Is Photography A New Hope?

Photojournalism has long been considered to have a tradition of reflecting the truth. It has been a major element in newspaper and magazine reporting since the early 20th century. It was probably only about a century ago when people believed that what they saw in photographs was factual. This impact of visual image as seen by the viewer was based on the old belief that "the camera never lies". Wheeler says that photojournalism has "acquired a special standing in the public mind, a confidence that photo can reflect reality in a uniquely compelling and credible way." (Wheeler T, 2002, p. 3) This acquisition is formed by a creation of a powerful picture, which is the combination of both truthfulness and visual impact. "In general,

While emotions were extremely high in the sense of angst for a better life, photography provided a new sense of reality to Americans and for others around the World. Photography all around the World is unlike anything else of its kind. People are able to tell stories and elicit emotions that bring the audience to that desired response. Throughout the 1930’s, photography from governmental institutions or advancements alone brought a new beginning to the end of a terrible time that Americans all around the nation

For this essay the works of Robert Draper, author of “Why Photos Matter,” and Fred Ritchen, author of “Photography Changes the Way News is Reported,” will be analyzed. Though both deal with the topic of photography, their take on the matter is very different. While Ritchen is a photographer who writes on “what professional photographers will be doing in the future,” Draper is a writer for the National Geographic writing on how the photographers of the magazine share “a hunger for the unknown.” Both writers, however, write on the topic of photographers having a deeper understanding of their subjects, Ritchen due to research and practice, and Draper because the photographers “sit [with] their subjects, just listening to them.” In both essays the need for a deeper understanding of the

In “Why We Take Pictures,” Susan Sontag discusses the increase use of technology and its ability to impact the daily lives of mankind. Taking pictures is a form of self-evolution that slowly begins to shape past and present experiences into reality. Sontag argues how the use of photography is capable of surpassing our reality by helping us understand the concept of emotion, diversity, and by alleviating anxiety and becoming empowered. Moreover, according to her argument, people are able to construct a bond between the positive or negative moments in life to cognitively release stress through reminiscing. Therefore, Sontag claims that photography itself can help with reshaping individual’s perspectives of reality by being able to empathize with the emotions portrayed through an image. Thus, giving

Before starting this project, I knew very little about photography, photographers, or exactly how much impact photographical images have had on our society. I have never taken a photography class, or researched too in depth about specific pictures or photographers. This project has allowed me to delve deeper into the world of photography in order to understand just how much influence pictures can have over society’s beliefs, emotions, and understandings’. I have have chosen two highly influential photographers, Diane Arbus and Dorothea Lange, who I have found to both resonate with me and perfectly capture human emotions in way that moves others.

She cites the Vietnam War as an example of how photographs can have a negative impact. Photographs of the war were “bound to have consequences: mainstream media are not in the business of making people feel queasy about the struggles for which they are being mobilized” (65). The photographs of American soldiers dying in the Vietnam War did make people feel sick, sad, and disgusted. Since the army fighting with South Vietnam was from America and not Cambodia, Americans cared more about the situation. Fellow Americans, who were innocent, and fighting for their country’s freedom, were killed in a war that was unnecessary.

Sontag claims that “photography is, a social rite, but it can also be a defense against anxiety and a tool of power (page 130).” She backs her claim by stating “photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possessions of space in which they are insecure.” (Sontag page 131). In other words, having pictures allows people to tell stories that may not be exactly true. I agree with Sontag because I have witnessed and experienced how pictures can hurt someone emotionally while empowering others.

However, the article does explore an opposing angle of citizen journalism in-depth where risks of phony photography are high. Undoubtedly, the business of news reporting will always exist, but does citizen journalism hinder the legitimacy of news by providing raw-footage rather than footage that is edited for accuracy? Has photojournalism turned into a commodity due to the ease at which photos and videos can now be captured? Or are we living in a digital age where citizens don’t require news channels to content curate anymore because raw-footage will be accessed through social media platforms anyway? These are questions that can only be answered with a deeper insight into the emergence of citizen-centered

Sontag claims that “photography is, a social rite, but it can also be a defense against anxiety and a tool of power (page 130).” She backs claim by stating “photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possessions of space in which they are insecure.” (Sontag page 131). In other words, having pictures allow people to tell stories that may not be exactly true. I agree with Sontag because I have witnessed and experienced how pictures can hurt someone emotionally while empowering others.

