Chapter 2

Leica 35 mm


   As I dive into the history of photojournalism the pictures often what we are analyzing and talking about but we should not forget about the technology that has enable us to take this photos in the first place. Without photograph technology such as cameras we would not have photojournalism in the first place or photos at all. I have decided to take a deeper look at the Leica 35 mm camera.
  The Leica 35 mm was designed in 1839 by Oscar Barnack and eventually a commercial version called the Leica 1(A) was later released to the public in 1924, and was an immediate success. The camera evolved overtime to fit the needs of photographers as there ideas expanded from aerial photographs to underwater. The Leica 35 mm "allowed both amateur and professional photographers to capture the world around us". The 35 mm film provide it to be compact making taking photos extremely easy.
   Without the design and continued evolution of the Leica and other beginning cameras we would not have the quality of cameras we have today. Many of the same processes and components of these early cameras are just made more fancy and with many more bells in whistles in our modern day cameras. Without the evolution of the Leica even for its time photojournalist wouldn't have had the same opportunities to capture images that are essential to understand the people and events that happened before us. As discussed in the CBS news article titled Photography that changed the way we view war we get a first glance at the photos taking during this time. They describe how photos were available for soldiers to take with them "often kept them in little pocket albums, by both regular soldiers and officers and were kept next to their heart". This idea of carrying photos with us to see our family, friends, or even ourselves at times is still alive. We just now carry hundreds if not thousands stored on a convenient device in our pocket.
     Throughout my research in the pre-digital photographic technology I have gained much more respect for the early photojournalist and camera designers. Without their drive and passion for photos I would probably not have the beginner level Canon T6 Rebel I have today. Today I also have the luxury of being able to pull out my Samsung Galaxy phone and taking as many photos as my heart desires while back then you could only take as many photos as film you had. We also I think forget how much more precision and eye for detail was used in the beginning of photography. With our digital cameras and phones we are able to take a shot over and over and over until we get what we like and we have filters, more lenses and editing software to help us get the photo we desire. Back in the beginning this was not the case they took a photo and have no idea what it was going to look like exactly until they developed the film.
    This can be justified by the statement found under Roger Fenton's photo on blackboard of his assistant by Professor Nordell, the photo shows a wagon that is filled with photography equipment showing just how many objects were needed as well as it goes to say "He could only photograph subjects that did not move".We have the ability to check as soon as the camera takes it to see if it was blurry or crooked or not what we wanted. We also have the ability now to photo graph moving objects as we have cameras that can take photos faster. Although the technology has changed over time and photojournalist still have one main common goal to take photos that are meaning for to them. This as basic and simple as it is, but also super powerful I really enjoyed the self portrait by Weegee and is kind of wild to think that younger generations think we invented the "selfie". Maybe they invented and branded the slang term for a self portrait but there were many important people such as Weegee that came before us that truly started this trend. He concepts about photography resonate within as well in the Weegee Tells How video he makes his opening statements to let it be known "photography teaches you to think fast to be sure of yourself, self confidence, because when you go out on a story you don't go back for another". Today we don't have the ability to always go back when photographing live events or news but we do have the ability in other forms of photography and to look back immediately on our photos we take because of technology. Another photojournalist from this section that really stood out to me was Gordon Parks. When reading about Parks in the article The Gordon Parks Foundation the quote from his that states he "saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, racism, against all sorts of social wrongs". This to me is what I also believe can be the power of photos, that even back then when cameras were basic and still took film and time to develop the photos could be used to change the world. Our photos today are no different besides the devices we take them on.

Photo by Ant Smith

Below is a photo I took at one of my favorite water fall spots in CT. I often go here to clear my mind, to take a swim, and just be in touch with nature. I really enjoyed this photo as when I hiked down to the pool I noticed this neat constructed cairn. I added a few rocks to their's as it symbolized to me I made the same journey down and hoped the next would add to it and so on and so forth. I snapped this photo shortly after.

Photo by Shannon Hastings

Chapter 1-Can Photographs Change the World?

