"A fine photojournalist plants one foot firmly within the visual pursuit of objective reality as we know it...But a great photojournalist also plants the other foot firmly within the subjective experience, with its passion, dedication, artistry, and drive to document people at their best and worst."
Julianne H. Newton
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson is considered the "grandfather of photojournalism". He was inspired by a photograph taken by Martin Munkacsi titled Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika. "The only thing which completely was an amazement to me and brought me to photography was the work of Munkacsi. When I saw the photograph of Munkacsi of the black kids running in a wave I couldn't believe such a thing could be caught with the camera. I said damn it, I took my camera and went out into the street." Henri Cartier-Bresson He often spent hours on various streets, capturing life as he saw it, which became known as street photography. He took pictures all over Europe: from Madraid to Prague and from Budapest to Brussels. In 1948 he became well known for covering Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral as well as the ending of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. |  |
THE DECISIVE MOMENT VS STAGED ONTOLOGY
The decisive moment is powerful in the art of photojournalism. It holds the truth and represents reality when capturing a specific moment in time. The subject is suddenly frozen and we see the beauty of naturalism from the image. Capturing in a decisive moment can produce stunning and emotional images. A decisive moment can be at times challenging as your presence is not to be acknowledge as this can create awkwardness and nervousness if your subject becomes aware of you taking the photo. It is important to be subtle and cautious whilst representing your subject as people can become angry or offended if they're photo is taken.
Another photographic technique is to stage an image before it is captured. This requires planning and alteration to the subject in order to portray a certain emotion or message. The photographer interferes with the location, person and the subject to suit there idea. However the photo needs to look as natural as possible to not give away any hint of staging. In some situations staging needs to be used as person may not necessarily be comfortable with the moment you are creating.
You can easily mistake a image for being natural when it is staged and vice versa. Professional photojournalists are excellent in their photographic techniques in the way they portray a photo.
 Dorothea Lang Naomi Pink |  Andrea Giacobbe
|
Ferdinando Scianna
1943-Present
“A photograph is not created by a photographer. What they does is just to open a little window and capture it. The world then writes itself on the film. The act of the photographer is closer to reading than it is to writing. They are the readers of the world. ”
 FRANCE. Paris. 1986. The French photographer Henri CARTIER-BRESSON. | Initially a student at Palermo, Sicily studying Literature, Philosophy and history of Art, in 1966 Scinna moved to Milan where he worked for a magazine published weekly entitled L’Europeo. He was at first a photographer but after 1973 became a journalist for the magazine instead. Within this time period he also wrote about politics for Le Monde Diplomatique as well as literature and photography for La Quinzaine Littéraire. |
Scianna’s eclectic photo journalism has been captured all over the world. Many of his projects feature in European countries such as Spain, France and Italy. A lot of these reflect important figures both within the world of photo journalism and in the cultural arts while also conveying the obscurity of the country’s local communities and Scianna’s peculiar take on fashion photography. His work further afield such as New York, Mali and Bolivia is a lot harder hitting as it conveys strong themes of deprivation, starvation and poverty. Such work gives audiences a much clearer insight into hidden communities and controversial truths which all great photo journalism should do. One of the main reasons we have looked in to the work of Ferdinando Scianna as a photo journalist is because we find him and the creative style of truth telling he produces to be very gifted. |  ITALIA, Roma: Campo nomadi Casilino 700 |
A large aspect of this is due to how his photo journalism is so eclectic ranging from fashion photography to poverty in third world countries all the way to re-capturing his youth within the town he grew up in. As his style is so varied it gives the view a wider sense of his strength as a photo journalist as his methods of storytelling are constantly changing and developing. Scianna’s confidence to incorporate such a variety of themes in his work is something we as a group find hugely inspirational and is something we will hopefully reflect within our own work, though not on quite so large a perspective.
Harry Fisher
Zoe Strauss
1970-Present
“Every moment is a moment worth photographing.”
 Strauss’s work strongly explores and reflects the harsh and gritty truths of life which too many would be purposely over looked or even ignored. Such themes include drug taking, deficiency with in communities and broken societies within America. | Newer than many to the world of photo journalism, Strauss began reflecting neglected truths through the medium of photography after receiving a camera for her 30th birthday. Her career began by capturing photos reflecting the life within the restricted neighborhoods of Philadelphia, her home city. Her photographic work has adapted to a style of art known as installation and Philadelphia is still the main place that reflects within her work in terms of subjects and location.  |
"Zoe Strauss’ photos not only capture the diversity and different personalities of Philadelphia, but also provokes inspiration and deep thought through overlooked details of everyday life."
