Chapter 9

Image by: Unknown

Image source: http://www.bjp-online.com/2016/04/remembering-tim-hetherington-four-years-on/

     Tim Hetherington was a British photographer, human rights advocate, journalist, filmmaker, and communicator, until April 20th 2011, when he was killed in Libya. The country was in the middle of a civil war and he was there covering it, when a mortar hit his group, and the shrapnel caused Tim to bleed out and lose his life. Covering war led him coin term “the feedback loop”, which describes how the media informs the men and women at war about what is going on at home, and in turn they inform the media of what is going on with them. When trying to describe why he risks his life photographing in very dangerous situations and in war torn countries, he best explained it as “I want to connect with real people, to document them in real circumstances, where there aren’t any neat solutions”. Tim was like many other photojournalists, where they see suffering, and ask themselves, how well can they tell the story of these folks who are really working hard to get out of poverty, or situation.

Photo By: Tim Hetherington

Image source: http://www.nbcnews.com/slideshow/news/tim-a-hetheringtons-photographs-42689226

Photo By: Todd Stoddart

Image Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-3100887/Don-McCullin-seen-ravages-war-horrifying-close-up.html                             

   
     Don McCullin is another British photojournalist and has been risking his life covering wars, for over 50 years now. He still continues to be a devoted photographer, even in his 80’s, stating “I know I haven’t got that many years left, and I need to devote them to photography”. He claims that his early motivators wasn’t to change people’s perceptions, it was to take good pictures and flaunt them to other photographers. His epiphany came in 1969 where he “should have been making people think the images I was making were of things that should be unacceptable in our world”. When he was watching kids dropping dead in front of him, changed his whole attitude on photojournalism. What Don McCullin was referring to is what Ed Kashi refers to as “advocacy journalism, where the goal is tell visual stories that not only inform viewers but also inspire them to find activist solutions to social problems”

Photo By: Don McCullen

Image Source: https://donmccullin.com/don-mccullin/

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                                                                    Photo by: Unknown

Image Source: http://www.uptownmagazine.com/2012/09/100-years-of-iconic-photographer-gordon-parks/

      Gordon Parks is a photojournalist and humanitarian with a focus on “social justice, race relations, poverty, civil rights, and urban life”, according to the foundations website. He worked for Life magazine for 20 years, capturing subjects that were related to racism and poverty. He documented the Civil Rights Movement and was a tireless advocate as well. According to Gordon Parks, “in the early days of racism, it only made me work all that much more to prove to the world that I could do this. You first have to have desire, then the courage to fulfill that desire”.

Photo By: Gordon Parks

Image source: http://masteringphoto.com/gordon-parks/

     My personal motivators are not as extravagant as other people but in a nutshell, this is what motivates me. My biggest motivator has and always will be my son. He is what keeps me going when all I want to do is give up sometimes. I keep going because I want to be able to provide him a better life than what I had growing up, and to instill a drive in him to never give up. The photojournalists that I researched all had a motivator to advocate for social issues plaguing our world, and that is very noble of them. My calling is not as big as theirs but a small change in the cycle of poverty and doing the best I can as a mother, plays a small role in breaking the chains that binds many minorities and people of color. Our children are always set up for failure because of our color and background, and helping my son break those chains can help prepare him to be a better man of color when he grows up. Money is always a motivator for most people. No matter how much we don't want to be tied down to it, it is a huge factor in everything we do directly or indirectly. I am sure that the best photojournalists, would not have been able to do what they did if they could not afford all the equipment they own. My boyfriend is the little voice that is constantly saying keep going and rooting for me, every step that I go. I tend to second guess myself a lot and he is always putting all his faith in me, which helps by pushing me to accomplish my goals. Lastly, personal growth is something that I am sure everyone aspires for. For them it was photojournalism, for me it is education, Nursing in particular. As I get older, I don't want to be stuck doing the same thing I was doing 10 years ago and so on. For all of us it is finding our own purpose in life, and what we contribute to our society. This gives us an opportunity to self-actualize ourselves and be the best people we can be.  

