Importance of Photographers

Yes I know I will give a bias opinion on this subject because I am a photographer, but it is also a personal blog where I am allowed to share my opinion. When you go on assignment for a newspaper you can't have a bias towards or against the event. You must lock it away or better let someone without a bias take that assignment.

To get back on the topic. We must always have photographers because they record the history and are able to show that moment quicker than reading a story. Also for a newspaper they are important because they add to a story and many people lack the time or attention span to read full stories and just skim over pictures. With a good picture they should be able to see a story.

The photo this week has many issues. It is blurry mainly, but it tells a strong story and has a strange connection. It was a co-founder of Food Not Bombs speaking at Knox college. You can see he is speaking unfortunately lighting was very poor and he was moving. but the Che poster and Malcolm X poster add to this photo. The speaker is seen as a leftist and Che is a very popular communist revolutionary. Malcolm X is an extremist and the speaker has been seen by many in government as an extremist. I do not believe this photo was published, but I hopefully will be able to take pictures in lower light situations next year and will be able to produce pictures like this, but with less motion blur.

The Search

I am currently looking to buy 3 new lenses this summer to help improve my ability to take pictures in situations that limit me (light mainly). I am trying to get a 70-200mm which is looking like I might have to get the canon one at F/2.8 this will be a huge investment for me. Someone suggested to me that I go to a camera store and test out all my lenses for focus speed because I do a large amount of sports photography. I also want to replace my kit lens with a lens that has a fixed f-stop of 2.8. And lastly if I have money a lens that is almost a fish eye lens (around 12mm, 10mm is the point that it can be called fish eye). It a big investment, but it will be worth it.

This weeks picture was from winter term at Knox. There is a group who makes bread for the poor in Galesburg and I was on assignment to take pictures of them making bread. Everyone there was extremely friendly. They made this assignment very fun. One should try to get to know the subjects because then you will be better able to portray their emotion in the photo. They made me help make some of the bread and they also gave me bread to try. Also this assignment taught me to be understanding of people who don't want to be in the paper. There was one student who didn't want to be pictured and it was difficult to produce a picture without him since he was leading the group. I was still able to produce this picture. I enjoy this picture because it shows motion in the hand in rolling the bread but the face is sharp and still. The one minor issue is the blown out white in the window, but it doesn't effect the rest of the picture. Also you can see the flour on her clothing and face after the leader of this group and herself got into a playful fight with the flour.

Denied Access

Yesterday I was denied access to the photographers' area at my high school's graduation. I was accepting and didn't put up a fight. This has unfortunately happened to me a few times. I was denied access to the rail yard in Galesburg recently also because I was seen as an average citizen instead of part of the press corps. This is a crappy feeling, but you can't get in fights because you are representing both the paper you are working for and yourself. You want to gain a positive representation of yourself.

This weeks photo is from a speaker who helped with Obama's campaign. This shows the need to always bring back a photo even if it's not the most interesting photo. I stayed at this speech the whole time to make sure I got a good photo. Sometimes you can't definitely if you are working for a big time paper and have many photo assignments to do. If you are allowed the time to be at an event don't leave it after you think you have a photo. Stay because you don't know what might happen that might create a strong photo or tell something that the written story didn't tell. This picture shows emotion, thought and it shows that he is giving a speech. Also at times you will be given photo assignments where the lighting may be poor or the conditions may be complete crap, but you must still bring back a photo.

First Post

I'm learning photojournalism at Knox College and the newest photo editor for The Knox Student. I love photography and I love taking pictures. I hope to put pictures on this blog once I figure out how to make a water mark on them or create it so people can't steal them. I will also talk about photojournalism issues to help improve others' abilities.

The photo this week is from a farm story project I did for my photojournalist class. This is a strong photo because it shows emotion in the cow, effort from the farmers, and the baby cow laying behind. You can see all the faces and there are no color or light issues. Focus, which is one of the most important parts in the eyes of my boss, is sharp.