Introduction to the History of Photojournalism

Photos define the world around us. They show our past, present, and future. Photojournalism tells a story and further defines the things we do. There are many types of photojournalists. Some people will go and travel the world and others will stay in the same place their entire life. Some people do it to try to make the world a better place and others do it for the pleasure of capturing an image. Jason Henske is a local freelancer in Brattleboro, Vermont. He says that “each and every day is different” even in the small market that he works in. They can range anywhere from photographing war to capturing a local musician performing. As Professor Nordell says it can be broken up into two parts; photos and journals. The photojournalists have to have both skills in being courageous when capturing the moment and being unbiased and aware of what is happening in the news. Photojournalists need to have the natural ability to capture the moment with the right equipment.

Photo by: Eddie Adams
Image Source: https://mediavisualartswebdesignbsimarro.wordpress.com/2014/10/04/leica-celebrates-its-century-of-photography-recreating-35-famous-photos/

            Photojournalism really can capture a key moment in history. One picture can become nationally known and remembered for many years. These photos are able to place ourselves where the picture was taken.They have the ability to make us feel something and really understand what was going on when the photo was taken. Photojournalists try to capture the reality of what is going on. The best photos are not planned. Photojournalists often put their lives on the line just to illustrate the importance of the photo. 

Photojournalism has evolved from film to camera and it is important to know the history of it all. What is history? Why do we study it? In Joanna Hayes’s video she considers it a “window to the past”. She mentions how the past is a key to the present. It helps to solve upcoming problems in our world today. It is to gain experience for us as human beings.

Photo by: John Filo
Image Source:
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/04/kent-state-university-shootings_n_857544.html
 

History helps explain our world today. Whatever happens in history has an effect on how we are living and the decisions we make every day. History is our past time and defines each and every one of us. Marcus Garvey has a famous quote saying, “A people without knowledge of past history origin and culture is like a tree without roots”. History is essential for general knowledge. It can help look at the world differently. We understand different cultures because of it, and have evidence of events that have happened and for what reason they did. Photojournalism started in the mid 1850’s and then evolved by taking pictures for news reporting. Dillon Westbrook writes in his article, “The introduction of the 35 mm Leica camera in the 1930’s made it possible for photographers to move with the action, taking shots of events as they are unfolding”. Since then it has branched out into many different sectors and delivering news in many different ways. This made it possible for photojournalists to illustrate the importance of the story the photos were telling and they continue to do that today.