Image: Shortnose Sturgeon
Image By: Sirjana Lamichhane
Image created: 2017
For my creative experiential exercise, I went to the Springfield Museum. With all the knowledge of photojournalism learned from this course, I felt like taking images is an art that involves many technicalities. The different principles regarding assessment and composition were in my mind. I tried my best to use those artistic principles and make my images as natural as possible. From the 34 images I took, I shortlisted the following 5 images to present to you. I took all the images from my IPhone 6 camera. I first went to the science museum where I took the images of the Shortnose Sturgeon and bullfrog family. Then I got a chance to look at many beautiful portraits from the 17th to 19th century in the art museum. I also took images of their description about my subject placed beside each portrait. The images of these portraits as shown below are similar to the exact portrait. I used the lights and focus to take those images. I tried my best to limit my self-interest as well as my bias as far as possible. Seeing those mesmerizing portraits in real life was an amazing experience. I wonder if there are such artistic portraits made these days. I do not know if it was legal to take photographs of those portraits, but as a photojournalist I took a risk to present these portraits. These images can symbolize the richness of talent in the artists of that era.
Image: Bullfrog in the diorama
Image by: Sirjana Lamichhane
Image created: 2017
Image: Miss Fanny Peabody
Portrait By: George Healy
Created: 1881
Image by: Sirjana Lamichhane
Image: Portrait of Venice
Portrait by: Bernardo Bellotto
Created: 1740
Image by: Sirjana Lamichhane
Image: Portrait of Madame de Servan
Portrait by: Unknown Artist
Created: 19th century
Image by: Sirjana Lamichhane
After this course, I have learned about different aspects of photojournalism, besides just taking photographs to illustrate stories. I learned about the ethics, bias and motivation involved in this process, along with its rich history. With all these aspects in my mind, I would like to revise my definition. Photojournalism is an art of taking true and real images without involving self-interest, and following all the guidelines by NPPA to illustrate true stories regarding any incident and injustice. Furthermore, it is to grab the attention of people to the matter shown in the images, so that the public is aware of any issues and can work to resolve them. It is very important to know about the situation behind the scene in photojournalism; this emphasizes the knowledge of the History of Photojournalism. The different hardships and problems tackled by the photojournalist can stand as a lesson for the new and upcoming men and women who choose a career in photojournalism. The future photojournalists should also be aware of ethics and the consequences of violating the code of conduct.
I found it tough to determine any one “Ah-ha” moment during this course, but I did choose one. I admire the idea of Jonathan Klein of Getty Images when he says, “We bring to each image our own values, our own belief systems, and as a result of that, the image resonates with us”. Photojournalists carry a huge responsibility to the public, of showing the people situations and events from all over the world, as seen through their own eyes. I think images have a much greater power, which is able to evoke emotion in people and cause them to act. Although they cannot be the sole reason for bringing any change, they play a vital role in intensifying the situation. I believe every photojournalist uses the various techniques in creating meaningful images, not just for themselves, but also for the individuals who view them.
While thinking about an image that had a powerful impact on me, the only picture was the image taken byLynsey Addario, where she presented Sudanese rebels passing by the dead bodiesof Sudanese soldiers. This image shows so many things that affected me emotionally. The stones scattered around the bodies made me wonder if the cause of the soldiers’ deaths was by throwing stones at them. The rebels walking past the dead bodies shows the loss of humanity from people in war zone, since they appear to show no compassion for the loss of life. Besides all this, the expanse of the desert illustrates the harsh conditions of people living in war zones.
Image created: 2016
I gained a lot of knowledge about the history of photojournalism and the role of historians, which I used during my creative experiential exercise. I used the techniques for assessing images when I took my photos. I tried to use the rule of third and depth of field to take the images of the Shortnose Sturgeon and the bullfrog family, in order to clearly show the environment in which they live. Similarly, I understand the role ethics and bias plays in the photojournalism profession. As a result, I did not use any of the effects available in modern technology to alter the images in any aspect and presented them to you as they appeared in my camera. I have not inserted my own ideas or concepts about anything in these photographs.
Louis Scarfo presented information that the warphotographer Tim Hetherington spent more time with the subject, rather thanjust 1-2 hours, to get a clearer picture of their lives. However, spending toomuch time with a subject can create sympathy or other emotions towards them,which may result in bias. I also got to know about pink belly where each member in a platoon strikes in stomach until it bruise. It is shown in the image below.
Kelly Reilly pointed out that although photojournalismwas a man’s job during mid 20th century, Ruth Orkin found her success.She worked for publication like New York Times, co-directed an Oscar nominatedfilm and showed the Metropolitan Museum of Art to people. I also got to know that the honesty in her image lead to images like "American Girl in Italy" as shown below.
Andrew Iovanna showed in his video how David Guttenfelder used Instagram to post pictures illustrating the everyday life of people living in North Korea, without censorship. He shows us how the photojournalist tried to piece together a picture of this country, which remains unknown to most of the world. I also liked the idea how black and white brought a life to this image. This image is so intense that it could evoke emotion in any human being.
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