Chapter 8

                                                                   Going Home
                                                              Photo By: Ed Clark
                                   Image Source: http://www.thegreatleapsideways.com/?p=209


        This image is of a Navy shipman following the funeral procession of FDR. Clearly he is deeply affected by his death and everyone behind him is also sad by his departure. FDR did so many good things for this country and not just for the white and privileged, but for everyone. He created economic growth for the country, created the FDIC, and Social Security Administration. My point is, he was one of Americas greatest presidents and when he died, everyone mourned his loss. Right now, with everything going on with our disgrace of a new president, I feel like this man feels right now, because after January, everything our forefathers and greatest leaders since the birth of our nation accomplished, will be thrown our the window and society will step back into the early 20th century. I am sure those people in the image are scared of what's to come after their greatest leader died, as I and I am and I'm sure many others, are scared to see what is to come in the next 4 years. According to  a German newspaper, "American society hardly has a chance of survival other than becoming a modernized, diverse economic construct. That's the opposite of what Trump envisions. Racism and hatred will have to serve as a substitute for keeping promises". Although Obama hasn't left the office yet, or hasn't died, I feel like our nation has died and most of us are mourning it. This image shows the raw emotion of losing a great leader, and can be comparable to when America lost JFK back in 1963 and now as Obama leaves. With the four ways of knowing, I would have to use emotion/intuition because this image provoked a big surge of emotions.

Subjects Expression: This was a candid picture. The man was not relaxed because he was really emotional when the picture was taken. He represented what many Americans during that time were feeling.

In or out of focus: The image if focused on the Navy shipman, and he is in clear focus down to seeing the tears coming down his face. Everyone else in the background is out of focus but you can clearly see their emotion on their faces. It helped the image by allowing the viewer to just focus on the main subject, and allowed the people in the background to support the subject's feelings.

Is the image black & white or color?: The image is in black & white not by choice. It was taken during a time when color imaging was possible. It had more of an impact than if it was taken in color.

Photo by: Unknown
Photo year:2016
Image source: http://abc7.com/news/over-10k-march-in-largest-anti-trump-protest-in-dtla/1603923/


                                                      




        This image represents our truth right now. Ever since this past Wednesday, many cities have been protesting and it hasn't lost any momentum since. This image was taken November 12th at a protest in LA and they estimated about 8,000 protesters. This image shows how large the crowd is versus a photo taken from the ground. All of the images seen from all the protests going on, gives me pride to see our people coming together to try to stop a man that represents everything that our country has fought hard to overcome, and has made it okay for his followers to voice their hatred towards those that are not like them. I feel like this image represents the magnitude of people that are scared to death of the future of this country and the future for our children, and are not willing to go down without a fight. Like the EuroMaidan protestors, Americans have "been consumed by TV, by news images repurposed for a new battle, but were now referencing their own protest history. They promised to put on a show, and the media came to participate".On the flip side, as Professor Nordell stated, "in our image saturated time, it's of vital importance to look at the biases of the publications that present imaging. It's of vital importance to look at the possible biases of the photojournalists creating the images, as well as taking a look at our own biases". On the four ways of knowing article, I would have to use sense perception because as you look at the picture you can easily perceive it as a gathering of people for higher cause.

Texture: I view this image as rough. The buildings surrounding the crowd, make the image look hard and rough. It helps create a feeling of unity, of not going down without a fight. It makes the image look powerful because it sends the message of power in numbers.

Background compliments or detracts from composition: I feel like the buildings compete for the attention of the main focus. The background is not out of focus and if it was, it may have helped a little. More of a focus should have been given to the crowd, although from the looks of it, it seems like if it was taken by a camera that is not used for photojournalism.

Use of lines: Looking at the image, I see vertical perpendicular lines in the images. One line to divide the left side of the buildings with the crowd, and the other line to separate the crowd with the building on the right side. The lines help keep the attention inside the two lines.

