The Ethics And Morals Of Photographing The Suffering Of Others

This photograph is unique in introducing a new means of expression through photographic essay, recalling both artistic expression, as well as journalistic

To begin with, Lange helped perceive the poor living conditions of the 1900’s through her photo of the migrant mother and three children. For instance, Lange with her photo of the migrant mother helped raise awareness, for the federal government gave the pea pickers camp, where the migrant mother had been distinguished, “twenty thousand pounds of food”. (Starr 48) The photo of the unfortunate pea pickers helped people realize how hopeless they really were. This creating a willingness to help. Showing Lange's photography ability to create empathy through a simple photo. In addition, the mother was so desperate for help that when the picture was taking place, “there she sat in the lean-to-tent” motionless. (Starr 47) The migrant mother was so

The first thing I will write about is a person, Jacob Riis. A esteemed author of the book “How the other half Lives”, published in the 1890s. Riis was a pioneer in the time when photography was first starting to catch on. In Riis’s photos he took pictures of people who lived in the slums of the major cities and how they lived. He was termed a Muckraker by our late president Theodore Roosevelt, because journalists like him would, as he would say, rake through all the good things and bad on the ground and only report the bad of the world. But Riis was one of the men of his era

In 1890, Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant worked as a police reporter and photographic journalist in New York City. “How the Other Half Lives,” prompted legislative reforms, focused attention on the desperate lives of poor urban immigrants and left an enduring mark on the history of documentary photography.” (NY TIMES). During this time, America was going through social and economic stress due to rapid industrialization. It was a time full of greed and neglect from the wealthier class leaving the middle and poor class helpless and suffering day to day. Jacob Riis used his photography to document real lives that were being affected by this crisis and presented these photos to the public to open their eyes to what was going on. The economy, society, and government started to be controlled by large corporations who were owned by immigrants filled with greed and materialism. With this industrialization, Riis documented the over worked lower class who were given low wages and placed in overpriced slums. The real world did not notice the truth behind this madness until Riis’s photography opened their eyes.

The ‘Testimony of Faces’ display by Lisa Fitzgerald is a raw comment on the social sphere of Nicaragua, as well as a hopeful act of solidarity by photographer Lisa Fitzgerald. In her ‘Testimony’ Fitzgerald documents, in photograph, those she worked with on the tobacco fields o Jalapa Nicaragua in their adult lives. Shown side by side with pictures from each person's past, The photos of the tobacco workers makes a phenomenal job of sharing each testimony, in no words at all. Split into three main sections depicting the struggle of grueling plantation work, the horrors of the contra war, and the deadly effects of fumigants in Nicaragua respectively, Ms. Fitzgerald's photo exhibit takes on a journey through 1980s Jalapa Nicaragua that ends with a picture of herself (then and now) sitting triumphant as an accomplished teacher and photographer yet still punished. With one foot in the tobacco fields of Jalapa and the other stepping out onto a new world of opportunity, Fitzgerald fearlessly tells the story of her people while

Photographers have the ability to capture a certain moment in their lifetime. Some of them take advantage of the image in front of them and some do not fully understand the purpose of the moment. Is it worth recording the moment? Everyday people take images on their cell phones because they want to share them with friends and family. In 1993, Kevin Carter went on a trip to Sudan and took a picture of a starving Sudanese girl being stalked by a vulture. However, what photographers, like Kevin Carter, fail to realize is that every time a picture is taken, a part of the individual photographed is taken away. Kevin Carter’s presentation of the starving child serves not only as a claim of the ignorance of American people, but also as the measures

Photographs They reflect the gloomy sense hovering all over the Americans, they provide same feeling of sorrow, but there is a difference between the two photographers who took them. Walker Evans took grim and hopeless people with detachment; he felt sorry, I believe, for those poor people but he didn’t put his compassion into his works to show the cold clarity, to show the plain and ugly truth and let the viewers

