[Matty]

saw this on oc, great pictures to be seen here, all journolistic shots...

LINK REMOVED until Matt gets the correct one :lol:

[Digital SPG]

Err Matt, you might want to change the link.

[Steve]

LINK REMOVED until Matt gets the correct one :lol:

[Matty]

ok where the hell was that linking to?


here is the correct one, i think...

http://www.worldpressphoto.nl/index....bandwidth=high

[Steve]

I had a look. There are some great shots there in all categories, some distressing images though in the main section, the one with the guy eating while his foot was in the face of the other guy. It looks like it was taken in the back of a car..very powerful and thought provoking image that.

[Digital SPG]

ok where the hell was that linking to?

Lets just say I, a man of the world who has seen many things, was shocked and disturbed by the content of the link you provided.

[Digital SPG]

There are not many jobs I would give up my current one for but photo journalism is one of them. Everone of those photos show that the only medium more powerful than televison is photography. It is always that split second image of an event that people remember. In no other format can an entire story be told in one image.

[Steve]

Photojournalism is something that when I see I always fancy trying. As has been said this area of photography is so powerful and emotive, and when done at the top level often produces stunning and though provoking pictures. We can see in the majority of the pictures shown in that link, they often show suffering, hardship, pain and cruel acts which is where I have to sit back and wonder if I could be impartial and shoot the acts. The creative rewards are huge but the effects on the photographers must also be great. I doubt I could take the stress of that job for one day let alone make a career at it even if I had the skill.

I think the problem I would have is being able to stick a camera where it could be quite intrusive, just to get that elusive shot.
To take a couple as an example from the link above : The immigrants being rescued from the side of a boat, or the tsunami ones.
I think I would have a big problem of snapping away when either A: I should be offering a hand out instead or getting 'stuck in', and B : The ability to intrude on someones privacy, eg the winner, the woman. My manners would prevent me from taking that shot, I would have thought "No, this woman needs to grieve, it would be disrespectful of me to be sticking a camera in her face". Its mainly due to how I was brought up, and who I am today, I just couldnt bring myself to do it.

That's why I have a problem with people shots (of strangers, and candids), I'm not 'forward' enough to do it. Although thats something I plan to work on

[Digital SPG]

Did anyone see the Jeremy Bowen documentary a few weeks ago? It was all about why he and other war journalists do what they do.

The long and the short of it is that the story needs to be told. By reporting it and telling the world what is going on you are saving lives. Good journalism make people act. The Tsunami disaster is a perfect example. If it had not been for the powerful images coming out of there would the world have reacted the way it did? No, it wouldn't have. That kind of journalism / photography is more important than ever now. Because it can be accessed any where in the world instantly by billions of people.

That’s what drives the war correspondents, photographers and cameramen/women. Along with the adrenaline and the thrill. It does effect them though, many people who reported from Bosnia etc ended up as alcohol / drug addicts as they tried to deal with what they had seen and deal with the daemons of guilt and anger.