“The important thing that a photojournalist does is they know how to tell the story — they know they’re not there to skew, interpret or bias,” said Katrin Eismann, chairwoman of the Masters in Digital Photography program at the School of Visual Arts in New York. “A photographer can go to a rally or demonstration, and they can make it look as though 10 people showed up, or 1,000 people showed up, and that’s a big difference. I’m not sure I’m going to trust an amateur to understand how important that visual communication is.”
“Can an amateur take a picture as good as a professional? Sure,” Ms. Eismann said. “Can they do it on demand? Can they do it again? Can they do it over and over? Can they do it when a scene isn’t that interesting?”
A Swedish photographer based in London and working in Kaliningrad, Lukashenka’s Belarus seen through the eyes of an American photographer living in Sweden, Londoners photographing London and an insider’s uncompromising look at the divided communities living in the coal mining region of West Virginia. These are just some of the stories in Beyond Borders, an exhibition featuring the work of 16 very different photographers from nine countries on show in London’s Printspace gallery from March 10 until April 1. Representing genres including experimental street photography, portraiture and traditional in-your-face photojournalism, and shot on everything from medium format cameras to mobile phones, Beyond Borders represents the collective results of the first ever master’s degree course in photojournalism and documentary photography at the London College of Communication, a bold and ground breaking experiment reflecting the current monumental changes within the industry.
I had another exhibition opening last night. It is sponsored by the Portuguese Consulate and is a collection of photographs I made during my time living in that country. The theme is "Portugal through the Eyes of a Foreigner," and is heavy on scenic and travel pictures. Although I did a first broad edit, the real choice was made by the Consul General in the end which I had no real problem with. I frankly was exhausted from the whirlwind of my major project exhibition, the major project presentation and the critical analysis.
The Consul had expressed interest in doing a show and when she found out about my Vanishing Coast exhibition, she put it on overdrive because she wanted to ride off the wave of that momentum. I frankly thought it was a bit odd and overkill of my name. She was persistent. I did much of the work (meetings, editing, printing) and as I was in the heat of the major project it was a distraction and made things difficult and stressful.
My experience in both was very different. In this one I did not have as much control as in my personal exhibition which has a lot to do with money since they paid for everything. In essence the idea was that they would be promoting tourism, educating people and celebrating their country. I much preferred my first exhibition because it was more powerful, had much better images and in the end the decisions were all mine.
After my initial proposition faded away which included photographs of traditional Portuguese activities like bullfighting and was heavy on religious subject matter, I was not as passionate about it. They wanted to show Portugal and its people as a modern European nation and did not like the types of images I preferred. Still, it was fascinating and a good learning experience although not quite as intense as the major project.
Since today is our the final day of our final term, I'm excited in completing the course but a bit melancholy since I have enjoyed it and have made good friends. More than anything I have grown. I thank all of our seminar speakers, tutors, and LCC professors, and especially thanks to Paul Lowe for steering us through the program.
I was not involved in the poster or program designs and much preferred my major project materials.
Beginning in 1993, I began working in newspapers - first as a writer at a small daily in Central California. There I switched to photography and moved to the United States/Mexico border in McAllen, Texas, to San Antonio, then Florida where I worked as a photographer and editor for the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group, and ultimately The New York Times itself as a news picture editor. My work history is diverse: jobs that I held during college include a telephone operator and an attractions host at Disneyland. I also played guitar in several punk bands in the late 80's in Los Angeles. After leaving the Times in 2005 to raise my two children (Thomas born in 2005 and Charles born in 2007) and follow my wife with her career overseas, I began work as a freelance photojournalist.
Throughout my career, I have worked on staffs and am much more of a newspaper man than an entrepreneurial, enterprising photographer. I have always known the institutions that I've worked for, the audiences we served, and was well skilled at maneuvering the political and bureaucratic red tape of a newsroom to get the most out of myself and the photographers that I managed and produce great journalism.
Although as an editor I have worked with top photographers around the world, I am somewhat of a fish out of water being on the other side of the fence as an independent photojournalist. I am not the best at editing and managing myself. I am still trying to find the best way to make the most out of my skills and use them to affect some kind of change as a journalist and international citizen. In this pursuit, I am looking to you, my classmates and faculty for guidance and honesty that I will reciprocate in this journal and course.
Posts