Innocence is a glorified trait in nearly any culture around the world. Many strive to keep the innocence they are born with, and plenty others spend a lifetime attempting to regain the innocence they have lost with age. In the following photos, innocence is a common theme, which each photographer approaches in a unique way. There is a dull and unsettling truth behind the innocent demonstration of young ladies acting much more mature than their age. Manuel Alvarez Bravo is one of the premier figures of modern photography and the main photographer among the immense Mexican artists of the twentieth century. In The Daughter of the Dancers, Bravo illustrates the idea of youthfulness on the verge of loosing its innocence. Sally Mann, a photographer from the 1980s-90s, caught a reflection of grown-up moves inside the innocence and youth of adolescents in Candy Cigarette through her utilization of organization, field point, and technique. In 1985 National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry went through Afghan towns concentrating on the evacuees and recording their hardships. The Afghan Girl is a classical image of lost innocence; the girl was forced to grow up way to fast. Her innocence did not survive, but she did.

Curated by Edward Steichen and first shown in 1955, The Family of Man Exhibition is claimed to be the most powerful and “greatest photographic exhibition of all time.” This said to be "culmination of his career" brings forward an overall idea or theme of unity and relation among all globally. The exhibition 's layout and works all display people rendering or displaying recognizable actions, as a result, having a great impact on the many people who have viewed the show. Two photographs in particular from this collection are shown to have a strong similarity to many. Both photos China. by Eastfoto and Turkey. by Herman Kreider. Black Star Agency1 display people carrying out the function of voting. Both these photos fall under the photo-essay genre and originate from different places and different times. This comparison reveals Steichen 's view on politics as abstract and universalized, helping bring us together by showing us that we are not that different from others who may be far away. They help us communicate and connect to one another, once again displaying this idea of one universal medium. In his exhibition, Steichen displays the common themes of life through photos from around the world. Despite culture or background, this exhibition 's goal was to use photography as a medium of universal language. Furthermore showing that despite these barriers mankind shares common themes; the need for love, shelter, food and so forth.

In this essay I am going to focus on how Alison Wright has photographed women affected by war and conflict and how she has approached, created the story and how she has achieved this. Wright is known internationally, from California, based in New York, a documentary photographer, author and public speaker who works for National Geographic and travels the world for the purpose of documenting endangered cultures, exile countries, people in poverty, and issues that concern the human condition. After she survived an accident in 2002 in a Jungle remote road in Laos where a bus she was on at the time was hit by a truck, Wright featured in ‘Outside magazine’, Yoga Journal’ and ‘National Geographic Adventure’ which showed her story of survival. Alison set up ‘Faces of Hope’ Fund what helps provide medical care and education for children in the world who are in crisis or poverty.

Documentary photography has the ability to invoke social reform. It allows viewers to maintain their distance and choose their level of involvement in issues at hand. When subjects are portrayed as sufferers, feelings such as sadness, shock, outrage, desperation, anger or disgust are evoked from the viewer. As a result, the viewer wants to see change and are encouraged to act upon these feelings. 
 One of the first major instances where social reform was seen as a result of documentary photography was the portrayal of the Vietnam War in the media.

These photos showed us the growing hopelessness of the workers in the east coast. The photos of the abandoned houses, dirty skin, empty streets, all gave us a feeling of sorrow in our gut. She showed us continually showed us the man without work and the woman trying her best to keep her children alive.

Environmental photography is not only concerned with land and wildlife, photographers also advocate for vanishing cultures such as well-known Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado (Amazonas Images, n.d.; Bogre, 2012; Ritchin, 2009). Initially an economist, Salgado switched to photography in the 1970s. Like many photographers, he photographed stories of everyday happenings. Yearning to do more, Salgado and his wife left Magnum Photo Agency in 1994 and formed Amazonas Images. Since then, he has photographed numerous controversial stories in over 100 countries exposing the human condition. Despite Salgado’s relentless efforts, he has been criticized for the harsh reality portrayed in his images of famine in northern Africa and his politically

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.

“There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment.” Henry Cartier-Bresson got this keynote and applied it to his street photography, one of the greatest photographers that I deeply respect. To me, photography is a re-creative form of art. Everyone can be a photographer if he wants to capture his life. Cartier-Bresson have influenced me when I first met his portfolio. His unique composition and special documentary content happened to coincide with me, especially the crippled woman (1934, Mexico) and people on the boats (1930, Africa). In brief, this photojournalist helps me set my goal on