Shooting theTruth

2009-12-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

Andre Kertesz waited for his photographs. Just like a hunter waiting for its prey, he waited for a moment to appear, to capture. Why do people take pictures? People take pictures to remember something, to capture something pretty, to make art. Kertesz captured photos to make truth. For example, taking a photo of one posing, pretending to be angry, may create a photo of someone posing angry. Taking a picture of someone who is angry, without them knowing it, captures anger. Kertesz had good intuition when in came to identifying the right moment to capture, and i think this had a great deal to do with his success as a photographer with the heart of a photojournalist (Icevska, 2009 p.6).

Even though Kertesz himself was not a journalist, I believe Kertesz really had a huge part in developing the basic ethics and technique for photojournalism (Icevska slide 7).

What Kertesz wanted to accomplish with his photographs was to “tell the stories as they happened”(Icevska, 2009 slide 7). What these newspaper photos have in common is that none of the people in the photo are aware that their picture is being taken at the time, which allows the photographer to capture moments that’s/he may not be shown if the subjects were aware. This embodies Kertesz’s philosophy of being “invisible”, so that we can see moments that we may not have been allowed to see otherwise. For example, if a person thinks that s/he is alone, s/he is more likely to act more naturally than if s/he is not. When a person is comfortable with acting naturally, we are then given the opportunity to capture, anger, grief, excitement, confusion, violence, pain, satisfaction, and so many more sensations that might have been held back otherwise.

Each of these photos is paired with a newspaper article, and I believe that they enhance the story. Some of these photos are a display of the reactions and emotions of people involved in a situation, and this gives us clarity of the impact of a situation on other people in our society. Some of these photos show a place or event, which can provide emphasis on something such as a number, size or atmosphere. These are are reasons why photojournalists today use similar techniques to those used by Kertesz, because photojournalists know the importance of providing truth in news stories and photographs, and Kertesz's style allows photographers to capture the purest, most raw aspects of events and situations in their photos.

I wonder if these photographers waited for their moments, or if they just captured moments at random. Also, I wonder if they were the right moments, the best moments to capture that would convey the best truth about the event.

This photo captures the importance of an event. It explains the importance of the man in the centre (Stephen Harper), because almost every person in the photo is trying to look at him. (Photo by The Canadian Press, 2009. Printed in the Toronto Star, Dec 5, 2009).

This photo is an explanation of the violence that went on during a game towards one team. This moment shows one team member being violent towards one from the other team, which gives the article emphasis in truth. (Photo taken by The Associated Press, 2009, Printed in the Toronto Star Dec 5, 2009).
This photo shows the routine-ness of a clean up after a suicide attack in Pakistan (Photo by The Associated Press 2009. Printed in the Toronto Star Dec 4, 2009).

This photo goes with an article about the stress of the holidays and Christmas shopping, and it shows large crowds at the Eaton centre in Toronto. (Photo by David Cooper, Toronto Star 2009).

This photo captures a moment of grief. The photo is of a paramedic comforting a family who lost a loved one in a fire. (Photo by The Associated Press (2009), printed in Toronto Star Dec 5, 2009).

Reference:

Icevska, Gordana (2009). How Photographs in the Media Betray Us. (p 3-17).

Icevska, Gordana (2009). Capturing the Moment: Kertesz and Cartier-Bresson. Week 10 Lecture slides.

2009-11-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

Throughout the ages of photography, the purpose of photojournalism has always been to present an accurate recount of places events and people to enhance the news. However, with all the advancements in digital photography that have developed over time, photographers are able to modify and circulate their photographs in a very short period of time. With the resources that are available to photographers and editors, it is even possible to alter a photograph, so that it looks to be the original. This kind of technology can be dangerous in respects to photojournalism. Altered photographs can be misleading and provide false information if not modified ethically. This applies to all fields of journalism, including fashion, entertainment, sports, current event news, etc. Kenneth Irby (2006) reports that according to the New York Times images that are printed should depict reality and be genuine in every way. The only editing leeway given is the adjustment of color to make the photo clearer, or to crop the photo. I think these guidelines, if followed, make for ethically correct photographs. Nevertheless, sometimes these guidelines are overlooked, and this is when controversy is added to photojournalism. One example of misuse of photo editing is when hosts from a Fox news segment aired altered photographs of two reporters after some kind of personal feud (Media Matters, 2008). In the pictures below, the reporters facial features, hairlines and teeth coloring have been significantly altered.

