Chapter 8 - Photojournalism and Bias

At first glance, "Going Home", a photograph taken by Ed Clark, is an emotional image. Not only because of the man in the foreground, but because of the content of the background as well. The man in the foreground is visually upset. He is looking up, as if he is looking at the heavens, as tears stream down his face. The background is filled with women crying and looks of disbelief. 

"Going Home"
Image By: Ed Clark

As Shahidul Alam, a photojournalist in Bangladesh, says in an interview in this video, "A story has many truths at many levels". I think this quote resonates deeply with the contents of this image as well as the way someone would interpret the image.

One factor of this image that I think is important is the variety of races included. The man int he foreground is black, and all the women in the background are white. Because of this, I am assuming that they are mourning the death of someone important, someone that effects the lives of people across all demographics. After reading the article from TIME magazine, I discovered that my assumption was correct. The photograph depicts the mourning of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The man in the foreground was Chief Petty Officer Graham Jackson, and he was playing the accordion at the Presidents funeral. 

Background Compliments the Composition 
The background of this image not only compliments the composition of the image, it gives the entire image  a separate layer of emotion and intrigue. The background is filled with women of another race which invokes thoughts of inclusion and togetherness. The women in the background are also crying just as the man in the foreground. This merges the whole composition into one sound image. 

What Feelings Does this Image Create?
This image generates a wide range of emotion. The most powerful, though, is sadness. Sadness is the most powerful because it is seen through the entire composition. The feeling of sadness is confirmed when the content and story of the image is revealed. 

Subject's Expression
What makes this image so powerful is how natural the subjects are. I don't think he knew the picture was being taken. This not only makes the image look natural, it makes the image sincere and relatable.

Photo By: John Locher (AP)

This image of Alexander Ovechkin, captain of the 2018 Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals, represents the truth. I know it is the truth because of my logic and reasoning. According to TOKTalk.net, one of the four ways of identifying truths is logic/knowledge. It mentions how if you can apply logic and reasoning to something it is a good way to know if it is true. In his video "Photojournalism and Bias - Part 2", Professor Nordell often reprets the phrase "So is this the truth?". This is an important question to ask yourself because there are usually more than one side to a story. I know this image represents the truth because I watched this moment happen on live television. I can also apply logic because I know that a player would never hoist the Staley Cup like this unless they were a champion. In a different video, "Photojournalism and Bias - Part 1", Professor Nordell states "My truth has changed, my biases have changed".  Of course biases and truths can change depending on the knowledge you gain and the experiences you have. But in the relation to this photograph, I know it represents truth because of the logic and reasoning I can apply to the image. 

Depth of Field

The depth of field in this image really brings out the emotion and importance of the subject. Alexander Ovechkin is shown hoisting the Stanley Cup and anything else in focus in this picture would take away from the importance of the moment. The depth of field is important to the overall composition of the image. 

Exposure Time

The shutter speed used to take this photo was fast. I can tell because the subject is in motion and a fast shutter speed would be needed to prevent blur. The fast shutter speed was necessary to not only prevent blur, but to clearly define who the subject is and what he is doing. 

Does This Image Remind You of Something You Have Seen?

This image reminds me of the moment the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011. The iconic image of their captain, Zdeno Chara, hoisting the cup invoked feelings of excitement and thrill. This image does the same thing because the championship was so important to the fane base and the organization. 

I chose this image because...

I wanted to pick something current. This o=event only happened a few days ago and i thought it would be a nice change of pace to evaluate an image taken recently. 

“The Beatles Arriving, New York, 1964”
Image By: Harry Benson

This photograph is an image that may not represent the truth. I believe this because the actual event could have had many more people and you can not see directly where the Beatles are coming from. Although this image is somewhat iconic and is known to be true, there are some factors that could be analyzed. One of the four ways of analyzing the truth, according to TOKTalk.net, is sense perception. I think that it would be more truthful to have taken h=this image from the opposite angle, showing the entire crowd and where the Beatles were coming from. It would show more information and feel less staged. According to fs2.american.edu, one characteristic of yellow journalism is "impostors and frauds of various kinds," including "faked's interviews and stories.". I think that staging a photograph would certainly fall into the category of a faked story. An article on wired.com references many instances where images have been used to formulate an idea that was false. For example, a meme that circulated on Reddit was used as a mechanism to take down the people rioting against the election of Donald Trump, when the photograph in the meme was taken in a 2012 Greek protest. 

Obvious Main Subject

The obvious main subject of this image is the Beatles. You can tell this because the photograph seems as if it was taken by someone that was with them. They are turned directly towards the camera while everyone else in the image was already facing them. 

In Focus

The image was taken in focus. You can tell this because of the depth of field. The main subject is in focus and the rest of the composition fades as they get further away. The image being in focus was crucial to the recognizability of the subjects.

Use of Lines

There is not a real technical use of lines in this image. There is, however, a use of lines in the composition fo the event. The barriers separating the fans from the band form lines that divide this image into sections. I think this shows how the main subjects are people of importance. 

I chose this image because...

I wanted to analyze an image that was recognizable. I also thought it would be interesting to analyze an image that is seen as the truth from the opposite perspective.