Photojournalism and Bias

“Going Home”

 

Photo by: Ed ClarkImage Source: http://www.thegreatleapsideways.com/?p=209 

Subject’s Expression: The expression of the main subject is sad so it creates the mood for the photo as though something bad had happened.

Obvious Main Subject: The main subject takes up about 2/3 of the photo making it the first thing that viewer sees.

Rule of Thirds: The main subject is in the left third of the photo making it the main subject.

My interpretation of the photo is that this shot by Ed Clark does a very amazing job opening up the true feelings and emotions that are present at a funeral. The main subject the photo a shipman Graham Jackson is crying and is looking up on the train parade which is bringing the body of Franklin D. Roosevelt. His is looking up probably because he considered Franklin D. Roosevelt as his hero and he was probably looking up to him his whole life so now even after his death Graham still looks up to him only with tears of remorse that he passed away.

 

 

Truth

 

Photo by: UnknownImage Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/05/29/us-russia-beslan-idUSL2973589920070529

Texture: The texture of the concrete walls that once made up the walls of the schools is all broken up and very rough creating a sense that there was a fierce battle inside those walls.

Depth of field: The whole photo is in focus so everything from the lady to the photos on the wall is important for viewer to see.

Use of Lines: The grid lines from the photo edges that are posted on the wall create a very organized way of displaying the photos of people who died and respects them.

 I think this photo represents truth to me. In contents of Module 11 Professor says that “Truth or not truth in the photo depends on the lens that you use”. For this image they probably used a regular mid-range zoom lens that captures the actual image without actually distorting it in any way to create a true feeling and carry it into the viewer. This photo is meant to portray the number of casualties cased by the terrorist attack in Beslan School in Russia in September 2004. Terrorists took over the school and held them hostage for 3 days. As a result 331 people were dead. This photo does a great job in reflecting that large number of people dead by capturing a part of the wall where hundreds of pictures can be seen on the wall.

 

Not Truth

Image by: UnknownImage Source: http://unitedpatriotsworldwide.com/vinienco/2012/page/2/?w=18

Exposure Time: The shutter speed that was used was fast so it captured that specific moment—freeze-frame

Quality of Light: The light shines directly on their faces and captures that true expression.

Color or B&W:  This photo is in color so the color brings out the vivid details of the photo.

I think this photo does not represent truth to me because it is bias. The reason why I think this photo is bias is because it presents Muslim people in this light of violence, terrorism, and extreme anger. Searching for a photo online I typed “Muslim” in Google search and most of the photos that came up were of Middle Eastern people with machine guns in their hands and masks on their faces. I think that this is not true at all. Many photojournalists photograph few Muslim extremists and readers of magazine and newspapers think that all Muslims are violent which is not true. I know many Muslim people who are the nicest and kindest people that I have ever met in my life. It all depends on the bias opinion of the photographer.