Alabama: Tornadoes Devastate the State

I spent Wednesday evening hunkered down in the basement of my dorm building, nervously waiting for a string of tornadoes to pass through Birmingham. Frustrated that we were forced to take shelter, girls lined the hallways, watching storm trackers on their computers, attempting to finish homework and texting friends and family members to assure their loved ones that they were safe.

As soon as the tornadoes touched down in Tuscaloosa, reports of the devastation came pouring in from University of Alabama students-- “the Krispy Kreme building is gone,” and “my friends’ 15^th Street apartment building has been demolished,” were among the reports.

After these reports, we considered ourselves lucky when we heard that a tornado had touched down just 5 miles down the road in downtown Birmingham. We were relieved when an “all clear” email allowed us to leave the crowded basement and return to our previous activities. 

The majority of students went to sleep on Wednesday night realizing that Samford was lucky to have avoided the tornadoes, but failing to realize the extent of the damage. When we awoke on Thursday morning, we were faced with a death count exceeding 100 persons that continued to grow throughout the day.

As pictures of the destruction began to flood the internet, the reality of the situation became apparent. Some close friends, classmates and professors had been directly affected by the storm. The frustration that we had expressed previously turned into a feeling of sympathy towards those affected and a feeling of gratitude that Samford’s campus had been spared.

Without these pictures, however, we would not know about the immense destruction just a few miles down the road. Without the work of photojournalists, newscasters and news writers, information of the tragedy would not be so accessible. 

I have often posted pictures of international events accompanied by a call to action to be more aware of global events. Photojournalists who photograph these events help to raise awareness. However, this devastating event is vastly different. Local photojournalists and photographers are raising awareness about a tragedy that occurred here in Birmingham and surrounding cities. Just as Egypt, Libya and other war-torn, poverty-stricken areas are in need of aid, Alabama is desperately in need of help. 

Zoriah: "Subject matter is what affects us, not the technology used to capture it!"

Throughout my posts on this blog, I have continued to state that photojournalism is not about the photographer and his equipment, but rather, photojournalism is about the subject that is being photographed and the story that is being told. Despite the photographers who carry around a camera that cost more than a luxury vehicle while photographing starving children who could be fed for mere pennies a day, there are photographers who also believe that the purpose of photojournalism is to tell stories and to raise awareness. 

One of these photographers is ZORIAH. Zoriah refers to himself as a “humanitarian photojournalist,” and his work has been featured in hundreds of magazines, publications and news outlets including Newsweek, BBC News, The Wall Street Journal and CNN. He specializes in photographing war-torn countries, disaster-affected areas and poverty-stricken villages. While he is not overseas for assignments, Zoriah travels across the country lecturing at universities, art schools and museums.

In a recent post on his photojournalism blog, Zoriah urges those considering entering photography to focus on a subject not a camera. He says, “if you want to be a photographer or photojournalist, or just take better pictures, your camera should not be your main focus.  Honestly, it has very, very little part in the equation.  You see photography and photojournalism are about the subject matter, and that is what you should focus on.” 

Similar claims are spewed across photojournalism blogs daily. Zoriah, however, proved his point by conducting a test. Before a trip to Africa for an assignment on child prostitution and poverty, he picked up a “point and shoot” camera. Point and shoot cameras have been developed for consumers rather than professional photographers, and are highly looked down upon by elite photographers. He purchased a camera that retails for $150 for a mere $70 from a Craigslist seller, and kept it in his shirt pocket while he was shooting in Africa. He produced all of the images featured in this blog post with a camera that has no manual shooting modes, no ability to change aperture, shutter speed, white balance or any of the settings that professional photographers have been trained to master.

Although these images are taken with a camera that even hobby photographers would be reluctant to use, the story is still there. Zoriah still raised awareness about child prostitution and drug use in African villages. While he raised awareness, he also proved that a compelling story is not told through the lens of a fancy camera, but rather in the eyes of young girl whose life has been ruined through child prostitution and drugs.

Zoriah urges burgeoning photographers to “be inspired, go out and shoot and quit thinking about what your camera can’t do and remember all the things it can” is a welcome departure from the idea that good photographs can only be produced with cameras that cost upward of $10,000. His final plea is to "buy yourself a plane ticket to some exotic place you have always wanted to go and then photograph the hell out of it!" So now, go and pick up your point and shoot camera, your iPhone or your DSLR and find something that you are passionate about. Take pictures of your passion and tell stories through your photographs.

Photoshop: Should there be rules?

Those who disagree with digital manipulation believe that outlawing or regulating the use of Photoshop would solve the problems of unethical journalism. However, photojournalists are professionals, not children. Photojournalists should use their professional experience to determine how much digital manipulation is appropriate, therefore regulating their own Photoshop use. 