                                                       Photo by: Alex Garcia
                                                       Photo year: 2012
                              Image source: http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/assignment-chicago/2012/02/

        This image was clearly staged and represents not a truthful image. It wasn't like this couple got married right smack in the middle of a protest and the photographer snapped the picture, they actually showed up to the protest and staged the picture. Why? I have no idea, except that whatever the protest was about, maybe the couple felt strongly about it and wanted to incorporate it in their wedding photography. I found the image odd because you have a line of riot police standing on guard, during a tense moment, and off to the right you see a happy couple kissing. It's like a confusing wedding picture mixed with photojournalism and frankly I don't get it. It is like telling the news while covering a wedding. According to the good news network, "if news is not really news unless it is bad news, it may be difficult to claim we are an informed nation. The job of photojournalists was to portay accurately what was happening in society", whether it is good news or bad news. And, in this case, it is a combination of both. It is hard to determine what is the real truth in an image, and as a photojournalist, it is hard to decide which picture represents the unbiased truth. As Professor Nordell said about the picture he took of the Governor with the small child, "perhaps this was my favorite picture because as a freelancer, I thought that this image had the highest likelihood of selling", and this may be the force behind other freelancers when choosing their images as their truth. For the four way of knowing article, I would have to say logics/reason because I am still trying to rationalize this image. I have come to the conclusion that this image is not meant to be rationalized and to just take it as is.

Rule of thirds: The main subject is on the outer third on the right side. This allows the background to show the line of police guarding the area.

Obvious main subject, about 1/4 to 2/3 of image area: The main subject is taking up a little over 1/4 of the image. I'd say more like 1/3. It does not crowd the edges. If certain objects would have been left out, it would have just looked like a regular run of the mill wedding picture.

What feelings does the image create?: The picture creates a sense of confusion to me. The analytical side of me wants to know why would anyone want to take their pictures of their wedding, in the middle of a protest. It is such a happy moment, clouded by a uneasy moment. It definitely captured my attention because if you photoshop the couple out, it becomes a photojournalistic image, and if you photoshop the police out, it becomes a regular wedding picture. The two just don't together in my opinion.

Chapter Seven

     The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) is a “society that promotes the highest standards in visual journalism”. They set the code of ethics for photojournalists and is considered like their ten commandments that they must follow. They are easy to interpret and are direct. The following three out of the 9 codes are talking about not manipulating any images, whether by staging, altering the image, or altering the image to mislead viewers. It is pretty straight forward and any respected professional photojournalist should have no problem abiding with these “rules”.

     

Photo by: Unknown

Image source: http://www.eldiario.es/cultura/Narciso-Contreras-muestra-mediante-Siria_0_331767470.html     

     Yet despite how clear the rules are, so many have fallen from grace. One example of a respected photojournalist, is the case of Pulitzer prize-winning freelance photographer Narciso Contreras, which a single image, ruined his respected career. His crime? Violating the ethical standards by altering a photo he took while covering the war in Syria in 2013. What he did wasn’t major, he didn’t change the image to mislead or misrepresent his viewers. He manipulated the image to remove his colleagues camera out from the lower left hand corner of the picture. Here is the thing, Narciso actually turned himself in to the Associated Press and the AP, and according to the New York Time, "decided to review nearly 500 images that had been filed since he began working for them, but they found no other alterations to his images". The AP fired him, because according to the AP, they didn’t want to tarnish the AP’s reputation by allowing photojournalists that do not uphold the code of ethics. 

Photo by: Narciso Contreras

Image Source: http://www.ap.org/Content/AP-In-The-News/2014/AP-severs-ties-with-photographer-who-altered-work

     

     Contreras admits to feeling ashamed and regrets his decision of removing the camera out of the frame, he told the AP. He knew the camera was in the frame when he took the picture, but he thought it might detract the viewers from the war tension of the image. He was torn on what to do and chose the wrong decision which he has to live with now. If he would have stayed quiet, he would have put in doubt his credibility and the AP for distributing it, so he does not regret his decision of speaking up. 

Photo by: Judith Soto

     My personal view on this issue is they should have given him another chance. He admitted before getting caught of what he did and what he did alter was minute in comparison. The way I would interpret his decision to speak up by using my personal ethics map, is by establishing his core foundations. He has the morals and values, the wisdom to know what he should do after that lapse in judgement, respect and loyalty to his craft, strength to speak up and say something, and integrity to do what is right. Which in this case, was admitting he made a mistake. His career ended with the AP, but he still managed to walk away with his head held high for owning his mistake. If I was him, I would have done exactly what he did and in many different occasions, have owned up to my mistakes and accepted whatever consequence. Nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes, and by having integrity, your reputation would not be affected as much.