Pulitzer Prize Winning Controversal Photo
Many ethical issues are presented when dealing with photojournalism. If a photographer photographs a controversial photo, then they have to decide whether to print the photograph or not to print the photograph. If the photograph displays sensitive subject matter of a particular individual, then as a photographer they must keep in mind how the photograph could potentially hurt them.
One photograph that always comes into my mind when I think of controversial photographs is Kevin Carter’s famous photograph of a small Sudanese child being stalked by a vulture. One must wonder how long the photographer was following this starving Sudanese child before he got the remarkable photograph he did. It has been speculated that he waited a total of 20 minutes before taking the photograph that won him a Pulitzer Prize.
Before deciding the ethical questions displayed in the photograph, some brief background could change a person opinion. The Sudanese child was trying to crawl to a food shelter while the vulture was stalking it. Before Carter arrived in Sub-Saharan Africa, he was told not to have physical contact with the native people because they could carry some deadly diseases. This is where the ethical issues come into play.
Even though Carter was not supposed to help the child, should he have done it anyways? Personally I believe he should have because the food shelter was very close and it was a starving child. Children always make sensitive situations worse because children can’t always fend for themselves all of the time.
The vulture following the child to me symbolizes death. Vultures eat off of already dead carcasses, and they do not kill their prey. The vulture was just waiting for the child to die so it could feed, which as I mentioned earlier, symbolizes death.
In the end, Carter decided to print the photograph. He ended up committing suicide because of all the scrutiny he was receiving from the photograph, but the photograph opened people eyes. Individuals were able to see that this Sub-Saharan part of Africa had these starving Sudanese natives and some were innocent children who could fend for themselves. It brought reality to people who did not even know about these problems, so for that reason he made the right decision to print the photograph. Perhaps he made the wrong decision for not helping the child while he waited for that memorable photograph. All of that depends on the individual.
History and Inspiration
It is quite amazing how photography has revolutionized over the many centuries it has been around. The first camera was a pinhole camera, also known as the Camera Obscura. It was simply a box with a small hole in it, and exposures usually took hours to create. When I was in high school, my photography class was required to create a pinhole camera. I took a shoe box and wrapped it in a couple of layers of tape, so it would be light tight. Then I created a small hole in the front, to allow a small amount of light in. Then I created a window over the hole, so I could cover the hole when I didn’t want to expose the paper inside. I thought it was a fun project to do because we created a camera and composed a photograph, without an actual camera. The exposure took about 30 minutes, and when the paper was developed in the darkroom, a photograph appeared.
Final Project Photo
One photographer that has inspired some of my work is Julia Margaret Cameron . She was famous for her portraitures of the famous people during that time and of her very feminine shots. What is amazing about her story is that she didn’t start taking photographs until she was 48 years old. She was also very religious, and used that as inspiration in some of her work. Along with that, she photographed historical scenes and literary works. Her focus in the photographs was usually very soft and beautiful.
I based an entire final project off of her work, and just found everything she does very inspirational. In my work, I tried to use her soft focus and her very feminine qualities. She has definitely changed the way photography was viewed during her time, and showed that women were just as capable as men to accomplish beautiful photos.
Photography
Shallow Depth of Field
Photography is my greatest passion and is such a great form of expression. Photography is a unique form of media that can express an individual’s own style, and one photo can express a thousand words.
Some people believe that photography is easy and anyone can do it, but the fact is that photography is not just point, shoot, and poof there is a Pulitzer Prize photograph. It encompasses a variety of knowledge and certain techniques. A photographer must know what different kinds of light does to a photograph and how to adjust their camera in certain lighting situations. In direct sunlight, a photographer must be very careful not to overexpose the highlights, and in the shade they must be careful not to lose the information in the shadows. They must know what aperture and shutter speed are, and how they affect a photograph. A lower aperture can create what is called shallow depth of field and a high aperture can create a long depth of field. Shutter speed can either freeze motion or create movement though blurring.
Long Depth of Field
As of right now, my expertise is in studio photography. I have taken three semesters of studio photography, encompassing darkroom and digital photos. Darkroom is definitely a type of photography I would recommend to individuals who are interested in starting photography. Darkroom photography teaches an individual much different type’s techniques than digital. With darkroom, a person may only have 24 to 36 exposures to take, so getting the correct exposure is extremely important. In digital, an individual can immediately review what they have taken, and have more opportunity to get correct exposures. Darkroom teaches a photographer how to get a photo they want faster, because they know what to look for and how to setup the camera. Using studio, I was able to setup my shots the way I envision them, which is much different than photojournalistic photographs. Those photographs are never posed or set up, but are a moment caught in time. Photojournalism is telling a story with a photograph and using minimum words. They are not posed or setup like studio work. Some controversial examples of photojournalism is when two girls were photographed falling from a fire escape in Boston, and another example was people jumping from the towers during the 9/11 attacks. The two photographs were very controversial, because each photo showed an emotional moment in time with individuals falling to their death. Making a decision to print the photos like the ones mentioned earlier is a tough decision that photojournalists have to make on a daily basis, but one of those types of photographs can create an individual’s career.
