Chapter 9 What Motivates Photojournalists

Motivational Map

Motivation can be described as a persons desire to accomplish something. People with motivation wont let barriers interfere with their goals. Instead it will drive their motivation to work harder. As for photojournalist some are motivated by money, while others are motivated by making differences and educating the world. As for Professor Nordell, one of his many motivations as a photojournalist he states is, "Seeing my name published next to one of my images never gets old." (source: BB) He's had the opportunity to meet many amazing people and celebrities. While for myself, going to work everyday motivates me to finish college to become a nurse.

Photograph of Nicole Tung by: Cyrus Chu

Nicole Tung a photojournalist moved to the Middle East in 2011 to cover anti-government protest and uprising. This inspired her to work for NGO and international publications to capture refugee crisis in Europe, and child soldiers. According to the article Photojournalist Nicole Tung on what inspires her to cover conflicts such as the Arab Spring, Occupy Central and Europe's refugee crisis, Tung states, “what drives me is my purpose there; to document what happens and who it happens to,” she says. She understands she works in a very dangerous environment and can leave at anytime. However, the people living in these horrific conditions still have a place in their heart to treat her with love and respect, inviting her over for dinner. In addition, she's motivated by educating people on children associated with militias. According to YP Cadet Cyrus Chu "pictures tend to stay in people’s minds because it’s a frozen frame that can convey so much emotion." She reminds me of Lewis Hine who utilized his photography to reform child labor. He photographed children who worked in poor conditions, long hours for little or no pay. According to Lewis Hines- A Progressive Reformer YouTube video, " Children frequently used large, heavy, and dangerous equipment. If they weren't careful they would get injured or killed."

Photograph by: Nicole Tung

Another inspirational photojournalist is Edward Echwalu who is a freelance photojournalist and is also a teacher in Kampala Uganda. He covers a wide range of breaking news stories as well as social development issues. According to PhotoWings interview with Edward Echwalu he states, " what motivates me today is to inform generally, I am in a privilege position visually to talk about issues with my friends and community to use my pictures to communicate a message that is diverse and to inform and change someone's perspective." Meanwhile, Xyza Cruz Bacani's dream is to be a photojournalist for similar reasons. According to South China Morning Post, "If my images can help people, it makes me feel useful to society." 

Photograph of Edward Echwalu by: uknown

Photograph by: Edward Echwalu

Whereas, Rebecca Wright passion for photography and journalism began at a young age. Rebecca Wright states, "I’ve grown up, and my passion for journalism has grown, too. I believe that visual journalism has the power to influence public opinion, create change in our local and global communities and convey the emotions of individuals authentically." Overtime, she's had many jobs within photojournalism network.  Rebecca Wright was photographer, photo editor, digital managing editor, and is a member of National Press Photographer's Association (NPPA).She currently works for CNN as a freelance photo editor. 

Photograph of Rebecca Wright by: Unknown

Photograph by: Rebecca Wright

Chapter 8 Photojournalism & Bias

Photograph By: Ed Clark

Image Source:https://time.com/3764064/mourning-fdr-in-a-classic-photo-the-face-of-a-nations-loss/

Year Created: April 13, 1945

Emotion:

This image shares a lot of emotions. The Navy Chief tries to remain his composure playing the accordion with tears running down his face. The feeling of losing a loved one is unbearable. It had to of been difficult to remain tall and strong, head up high to maintain himself as a Navy Chief Officer

Color:

This image is black and white, with a lot of grey tones. The main subject appears to be clear. However, the shadows in the women's faces it difficult to identify if they are seeing Roosevelts flag draped train pass by or if they are glaring at the Navy Officer playing the accordion. 

Main Subject:

The main subject in the photograph is Graham Jackson in his Navy uniform playing the accordion. In addition, the main subject is off centered to the left and surrounded by people. It created the eye to focus elsewhere to see all the other faces.

Ed Clark’s photograph displays a United States Navy Chief playing “Going Home” on his accordion, with tears running down his face. To the right of him, there is an array of people standing and sitting with great sadness as deceased President Franklin D. Roosevelt leaves Warn Springs, Ga on April 13, 1945. However, the three women standing are glaring at Graham Jackson with their arms folded that express racism of the past. To me, the tears of Graham Jackson symbolizes gratuity towards Roosevelts efforts on Civil rights. Franklin D Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 8802 which created that created the Fair Employment Practice Committee that prohibited racial discrimination that led to the Civil Rights Act. This image reflects how deeply the public cherished their President of the United States of America during this time. According to the Can interview with Shahidul Alam, "there is an implicit assumption, there is only one truth that there is only one way of looking at things; a story has many truths at many levels." For an example, another perspective of this image is the facial expression on Navy Chief Graham Jackson has deep emotion as if he's lost someone close to him. Each viewpoint of  photographs creates a bias opinion leading to different stories. However, this could create untruthful news stories. 

Photograph by: Ron Johnson

Image Source:https://j-source.ca/article/why-context-is-crucial-in-photojournalism/

Year Created:2014

Background compliments:

In this photograph the main subject is the basket ball player in one half of the image. Along with the referee calling a foul play. All the spectators are blurred out to focus on the main subject or main subjects.

Expression:

The expression of the basketball player seems angry with his hand gestures with both middle fingers up as the referee calls a foul.

Rule of thirds:

The basketball player is off centered along with the referee. However, with the gestures he's

portraying triumphs one of the rules of photojournalism.


