News Photography

This week in our journalism lecture we examined the use of photography in the media, discussed the elements of a good news photo and reviewed news values regarding photojournalism. I've long been fascinated by the work of photojournalists, not only do they have to consider the news aspects of a story, they have to juggle camera settings, lighting and composition all while getting as close as possible to the action.

Sometimes during war, they get too close. Injuries are common and the risk of death ever present. British photojournalist Tim Page was wounded four times in Vietnam and fellow Briton  Don McCullin was threatened with execution after being imprisoned by Idi Amin's troops in Uganda. He once avoided death after the camera he was putting to his face was hit by a bullet fired by a Cambodian sniper. Talented photojournalists killed in war zones include Robert Capa, Larry Burrows, Henri Huet, Sean Flynn and recently Chris Hondras and Tim Hetherington in Libya.

Not that the dangers of photojournalism are confined to war zones. Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, police officers and security guards have clashed with photographers over the rights photographers have when taking pictures in public places. During the London riots in 2011, rioters even targeted press photographers, fearing that photographs and video footage could be used by authorities to identify them.

We also looked at the ethical implications of photojournalism. Marie showed the Adnan Hajj photo of the aftermath of an Israeli bombing attack on Beirut to illustrate how digital imaging software can be used to manipulate a photo and put a different spin on a story. There are fierce arguments about the editing of news photographs, some regard even basic adjustments such as cropping to be too much. Other ethical implications include the use of posed photos, how photographs  portraying death or nudity are published and whether photographers should just document an event or become involved it. 

Two photographs mentioned during our tutorial highlight this last point. Kevin Carter took a Pulitzer prize winning photograph in Sudan in 2003 showing a vulture standing behind a little starving girl. He received worldwide condemnation when it was later revealed that he hadn't taken the child to a nearby aid post and, already suffering personal issues, committed suicide a few months later. Nick Ut took an earlier Pulitzer prize winning photo of a Vietnamese girl with severe burns running down road after a napalm strike on her village, though in this case he helped her and took her to hospital before developing his photographs. I hope that if ever I'm faced with the dilemma of missing a deadline and helping someone in need, I'm in a position to make the right ethical choice.