EOTO 2 Photojournalism

 Photojournalism is a key and important way of getting the correct images out to the public and ensuring that the images used are also providing context to the article you are reading about purpose. The best way to easily sum that up would be to state that it is the connection of news through photographs. The popularsaying "a picture tells a thousand words" is extremely important in the journalism field because most people skip over large blogs and headlines and go directly to the images for context. 

Photojournalism not only helps "enhance a story, but it tells a story of its own as well". Many believe that the choice of photos utilized throughout a story will either make or break a story. Photojournalism is defined as the main process of using photos to accurately tell a story. 

The presence of photojournalism is evidenced throughout news stories and is an extremely popular venue that is employed. While most of the time photojournalists use still images in their writing and segments, a video is a viable option as well. 

The introduction of photojournalism has a long and storied history. Photos have been accompanying news articles since the start of the Civil War in 1861.  In the 1920s, photojournalism entered a Golden Age, with the arrival of smaller cameras such as the 35mm Leica which was invented in Germany in 1925. 

This Golden Age was pivotal because people would begin to see actual images of what was going on throughout the wars that were being fought, which allowed us to understand current newsworthy stories in real time. Even during this time that may not have been exactly prosperous, the photos that were received allowed for visual storytelling and reporting.

There were many individuals who were pioneers in this industry, and one of the most significant was William Eugene Smith. He is widely described as "perhaps the single most important photojournalist". Smith was a photojournalist for Flying Magazine, and then later LIFE Magazine.  He became interested in photographty at the age of 14,  and since that point, he was dedicated to making sure that his photos told the truth of what was really going on. He spent the majority of his career covering the wars that were underway. 

Another key photojournalist is Robert Capa. The actual images of war that he captured made him a truly remarkable and respected photojournalist. Robert would often put himself in very dangerous situations to ensure that the images that he was securing were effective and truthful.  His famous quote was always "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough". During his time, he covered the responsibilities of shooting 5 different wars. 

Roger Fenton is the third and final journalist who was a pioneer in the photojournalim industry. His dedication to truth was seen through his images. An accomplished photojournalist, Fenton was highly regarded for his landscape and architectural photographs during the wars. Fenton also is acknowledged as the first journalist to photograph a war, which was known as the Crimean War. 

Overall, photojournalism is a means of photography which has drastically evolved and improved during the last several decades, and it is still a highly effective and popular communication tool that is employed worlwide today. Photos help tell stories, convey feelings, provide insight, enhance our perspectives and even allow us to reconsider and form more actual and reliable judgements. Without the presence of photojournalism, there would be no evidence to either prove or disprove what the public considers to be factual information.