Leonel Peon
Harry Fisher
WORLDS TOP PHOTOGRAPHERS BY ANDY STEEL
During my research of Photographers in Photojournalism I searched through various photography books and one really caught my eye. It is called The World's Top Photographers and the stories behind their greatest images Photojournalism by Andy Steel. This book shows 30 unique photographers known as the top Photojournalists. All their images create a critical outlook to the world around us and make us more aware of the ongoing disasters in our world. This book contains many stunning and meaningful images which were taken within different areas in the world and each image holds a different story behind it. What I found most interesting about this book is that every image is strong and powerful in the way a message or emotion is portrayed. The images give you an insight into everything that is going on in the world whether that is the past or the present. These images mainly display war, violence, anger, sadness, nature, setting, government and religion. Majority of the images are captured in motion which gives an abstract perception of what is going on during that certain point in time where as others are still images of people. This book has really inspired me and given me a clearer view to how I should capture images through Photojournalism in order to broadcast a news story and to make the viewer respond and raise questions about the way the world is governed. |  |
The photos in this book inspire and help me understand how we as a group capture particular moments during filming to convey particular message or emotion. One of our objectives is to get the audience talking and thinking about our documentary once they have viewed it and our second objective is to ensure we fully understand the mode we want to film our documentary in order to trigger a certain emotion from the audience. It is important to think about these factors during filming as we want to capture powerful footage that will inform and educate the audience about our chosen subject.
Naomi Pink
   Rafael Gough
| It began with a fateful encounter in the early 1990s, when a group of students in Vienna, Austria, stumbled upon the Lomo Kompakt Automat – a small, enigmatic Russian camera. Mindlessly taking shots from the hip, and sometimes looking through the viewfinder, they were astounded with the mind-blowing photos that it produced. The colours were vibrant, with deep saturation and vignettes that framed the shot, it was nothing like they had seen before. Upon returning home, friends wanted their own Lomo LC-A, igniting a new style of artistic experimental photography that we now know as Lomography. The 10 golden rules of LomographyThese rules define Lomography's philosophy and approach towards photography. Recite them, or break all the rules – whichever way, be ready to throw all your inhibitions about photography to the wind.
25 very good examples of Lomography http://www.animhut.com/photography/25-free-lomography-desktop-wallpaper-photography-collection/ |
 What makes Kratochvil such a renowned photographer is his style of
shooting. He is not like the average photojournalist who simply wants
to capture and share the things that are going on around the world. He is very dedicated to making the photo look very good, with various
techniques. In this sense he is very much an art photographer, who
simply happens to have fallen into the path of photojournalism.
He takes his photos from obscure angles, using obscure lighting patterns not only to share the photo and situation with the viewer, but to get the person who is observing the photo to really think about what is going on. He loves to use shadows, though it isn’t considered to be professional, his photographs are full of them. This creates a sense of claustrophobia and unease. Generally the techniques he uses create a real sense of insecurity. The angles make the photo seem even more uncomfortable and hard on the eyes. Within our documentary, I really hope to be inspired by Kratochvil. Specifically how much attention to detail he puts into his work. Depending on the final documentary idea we choose, as director I may end up even gaining inspiration from his obscure angles if we go for an idea where it would be appropriate to portray an uncomfortable feeling for our audience. | As photojournalists go, Antonin Kratochvil has sunk his teeth into his fair share of upheaval and human catastrophes whilst going about his documentation of the time in which he lives. As people go, Kratochvil's own refugee life has been much in the way the same as what he has rendered on film. Kratochvil's unique style of photography is the product of personal experience, intimate conditioning and not privileged voyeurism. Over the years his fluid and unconventional work has been sought by numerous publications stretching across widely differing interests. From shooting Mongolia's street children for the magazine published by the Museum of Natural History to a portrait session with David Bowie for Detour, from covering the war in Iraq for Fortune Magazine to shooting Deborah Harry for a national advertising campaign for the American Civil Liberties Union, Kratochvil's ability to see through and into his subjects and show immutable truth has made his pictures not facsimiles but uncensored visions. 
 |
CANDID PHOTOGRAPHY
Candid photography focuses on spontaneity (decisive moment) rather than photographic techniques. You are capturing a subject during their current task rather than a posed photo. All candid photos are unplanned, unpredictable and unposed, you take a photo as it comes and when it feels right to. What is so great about this particular style of photography is that other photographic equipment isn't necessary as the creativity is left with the person and the camera. Tips for taking candid photos . take a camera out where ever you go as you never know when something unexpected crops up that will make an incredible photo. . take chances. . don't use complicated techniques with the camera allow the subject to show the beauty of naturalism. . set your camera to ISO 400 so it has a faster shutter speed. . NEVER take photos of peoples backs . capture the essence of the person's task . experiment with how you can change the perspective of the subject by changing the angle, zoom or shutter speed of the camera. Examples of professional candid photographers Arthur Fellig and Rene Burri. |   |
By Naomi Pink
NANNA KREUTZMANN
NANNA KREUTZMANN Danish photojournalist, places herself in continuos comfortable locations, photographing and emphasising emotion portrayed through enjoyment, hunger, want, pain... Nanna enjoys her connection with human interaction, allowing herself to portray all sorts of life modes. Follow the link to check out Nanna's photojournalism, (http://greatphotojournalism.com/nannakreutzmann.html). 