Japanese Art and Culture
During my time here at Bloomington, some of my favorite classes I have taken were the art history classes that are provided through the fine arts department. It is magnificent how art plays such a huge role in the history of ancient cultures. The class that I am currently taking is called introduction to Japanese art and culture. I find that the more ancient a culture is, the more interesting the art and the culture became. I have previously taken the class introduction into East Asian art and found the class extremely interesting, so that is why I continued on with the Japanese art class.
What is so fascinating about art in ancient cultures is that it is present in the early civilization of people. The United States is a fairly young country and doesn’t have as much art culture as Japanese culture or Roman culture does. There is a period of time in the early Japanese culture called the Jomon period. So far, the earliest pieces of art date back to 11,000 BCE, but as new evidence is being presented, the date keeps being pushed back even farther in history. The first period in the Jomon is called the Incipient Jomon, and the pieces of work that are mostly found were beautiful cord marked ceramic pots. Cord marked pots are simply pieces of rope that are put together. It could be braided or wrapped around each other and that is what makes fascinating unique designs. What is extremely interesting, especially to me, is the fact that most of the pots are pointed at the bottom. One speculated fact that I find most believably true is that the people of the time were what we call nomadic people. Nomadic people were known for traveling around and not staying in one place for too long. They are what are known as hunters and gathers. They usually do not stay in one spot for too long of a period and the pointed bottom would have been good for the pot to balance on an uneven surface as they traveled.
Personally, I find the art quite beautiful and unique. It is unclear what the exact uses of the pots were, but it has been speculated that they were just used for storage. If the pots were used for storage of food or water, then why decorate them?
Decoration can be especially seen in the Middle Jomon period, during 2500-1500 BCE. The pots are extremely decorated and are sometimes referred to as flame pots. From here on out, the decoration on the pots become fancier and fancier. I believe that some pots were used for storage but the extremely decorated ones may be for a religious ritual or something similar to that. Honestly who really knows what the exact truth is, there are only theories and speculations.
As history progressed during the Jomon Period, more type of forms was created such as female figures and pieces of work that looked like cats. Who knows what the exact functions for them were, but until written documentation is found, art histories and others can speculate and come up with new ideas on their functions.
For more specific information visit the British Museum website.
Stresses of Senior Year
Senior year at Indiana University Bloomington, it is hard to believe that in just about nine months I will be walking up in front of all my friends and family to receive a diploma in Photojournalism. Before I can receive the diploma, I have to first finish these final two critical semesters. It just seems just like yesterday when I was sitting at my mother’s petite desk in the corner of our kitchen, looking at different colleges I wanted to attend.
Now that senior year has officially started and I have finished my first round of classes, I seemed to be more stressed this semester than any other. It was my impression that senior year is supposed to be fun and relaxing, but it is just the opposite. To graduate on time, I have to currently take eighteen credit hours, which equals to a total of six classes. Now for an average student like myself, that is just one too many classes. On average for the past three years, I have only taken around fifteen credit hours per semester which equals to about only five classes. This one extra class had made all the difference in relation to my stress levels.
Over the summer I had to take two classes and thought that since they were only three weeks a piece, they were going to be extremely hard and time consuming. The first class I took was American History and the second one was Political Science. In fact, the classes were actually two of the easiest classes I have ever taken in my college career. I would one hundred percent recommend to anyone out there that is contemplating taking summer classes to go ahead and take full advantage. If someone would have told me how easy summer classes were, then I would have taken them for the past three summers instead of just last summer. Then I would not be in this predicament of taking eighteen credit hours in one semester, and feeling the extreme stress that comes along with taking eighteen credit hours.
One way I deal with the stresses of school and everyday life, is I go to the gym. A nice thirty minute cardio workout that either involves running or a fast pace walk usually releases some stress. Trying this three times per week definitely makes the difference for my stress level. That usually helps clear my mind and helps get rid of some excess energy which under normal circumstances calms my nerves. Another way to relieve stress that I find helpful is reading a book that is a pleasure reading and not a required book. For some other helpful stress management tips, vist the website Rush University Meidcal Center.
This semester is going to challenge me in time management and has proved that these first two days of classes alone. Excitement for my senior year has turned into one huge pile of stress and frustration, and hopefully will turn around by next week.
Art and Photography IUB 
