastman began supplying this film to world renown inventor Thomas Edison.
• The first 35mm Film for a camera was invented by Thomas Edison in the early 1890's. The film stock supplied to Edison was originally 40mm which he and his assistant would trim down to 34.9mm. This is how 35mm film came to be. The first 35mm Camera however wasn't actually invented/perfected until 1913/14 by a man named Oskar Barnack.
• In 1900 the first mass marketed camera came out, again made by Kodak with Eastman giving the initial presentation for it. It was called the Brownie. The camera was on sale until the 1960's.
• Polaroid photography began to come onto the scene in the 1930's and was fully established as a method of photography in the late 1940's
• The polaroid camera company was founded in 1937 by Edwin H Land who left Harvard in 1926 after his freshman year in order to pursue his own research on light polarization
• In 1947 Land presented a demonstration of the first instant camera and wowed the audience at the meeting. In 1948 the first camera developed by Land was sold for $89.95 at a department store in Boston. The model '95 Land' camera became the prototype for all Polaroid Land cameras produced during the next 15 years.
• In 1963 Polaroid introduced the Polacolour which was the first instant colour film to be used in a camera allowing for instant colour pictures 
• Since the 1960's every few years or so the Polaroid company have been releasing newer models of Polaroid cameras by innovating based upon what the last model did right. They are still releasing products today with camera models working digitally, faster and are even more compact so now rather than having to carry them around in bags they can fit in ones pocket.
• The first commercial digital camera was invented by none other than the Kodak company. It was created by a man named Steve Sasson who is regarded as the inventor of the digital camera in December 1975. Although it was experimental it was a digital camera in the way that we know it due to the fact that it recorded images onto a chip known as a CCD chip rather than onto tape.
• However digital cameras were used at other points before this. During the space race and other points during the Cold War digital cameras would have been used by both the Americans and The Russians. Both sides realised that if a satellite could be carried into space then they could carry a camera also. However there wouldn't be ways to develop film if it was stuck in space so digital cameras were invented so that film wasn't needed. They could take photographs and send the signal back to Earth which could then be decoded and viewed.
• After camera companies learned that they could use a CCD chip in that way they began to use it for their own gain and so they were then able to start producing their own cameras also. Once this could be done for still images, the technology would have been developed so that video could also use this. The advantage to this over using film is that the devices can be more compact and easier to edit, upload and transfer once the technology to do so became available.
• In 1990 Photoshop became available meaning now photos could be edited/manipulated
• As a result of the digital age, in 2004 Kodak stopped the production of film cameras so that they could make digital photography their main focus

My Relationship with Photography

In terms of how I have used photography in my life and how it relates to me I have pretty much used photography to capture moments in my life or have others capture them for me. I use photography in this was specifically in order to have a memory to share or in order to go with a story that I can tell. One thing about photos that I take is that essentially most of them have a story to go with them and therefore they are very sentimental to me. I haven't ever really used photography as a means of artistic expression but have however often used them in a comedic way either to share with my friends or on social media. I also like going through old photos from years ago every now and again whether they be of me, old holidays or family members as a means of nostalgia and having a good memory that is personal to me.

Selfies

A selfie as defined by Google is a photo taken by one ones self either using a smartphone or a webcam that is usually shared on social media or with other people. Selfies have become very popularised among today's youth especially since they are easy to take and share. It's become a part of celebrity culture and can even become someones livelihood with people making money off of the selfies or pictures they take of themselves off of websites like Instagram.  There are even apps such as snapchat and various face swap apps that are solely selfie based  add an extra layer to taking and sharing selfies. A lot of social media sights have the ability to take selfies built into them so one can be taken and shared straight away.

What did I learn from this?

• The first photograph was taken in 1826
• Kodak came around in 1888
• 35mm camera was invented in the 1890's by famous inventor Thomas Edison
• The first mass marketed camera was called the brownie and was sold by Kodak in 1900 for 60 years
• Polaroid came around in the 30's and 40's with instant colour polaroid coming around in 1963
• Digital camera came around in the mid-1970's again being invented by Kodak

How will this help you in the future?

This will help me with my assignment because I will be able to reference the different methods of photography and how they came about because of different trends, photographers and companies. The information about selfies helps me because I will be able to talk about how photography is used today not only with professional photographers but among youth culture.

