Book Introduction Blog Post

A: Question: Paul Almsay was quoted in this week's lesson regarding expressing the "human condition" and conveying this honestly; why do you believe he said this, and how does it apply to photojournalism? My answer: Ideas are often images; showing a photo skips the middle step of words and quickly releases information along with a story. You could convince someone to care for children dying in a foreign country with a lecture, but it would take far longer to convince them than to show them an image of that starving child. Photojournalist Paul Almsay, quoted in the World Health Organization for this week's lesson, spoke about the "human condition" and how we can and should express it honestly. I think this is the power of photojournalism, providing an honest story and an unfiltered picture of our history. Question: This week's lecture features a video: Why study history? By Video Pursuit of History, which spoke about a quote from George Santayana, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." how do you think this applies to photojournalism? My answer: I think this applies to photojournalism as it can capture historical moments and teach us about them through these images. Hopefully, these captivating and impactful images will prevent us from making the same mistakes. I think it is harder to forget about a well-done snapshot of a historical event; it is longer lasting and more impactful than words, so it possibly stays with us longer. B: I felt that the video we watched for this module, called “In Harms Way - War” with photographers Zoriah and Ali, inspired my understanding of what images represent photojournalism and what images do not. I feel this way because they taught me that photojournalism was not only about covering new worthy topics but also capturing more specific emotions and experiences within the topic. This photo represents photojournalism to me because it tells a story. Looking at the image makes you wonder why the person took the picture, what it means, and what stories it tells. This photo sparks interest and an emotional response, making it a photojournalistic image.
Fraher, Daniel. Photo representing photojournalism. 9, Sept. 2024. This photo does not represent photojournalism, in my opinion, because it does not elicit an emotional response or spark curiosity. However, it is a nice picture of a field, but without something of interest within the field, it does not tell a story or make you wonder why it was taken besides appreciating that it is a nice photo of a pleasant scene.
Fraher, Daniel. Photo that does not represent photojournalism. 9, Sept. 2024. C: If I think about my current relationship with the news and photojournalism and the history of photojournalism, the one key concept that comes to mind is capturing our lives through the lens. Albert Einstein once said, "A picture is worth a thousand words," I think this accurately represents the power one image in time can convey to the people who see it. Also, photojournalism is very subjective, as many topics can represent the photojournalism category and the journalist's personal perspective when taking the shot. For me, studying photojournalism is to learn about history, past and present, and how it has been captured on film. History has always captivated me, and photojournalism is a different take than what we learn in history books; that is why I want to know about it. Media can be more impactful when relaying the historical experience then words alone. Regarding news, I do not rely on one source for my understanding and find it more reliable to check the topic from various sources. I try to look at sources that support both arguments to get a better understanding. Perspective is subjective; each network can have its biased view; therefore, I use multiple sources to get the best understanding possible. I feel the news I am most drawn to features historical or scientific studies.

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