pressmen performance and photography

Saturday, August 05, 2006

photographic propaganda

Saw this quote from Robert Capa "The truth is the best picture, the best propaganda." After I mentioned lying this sounded apt. I am not connecting Capa to this negative thought I just was interested by his use of the word propaganda. For those of you who don't know he was one of the most famous war photographers of the 20th Century, have a look here to find out more. There were some interesting thoughts in the comments section re lying. I intend to explore this over the next few weeks and to give some references I have found re this on the web. Look here to see a code of ethics from one photographic association I liked this point - "Strive for total and unrestricted access to subjects, recommend alternatives to shallow or rushed opportunities, seek a diversity of viewpoints, and work to show unpopular or unnoticed points of view."

What happens when you are in a dangerous situation,the authorities have your passport,you are paid to get good photos,you have a family to feed,deadlines to meet,sensationalism is a key goal. where do you draw a line in the sand? certainly a challenge.
Do photojournalists become as opinionated as some journalists and so sure of their truth. Robert Fisk, who often writes for the Independant, even has a negative idea named for him, Fisking. The definition can be found here.
report or create the news? by text and pictures.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home