In addition, photography does it pivotal role by showing people the realities of life. One relevant example to this is photojournalism. Through photographic presentation, people are informed of the real situations of the stories about the real situations around the globe, may it be good or bad news. It is very easy to understand news or stories with photos attached to them. Therefore, photography is a powerful communication tool that embeds social happenings to the human awakening, with no other form of media can

Sontag claims that “photography is, a social rite, but it can also be a defense against anxiety and a tool of power (page 130).” She backs claim by stating “photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possessions of space in which they are insecure.” (Sontag page 131). In other words, having pictures allows people to tell stories that may not be exactly true. I agree with Sontag because I have witnessed and experienced how pictures can hurt someone emotionally while empowering others.

In the world we live in today, anyone can pick up a handheld video camera and record their son’s soccer game or daughter’s school play, but to really capture the beauty of an event takes true talent. It takes the expertise of a cinematographer or director of photography as they are also known, to capture the true essence of an event and scene. Thomas Edison even once said, “By faithfully reproducing and kind or type of movement, it [cinematography] constitutes man’s most astonishing victory to date over forgetfulness. It retains and restores the things memory alone can’t recover, not to mention its auxiliary agencies: the written page, drawing photography. … Like them, cinematography prevents the things of yesterday that are useful to tomorrow’s progress from sinking into oblivion; amongst these one must count moving things, which only a few years ago were considered impossible to fix in an image” (Neale, 54). A picture, whether it be a photographed image or a filmed image is nothing when it has not been looked at with the proper eyes. When expressed through the proper lens and eye an image can really be worth a thousand words.

Although Sturken and Cartwright claim it is quite easy to fall for the misconception that photographs are “unmediated copies of the real world” (Sturken & Cartwright, 17), this is no longer true, if it ever was. While cumbersome, even before the advent of image editing software, it was possible to modify photographs. Furthermore, in contemporary society, we have completely lost faith in mass media representation; rarely do people expect images to be completely unmodified anymore. This is especially visible in western culture since people are pressured to conform into highly specific aesthetics where even a “natural” look is artificially crafted with makeup and digital filters. Even disregarding direct manipulation to a print through methods such as Photoshop, photographs are manipulated in such obvious ways, it almost seems absurd to point it out. The framing, lighting, and positioning are always adjusted by the photographer. Therefore, people themselves are a type of manipulation; a representative filter through which biases are imbued. In effect, Sturken and Cartwright’s conclusion that all camera-generated images bear an “aura of machine objectivity” (Sturken & Cartwright, 16) stemming from “the … legacy of still-photography” (Sturken & Cartwright, 17) is

In exploring her idea further, Linfield argues that the sudden wave of photojournalism was the cause of the human rights movement across the world and that, “the camera has been…the key tool….in enabling such empathetic leaps.” In keeping with the theme of emigration, it therefore stands to ascertain that the same principles can be applied. Don Bartletti’s, a Pulitzer Prize

Photographs, drawings, cartoons and videos cover significant political matters. Photojournalists such as Lynsey Addario present critical political issues that affect the world today. In her book, It’s What I Do, she presents scenes surrounding the fall of prominent political leaders such as Muammar el-Qaddafi. The pictures on pages 4 and 5 of her book, for instance, show the struggles that the rebels went through in their quest to dethrone Qaddafi. She quotes Robert Capa, who once said, “ ‘ If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough’ ” (Lynsey 7) which shows that photographs are significant in the world of journalism. A video such as “Shouting In The Dark” reveals the heinous acts done by the government of Bahrain towards its own citizens. In the video, we see the brutal force used by the government to silence the peaceful protesters. People were beaten, shot, imprisoned, and killed.