My take on Photojournalism

Photo by Alberto Korda using a Leica camera The advent of compact, lightweight, and concealable cameras made the world of photography far more convenient. The Leica 35mm first hit the market in 1925 and quickly became the new standard of photography. The inventor, Oskar Barmack, utilized the 35mm film used in cinema and adapted it for camera use. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History explains, “Oskar Barnack, who work for Leitz, adapted 35mm movie film for still photography by doubling the width of the image to 24 x 36 mm. This format introduced with the Leica camera in 1925, became the standard for 35mm cameras”. Seeing as this year marks a hundred years of a revolutionary camera, I do believe we should celebrate and learn about such a pivotal technological advancement.   The Leica had 35mm film behind the lens mounted in a horizontal fashion, activating the shutter would expose one frame at a time. The exposure had to be wound manually. Early models used fixed len...

Photo by Austin Magnuson  The above photo is from a JEMS article published October 20th, 2020. This period during the COVID 19 pandemic was stressful for all medical providers. Being a paramedic myself at the time and being the first point of contact during such an uncertain time was terrifying. Throughout my paramedic education, we were taught that, "Once you get there, the emergency is done. It is your duty to bring a semblance of calm to the patient no matter the issue." A tall order for any situation, let alone one where you are completely unsure if your intervention will be able to keep someone alive long enough to get to the hospital. Typically, paramedics in this area see one or two calls a shift where the certainty of the patient is questionable - during the pandemic, it was almost every call and it spanned ages. Throughout this time, I watched as some of the most diligent, brilliant minds of prehospital EMS silently slid away. After having to respond to some of the m...

1) How has the history of photojournalism shaped how people perceive major historical events and/or social issues? - Photojournalism has shown the media, specifically photographs, have the power to influence and change the public perception of social issues. For example, we can look at Macus Garvey's Negro World newspaper. This paper utilized both reporting and photos to unabashedly correctly represent and celebrate a culture that was seen as "lesser than" at the time of publication. Refusing to run ads for hair straightening and skin-lightening creams, Garvey celebrated Black Culture and would frequently encourage the Black identity and self-acceptance, challenging the more dominant stereotypes. Garvey would declare "The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness" (Afrobella, 2009).  Through Garvey's representation of positive portrayals of the Black identity via images and print, we can see how photojournalism r...

Photo by Steve McCurry      Photojournalism is a passion and devotion to humanity, an inherent need to document, preserve, and disseminate the happenings of impactful events worldwide, as well as the truths of those who endure those events. While many people believe that photojournalism is about showcasing tragedies—wars, famine, loss—there is always a human aspect applied to this art of storytelling. I selected this image because I distinctly remember looking at it in my high school history book and realizing many things. First, the world is so much larger than what I have seen, and I wanted so much to explore what was beyond me. Second, I felt connected to a situation that I was worlds away from. Lastly, I wanted to learn more about the situation surrounding the events that brought about the need for this photo to be taken. In this moment, I felt the actual impact of the essence of photojournalism.