Introduction to the History of Photojournalism: Chapter Eleven: Final Project 2

For the Creative Experiential Exercise I decided to document the AIC Women's Soccer Team and their Spring Tournament appearance at Springfield College last Saturday (May 27th). Although I did utilize my iphone to capture the following images (below), I did fully experience what it felt like to be a photojournalist. Today, with the digital revolution many photojournalists rely solely on their iphones to document every event they cover and as a result I did not feel that I was at a disadvantage. I decided to document a sporting event as we have not come across many photojournalists who focus primarily on this genre. In addition to this, I also possess a tremendous passion for soccer personally. It really is a motivating force in my life and has been since the age of six when I first started playing. However, being hindered by injury allowed me to see and appreciate it from a different angle. My inspiration for this assignment came from one photographer in particular, Donald Miralle. He is internationally renowned and covers sporting events and even managed to work at the 2012 London Olympics. Unfortunately, Miralle was my first choice for the final profile, however, there just wasn't enough information to fit the assignment criteria and guidelines. Overall, although my images may not be of professional quality, I really enjoyed getting out into the field and engaging in this process. It was fun and exciting and made a huge change from gathering information to write a story for the Yellow Jacket. After examining hundreds of photographs from various points in history, it was definitely a highlight to actually gain some hands on experience of my own.

Please take a look at the images I took at Springfield College: (All images created by Bryony Parker)

One of the turf fields at Springfield College.

Angeliki Rassias, a senior midfielder from Melbourne, Australia.

Chazani Douglas' cleats.

Roxanne Lee-Stewart of Southampton, England, prepares to enter the game for the Yellow Jackets.

Alie Fitzsimmons, a junior, of West Springfield, ties her cleats before the first game.

The game field at Springfield College.

A Gatorade water bottle on the sideline.

The tournament score board on display.

An official signaling a substitution for the referee during the final game.

Over the course of the semester I definitely feel that I have experienced personal growth and holistic development through the many analytical and comparative exercises we have worked through together. In my opening chapter I was adamant that the term photojournalism was the overlapping of photography and journalism. However, I have slightly taken a step back from my initial definition and rigid mind set. I have learned on numerous occasions that photographs can speak volumes without the presence of a single word. Some of the more powerful images myself and my peers have viewed tell the complete story by themselves. Prior to enrolling in this class I always clung to words and used them as my crutch as opposed to using images to tell a story. Although you are much more limited with photography, if you get “the” shot it has the potential to be tremendously powerful and even change the world. At the conclusion of the semester, I now strongly believe that an iconic picture really is worth more than a thousand words. Despite having the opportunity to view hundreds of different photographs throughout the course of the semester, I still maintain that Kevin Carter’s image of the starving Sudanese orphan is the most striking for me personally. Additionally, I also mentioned in my opening post that an effective photojournalist must excel primarily as a photographer but also be competent as a journalist too. I still stand by this belief. Moreover, the material we have studied in relation to bias confirmed and reinforced my thinking about the importance of media ethics, especially, accuracy, objectivity, and fairness.

With regards to studying and knowing the History of Photojournalism, it really is a necessity and as I mentioned from the outset, “it is what we make of it,” we can embrace the successes and failures or we can be completely ignorant to its limitless boundaries. In this course, I believe we have embraced it and we have covered a lot of ground and spanned many eras in a relatively short space of time. Together we have traveled through the pre-digital age and into the digital revolution. We had the opportunity to witness the origins of photography and appreciate the colossal developments and technological advancements that we often take for granted today. This historical journey really made me appreciate what items I have and utilize in today’s digital age. I would be lost without many of them, for instance, my iPhone. It truly is mind boggling to see these instrumental changes that have occurred in my lifetime alone and I can honestly say it is frightening thinking about what technological changes are yet to come.

After reading the photojournalist profiles I undoubtedly gained further insight into the History of Photojournalism. I particularly enjoyed how I was familiar with some of the photojournalist profiles but were introduced to others for the first times. I liked being able to compare and contrast the individuals profiled in terms of time period, personality, style, technology, motivation etc etc. Furthermore, it was interesting to absorb my classmates creativity and approaches to this final project. Carmen Tavarez for example profiled Dorothea Lang, a US photojournalism who primarily documented the Depression Era. From previous assignments I was familiar with Lang's work, especially the image of the mother with her two children. Carmen explained that Lang wanted to share her experience with the world and this was her primary motivating force. In addition, Carmen reported that Lang utilized a Garflex camera (4x5 film size). The information included also implied that Lang felt a little held back by her family commitments. From the depression era to present day, Courtney Williams' authentic journal style profile on Guy Martin truly highlights the impact of the digital revolution. I was drawn to Martin due to his British heritage (like myself) and to the injury he sustained while covering conflict in Libya. Martin claims to be motivated by conflict and as a result has had many opportunities to travel worldwide. He never leaves the house without his Nikon D300 digital camera. Please take a second to appreciate the breathtaking camera developments illustrated below the text. In between these two iconic photographers comes Walter Iooss Jr, a sports photographer profiled by David Campbell. I was fascinated to learn more about this individual due to my own passion for sports. I must admit that I am slightly jealous that Iooss Jr. had the opportunity to get up close and personal with many sporting legends, for example Tiger Woods. The creativity and variety of work this final project produced was beyond incredible.

“Ah-ha” moments…there have been several for me during this semester, especially pertaining to the ethics, motivation, and bias chapters. I found it extremely interesting to learn about each notion through different sets of eyes. Indirectly, both perception and perspective were two crucial underlying themes in this photojournalism class. How I perceive a photo may be entirely different from how my peers perceive it and I really feel as though I became much more open-minded as a result. Just because someone does not agree with my analysis, this doesn't mean it is incorrect. Moreover, I quickly observed how perception is inextricably linked to background, upbringing, morality, attitudes, religion and so on. Although we are all individuals, I enjoyed learning about different cultures and belief systems through many of the assignments. Overall, I have not only acquired a wealth of knowledge in this class but I am truly amazed that this occurred entirely through an online medium. This really reinforces the beauty of technology. Through your guidance Professor Nordell I now have a greater appreciation for studying history and have also became more open-minded and self-critical. This course has definitely taught me what it means to be an independent learner and helped me refine my time management and organization skills. Each of the skills I have acquired are transferable to many aspects of life and I full anticipate utilizing them as I embark on my graduate degree.