Photojournalism
PHOTOJOURNALISM
WHAT IS PHOTOJOURNALISM?
Photojournalism is the practice of communicating news by photographs, especially in magazines. It started to take shape when photographers could easily transport cameras into war zones. For the first time, ordinary citizens could see the impact of the fighting right there in their newspaper. It was a pivotal moment in photography and it became more and more real between the Civil War and World War II.
Yet photojournalism is not just about war or photographers working the beat for a local newspaper. It's much more than that. Photojournalism tells a story and it often does so in a single photograph. Think of the Depression Era photos of Dorothea Lange or those famous photos of Mickey Mantle hitting home runs. They evoke a feeling, whether its astonishment, empathy, sadness, or joy.
That is the mark of photojournalism; to capture that single moment in time and give viewers the sense that they're part of it.
History
It is said that Photojournalism originated in Romania. It began with Carol Szathmary a lithographer and photographer, who was considered to be the very first photojournalist. Before he became a photojournalist he studied painting and engraving, two very popular forms of art during his period. He was well known for his valiant photographs of the Crimean War between Russia and Turkey in 1853-1856. He acquired an exceedingly high reputation around the European continent, once his pictures had been published in major dailies, and were eventually exhibited in some of the biggest art galleries.
Artists
Henri Cartier-Bresson was one of many photojournalists. Bresson was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as capturing a decisive moment. Cartier-Bresson was one of the founding members of Magnum Photos in 1947.
Cartier-Bresson was one of the founding members of Magnum Photos in 1947. In the 1970s he took up drawing— he had studied painting in the 1920s.
Top Photojournalists
Robert Frank
Robert Frank was born in 1924. He is a Swiss-American photographer and documentary film-maker. After World War Two he turned to photography, he trained with a few photographers and graphic designers, which allowed him to create his first hand made book of photographs. He soon left to travel in South America and Europe, in which he created another handbook of photographs that he had taken in Peru. in 1953, he returned to New York where he continued as a freelance photojournalist for magazines such as Vogue and Fortune.
James Nachwey
James Nachwey was born in 1948, and grew up in Massachusetts. He started working as a newspaper photographer in 1976. In 1980, he moved to New York and began working as a freelance photographer. In 1981, he covered his first assignment in Northern Ireland illustrating civil strife. He has documented a variety of armed conflicts and social issues, spending time in South Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet- Union shooting pictures of war, conflict and images of socio-political issues in Western Europe and the United States. James Nachwey won a Ted prize in 2007.
Robert's Photography
Robert's Photography
James' Photography
James' Photography
Here we have a video, which showcases many photojournalist's work from all around the world. From War zones, to third world countries, showing us a variety of lifestyles. Each photographer have captured images that tell us a story. Photojournalism is to capture moments which gives the viewer a cascade of emotion, which can make you feel connected to the image. Each image in this video gives every viewer a different emotion, depending on how they choose to perceive it.
