history of photogaphic journalism by leah arkle

History of Photographic journalism

LEAH ARKLE Leah Arkle.

Leah Arkle, 18 years old. Studying photographic journalism at Leeds Met Uni.

CONTENT: -

Timeline of image aquisition. Surrealism. Iconic Images. Frozen Images. Myths. Social Comment. Propoganda. Story-telling.

I am a student at Leeds Metropolitan University studying Photographic Journalism; I was set the task of creating a magazine using my own research. I have included several different topics that were set out for us to write about (as seen above.) I chose appropriate images to represent each subject, whether it be photographs or paintings, and found reliable sources to take snippets of information from.

Social comment

Timeline of Image Aquisition.

5th+ 4th century BC: chinese and greek philosophers describe the basic principles of optics and the camera.

1727: Johann Heinrich Schulze discovered that silner nitrate darkened upon exposure to light.

1664-1666: Isaac Newton discovers that white light is composed of different colors.

1814: Joseph Niepce achieves image with ‘camera obscura’ - however, the image requires eight hours of light exposure and later faded.

1840: First American patent issued in photography to Alexander Wolcott for his camera

1794: First panorama 1837: Louis Daguerre’s opens, the forerunner of the movie house and did not fade + invented by Robert needed under 30 minutes Barker. of light exposure.

1843: First advertisement with a photograph made in philadelphia.

1859: Panoramic camera patented - The Sutton.

1841: William Henry Talbot patents the calotype process - the positive process making possible copies

1865: Photographs and photographic negatives are added to protected works under copyright

1851: Frederick Scott Archer invented the Collodion processimages required only two or three seconds of light exposure.

1871: Richard Maddow invented the gelatin dry plate silver bromide processnegatives no longer had to be developed immediately.

1861: Oliver Wendell Holmes invents stereoscope viewer.

1880: Eastman dry plate company founded.

1884: George Eastman invents paperbased photographic

1888: Eastman patents Kodak

1898: Reverend Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photo-

1913/14: First 35mm still camera developed.

1900: First mass- marketed camera- The brownie.

1927: General Electric invests the

1932: First light meter with photoelectric cell introduced.

1935: Eastman Kodak markets

1941: Eastman Kodak introduced Kodacolor nega-

1942: Chester Carlson receives patent for electric photography.

1948: Edwin Land markets the polaroid camera.

1954: Eastman Kodak introduces high speed

1960: EG+G develops extreme depth underwater camera for US navy.

1963: Polaroid introduces instant

1968: Photograph of the Earth from the moon.

1973: Polaroid introduces one step instant photography with the SX-70 camera.

1977: George Eastman and Edwin Land inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

1978: Konica point and shoot, autofocuse camera.

1984: Canon

1980: Sony demonstrates camcorder.

1990: Eastman Kodak announces photo CD as a digital image storage medium.

1985: Pixar introduces digital image processor.

digital electronic still camera.

SURREALISM

Surrealism allows you to create things that are ordinarily only seen by your mind. Its an excuse to get those ideas into action under the umbrella of the world of surreal. Its a great chance to let your eye see the things you envision. There is no right or wrong when it comes down to it because surrealism is what you make it. Experimentation with lighting, shadows, levels and backgrounds are allowed. Forced perspective photography - A lot of surreal images utilize a technique called 'forced perspective.' This is most commonly used for comical effect, for example - tourists on holiday pretending to lean on the eiffel tower, the person standing a lot closer to the camera than the tower, therefore the tower looks much smaller than it actually is.

ICONIC IMAGES. What makes an image iconic? 1. It perfectly captures an event. 2. It is well known and referenced by others. 3. It has an impact on public opinion. An iconic image should leave a lasting impression on the viewer, and should make them question their thoughts. Throughout the years there have been many different iconic images; Marilyn monroeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skirt flying up, dying soldiers at war, builders in the 20â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on a beam in the sky etc. All of these images are iconic to different people, and affect people in different ways.

Frozen images- decisive moment

Frozen images. Elliott Erwitt was a famous photographer who specified in a field of photography called ‘Decisive moment.’ He aimed to provide images that captured a moment and didn’t need a side story to explain it. The above image (Taken from google images) is one of many amazing photographs taken by Erwitt and demonstrates a moment in time that has been frozen; this image could only be re-taken if it was manually set up. Another well known photographer, Henri Cartier Bresson, demonstrates his ability to produce fantastic, in the moment photographs. ‘The decisive moment’ is defined as an image that is taken at an exact moment in time which explains itself, a wedding photographer has to be quick with their camera because they have to capture so much, and everything is happening at once. The customers want pictures that show emotion and make their special day look special; the moment when the groom kisses his bride for the first time, the throwing of confetti and the first dance for example. A landscape photographer has to be patient and at the ready as they could be waiting hours for the right natural lighting, the first drop of rain, or the moment when the sun alines with the water at sunset.

Mythological Sirens.