Journalism and mass media appeal to the needs and wants of consumers. Since the public wants to achieve the same level of perfection as the models that are plastered across billboards, the use of Photoshop is necessary to give the public the perfection that it desires. We have no issue with the obvious lies that magazines and newspapers feed us through their manipulated, untruthful images. We have created an animal-- we thrive off of being lied to by the publications that we consider trustworthy, therefore forcing unethical journalism to occur. 

However, there is a delicate balance between pleasing a consumer who wants utter perfection and accurately representing a world that is not perfect. It seems like photojournalists are fighting a losing battle. Pleasing the people often means lying to them and conducting unethical journalism; however, publishing accurate yet unflattering photos results in a displeased audience. This raises the question of which standard a photojournalist should follow: please the public or represent the product?

While the concept of selling perfection has existed for decades, it has become majorly overblown with the advent of digital manipulation. Suddenly every shirt fits perfectly with the simple click of a button and with a slight movement of a mouse, an already emaciated model loses ten more pounds. While these photo manipulations can be harmless and simply provide a more effective manner to sell a product, there is a fine line between accuracy and over-manipulation that must be observed.

Ralph Lauren recently published the above image of an obviously manipulated model. Although the advertisement was never published in the United States, photos of the ridiculous Photoshop disaster circulated around the web. The controversy surrounding the image forced Ralph Lauren to release a statement acknowledging the distorted image, apologizing for the overzealous Photoshop job and stating that they still were a brand based on “quality and integrity.” 

However, publishing such a ridiculous picture is not an act of integrity by any means. Rather, this is an example of unethical journalism and the inaccurate representation of a product. While the blame can be placed on Ralph Lauren for allowing the advertisement to be printed, the true issue with the situation is the fact that a photojournalist actually created the image. The photojournalist who edited the advertisement did not uphold his duty to the public and conducted irresponsible and unethical journalism. 

Recently, Egypt’s government-run newspaper, the Al-Ahram, published a picture of several world leaders including Egyptian president and President Obama. The original photograph shows the five world leaders walking in the White House with President Obama leading the group. However, the photo that was published in Al-Ahram was digitally manipulated to feature Egypt’s president leading the group.

While the manipulated image did not run in American presses, it still caused slight distrust for the media across the world. With this new digital technology, photographs can be altered to such an extreme point that an event that never actually happened can be created in a photograph.While this issue raised questions about what other false photographs had been printed in the news, the photograph is an example of entirely unacceptable and irresponsible journalism. To change the location of a politician from walking at the back of a group to leading a group absolutely misrepresents the event. 

Whatever the agenda of the paper, the photojournalist that altered the photograph is the one to blame. As a professional, it is their job to stand up and put limits on how far is too far and how much manipulation is too much manipulation.Photojournalists are trained professionals, and any respectable photojournalist knows the appropriate guidelines for photo manipulation. While some photojournalists conduct unethical behavior, this is not the case with photojournalism across the world. Photojournalists must uphold these standards as the public is forced to trust photographers for an accurate representation of events and products.

Journalism professionals do not need a parental figure telling them when its time to put down the mouse and turn in for the night. It is the journalist’s responsibility and ethical duty to conduct ethical journalistic practices, accurately representing products and stories in the advertising and journalism fields of mass media. If we trust photojournalists to provide information for an event, we must also trust them to regulate their own Photoshop use. 

Uses of Photography: To Infinity and Beyond

[photo courtesy of smashing-magazine.com]

In today’s culture, photography is more than simply taking photographs. Families consider it an invaluable medium used to store memories of their children who will grow up too quickly. Journalists use it as a tool to tell stories that words alone can not express. Artists express themselves through photography. All of these uses of photography have been explored in previous posts on this blog. However, there is another important use for photography that is often forgotten. 

[photo courtesy of NASA]

Scientists use photography to study places that they are unable to visit. This technique is especially prevalent in areas that space missions cannot reach due to the immense distance from Earth. Where NASA cannot send people, it sends cameras. While a photograph of a rebellion in Libya provides a reader with an idea of the tension within the country, a photograph of a galaxy provides an astronomer with a map of planets that could not otherwise be studied.

[photo courtesy of NASA]

For example, NASA sent the Mars Rover in hopes of finding life on the Red Planet. With no way to send astronauts to the surface, sending a rover equipped with a high-quality camera was the only way for scientists to determine if there was life on Mars. After studying the immense amount of photographs from three successful missions, scientists can rest assured that there is no risk of the Looney Toons “Martian” invading the planet.

[photo courtesy of NASA]

Without this unique use of photography, astronomers would be left wondering if life on Mars was even possible. Due to the successful implementation of technology and photography, new scientific leaps allow scientists to have an increased understanding of surrounding planets. However, photography is not only used to determine the possibility of life, it is also used to determine the existence of planets.

[photo courtesy of NASA]

The Milky Way galaxy is home to thousands of planets, stars and other astronomic bodies. In order to discover the existence of new planets, astronomers launch satellites equipped with high-speed, high-quality cameras to take pictures at millisecond intervals. After receiving the data, scientists study the changes from each photograph. If they begin to notice that a body has moved over a series of photographs, they can declare the body a “dwarf planet.” This method is used to determine the difference between stars and planets. 