Magazine Conventions for a Double Page Spread

Body Copy

• Main Piece of Text
• Story or article that the reader is on the page for
• Will include information about the artist or band

Byline- Says who wrote the article in case the reader wants to read another article by that person


Caption

• Backs up the photos
• explains what the audience is looking at
• Might tell the reader where the photo was taken or about what was happening

Drop Cap

• The capital letter at the start of the article which is larger than the rest of the article
• This indicates the start of an article and also makes it look professional

Gutter- The spacing between columns so the reader isn't confused


Headline/Header

• Text at the top
• Large and distinctive
• Catches the readers attention

Pagination- Page numbers have to be included


Pull Quote- Short phrase or sentence from the article which has been enlarged to advertise the content. Usually brightly coloured


Standfirst

• Basic, broad introduction to a story or article
• Small paragraph of information
• Important as its the first thing someone reads

Main Image

• Takes up most of the page
• Audience is drawn to image
• Related to article

Images- Other images surrounding and relating to the main image


End Blob- Symbol used to show the end of a page/article

Photography Rsearch

Photographer	Don McCullin	David Bailey
Why are they Famous?	McCullin has worked in the world of journalism working as a photographer for Newspapers during different national and world events. He has been in the middle of these events such as during ‘the troubles’ in Ireland and after the Vietnam war. He has put his life at risk in order to take certain photographs. He has been threatened at knifepoint and also has been injured by mortar shells. He was even arrested in Uganda and thrown into a prison in which they murdered inmates. One thing that he is also known for was photographing The Beatles.	In the 1960s he became a freelance photographer for British Vogue and began photographing celebrities such as the Beatles, The Who and the Rolling Stones. He also took pictures of actors and models. Bailey also wrote and produced books, directed films and arranged photographic shows and made commercials. He was a very cultured and current photographer in the 60s and kept up with all the current pop culture that was around at the time he was working
What do they photograph?	He has photographed images during times of war and conflict. His images show the impact/realities of war. The pictures literally show soldiers fighting or civillians affected by war in different countries.	He was a celebrity photographer. He captured iconic images such as The Rolling Stones, The Kray Twins, Kate Moss and Michael Caine. He took simple black and white photgraphs

William Eggleston	Martin Parr
Eggleston is largely credited with bringing about colour photography with the dye transfer process as a fine art form. This is printed images rather film. His colour photographs were on show at the museum of modern art and this was ground-breaking for photography. His artwork not only had colour but also had an observational style.	Parr became another photographer who was famous for using colour in his photos. Even in the 1980s colour photo was still quite radical. He also became famous because of the political comments that his photos convey which takes a look at the middle class and westernised society.
His photographs showed everyday subject matter such as cars, hotel rooms and stores. His early works subject matter was the American South where he is from. His pictures had no political or social messages.	Parr photographs ordinary objects with a dramatic tone using techniques such as certain lighting positions to convey tone.

Don McCullin

This picture shows a youth taunting British soldiers in Londonderry in Northern Ireland. I have chosen this photo in particular of Don McCullins because despite the fact that this photo was from the 1970s it is still an event that was very much relevant up until recent years. The fact that the youth and the British soldiers are on different sides of the wall from one another, shows the separation and the distance in relations that there truly was between Britain and Ireland during ‘The Troubles’.

David Bailey

This is a picture that David Bailey took of The Beatles at a time that they were still very popular. This picture is just one of many that Bailey has taken of celebrities and this one shows that he was very current and was very up to date with the pop culture that was current at the time. The clothes that they were wearing also would have been the current fashion at the time.

William Eggleston

I liked this photo from Eggleston because of the variety of different colours that stand out to me. You can tell what kind of period you would expect this is from by the different petrol pumps and the Coca Cola advertisements on the sign. Even the car which isn’t in full visibility stands out because of the highly saturated blue colour which is complimented by the cream colour of the shop. His photos show how different colours complement each other and would have been revolutionary for the time as colour photo was not common.

Martin Parr

This photo shows a  contrast of tourists and locals seeing as Parr has simply taken a photo of what he has seen on a beach. The photo shows two locals in the background, two tourists in the foreground and a cow in the middle and it just shows how contrasting worlds can come together. What’s interesting about this shot is that it wouldn’t have been set up but actually would have been something that was just naturally happening.