chapter eight PhotoJournalism and Bias

Photo by Ed Clark

Image Source: http://www.thegreatleapsideways.com/?p=209

Principle 1: What feelings does the image create- The image creates a more sad and hurtful feeling. The tears streaming down the man’s face will definitely affect the audience and cause them to mourn with them. It is very clear that the man in the picture is mourning the loss of a loved one or someone he knew closely. While that is the feeling conveyed by the main subject being the man, the woman in the background, however, convey a more annoying feeling with a hint of disgust.

Principle 2: Subject's expression- The main subject's expression is mainly hurt and sadness. It is clear that he is going through a stage of grief. The tears streaming down his face proves it. He’s emotions would certainly have an effect on the audience.

Principle 3: Is the image black & white or color- The image is clearly black and white because back when this image was taken, there weren't any cameras which could capture colored pictures. The fact that the image is in black and white gives more focus to the main subject as well as gives more emphasis to the emotions conveyed.

The above image is a very emotionally filled picture that captured an African American which is revealed to be a chief officer named Graham Jackson playing an instrument as tears poured down his eyes. This picture is a good example of a grief picture because back when this picture was taken, desegregation was a major thing in which people of color, as well as caucasian, could not be in the same area together. Only national grief which was the death of President Franklin Roosevelt could bring these people together to mourn the loss of the president. Even with that, the caucasian in the background can still be seen looking at the African American with annoyance and dislike. This image to me means that certain situations can bring people together no matter how different they believe they are.  Using my sense of emotion and intuition according to TOKTalk, the picture provides a touching and sad emotion to the audience.
 Partick Kiger, a writer interviews Betty Lane in an article titled  "A Feminist Photojournalist's Arresting Images"  she explains how  "Words strive to appeal to the logical portion of our minds.  But the images captured by photojournalists.  often take hold of our hearts and reach us on a more primal emotional level." This is certainly true and this picture is a perfect definition of that quote because the image does not require words and simply captures the hearts of the audience.

Image 1:- The truth

Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon
Image source https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-powerful-moments-photojournalism-2018

Principle 1:- In or out of focus- The image is in focus it captures the main subject which is the woman and her two children but it also captures the background so it's visible enough for the audience to see. The image can be said to be a little out of focus because it requires zooming in order to see it properly.

Principle 2:- Obvious main subject, about ¼ to 2/3 of the image area- The main subject is relatively big and sits right in the center of the picture towards the front. If certain parts of the images were left out like the tear gas or the people in the background, I believe the picture will still have the same impact.

Principle 3:- Abstraction- The photo is representational and does not need words to explain what is going on. This is clearly a perfect representation of what a photojournalist image should look like. The meaning behind this is that a mother is running away from something or some people with her two children.

The image above is of a woman who can presumably be a mother holding two women who could be her daughters running away from a dangerous scene. I choose this as my truth because I interpreted truth as an image with an emotional effect. An image that does not require words and simple tels the truth os why photojournalists are doing what they are doing and sharing images. This picture is a touching picture that provides the audience with what it's like to be going through a situation like this. The mother can be seen dragging her two daughters in which was one has shows on while the other does not. From this, it is clear that they were rushed and this is proven from the background where tear gases can be seen on the floor. The image tells the truth of what people are going through in order to provide a better life for their kids. While some could say the woman is mishandling her young daughters who are clearly still in diapers, using my Sense of Perception according to TOKtalk's  "Ways of Knowing".   it looks more like she is doing it out of love. I believe this is why many photojournalists take pictures. In the video, "I want to live"  by Conscious network,  Shahidul Alam is being interviewed and he expresseshow "there are stories he needs to tell' there are stories which need to take note of" a picture like this which could have hundreds of meaning to different people should be shared. Professor Nordell had also explained im his video "Photojournalism and Bias Part 1"  that  "one person can look at a picture and think it is bad, and another person can be looking at the same photo and have a completely different opinion on it, and that shows a good example of bias in photography." This gives more insight into how different people see pictures differently.

The image below is of two women behind two separate glassed windows. The first woman on the right seems to be staring straight at the photojournalist as he takes the pictures with an emotionless face. The other woman on the right has her face hidden by an American flag however her ring can be seen clearly. While the story behind this image might provoke the audience in a certain type. After looking at both images, the first image which is the truth definitely touched me emotionally compared to the other one. Based on my emotions, I separated the truth. I classified this image as not being the truth because it does not convey the truth and emotional attack that a photojournalistic image should inherit. In the article "The Rules of Photojournalism Are Keeping Us From the Truth" which was written by Donald Weber, he began the article by with "just because a photo looks like photojournalism, doesn’t mean it’s Photojournalism" This definitely applies to this image simply because it was taken by a famous photojournalist or looks like one, does not mean it should be considered as one. Using the  "Ways of Knowing" by TOKtalk, I used my emotions and intuition to decide. I believe more photojournalists should take note of famous journalists such as yellow photojournalism. In an article by yellow journalism, Joseph Campbell wrote 'yellow journalism exerted a powerful influence in American journalism at the turn of the twentieth century. Yellow journalism was much decried but its salient features often were emulated. The genre was appealing and distinctive in its typography, in its lavish use of illustrations, in its aggressive newsgathering techniques." Yellow photojournalism has set a high standard for photojournalists and I believe many photojournalists should revere back to yellow journalism in order to see what a good image should look like.


Image 2:- Not the truth

Image by Robert Frank

Image source  https://www.widewalls.ch/documentary-photography/

Principle 1:- Use of lines- the use of lines in this picture coordinates well. The flags start off straight and end up curving. The lines on the brick are also captured nicely. The lines from the flag are the first to capture your attention but once focusing on the center of the picture, the arrangement of the bricks takes up the attention of the audience.

Principle 2:- Keep it simple- this image is nice and simple. It is not considered clustered because the audience can focus on the whole image without having to concentrate their attention on one aspect of the image before the other.

Principle 3- Rule of thirds- The photographer placed the subject in the center towards the right side of the picture. If the image is divided into thirds, the main subject will still be the focus of the picture.