[photo courtesy of NASA]

Examining scientific uses for photography makes it evident that photography is not just a hobby that mothers can use to scrapbook their children’s lives or an art form that is used by starving artists to let their passions and beliefs out in a visual manner. Rather, photography is a critical part of our lives that allows an increased understanding of the world around us-- whether it is a picture of an Egyptian rebellion or the first photograph proving the existence of a new planet.

Libya: Kidnapped Journalists

Lynsey Addario for the New York Times

Over the past few weeks, journalists from many news outlets were sent out to Libya to cover the protests and riots that are being led by the rebel army in Libya. While working on their assignments, four New York Times journalists were kidnapped by the rebel forces.

Imed Lamloun for Getty Images

The Times first reported the missing status of its photographers, videographers and writers on March 16, and stated that they believed that Libyan government officials had swept up the journalists. However, it was not until one week that later that their suspicions were confirmed and all the journalists were released.

Tyler Hicks for the New York Times

As journalism students, we often picture our future careers to be the glamorous newsroom jobs that we see featured on the 5 o’clock news every night. We’re so busy thinking about our dream jobs that we tend to forget about the non-glamorous aspects of journalism. We forget about the jobs that we have to take in order to make it to that newscaster position, and we forget to consider the excruciatingly hard work and overwhelmingly difficult assignments that allow us to climb up the corporate ladder.

Lynsey Addario for the New York Times

Events like this kidnapping are a reminder that journalism is not glamorous. Oftentimes it is dirty, risky and difficult. However, despite the danger and inconvenience, it is the journalist’s responsibility to report world events. 

Super Moon 2011

Saturday, March 19, 2011 boasted the largest moon in over 20 years. The evening marked the moon’s closest position to the earth, a phenomenon that will not occur for another two decades. 

Photo Credit: Sumit Kumar, Glasgow

Although some were entirely unaware of the infrequent event, a large amount people across the globe went to fields and clearings to witness the “super moon.”

Claire Massingham, Northolt Hills

In the spirit of our digital culture, many skywatchers were alerted of the phenomenon through Twitter, Facebook and other social media websites. In fact, Twitter was overwhelmed with tweets about the exceptionally large moon that was filing the night sky, and #supermoon earned a spot as the top trend for the evening. 

Martin Thorne, Canary Islands

Twitter was flooded with photos of the super moon that had been shot using stargazer’s cell phones, and multiple large news outlets opened their websites for user submissions. 

Brian Dempsey, Mudford Cay

Although some photography experts scoff at the pixelated quality of the amateur’s images, I think that the amateur photographer’s work should be appreciated. Not only does it allow us to see the phenomenal super moon from countless different perspectives across the world, but it also is unifying in a way. Instead of professional photographers publishing their perfected photographs, we see the moon as it was viewed by the thousands of astronomy enthusiasts who took to the skies armed with their iPhones and a Twitter account, ready to share the beauty of the super moon with the world.

Ali Napier for BBC

Financing Photojournalism

[Photo Credit: Tomas Van Houtvyre] 

Despite my strong belief that photojournalism should be a passion rather than a profession, many photographers who are passionate about photojournalism rely on their  art to pay their bills. For these photographers, the economic downturn of 2005 drastically changed the way that they fulfilled assignments. 

Prior to the economic collapse, publications would send out photographers to pre-determined locations with a topic. The photographer was expected to return with a slew of shots that met the strict parameters set by their editors. While this process allowed photojournalists to have a steady income, they were often assigned topics that were not interesting to them.

Like most industries, the economic downturn altered the processes by which photojournalists and publications work together. Today, photojournalists work more like authors. Photographers fund their own trips, tell their own stories through photographs, and pitch the project to a publication only after it has been completed. Well-known photographers can pitch ideas to magazines for a pre-approval and are occassionally provided with a travel advance. However, the majority of photojournalists begin projects using personal funding.

Of course, news outlets still send photographers to cover events. For example, the recent tsunamis in Japan are being covered by photojournalists who have been sent out by their employers. However, a large number of independent photojournalists are getting on flights to Japan to cover the event as well. While the corporate photojournalists are required to get specific images, the independent photojournalist will be able to venture down whichever avenue they choose. 

To aid photographers, websites such as Kickstarter promote the funding of independent projects. Photographers can post ideas of photoshoots, locations and stories to gain monetary support from fellow photographers and photography buffs.

Some believe that the shift has made it difficult for beginning photojournalists to find success. However, the change allows photographers to choose only what interests them. I believe that when a photographer is passionate about a subject, he is able to fully illustrate the story through powerful photography. 

[Photo Credit: Sarah Elliot]

This change should provide publications with more emotional, powerful photographs of subjects that journalists are passionate about instead of a basic headshot to accompany a story.