This photograph taken by Ron Johnson has the caption, “Jalen Brunson of Lincolnshire Stevenson makes a gesture to the Chicago Whitney Young crowd.” However, that is not the truth in the situation. Although, he is displaying poor sportsmanship it wasn't gestured towards his opponents fans. Brunson a player for Lincolnshire was angry with the call that was made on his successful 3- point shot that was fouled during his attempt. Another photographer Scot Strazzante captured multiple photographs of this as well. However, he was certain these gestures were not intentional. According to the article How Photos Fuel the Spread of Fake News, "Misappropriation and misrepresentation of images helped drive the growth of fake news. Sadly, after this photograph was published , Johnson was suspended for his poor sportsmanship.

Photograph By:Pirozzi

Image Source:https://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_70559.html

Year created: 1990's

Simplicity: This image is very simple because there isn't much in the background in one third while the remaining two thirds is the woman holding a young child. Your focus remains on the woman and the helplessness in her eyes. 

Does the image remind you of any work of art or photograph you have seen? 

This photograph reminds me of many photographs we see of children in other countries. Mothers desperate to care for their children while they cling to their mothers. I couldn't imagine the feelings they're experiencing. These images make you feel helpless and rude for not helping them. 

Focused: 

This photograph is focused directly on the woman holding the malnourished child. It clear to see the texture of the woman's hijab as it looks soft like velvet. The photograph is clear and able to identify the details. 

To me this photograph represents truth. According to the article The Rules of Photojournalism Are Keeping Us From the Truth, "A technically proficient image that looks like those of past photojournalism will catch the eye." The malnourished child holding onto the woman represents innocence. According to the Power of Visual Communication, "this photograph was taken in Iraq in in the 1990s and has led to International sanctions contributing to food and medical shortages in countries." I'd like to believe that biases' wouldn't be portrayed in this image. However, we know a lot of third world countries are suffering in many ways. The photographer works for UNICEF to protect the rights, needs, and abilities of children by funding developmental assistance. 

Chapter Seven_ Ethics of Photojournalism

My Ethics Map

Each of these features above are what I hold as my ethical values I use day to day. It's important for me to build a relationship between patients and my co-workers through kindness, integrity, honesty, compassion, and responsibility. Most importantly, having respect for my patients creates a safe environment and protects their patient rights. I have compassion to help everyone I can, even if they are being difficult for the third day. What if it was my family member or myself ,how would I want them to be treated? Empathy allows myself to relate to how they feel or think. 

In addition,  Professor Nordell explains in his video Ethics of Photojournalism Part 1, "the dictionary reference to ethics is a system of moral values and the principles of conduct governing an individual or group." In many professions, theres a standard of conduct valuing ethics especially photojournalism. The National Press Photography Association primary goal is to preserve history through truthful images captured by photojournalist. According to the NPPA Code of Ethics, " photographic and video images can reveal great truths, expose wrongdoing and neglect, inspire hope and understanding and connect people around the globe through the language of visual understanding. However, if a photojournalist utilizes photoshop to alter his or her image it can portray a deceitful message. More importantly, it could create mistrust among photojournalist and the public.

A photojournalist named Chris Hondros was in Iraq in 2005 with American troops. The U.S troops opened fire on an oncoming vehicle around 6 p.m assuming there was a suicide bomber or insurgents inside. However, Chris Hondros photographed something completely different. The U.S troops opened fire on a family of eight, a mother and father with their six children. Once they realized they made a huge mistake they rushed to check on the children.  This image makes it extremely difficult to hold back tears. The young girl is experiencing serious trauma covered in her families blood. Meanwhile according to 20 Most Controversial Pictures in the History of Photography, "Chris Hondros transmitted this image immediately, published all around the world the next day."

Photograph by: Chris Hondros

Image source:https://expertphotography.com/controversial-pictures/

This image was extremely controversial not only within photojournalism but with the United States Army. As a result, the military revised their checkpoint procedures. This child was only five years old. Fortunately, her siblings all survived, one suffering a gun shot wound. The soldiers rushed the children to the nearest hospital to receive treatment. However, there is no erasing this trauma they endured.  Its hard to imagine or understand Chris Hondros perspective of this.  According to the article War Photographer Chris Hondros Witnesses U.S. Shooting of Iraqi Parents in Car with Six Children, during the interview Hondros stated, "I think one of the reasons the photo had this sort of resonance that it does is because it has a sort of empty feeling: you know, the poor girl, all alone in the world now, just standing there in the dark, you know." In addition, Chris Hondros was the Pulitzer Prize nominee for this photograph. Personally, I feel that it be unethical to receive an award for this exploitation. If there was a money prize, I feel that it should go directly to the children although, that would be against the ethical standards of photojournalism. 

Photograph by: Chris Hondros

Image Source:https://www.newsweek.com/2018/03/09/hondros-822482.html

Photograph by: Ayman Oghanna

Image Source:https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/world/middleeast/07photo.html

The Image above is Samar Hassan who was the five year old child covered in her parents blood. Here in this image she was 12 years old witnessing the image of her self for the first time. According to the article Face That Screamed War’s Pain Looks Back, 6 Hard Years Later, ""my brother was sick, and we were taking him to the hospital and on the way back, this happened,” Samar said. “We just heard bullets." Now she is living with her relatives after the horrific tragedy no child should ever have to experience.