 |  (http://greatphotojournalism.com/nannakreutzmann_series601.html and http://greatphotojournalism.com/nannakreutzmann_series659.html) Follow the links to see Nanna's photography at Denmark largest festival, Roskilde Festival in 2008 and 2009. I gained most of my inspiration for my photo essay from these photographs. I based my photo essay on the contrast between the lives of musicians to the life of fans and the interaction and connection between the two, here in Nanna's two albums from Roskilde, i have also seen this connection. On the left hand side photograph, you see audiences in great enjoyment over the entertainment from the music. A lot of her other photos also portray this deep connection with friends/family/strangers at the festival. I see a lot of love in these photos, as it just infers to me that these people are at the peak of there life, with the ones they love having fun. The other half of these photos, like the one above, portray the other side of the connection, but with the musicians. Nanna portrays the on stage presence of the musicians and furthermore emphasises their enjoyment of performing to their audiences. Taking photographs of these people at their point of concentration, Nanna also manages to emphasise their love for the business that they are in. |
Like Nanna's musical photography, she also portrays human interaction with her other photography, like the photo above to the left of the fishermen in the Aral Sea. Here you see the man on the right throw the fish in a manner on mundane nature, as if this fisherman's duty is his life and he is bored of it. Possibly throwing it into a basket to make money for his family and food, this is his life and that is all it will be. This photography really inspires me for my own photography however when it comes to filming as a d.o.p i am inspired by films of poetic nature rather than human interaction.
Alex Loucaides
ADAM FERGUSON
In August 2009, Adam Ferguson entered Wardak a province of Afghanistan near to Kabul. Here he followed the 102-man company, part of the US Army’s 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat team, 10th Mountain Division.
 Above, Adam Ferguson captures Sergeant First Class Marty Belanger preparing to approach a US Army Helicopter, and on the right Specialist Codey Johnson crying over T. J. Fecteau's injury over an IED attack. (The rest of Adam Ferguson's Wardak album http://adamfergusonphoto.com/#/photographs/wardak/Wardak_AF_01 here) Ferguson portrays how normal these soldiers are and how they have feelings and are as normal as everyone else. He is really able to emphasise how a warzone effects each and every person involved. With a set of brilliant profile shots such as on the right, Ferguson is furthermore able to portray the emotion of these people. This therefore enables audiences to really see how people are effected in this zone and what is really happening in the warfare. Ferguson has really inspired me with these set of photos, capturing every moment and telling the truth in each one, really allows audiences to open up their views to this life style and furthermore be educated. | Ferguson captured the troops morale, portraying how low it had become, due to the previous injured from their company. Their fight was with IED's planted by locals in the road, fields and other hidden areas. The soldiers were not wanted by Locals who refused selling food and other goods to the Americans, it was then Adam Ferguson's duty to capture this company's emotion towards the conflict.   |
Alex Loucaides
LEWIS HINE
Lewis Hine combined his sociology work with photography in hope his photos would help bring around social reform. He used his camera to capture poverty around New York and to show the awfulness of child labour, he would often exaggerate the poverty which he encountered. After working on his campaign against child labour, Hine began working for the Red Cross during the World War 1. He would document people who the war had an impact upon around. Hine was also known for recording the construction of the Empire State building. This led to Hine being hired again by the Red Cross. It is said that Hine was well ahead of his time, using a camera to document events. Jessica Massey |  |
RICHARD DREW
Richard Drew was one of four press photographers present at the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. He is most notable for his photo 'The Falling Man' , the photo shows a man falling from the north tower of the World Trade Center. This photo was criticised after some papers and people found it 'disturbing' seeing a man fall to his death.
This photo is prime example of decisive moment imagery. This photo does a lot for an audience in terms of how they feel when looking at the picture. Jessica Massey |  |
Le Jetée
Le Jetée a featurette by Chris Marker, the inspiration for '12 Monkeys' and 'Terminator' -is a short film constructed entirely from still photos playing out as a photomontage at a varying pace. The story has a voice over narrator which represents the expository mode 'voice-of-God.' Throughout the short film the narrator talks us through the still pictures we are seeing. Le Jetée heavily influenced many media storms and also other forms of media for example David Bowie's music video 'Jump They Say'. (below)
As a group Le Jetée helped us when researching into our photojournalism essays and also when constructing our trailer for our documentary as we also needed to use still photos to explain a story.
Jessica Massey |