Photographs are Changing our World
      Photographs have become the go to in our everyday life. Every second of the day you can open up Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snap chat to view everyone's daily activities, interests, travels, or simply what they are currently eating. These photos inspire us to take up a new hobby, go try the new restaurant that opened down the street, or even travel to a new place we never knew existed before until your friend posted an image on Instagram.
      Not only are these platforms being used to document the good going on around us but also can be used to raise awareness to the parts of our community that are struggling or under attack. For instance we saw this happen in Ferguson, Missouri where police brutality was finally captured and spread like wildfire around the world. These officers are now going to be held accountable for their actions, this also sparked an increase in people taking photographs and filming police events. American law enforcement tried to stop this from happening and as was stated it created a "war on photography."  If these photos and videos that citizen journalist were capturing and spreading couldn't change the world then why would law enforcement be so upset and try to stop it from happening? This is just the start of powerful entities trying to censor the images we see. Ted Rall's article on censorship further justifies my beliefs that photos do indeed change the world. He dives deep into the fact that "far more photos of dead US soldiers appeared in newspapers during the 1861-65 Civil War than have since 2001." I am sure if we saw dead body after another, of our own people on the newspaper every morning we would be more vigilant on the wars we decide to send our troops into or even the sheer number of citizens that decide to enlist in the military.
      The Digital Journalist created 100 Photographs That Changed the World within the introduction it was stated that how could photos supersede words such as the Bible, and Torah and other religious text that have influenced people for centuries. This makes you think, can they really be as powerful, and after much contemplation I still believe so. A key part of this article being when a photo of Caden Zane Brown was submitted and the words to follow were "He's Changed our World." There is no denying that this photo of this beautiful baby embraced by its loved ones doesn't convey those feelings. As well it really truly is dependent of the "relationship between a viewer and the image" Knowing that the relationship between the viewer and the image are essential we can link when Professor Nordell states "An image can be worth a thousand words", maybe the image means only a few words to you but to me it could be everything. It could be worth as many powerful words from a passage out of the Bible would be to a Christian. Photos not only create emotions within us they spark actions. These actions that are fueled by these images are what change the world around us every day.
       

Photo by Francis Perez

       In the photo above we see one of the world"s most beautiful creatures in my opinion, the sea turtle. I have been fascinated by animals my whole life and one of my first major projects in school was a tri-fold poster project on sea turtles. This image above is profound to my life because not only does it show the awful truth that we are polluting our environment and harming the unsuspected creatures who dwell there, it also has a deeper meaning to me. This turtle is in full action even though it"s still caught up in nets struggling to survive it keeps swimming onward. This photo serves in the back of my mind to be conscious of the decisions I make and how they will effect everything around me and to continue forward when I feel as if I am stuck in the net of life.

Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP

          I am a strong believer that photos are changing the world, above is a photo of the White House on June 26, 2015 after the Supreme Court's ruling to legalize same-sex marriage. This image not only captures the victory for the millions of people in the U.S who now can breathe a tiny sigh of relief. It as well is a powerful image to show other countries and nations and give hope to those who live in those places who have yet to legalize same-sex marriage. For me this image brings me happiness and joy for all my family and friends who have lived a life of feeling unaccepted, shamed, and mistreated because of the person they chose to love. It is a photo that sparks the beginning of acceptance and a change that supports all relationships in love.

Photojournalism through my eyes

Photo by Robert Giroux

Photo by Robert Giroux
Image Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/unforgettable-9-11-images/

When I think of photojournalism, I think to all the photos that without reading anything can instantly entice emotions, either of happiness, sadness, anger, or etc. For me my mind immediately went to 9/11 as those are some of the first major news articles and images I can remember as I was in kindergarten at the time. They still till this day fill me with sadness, shock, and just a hollow feeling inside my chest, these photos are needed to convey just a morsel of what emotions were felt that day and for the people in New York City. The photographers that captured these tragic moments are key in documenting this event for the rest of our existence. In a world where technology is constantly taking priority I believe it's essential that we use it to our advantage to document our history even better than before.