British photographer Martin Parr, whose work straddles documentary and fine art photography, argues that photojournalism “has to get modern” to regain the attention and support of mainstream magazines. In this month’s “State of the Art Report: Photojournalism Survival” (PDN August), Parr asserts, “You have to disguise things as entertainment, but still leave a message and some poignancy.” In a recent interview, we asked him to elaborate on his theory.
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View the “Pakistan” Feature Gallery by John Moore
View the “Iraq” Feature Gallery by John Moore
View the “Pan-American Highway” Feature Gallery by John MooreView the “Afghanistan ‘Frontline Helmand’” Movie by John Moore
View the “Iraq ‘Camp Cropper’” Movie by John Moore
View the “Zimbabwe – Photographer’s Journal” Movie by John Moore
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If the photojournalism community can be said to be a network of extraordinary witnesses, it is interesting to see one of those individuals rise to prominence within the community itself. Such is Getty photographer John Moore, who in his second decade of international work has emerged as one of the finest photojournalists of his generation.
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If you’re anywhere near Florida August 1-3, St. Petersburg is the place to be. For the nominal fee of $100, you can hang out with the APhotoADay community, which is having it’s annual gathering. The weekend is jam packed with some incredible speakers. So, if you’re looking for some inspiration and motivation — don’t miss it
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For me this has always pointed to the distinction that can be made between considering yourself a “newspaper photographer” versus a “photographer who happens to work for a newspaper.”
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The challenge is to find a way to continue to produce quality original content, and to connect with your audience – not to hold on to the old, traditional way of doing things. So while the cloud may be falling – there’s plenty of blue sky above – and the possibilities are endless. Good luck.
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Photographers have had a long love affair with freebies. And I’m not talking about the Canon fanny packs and Nikon Olympic pins we all love to get at big time sporting events. If only. No, I’m talking about giving away freebies. Free prints. Free portrait sessions. Free wedding photography. Free photographs to the local SID. Why, I’d bet there are some photographers who would give away their own grandmother for the promise of a 6-point photo credit along the inseam of a trade publication. And while I’d love to say that all this giving only proves that we have big hearts, the sadder reality is that we have an addiction to giving things away and the only hope right now is for an intervention.
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We’ve heard the names of the new Magnum Photos members who were elected at the cooperative’s meeting in Paris last week:
Jonas Bendiksen, Antoine D’Agata and Alec Soth have been elected full members.
Olivia Arthur and Peter Van Agtmael are new Magnum nominees.
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The photograph was a stunner. Displayed across four columns at the top of Page One of Thursdays New York Times, the image showed a baby boy with casts on both legs, the apparent victim of the violence marking the presidential election in Zimbabwe.
In these times of mass video delivery and saturation of visual messages, this still image offered cause to pause. It demanded attention, insisting that readers and viewers not look away.
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It’s one thing to write about soaring food prices. It’s another thing entirely to photograph the story in a visually compelling way. But Washington Post Michael Williamson, who has documented America’s economic struggles for more than two decades, was up for the challenge.
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Combat photojournalist Stacy Pearsall was named the Military Photographer of the Year recently for the second time. One of only two women to take home the honor, she is the first woman to take it twice. Having just finished serving as a mentor for the annual Department of Defense Worldwide Military Workshop, Pearsall talked with American Photo about how she proved she could hang with the boys and her fast rise through the ranks.
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There’s been a lot of talk lately about photographers losing jobs to others who will work for less and photographers who work for free.
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Photographer Ron Riesterer is retiring after 50 years (!) at the Oakland Tribune;
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“An absolutely disgusting photo,” said Darlene Tye, a transplant from California who is especially sensitive to how Southerners are depicted in the media. The missing teeth and what she described as unkempt attire reinforced a stereotype about people from the South, she said.
Valerie Cox objected to the photo for other reasons. After attending the concert with friends, she went to Jacksonville.com and was disappointed to find only five photos, and nothing like she expected.
“I was shocked to see the main photo representing the festivities was of an older African-American man who was missing most of his teeth,” she said. “There were thousands of other people in attendance who better represented the crowd. As an African-American, myself, I feel insulted,” Cox said.
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“When you see so much pain and so much sadness, do you feel you still have the capacity to love?”
That question drew oooohs as it was asked by Time’s MaryAnne Golon to photographer James Nachtwey. His answer drew a thunderous standing ovation.
“Witnessing pain and sadness is an act of love,” he said.
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Bert Hardy was the star troubleshooting photojournalist on Picture Post, Britain’s most influential picture magazine. But a story he shot in 1950 during the Korean war seemingly precipitated its decline and fall. On the eightieth anniversary of the launch of the mass-market weekly Graham Harrison turns back the pages of photographic history and looks forward to a reassessment of Hardy’s career.
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Ziv Koren is a world-renown combat photographer whose coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has vaulted him to international acclaim. Now, he’s helping invent a whole new visual aesthetic that digitally combines still photos with moving images, seamlessly.
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For the past 19 years photographers and photo editors have gathered near the Spanish border in Perpignan, France for a grand festival to celebrate photojournalism. This years festival from August 30th to September 14th will mark the 20th such meeting and I have been handed an interview with Jean-François Leroy the festivals founding and current director, where he tackles a few of the hard questions facing photojournalism and acknowledges completely missing the boat on the internet.
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With a 25% increase in the entries this year, the jury spent two long days working through the 7,500 photographs, both in slideshow form, and as C-type prints, laid out on the huge Olivier foyer floor at the National Theatre.
A final edit of 146 photographs has been made and 13 prizes have been awarded. What follows is the winners list and a web gallery of the complete edit that will feature in the book and exhibition. This is “The Press Photographer’s Year 2008”.
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I live in Building D.
Today on my way home from dinner a tragic event came to realization. A young man committed suicide. The witnesses said he jumped from the building I live in.
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