Photojournalism and the New Visual Storyteller Essay

The Cambodian Genocide and Holocaust are two significant events remembered in history. During the Cambodian Genocide and the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot targeted minorities that had unique identities that would put them in danger and make them weak to resist. There were several planned events that led up to the occurrence of both genocides. Both Hitler and Pol Pot aimed to take control of their country by organizing ways to kill off multiple people at once. Hitler created concentration and extermination camps while Pol Pot had killing fields. These two leaders killed millions of lives because they practiced a religion that was disliked or had a job that made too much money for the leader’s liking.

As mankind rapidly evolved recording events became harder. Early history is only able to be pictured with using our imagination. Often times historians often clash about what the world looked like. Ancient civilizations from the Mayans and Aztecs have never been seen while they were in their pristine condition. The world is left with written descriptions and ruins not only of the cities themselves, but also the tools used. After the camera was invented in the early 1800s, events were more frequently recorded and it was clear what tools and cities looked like before modern-day. Photography has undoubtedly altered how we document events, created new job openings, and will give generations to come amazing art and show defining moments from each generation. Photography has helped evolve the world by creating new jobs and revolutionizing how events are documented.

The lightweight camera made it easier to transport and images were taken secretly and confidently. It started the era of the “Candid shot” (Collins). Images begun to look more real and less staged. Photojournalism was much easier, the picture was able to tell the story. Some photographers did not like the loss of freedom and went out on their own. They produced a series of photos that followed the same theme and told a story. This is known as a form of photojournalism and is still used today. Some journalists took on the role of a photographer and decided to write their own story and shoot their own images. There were many forms of photojournalism and one of the most important was the magazine called

Alex Kotlowitz met Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers in 1985 while working as a journalist. He was interviewing them for a photo essay in Chicago magazine on children living in poverty. The violence that occurred every day where the brothers lived in Governor Henry Horner Homes, or Horner, disturbed Kotlowitz. Lafeyette and Pharoah are 12 and 9 years old at the start of the book but have experienced more than many kids their age. The boys did not seem sure of what life held for them. Lafeyette told Kotlowitz, “If I grow up, I’d like to be a bus driver,” Lafeyette was not sure that he would grow up at just 10 years old (x). Kotlowitz wanted to show what it is like for children growing up in urban poverty after seeing the brothers’

Their print journalist counterparts, who are afforded not only the luxury of editing, but also a few column inches within which to develop their perception of the story fall into a different category all together. A photojournalist must ascertain the defining image of a news event as it is happening and capture it on film. If he or she is doing the job correctly, a reader can get a very good idea of what happened without even reading the accompanying article. There is no luxury of editing in photojournalism, the moment is either captured forever, or it isn't. If a fantastic shot is missed, it is gone forever.

The next two decades of Pol Pot’s life are best characterized by his endless political maneuvering within the Cambodian Communist movement. Having struggled to gain independence from French colonialism during the 1940’s, and again during the First Indochina War of the 1950’s, there were already several prominent Communist factions active in Cambodia upon Pol Pot’s return to his country. His initial task as a clandestine operative of the Marxist Circle was to evaluate each of these factions, and to rise to power in the most promising

Before the invention of the camera, news traveled through word of mouth, writing, telegrams, and other forms of communication. Often times important moments were depicted through paintings, and drawings. Unfortunately, because of opinion and misinterpretation, many of those moments, had been depicted incorrectly. Take, for example the Boston Massacre which took place in the late 1700’s before the invention of the camera. In order to inform people of what is now known as the shot heard around the world, Paul Revere, a famous American revolutionist made an engraving of the scene.

After the the first shot I took my mind went blank. The adrenaline that flowed throughout my body, the feelings of rush, excitement, and success all in one combination of emotions. These were the feelings I had no idea excited until after that moment. Although I had a slight ache in my shoulder due to the force of the 12 gauge shotgun pushing against my shoulder. I was at a lost of words my only reactions was to run, run as fast as I could to get to the dying turkey. Once there the turkey was not fully dead yet It was still flopping around and blood camp oozing out splattering me. Looking at the suffering bird I places my boot on it head to the ground, then grabbed the turkey's body pulling it so its

not impressed at all. She inscribes, “When the father visits, he climbs up the stairs muttering with

Technology has made a huge difference in the world since history, and it has been a reason why people are more social. In the old times since the 1960’s to the 1980’s many people didn't knew where many things came from or they didn't knew how it was made or know anything about technology. Until, in the year 1440 printing press came as a form of technology to people that allowed them to write news on newspapers and inform the people many things about what was going on in the world and how many things were created.