MYTHS; A myth is a made up story that explains the existence of a natural phenoemena such as where thunder and lightening comes from or how is snow made. Myths usually include incredibly powerful Gods or Godesses who are able to made incredible things happen. Mythological Sirens: In Greek mythology, Sirens were dangerous and devious creatures, portrayed as femmes fatales, that lured sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on their island. They were considered to be the daughters of the river god, Achelous. Although they lured mariners, they were not considered to be sea deities. Roman writers linked Sirens more closely with being the daughters of Phorycs, the Sea God. When enticing mariners, it is said that Sirens sing a deeply sad song. According to a Latin author, Hyingus, Sirens were fated to live only until the mortals who heard their song were able to pass by. It is said that Sirens are the combination of a beautiful woman and either a fish or a bird, early age drawing show Sirens as birds with womens headsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and slowly as time passed Sirens became a more beautiful creature with an enchanting air about them- depicated more as a mermaid than a monster.

Social Comment. Social comment is an image that says something to you about something that you are passionate about, either a shocking or disturbing image that makes you think hard about it. Smoking is frowned upon by many adults and when Frieke Jannsen did a famous series of photographs named ‘The beauty of an ugly addiction’ it hit the public hard and created a huge bout of controversy. Smoking is commonly known as the main cause of cancer and a habit that people are continuously recommended to kick yet over 3 million adolescents currently admit to being smokers. Seeing pictures of children that are soft and innocent is one thing, but seeing a picture of a very young child, with the air of innocence that all children have, smoking is a completely different matter. When the pictures by Frieke Jannsen were published, many people kicked up a fuss and put forward their opinion on the matter - these pictures are nothing new; children have been smoking for many years. The picture included in this post with a little boy whose father has given him a cigarette and is pressuring him into ‘manhood’ was taken by Jesco Denzel in a gypsy camp – gypsies arent brought up with the same values as working class people and dont see the harm in smoking from an early age, a lot of gypsy children are smokers. Each day 6,000 teenagers under the age of 18 start smoking.

PROPOGANDA.

PROPOGANDA â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate thoughts and behaviours in order to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist. This is a direct appeal to our emotions.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Advertised propaganda became a big hit throughout the world wars (WW1 and WW2) and also the Great Depression. America has always been central for propaganda appeals; they needed their country on side to sided so the people that were viewing these posters which were egging them on to protect and serve their country only saw half of the story. Many soldiers that went into World Wars 1 and 2 knew only that they volve women and children. Posters were put up encouraging women to also protect their countries, bearbetween man and woman was at an all time height. Women wanted to prove to their countries that they could do anything that men could; so taking advantage of that, the posters were aimed at creating the idea of equality and that if women fought, equality might be gained.

Story telling.

STORYTELLING. ‘is creating an effective photograph merely a group of elements shot with skilled techniques?’ No a lasting image is holistic, it sends a strong message when it tells a thought-provoking, emotional story. An image that contains a certain expression engages with the viewer and makes them think, it can create a different story for everybody. Unlike maths and science there is no typical right or wrong with taking a photograph. Everybody sees something different. A degree of mystery is portrayed in images that set out to tell a story, the viewer is left to their own devices, to interpret the image in their own way. If text accompanied the picture a story will already be laid out and we could potentially disagree with the image that matches it. ‘AN IMAGE CAN SPEAK A THOUSAND WORDS’ The picture above of the woman with the battered face comes across as a victim, but she could have attacked somebody else and got scuffed up in the process, or maybe she got hijacked or was a victim of 9/11? We create the story that we think she is portraying. The girl in the picture was actually the victim of a brutal car crash.

JOURNEY.

JOURNEY “An athletic career is a lifetime’ When we think ‘Journey’ we think about travelling to other countries, seeing the sights and experiencing their culture but people are living a journey every day; through life. 33 year old David Weir, a four time gold medal winning Paralympian, was born with ‘spinal cord transection’ which meant that both of his legs were broken and 5 operations were needed to straighten his ‘twisted feet.’ His spinal cord had been severed and although he has some feeling in his lower half he is completely unable to lock his legs to stand up and walk. He said during an interview with the Telegraph, that his parents didn’t bring him up as though he had a disability, they never ‘mollycoddled’ him and he was treated the same way as his brother who is not physically incapacitated. Weir claims that thanks to his upbringing he has grown determined to succeed and believes that he is able to do well at something if he sets his mind to it. Wheelchair racing is a passion that has following him from childhood; as a boy of 13 David looked up to Heinz Frei, a 54 year old swiss wheelchair racer who, even now, competes in marathons and road races but has retired from competing on the track. David, also known as ‘Weirwolf,’ has taken part in wheelchair races most of his life; repre-

gold, a silver and a bronze medal and proceeded to outdo himself with the 4 gold medals won at the 2012 Paralympics in London. David Weir is a premier paralympian and athlete who as been on an admirable journey and has inspired people by the thousands.

Iconic images.

Surrealism