The objective of this essay is to respond to David Rohdes photojournalism story from the text. As a writer and photographer,Rohde wanted to capture the events unfolding after a bombing on the streets of Afghanistan. My purpose was to explain how his piece of work affected minds and the role photo-journalism plays in our society.

Christina Strzechocki

Advanced Composition

Photo-journalism

“Photo-journalism In Dire Situations.”

Photojournalism in dire situations impacts the way society thinks, and, through research, I have found how it affects the world we live in. Having been an amateur photographer for years, I understand that the role of a photographer is to capture a situation’s emotion and to convey a message that will speak to viewers.    Photojournalists wield a power that is important and must understand that photos can make changes in society.

In The Photographer, a journalist sets off for the Middle East in an effort to document medical workers in Afghanistan.  As in all warzones, journalists are enticed by the risk/reward of documenting under dangerous conditions and this tale is no different.  However, many times the adrenaline-addicted thrill-seekers who embed in warzones forget that the images they capture will drastically affect their audiences.   After a bombing on the streets of Kabul, the protagonist was catapulted into a new role.The photographer, Didier Lefevre, captured horrific moments in time that affected viewers by eliciting empathy for the victims involved in the bombings.  Lefevre journalized his experience through photography.  One picture in particular that caused a stir was that of a little girl with a burned hand and an awful look upon her face while being treated for her wounds.  The picture makes viewers open their eyes to the realty of the conditions of medical staff overseas. 

A noteworthy experience that he shared in a journalistic aspect was through meeting a woman who spoke about the role of women in the Middle East behind closed doors, completely disproving the stereotype that is so much said and thought by people in the United States.

A perfect example of how photo-journalism influences people is in a picture taken by William Albert Allard while he had been exploring Peru.  Allard stumbled upon a crying little boy. The little boy’s sheep were all killed by a taxi that didn’t even stop after he had run the sheep off the road. This picture was one of the National Geographic’s best portraits and when viewers saw the little boy’s shattered face, more than 6,000 dollars in contributions came from people all over America.  Charitable organizations located the little boy, named Eduardo, and his family’s sheep were replaced.  A water pump was later installed in his village. If William Allard hadn’t have been there to capture this sad moment no one would have known Eduardo’s story and his village would still be without water.  This is solid evidence that photojournalism inspires people to take action and care for those in need.

Another influential photo seen around the world was called “Phan Thi Kim Phuc” and this picture was named after the little girl who was the subject of photographer Nick Ut’s composition.  This photo showed a little girl running naked in the streets with severe burns on her entire body after a South Vietnamese napalm attack.  This attack occurred after a village was mistaken by American forces as an enemy soldier’s fortification, but then was shortly realized as a village containing only innocent civilians. This photo became an iconic image for the Vietnam War era and showed the horrors of the innocent people being victimized during the Vietnam War.  People living in the United States were in disbelief when looking at this photograph and President Richard Nixon accused the photo of being fixed and not authentic because of the disbelief that his men were responsible for such a horrific mistake.   

The way this photo helped people was that it made them more aware of what innocent people were going through during the war.  Because of this photograph, a foundation was established in 1997, called the Kim Phuc Foundation, to provide medical and psychological help to children and victims of war.  Later more organizations were founded using Kim Phuc as the inspiration.

Photojournalism’s purpose is to convey social issues to mass audiences through the use of news magazines and other publications.  With photo-journalism, people can see firsthand what is going on in other countries such as war, suffering, or even beauty.  Without photojournalism, people would know about the events that are taking place but I don’t think people would take action if they didn’t see a photo or read an article.  I often notice that we ignore most of the problems in today’s world if we are poorly informed and photojournalism serves to get a reaction from people in order to incite change. A picture is really worth a thousand words.

In conclusion, photojournalism effects in the world we live in by helping those in need through drawing attention to dire causes.  Whether it be through denotations, by setting up foundations, or conveying a message that reaches viewers and showing events from a different perspective.  We can use this as a tool to change lives.

                            (Photograph by William Albert Allard, 1982)

                         (June 8, 1972: Kim Phuc,photographer Nick Ut)