My take on Photojournalism

  Motivation by Orin Howell Before the break of day, I begin with quiet promise To leave the world slightly better than it came to me. Not with grandiose gesture, but with small ripples. To touch a life, with steady hand, or a reminder  that they matter.  I think of George Parks. An untrained professional who worked tirelessly to document the essence of activism.  Silent, strong, and defining. An advocate for those who struggled for their voices to be heard. I think of Felix Masi, walking duty roads with a camera and a purpose. With quiet resilience, capturing the dignity of everyday lives in ordinary faces. An everpresent  reminder to be genuine, spontaneous, and present.  I think of Stacy Pearsall. Camera steady, compassion  ready, listening with her lens as she shows Veterans  who they are - not forgotten stories but the courage  of the individual. Showing that a difference starts at seeing another human as human, with honesty, respect, in...

  Chief Petty Officer (USN) Graham Jackson plays the accordian as President Franklin  Roosevelt's funeral train departs Warm Springs, Ga. April 13, 1945 Photo by Ed Clark Seeing this photo, I can feel the somber mood that seems to have taken over the crowd. I see hands on faces, hanging heads, and the stream of tears and look of anguish on CPO Jackson's face while still playing his instrument. I feel the meaning of this photo is layered. President Roosevelt is held in high regard as starting the Civil Rights movement, championing social services, and ushering the United States through one of the most difficult times in history - World War II. While the Black Community felt a monumental loss, in this photo we can see that the loss was equally as difficult to the female and White community as well. To me, this photo documents a moment in time where color and gender wasn't a dividing factor and that mourning as a nation was more important than being divided. Diving deeper into...

Shani Louk October 7th, 2024 photographer unknown To dive into ethical dilemmas in photojournalism, I would like to turn to a recent event in Gaza. On October 7th, 2023 at a concert in Israel, a tragedy took place. An onslaught by Hamas at the concert venue ended the lives of 1,200 men, women, and children. In the aftermath of the attack, a photo of Shani Louk - lifeless, half naked, being hauled away in the back of a truck surfaced. This photo, taken by Ali Mahmud, became the face of the October 7th attacks. This photo brings about several ethical dilemmas, the first being: the photo was taken by a  Hamas connected freelance photographer, and later used and shared by the Associated Press. The second issue is: where is the line between documentation and humanity when it comes to photojournalism in a wartime setting?  Or whenever a person is in danger and there is an opportunity to help? Lastly, is this even wartime photojournalism, or simply a terrorist attack where the victor...

  Chapelle in flight goggles Photographer unknown 1940 When we study the evolution of photojournalism, we often focus on the power of the image, the moment frozen in time that shapes how the world remembers conflict, courage, and truth. Yet behind every photograph is a person who risked everything to capture history.  Among the earliest and most fearless of these was Dickey Chapelle, a woman whose lens captured not only the violence of war but also the resilience of those who endured it. Her story is one of extraordinary bravery, unrelenting determination, and the relentless struggle against the barriers imposed on women in journalism. Born Georgette Louise Meyer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1918, Dickey Chapelle’s fascination with adventure began early. She learned to fly as a teenager and idolized Arctic explorer Admiral Richard Byrd, even adopting “Dickey” as her professional name in  homage to him . From the start, she dreamed of doing what few women dar...

For this project, I wanted to highlight current issues in the United States that have great impact on everyone, while highlighting the use/misuse of A.I. in photojournalism. In previous generations, seeing was believing. This meant that pictures were undoubtedly the truthful telling of an event happening. It took such massive computing power to create false images that it was unthinkable to create a realistic false photo for dissemination. In our contemporary world, we see the rapid advancement of A.I. allowing for such an ease of access and usability that it is frequently used to manipulate photographs from all spheres. From social media, home photographs, and unfortunately some untoward photojournalists looking to further a narrative.  In the above curated photographs, there are: citizen photos, A.I. altered photos, and bonafide photojournalism photos taken at different "No Kings" protests. I deliberately selected these photographs as this is a very current and meaningful m...

Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw Photo by Albert Sands Southworth 1850 Subject's expression - The Subject in this photo has a very serious expression. While this was common for photos of the time period, there is more at play here. The subject of the photo is Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, a respected Massachusetts politician and judge. The expression used in this photo is both the respresentation of the person as well as the position of being Chief Justice.  Keep it simple - Looking at this photo, there is very little to distract from the main subject. Aside from a possibly posed hand and what appears to be a column on the left side of the frame, Shaw is centered with lighting coming from the right side of the frame with Shaw looking to the left side of the frame causing shadows to cascade the low areas of his face with highlights on promeninent areas. Feelings - Looking at this, there is a sense of respect and regal coming from this photo. The high collar, wide lapel, hints of a hig...