These types of alterations violate the basic ethics of photojournalism. the purpose of photojournalism in to convey real and true things. If there is no outline or regulation to be followed when editing photographs, we lose the purpose of journalism. this is why it is so crucial to for photographers and editors alike to use photographs ethically, and enhance news and messages, not alter them.

References

Irby, Kenneth. (2006) Photojournalism in the Age of Scrutiny. Retrieved on November

27, 2009 at http://webct.georgebrown.ca/webct/urw/lc2044122001.tp0/cobalt/

MainFrame.dowebct

Media Matters For America (2008), Fox News airs altered photos of NY reporters. Retrieved on November 27, 2009 at http://mediamatters.org/research /200807020002

Art Photography and Photojournalism

2009-11-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

RICHARD LAUTENS/TORONTO STAR

NEIL DRING/GRAND RIVER SACHEM FILE PHOTO

Photography is very much an art form, as well as being a way to create awareness in the world. Photographs are certainly an asset to both these mediums, because pictures stimulate our brains and help us develop an understanding in a way that words may not be able to. The accompanying photographs are examples of both art photography, and photography used for journalism. Photojournalism, is a way of enhancing a story by provoking a visual understanding, and presenting facts in their purest form. This gives a story credibility, because a photo can be used as solid evidence, where words can be manipulating or misleading. “Photojournalism is the use of photographs in conjunction with the reporting of news in media such as print newspapers, magazines, television news and internet reporting”, explains Westbrook (2007). The purpose of photography as art, is very different.

The Blind Violinist, Abony, Hungary 1921, (Kertesz on Kertesz p.37)

Cartier-Bresson Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris, France, 1932 (Cartier-Bresson p.59, 2003)

“My work is inspired by my life. I express myself through my photographs. Everything that surrounds me provokes my feeling”, (Kertesz 1985). I believe that the outlook Kertesz has on photography defines what photography is as art. In this weeks lesson emphasis was placed on capturing the moment. An artistic photo should capture the spontaneity and candidness of real life. If a photo needs to be altered and rearranged, there was no purpose of taking he photo. Cartier-Bresson (1952), explains that this is because life itself is very fluent, and we cannot alter or change life.

Both the photographs from the Toronto Star and the two photographers mentioned above, share some things in common. All four photographs are candid, and all are taken to capture a moment or situation. The largest difference between journalism photos and art photos is the purpose of taking the photos. Journalism photos are taken for the purpose of providing facts, information, and creating solid visual understanding. Art photos are taken to capture a moment, and to provoke insight, cause the mind to wonder, and please the eyes. the broadest similarity that arises between the two, is that both types of photographs are captured to stimulate the senses for one purpose or another, and present something to an audience which words or sounds fail to do.

References
Cartier-Bresson, H. (2003). In Arbaizar (Ed.), The Man, The Image and the World, a retrospective New York: Thames & Hudson

Cartier-Bresson, H. (1952). In Triade E., Matisse H. (Eds.), The Decisive Moment. New York, NY.: Simon and Schuster; Paris: Editions Verve.

Kertsz, A. (1985) Kertesz on Kertesz, a self portrait. New York: Abbeville Press.

