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The last great photojournalist?
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A good read, there is a documentary about him on YouTube.
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The framework for photojournalism has changed significantly over time. This has been significantly influenced by the changes in technology throughout the photographic age. Modern technology allows far greater access and mobility, and the ability to 'publish' images. So the role of the photojournalist has changed significantly.
I fell in love with photography in large part due to the amazing images photojournalists such as Don McCullin, Sebastiao Salagado etc were producing, of events that were happening in my lifetime. These were figures who would be sent by news agencies around the world to capture events, because they were individuals with talent for telling a story. But then, events were being told sometime after the fact mostly, not in 'real time' like today. So there was more time to consider images in terms of their own merits, not just the facts they were documenting. Photojournalism became an art form, imo. The power of the single image was immense, it had the ability to change the world. But with increasingly instantaneous information, the desire for such images waned, and with it, the importance of the individual photographer. Plus TV. Compare the Gulf Wars of the early 90s and 200s, with say WW2 or Vietnam; a major change in types of images used in print media, and how they were selected. Stills from FLIR cameras on helicopters and spy 'planes replaced images of human victims; war becamse sanitised and reduced to little more than computer game type imagery. I remember the stir images such as the burnt tank driver in Iraq caused public shock, because it 'humanised' the war too much for polite Western sensibilities. The appetite for such images was lost in favour of a carefully edited narrative, where nobody really dies and it's all good because 'our' side was winning hearts and minds...
In previous wars, for eg Vietnam, military leaders had little or no real control over the narrative a particular journalist was invested in. Hence the myriad highly critical images we saw from that conflict, which led to global condemnation of US military policy. By the 90s, governments worked side by side with the owners of media outlets, to strictly control the narrative in favour of themselves, so we saw far less such critical images. Think of how we are seeing so few images of the current Ukrainian conflict, or the events in Nagorno-Karabakh, etc. The notion of Truth in journalism has always been subjective, but now, it is far less objective than it ever was. And this isn't the fault of the individual journalists; editorial decisions are being made by politicians and media moguls, and not by genuine public interest. So the demise of the 'photojournalist' is a sad and disturbing reality of our modern times.
And now; here's some images of a pop star with not much clothing on! Newer, shinier, better.
I fell in love with photography in large part due to the amazing images photojournalists such as Don McCullin, Sebastiao Salagado etc were producing, of events that were happening in my lifetime. These were figures who would be sent by news agencies around the world to capture events, because they were individuals with talent for telling a story. But then, events were being told sometime after the fact mostly, not in 'real time' like today. So there was more time to consider images in terms of their own merits, not just the facts they were documenting. Photojournalism became an art form, imo. The power of the single image was immense, it had the ability to change the world. But with increasingly instantaneous information, the desire for such images waned, and with it, the importance of the individual photographer. Plus TV. Compare the Gulf Wars of the early 90s and 200s, with say WW2 or Vietnam; a major change in types of images used in print media, and how they were selected. Stills from FLIR cameras on helicopters and spy 'planes replaced images of human victims; war becamse sanitised and reduced to little more than computer game type imagery. I remember the stir images such as the burnt tank driver in Iraq caused public shock, because it 'humanised' the war too much for polite Western sensibilities. The appetite for such images was lost in favour of a carefully edited narrative, where nobody really dies and it's all good because 'our' side was winning hearts and minds...
In previous wars, for eg Vietnam, military leaders had little or no real control over the narrative a particular journalist was invested in. Hence the myriad highly critical images we saw from that conflict, which led to global condemnation of US military policy. By the 90s, governments worked side by side with the owners of media outlets, to strictly control the narrative in favour of themselves, so we saw far less such critical images. Think of how we are seeing so few images of the current Ukrainian conflict, or the events in Nagorno-Karabakh, etc. The notion of Truth in journalism has always been subjective, but now, it is far less objective than it ever was. And this isn't the fault of the individual journalists; editorial decisions are being made by politicians and media moguls, and not by genuine public interest. So the demise of the 'photojournalist' is a sad and disturbing reality of our modern times.
And now; here's some images of a pop star with not much clothing on! Newer, shinier, better.
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I'm pretty sure he won't be.
Then again, proclaiming the "greatness" of any photographer is a dubious action, in my opinion.
OP
lindsay
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Some great images have been debunked as staged (Robert Cape, I believe), but the stuff from Vietnam by McCullin, Page and Larry Burrows were a huge influence on me, because it was close (we lived in Hong Kong and I made some American friends there), and Larry lived across the road from us prior to his death. I do believe there is some superb imagery coming out of Ukraine of that ilk, but it's not easy to find. Nagorno Karabakh, I wonder, the Russians have been pretty much controlling that until the last week or so.
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Correctly the article says that the heyday of photojournalism coincided with the Sunday Colour supplements and we are now have a Babel of photography, some of it shot by bystanders on cell phones, flooding the media. It was in this period that a few photographers rose to the top and became almost household names, thanks to the editorial weight these supplements had.