In the years of 1975 to 1979, Pol Pot became the head of the most murderous revolution of our time. His communist regime with the Khmer Rouge created one of the largest, yet greatly under-looked atrocities of the time. The genocide in his Democratic Kampuchea has created a death toll that could be as high as 3,000,000 people, or 25% of the country's population. (Chandler, 1999; Cambodia Genocide) In an attempt to refashion his country, "people were simply sacrificed to our struggle, not killed," as Pol Pot himself stated. (Pol Pot: Life of a Tyrant, 2000)

Mostly the reason for staging a journalism photo is to get an idea across to the person viewing it. The main reason for photojournalism is be able to capture a picture that can tell the audience a story, and photographers have to figure out how to make their photos more interesting to the viewer´s eye. Some may argue that the staging of the photo can change the meaning of it, which is true. However, this depends on how a photographer decides to stages a photo. There are two ways of staging that I see most often; moving an object that was already supposed to be in the photo around, and adding or removing that object from the photo. Moving objects around to stage photojournalism does not change the meaning of the photo as well as adding or removing the object.

What is a photograph? The simplicity of taking a photograph leads many to ponder its artistic value. Yet, it is undeniable that there are some photos that cause an emotional reaction deeper than simply observing a recorded point in time. Surely, there are photographs that cause more reaction than some modern art pieces. There seems to be two types of photographs. The first classification is the ‘time capture’ photo – an image with the sole purpose of recording a particular event or point in time. The second nature of a photo carries a ‘deeper meaning,’ which has the ability to change the observer’s mood and cause a reaction. But what distinguishes these two varieties? There are a

Henry Jenkins describes convergence as ‘a situation where multiple media systems coexist and where media content flows fluidly across them’ (2006: 282). An important part of the information transferred across platforms are the techniques utilised in creation. Digital technologies have no doubt had a large impact on moving images and how they are developed and produced in the modern world. There has been the introduction of inexpensive consumer digital recording devices, and the ability to create a video with mobile phones rather than needing a separate dedicated device. This has led to growth in the creation of amateur moving images on platforms such as YouTube in a variety of forms. As well as inspiring the creation of new areas of production, digital advances have enabled further evolution in more traditional areas. Early cinematic pioneers dabbled with in-camera trickery in order to create fantastical scenes and amaze viewers, and this principle carries forward to today. Matt Reeve’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) is a good example of the intriguing applications of digital technology in order to achieve these old goals in a potentially better way. As with the introduction of any new way to achieve a goal, the opportunities available to content creators have multiplied with the growth in the variety of digital techniques. The power particular innovations in technology can have in their contribution is perhaps underlined by the impact they have had in less revered

“Vision is the art of seeing the invisible” ( Jonathon Swift). We have been indulging in the arts and have used art as a way to express and interact with the people surrounding us. To the carved images on rocks, and to the cartoons shown on the TV, the evolution of Graphic Design has shown us the importance of typography, photographers, illustrators etc. have on our society. When paper, ink, and pencils didn’t exist, our ancestors would carve their warnings, messages, and emotions on rocks and walls. Our ancestors don’t realize that such small acts such as these was the beginning of a huge movement, that wouldn’t be recognized until thousands years later. During the 16th century, China was able to establish a technique called woodblock printing or, the application of ink on raised curved surface, that allowed multiple text and images to be made quickly. China’s wide extension of printing slowly reached the middle east and caused Europe to start producing woodblock broadsides and printed books. The first printing press was constructed by Johannes Gutenberg, which was the first metal movable type to create a large amount of printed books. In the Old days books were very rare, expensive and were very valuable. The creation of the Printing press allowed books to be done faster, cheaper and it allowed books to be more accessible to the public. Graphic Design or “the art or skill of combining text and pictures in