Westbrook, D. (2007). A Brief History of Photojournalism. Retrieved at: http://www.photography-schools.com/photojournalismhistory.htm

Assignment 3

2009-10-10T05:25:00.000-07:00

This photo is a bout a child growing up, pursuing new dreams, and leaving old ones behind. I changed the image to gray scale, and left the pile of books in color to show that this an important part of the picture, and that the child's new priority is school, and learning to become an adult. There are a few items scattered across the desk that represent being an adult such as perfume, a cell phone, and makeup. They are scattered to represent time, and how this person does not have time for old dreams. The last thing i did to this photo, was blur the entire image except for the toy motorcycles. The toys represent the childhood dreams that are being pushed aside, but still remain clear in the adults mind.

Assignment 3

2009-10-10T05:22:00.001-07:00

I did a lot to change this photo because the original shot was not extremely visually appealing. I felt that the lighting in the first shot was too bright, and caused there to be a glare. i turned the photo upside down to create the feeling that the bear is looking at you. I also manipulated the photo to better reflect the message or story that I wanted the image to tell. In the picture, the bear is to look sad and forgotten, tossed down on the floor with garbage, clothes and slippers. I wanted someone to look at this picture and almost feel sorry for this stuffed creature. I inverted the colors because dark blue and green give the image a gloomy feeling. Blue is a color that is often associated with sadness and this nicely sets a tone for my picture. I used a tool to darken the border, to bring attention to the centre of the photo. The white bear makes it sot hat you can only see its eyes, no face, and this makes the eyes stand out and almost look sad. This photo is a comment on the sadness of toy left behind, from the toys perspective.

2009-09-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Portraits in the early days of photography were a luxury for the rich and high in society to enjoy. During these times, a self portrait was something which only those with high social status or nobility had, and like the newest trend, owning a self portrait confirmed one’s importance. In these days a portrait could almost be seen as an asset, something to help further oneself in the world. For example, by owning a self portrait, someone from the middle class would be able to embrace new social status, because owning a self portrait was a sign of importance (Freund 9). Eventually, during these early days, photography developed as a type of art form as photographers began exploring colors, lighting, and shapes. Today Photography maintains very similar qualities as photography from eh early days. We take pictures to preserve memories, make art, create awareness, and capture social status. Having a self or family portrait in one’s living room is still seen as a sign of pride and honor, and photographers still take pictures to capture feelings and information. Photography has only grown and developed to become an ordinary piece of our world.

Technology has had an impact of the art of photography. Although the picture itself may not have changed, the quality of it does (Benjamin, 3). Technology has helped us improve the portrait and allows portrait photography to advance as an art form ,rather than leaving it behind while new forms develop. In the early days of photography, when the mechanics of equipment began to develop technologically, things like miniatures and paintings because the beauty of photography is that it can be a fairly quick process (as opposed to posing for a painting) and captures a more realistic view of the picture. Therefore, it was clear early on that photography (portrait photography in particular ) was here to stay. Rather than dying out, it could only remain present ever changing social environment, and develop with it.

Benjamin, Walter The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, 1935
Freund, Gisele Photography and Society: Precursors of the Photo Portrait

2009-09-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

A 15-year-old girl opens a fashion magazine. She studies in envy; smoldering eyes, shiny hair, glowing, smooth skin and says "I want to look like that."

A tired housewife at a red light, looks on at an advertisement for a travel agency. For a moment she is lost in the mysterious sparkle of waves, how glorious shades of blue seem to tease the shoreline, where a woman holding a cocktail is lying in the sand, and giving off the impression that she is incredibly relaxed. Jolted out of her daze by the honking of horns, she sighs and thinks "I want to be there".

Photography is an effective tool that can be used to toy with our desires, making us say "I want." Looking at something appealing often triggers a feeling or desire that one may have forgotten was there, like the desire to look a certain way, or the desire to get away to an exotic destination. In other words, a good photograph gently manipulates the mind to relate to the image, often provoking a feeling of want. For these reasons, photography has become one of the strongest advertising tools in North America. Marketers have the power to make any person want, all that's lets for them to do is find the right image for the right audience. An eye-pleasing, alluring image can be the difference between one reaction to another. Photography Changes what we want.