Linnea Havener: Photography After Frank - Photojournalism

Photojournalism:

Photojournalism is where photographs are used to help show or support an article about an important event. The point of the camera is to just witness an event without disrupting it to accurately witness what is happening. The important difference between a photo taken by an artist and a photo taken by a photojournalist is that artists are taking photos to explore an idea whereas photojournalists take photos to answer questions. These are the same questions that a journalist answers such as who, what, when, where, why etc.

Page One: A Conversation with Philip Gefter, Picture Editor of the New York Times’ Front Page:

This section is set up like an interview between author Philip Gefter and Veronique Vienne. Philip Gefter was nominated as Page One picture editor in 1999 for the New York Times. His style involves making photos that are edifying versus illustrative which means that the photos don’t just add to the story but also illuminate in the photo what is being reported on. Most of this interview is about the 4:30 Page One meeting that the staff has every day. During this meeting they discuss what information and which images should be displayed on Page One for the next issue.

One interesting point I thought Philip made was that it takes focus and discipline to accurately talk about photos. He also says that his main concern when trying to select photos for the front page is that are accurately present what really happened even if that is the opposite of his own personal beliefs.

History’s First Draft Looks Much Better With Pictures:

Very often huge historical events are associated with images that photojournalists took to accompany the story. An image is can definitely help make a story stronger but it is still only as valuable as the information it provides. This section talks about how the book Things as They Are explains how the history of printing and photo technology have helped develop the genre of photojournalism. The photos seen in twentieth century magazines set the visual tone for photojournalism. These photos featured sharp lighting, simple compositions and bold lines. Later Diane Arbus created photographs that were blurred, raw and grainy which challenged the classic magazine photograph. For photojournalism, the subject seen in the photo is the most important part rather than the aesthetics of the actual image. In the later 1900’s photojournalists found a way to do both by changing where they took the photos and in what way they observed their subjects.

Reflections of New York’s Luckiest: Look Magazine:

There used to be a magazine called Look, which was the opposite of the magazine Life. Look helped show that New York is really just a city full of “outsiders” and that people whom didn’t fit other places could always find a home in New York. The magazine tended to be more left wing and lighthearted and never turned away from a funny human-interest story. Originally the magazine started as a tabloid but then broadened its material to appeal to the whole family. The content ranged from social and political issues to celebrity profiles and cultural events. There is now a show in the Museum of the City of New York that features all of these photos from Look magazine making the point that collaboration between art directors; photographers and magazine editors can help advance careers.

Reading Newspaper Pictures: A Thousand Words, and Then Some:

In this section the author talks about the caption that goes along with a picture. He mentions how one of his colleagues told him that a picture and a good caption are worth a thousand and ten words. Some examples he gives of photos that could be out of context without a caption are a picture of a dusty tea set and a picture of a well-dressed man behind the counter of a diner. Once the captions are added to the photos, it makes the whole viewing experience more thought provoking. Based on the examples he gave I definitely agree that those photos needed a caption in order to be fully appreciated. In general, I do not necessarily agree that art should be viewed with a caption or description given at least not at first. By viewing a piece with no knowledge beforehand, it makes it more subjective and can bring out other ideas and meanings. I think the author thought of this possible argument and so at the end of this section he tries to explain that that is the difference between art and journalism, which extends to those two types of photography. He says that art comes from ideas whereas journalism reports facts so captions help remove the potential for viewers’ subjectivity to change the facts and reality of what is being seen.

Cornell Capa, Photojournalist and Museum Founder, Dies at Ninety:
This section talks about photojournalist Cornell Capa who founded the International Center of Photography. He focused his work on politics and social justice such as presidential campaigns as well as repressive tactics in other countries. Besides creating the International Center of Photography, he is also best known for being such a successful photojournalist and being one of the greatest war photographers.