Photojournalism and Bias

Photo by: Ed Clark 

Image Source:  http://www.thegreatleapsideways.com/?p=209

Every person has different views. Those views make us think about things differently and interpret them too. When we make an interpretation, there are many different aspects to look at. with photojournalism, photos can be confusing to interpret. We all have different ethics and views on the world, and we see things according to those views.  The photo that Ed Clark took brings up so many different feelings. There could be so many ways to interpret this photo and so many things could be going on. There are obviously tears coming out of his eyes so automatically I would think he is feeling a very strong emotion. By his face and the people in the background, it seems like the man is mourning. It may be the loss of someone close, or someone very important. Everyone in the photo seems so sad that they can't even look at the man playing the accordion.  There are many stories within this one photo as Shahidul Alam says in his interview. In the photo, the man is on the left side of the photo and the right side shows the other people with the same sad faces. It seems like Clark used the rule of thirds to really show the amount of sadness. The depth perception also makes you focus on the man's face but also makes you look to the back to see the others mourning. The black and white photo helps to indicate when the photo was taken. It must have been taken when color was not available but it still shows a lot of detail.

Photo by: John Filo
Image Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/photographs-that-changed-the-world

One image to me that really tells the truth is the one shown to the right. This was from a shooting and the woman photographed was showing her real emotions. This photo was not staged as you can tell because there is a pole that looks like it's going through the woman's head. She is screaming at the loss of the person in the street. The people in the background are looking over to see what is going on and that brings the attention right to the woman. Like Shahidul Alam said "a story has many truths and many levels."  Some people may have said that this photojournalist should have been helping the woman who obviously felt pain. But some people could say that the photojournalist also felt that pain. Alam also says that " the only time you really able to tell the stories about the people is when you live their lives." The photojournalist was there, feeling the real pain that the woman felt for the person laying in the street. This photo is the truth of how this woman felt and the whole scene of the photo. 

Photo by: David Dare Parker
Image Source: http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/photograph
y-qa-with-a-nikon-pro-photojournalist/

Photo By: Dennis BautistaImage Source: http://www.artremote.com/page/2/

I believe that images that are changed from their original state, are photos that stray from the truth. There are some photojournalists that edit their photos and do "whatever it takes" to get that photo that may make people think a certain way. This changes the opinions of the people that are viewing photo which creates bias. In the late 1800's and the early 1900's cameras could not freeze motion so in the newspapers, there would be artists drawing scenes of what happened in the news. Professor Nordell mentioned Yellow Journalism where the headlines were big and they really grabbed people's attention. But there was also a lot of bias in the articles to convince the reader one way.  Well today it is whether the story is the truth and if the photo is altered. Today's technology allows for photos to be altered and this allows the truth to be altered. I wanted to show the photo from the Kent State shooting again because at one point, the pole behind the woman was taken away. Although the placing of the pole made the photo look off, that was no reason to alter the photo. 

Photo By: John Filo (Original) 

Image Source: http://www.haroldhallphotography.com/?p=62