Reading Photographs

Alan Smith

Photojournalism

Photojournalism is where Photographs are used to contribute to the news, it is used to further someone's understanding on a certain story being told in the media. Photojournalism can come in many forms, however a more popular one is the documentation on War around the world.

Tim Hetherington

Born on the 5th December 1970 and died the 20th April 2011. British- American Photojournalist. He photographed the experience of war from the perspective of an individual. His photographs gave people another way to think about suffering in warzones.In 2007 Tim published his first book on photography and it was documenting on the war in Liberia.In 2011 Tim Hetherington was killed by a Mortar strike in Misrata, Libya.It was also believed that the cause of death may have been from shrapnel or that of an RPG missile from the Libyan forces. Tim was in Libya capturing images of Colonel Gaddafi's forces and local rebels fighting against him.

This photograph was of Sekou, a young soldier with the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy. When looking at the photograph it becomes clear that it is of a documentary style as there is a location and a story behind it, that of an abandoned classroom and that he has to go and find justice at such a young age. You can also see that the photograph has a lot of expression coming from it, the emotion of the young soldier comes through. The way in which he has his head down gives the impression of depression or sadness. The image can across as posed as Sekou is looking towards the camera and it has been planned to take the image beforehand if not one of many takes. Central focus is seen on the photograph as the boy is meant to be seen instead of the chairs. The chairs in fact being a use of repetition for the background. Techniques such as leading lines are not used here as the image is in the middle and close up. If the object or person was a distance away and plenty of foreground was between them, then leading lines could be used to make the eyes flow to the image.

Dynamic range is considered when looking at the image as the outlines and edges of the photograph are dark to make it look like the light is closing in on the boy and this makes the eyes of the viewer look straight at him.

The image was taken with a F number of about 11 due to the foreground and middle ground being clear whilst the person seen in the background can not be seen clearly. This is designed to focus on the boy and a little of his surroundings but not enough to take the attention away from what is facial expression and what he is holding.

After a huge undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami in December 2004, Hetherington documented the devastation in coastal communities throughout Asia, such as this house in Banda Aceh, northern Sumatra. The image has been taken from a vantage point of a fair distance away and the image has been taken using a telephoto lens. It differs when looking at the previous image taken by Hetherington because here he focuses on the natural environment and the landscape. The image taken is an observational, Naturalistic photograph. It has been taken from a distance to show the full damage of what the tsunami created. The photograph has a lot of space in it as it wants the viewer to notice the wide spread damage rather than a close up on individual homes. The technique framing was not used in this photograph as that would give an impression that it is neat and everything is in order, however the photographer is trying to get what happened across to the viewers. Repetition is not used in this as the photograph wants to represent something out of the ordinary and that nothing like this could not be expected to happen twice.

When considering composition and the way the photograph is laid out it is seen as balanced due to the symmetrical nature of each side. As you can see there is the home directly in the middle of the photograph with the rubble and washed up weeds next to it. The setting becomes clear that of a coastal community due to the majority of the photograph having sea in. Therefore from this you can see the light exposed onto the house is that of natural light and not of the photographers. A small part of the photograph is to be considered as having some organic shape, such as the sections of washed up plants and seaweed. A Landscape image has been taken instead of a portrait as the photographer wants to show the long term damage of what has happened rather than the emotions of the locals. It Is from this image that you can see that the texture of the location would be all rough as it would be debris left from peoples houses.

Another striking image from Afghanistan, as the US military used white phosphorus incendiary bombs against insurgents around the village of Donga in 2007. When reading the photograph it becomes clear it is taken from a high up angle and a safe vantage point for the photographer. There is a lot of depth in the photograph from where the main attraction is to right into the mountains, the intention of the Hetherington here is to let the viewer understand the wide spread of the phosphorus bomb and not just of one place. As you can see villages on the right hand side of the mountain will be affected and for that reason the photographer prefers to take an image of a wide angle.

There is a strong difference between the dark mountains, old rustic looking houses and the bright white colour of the phosphorus. This is why the photograph is so intriguing, The Observational photograph that captures a Busy US military operation at work is that of what makes the setting even more realistic. The Brightness of the incendiary bombs contrasting with the low key shadow at the foreground only makes the photograph stand out more.