I get a feeling we live in a moment where a photographer will get his 15 minutes of fame, before sinking back into the vast sea of snappers. Who are the "great name" photographers right now? Music is just the same. Once we followed an artist as he developed. I have followed the guitarist Pat Metheny right from when I discovered Bright Sized Life. We have a far vaster array of artists right now. I often find a musician I like these days, they make a couple of albums before disappearing, back to some obscure unobtainable label, The greats who lasted the course like Miles Davis are just like the "great photographers"; a thing of the past.
The photography in the Colour supplements was also how I became fascinated by photography.
To finish, I do not really like the work of Nathtway, It lacks the rawness and horror of lets say McCullin, the HDR type processing in some of the shots seem to lend a beauty that is out of place to me, it beatifies a horrible or sad situation. A lot of the "new" photojournalism seems to fall into this trap with heavy post processing done in an ever desperate attempt to catch the viewers eye in the vast sea of images we encounter every day.
I get a feeling we live in a moment where a photographer will get his 15 minutes of fame, before sinking back into the vast sea of snappers. Who are the "great name" photographers right now? Music is just the same. Once we followed an artist as he developed. I have followed the guitarist Pat Metheny right from when I discovered Bright Sized Life. We have a far vaster array of artists right now. I often find a musician I like these days, they make a couple of albums before disappearing, back to some obscure unobtainable label, The greats who lasted the course like Miles Davis are just like the "great photographers"; a thing of the past.
The photography in the Colour supplements was also how I became fascinated by photography.
To finish, I do not really like the work of Nathtway, It lacks the rawness and horror of lets say McCullin, the HDR type processing in some of the shots seem to lend a beauty that is out of place to me, it beatifies a horrible or sad situation. A lot of the "new" photojournalism seems to fall into this trap with heavy post processing done in an ever desperate attempt to catch the viewers eye in the vast sea of images we encounter every day.
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This chap is hardly known but I find his photography very interesting. He goes to places that are no longer in the news but still have terrible things going on un-noticed.
Giles Clarke
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There's some really shocking stuff in there. The 'gang members' in those tiny cages!
It's not a title individuals choose for themselves, rather that the perception of greatness is often the result of consensus amongst viewers. Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bill Brandt, Salgado, McCullin and others are seen as 'great' because of the talent obvious though their work. They stand out amongst their peers for thier unique ability to capture the worlkd in a way that others haven't or cannot. Of course, such an accolade is purely subjective, but the greats are generally great for a reason.
I agree; I find that overprocessed style too much for my eyes, and it's quite common. But that shoudln't detract from the subjects portrayed. Nathway's images still have impact and his talent is still obvious.
I disagree that he's the 'last great photojournalist'. Truth is there are many more people recording our world than ever before. Standing out amongst your peers is much harder, and fame far more fleeting. This is good; we've seen countless artists resting on their laurels and churning out mediocrity (Rolling Stones...) for decades, long after their moment has passed. We have many greats still to come; people just have to work harder to become recognised.
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It's an opinion held by an insignificantly tiny minority among the billions of humans.
Why not just say: "I like that image" or "that song makes me smile/cry/want to storm the barricade".
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Hmm. But within any 'community', you will always have figures revered by the rest. So you have great painters, great football players, great musicians etc. People who stand out by some margin, from the rest. That bestowed value may not be held by others, but that's not the point. It's always only ever a subjective viewpoint anyway. For me; I like an awful lot of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Don McCullin's photographs. Far more than other photographers. Their obvious skill and talent is what makes them 'great' for me. And I think there is a consensus amongst many, that they are 'great' photographers. Just becasue soemone else disagrees, does not remove their greatness in the eyes of others.
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I will contend that is all you need say.
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"The last great photojournalist?"
No. Not by a long streak.
There are press photographers in the UK producing beautiful, compelling work every day.
Take a look at Peter Jordan's work in the Ukraine for The Sun.
Hannah McKay of Reuters who won a Pulitzer (with the team) for their work on the Rohingya emergency.
No. Not by a long streak.
There are press photographers in the UK producing beautiful, compelling work every day.
Take a look at Peter Jordan's work in the Ukraine for The Sun.
Hannah McKay of Reuters who won a Pulitzer (with the team) for their work on the Rohingya emergency.
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Sat here with Covid I'm reminded that I have both volumes of "150 years of Photojournalism", starting in 1850 and published by Konemann.
All the photos are from the Hulton Deutsch Collection. Googling tells me this is still around.
The images are about much more than conflict, and I'll do some reading to while the time away.
I'm reminded that I have both volumes of "150 years of Photojournalism", starting in 1850 and published by Konemann.All the photos are from the Hulton Deutsch Collection. Googling tells me this is still around.
The images are about much more than conflict, and I'll do some reading to while the time away.
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