Steve McCurry

Born February the 24th 1950He is an American Photojournalist best known for his photograph of the Afghan Girl that appeared in National Geographic Magazine.His career was launched when, disguised in native garb, he crossed the Pakistan border into rebel-controlled areas of Afghanistan just before the Soviet invasion. When he emerged, he had rolls of film sewn into his clothes. Those images, which were published around the world, were among the first to show the conflict.

This photograph is that of a documentary style, because of the way she is portrayed with the cultural head wear leading to its participation in National Geographic magazine. It is seen as posed and expressive as not only is she looking at the camera it is almost as she is looking through it and thinking about her situation, this can be seen by her wide eyes. The portrait was taken as part of theme McCurry was trying to get across in all of his photographs, the lives of refugees affected during the soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The photograph communicates very little emotion however it is from this that you can see how scared they were fleeing from their homes. The Green background has been chosen deliberately to bring her eye colour out more to the viewer. The contrast between the red and green is enough to make the image stand out. Monochrome is not used as the photographer wants to get the contrast right between the clothes and background, also black and white would apply usually apply to an older warzone image and the photographer wants to create a modern theme on how things are still happening around the world.

Sharbat Gula (born 1972) is an Afghan woman who was the woman featured in McCurry’s photograph.. Gula was living as a refugee in Pakistan during the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan when she was photographed.

The image brought her recognition when it was featured on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic Magazine at a time when she was approximately 12 years old. Gula was known simply as "the Afghan Girl" until she was formally identified in early 2002.

The colours are restrained from being bright as they would not correspond with the actions that are happening, the mood being set is some what of a dark, unhappy one. The simplistic colours of the background and T-Shirt are used to make the attention go to the facial features rather than anything else. The Focus is therefore considered as the person is the sharpest in tone on the photograph. This one image is designed by the photographer to be shocking as this represents the rest of what is happening in the country. Light used is that of Natural light and has been taken on a solid background to make sure not shadow of any sorts effects the look on the photograph.

A young boy in Alto Churumazu, Yanesha, Peru in 2004. In this photograph you can identify that it is a documentary style due to there being a story behind the actions of the young boy. The story being the rough treatment in the country as seen through his emotions. The image is very expressive as not only is the boy crying, he is holding a weapon to his head. This straight away gives the impression that the image is not staged and a real life occurrence. The pattern on the wall behind the boy is that of repetition. As the background is so passive this can bring the central focus to the boy. A High key image is not found as it is not intended to be bright as it would look unnatural. The theme of the photographer is to give the truth and report what is happening. Should bright colours, lights or even post production be used I would take all seriousness out of the image. It has been taken as a close up because the photographers intent is to make it capture feelings, however it can be taken closer rather than with space around to give the feeling that the world is closing in on the boy and there is no room to run. This could suggest the gun to the head, the feeling of being trapped upsetting him. The angle the photograph has been taken from is from above, this is because it is to make the boy look smaller than he is and to create a more nervous feeling to those viewing.

Iconic photograph Tailor in Monsoon, Porbandar, India (1983). In this photograph you can see that it has been taken from candid vantage point as it is looking over the Tailor of whom is walking through the deep water. He was not looking at the camera when the image was taken giving a better outcome when looking at his expression. This can be seen as a Documentary piece of photography as it is recording the daily life of someone living in India. In this second photograph it is evident that the image again has been taken as a candid type of photography and not set up. The intention of McCurry here is to make a well balanced and proportioned image. The people in both images are found in the middle of the photograph with space behind them, this is to create a sense of depth of field and make it look like there is a long distance between the two. Also the rule of thirds has been used when considering a landscape view as one third is sea whilst two thirds is sky. Central focus is seen on both images as they are the predominate people in the water. This is so the viewer looks at what they are carrying rather than the location itself. The images include only one person in each as it does not want to appear too busy, and the intention of the photographer is to keep space around the people to show how much distance it covers and how far the Indian villagers have to walk.

Former Photojournalist

Alfred Eisenstaedt (December 6, 1898– August 24, 1995) was a German photographer and Photojournalist. He is best known for his photograph of the V-J Day celebration and for his Candid Photographs, frequently made using a 35mm leica camera. Here below in the centre was Eisenstaedt’s most famous image from an American sailor kissing his partner on V-Day. The image in fact was taken with a Leica Llla camera.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Eisenstaedt