Concluding Chapter

Concluding Chapter 

Yes, after taking this class I now have a better understanding of what photojournalism is. After going through modules I have come up with a perfect way to define photojournalism, which is the way how we communicate with others by using still images. Theses’ images can be located in a variety of sources i.e.: magazines, books and social media. I have seen photojournalism grow from back when the first camera was made until this present day. Through that time, I have been educated by various of methods that photojournalism has used. So when this question was asked at the start of the year I had some kind of knowledge on photojournalism but now I know a lot about it.

It’s very important to know the history of photojournalism because before this course I didn’t know the obstacles that journalist had to face when trying to take picture. During the civil war photojournalist had to carry a lot of heavy equipment just to take photographs and because it was so heavy it was hard to take multiple shots on a particular thing. I also didn’t know the challenges that photojournalist took so they could get their picture. So what I’m trying to say that it’s important for students to be educated about their past and what it was like for them to doing specific things. In today’s society we don’t face as many challenges as them because it’s all about smaller devices that contain a large sum of features.

When I was doing research on Kenji Nagai for module 14 I started to find out what kind of photojournalist he was. Kenji was a photojournalist that took pictures in dangerous places and he took risks that could have ended his life.  He was later killed by a solider but my Ah-ha moment was making a product that allows photojournalist to get up close when a war is going on and they won’t run the risk of being killed. This will allow them to take more pictures because they won’t have

I do think Photographs to change the world because I believe it can change how people think about events. In today’s society people are more likely to look at a picture of a subject rather then read the article. So in that case photographs are changing the world. The good then about photographs is that it can be about anything that is a talking point in the world. Topics like politics and economy can easily be summarized in a photograph

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I learnt from Linnea Herbertsson that Paul Hansen, a famous photojournalist took his camera with him so he could have the courage to socialize with others and not be awkward. I thought that this was really interesting because from that stage onwards he became a well know photographer in Sweden. Another point that I found interesting was from Robbie Ollari when he pointed out that Neil Leifer, an award winning photojournalist had his work published in more than 200 sports illustrated and people covers. I found this intriguing because Neil started from the bottom and worked his way up to the top and now his work is seen across the globe. Lastly Mercy Dankyi – Amoah stated that David Guttenfleeder moved to east Africa and leant the native language of Swahili. I thought this was inspiring considering that in the US and decided to move and freelance in a different country.

When looking at the Creative Experiential Exercise I have found out that my knowledge for taking pictures has improved because I know now what grabs people attention when planning to take pictures. So I decided to download clashot on my phone were it is much easier to upload pictures straight from my phone. With technology growing in today’s society it just shows that you can still take quality pictures from an IPhone and sell online and that is why I think photojournalism is growing now a day because lest equipment is needed to travel because you have these gadgets that can do multiple things at once.

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 Creative Experiential Exercise:

Pictures taken 

By Matthew Jones 

The pictures that I have selected have had a huge impact in photojournalism. They may have a more effect on me because their pictures that I am fond off but I am sure that others will appreciate this in the photojournalism world. The amazing thing on photojournalism is that anyone can take part in it. There is no qualification that is needed. It’s simple just picking up a device and letting your imagination doing the rest. As I have said before technology is improving everyday as there are multiple ways to capture something truly amazing.

By Matthew Jones

So as required for this assignment I took three images that I thought were attractive to look at. The first image that I used involves one of my dogs in a still position looking towards me. The other thing that makes this stand out is the background to this, you can see the trees in the background with the sun glaring on them. The second picture that I took off was at the back of a house. I like this pictures because there is a variety of layers to this picture which I think makes it unique to look at. Also I took it because it was a nice day out in England and we don’t get many of those. Lastly my third picture that I was able to take was another picture involving my dog going to the park. Again what highlights this is the background of this image. The way you can see the trees and the fact that the skies are clear. People wouldn’t believe that this was taken on the same day as the first picture.

By Matthew Jones 

Photojournalist Profile on Kenji Nagai

Kenji Nagai

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Kenji Nagai was given a contract to work for Tokyo’s AFP News. His worked involved travelling to dangerous places in the Middle East. So throughout his career Nagai travelled to places like Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Palestinian territories, and Iraq, taking photographs that captured the essence of war. Hi images where shown on television for the world to see. Kenji Nagai was a famous photojournalist because he showed no fear when it came to filming in dangerous places. According to The Times, an associate of Nagai's said he was "relentless" when it came to covering a story, believing that he had to travel to "the places nobody wants to go."

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Kenji Nagai was started working from 1997 until his death. So during this time he was able to cover captured the essence of war. So photojournalism was very popular during that time especially with the war going on. People back at home wanted to see how their country was doing, so it was up to Kenji to get those important images and produce film of it.

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The thing that motivated Nagai was he wanted to show everyone worldwide what it was like in the most dangerous of places. He felt that most people around the world don’t have the faintness of ideas of what it is like in some of these third world countries. His work showed a lot of truth behind secrets which important people didn’t like. After he graduated from university he stated that he wanted to go nowhere no one wanted to photograph. So he thought the best place of that would be in the action.

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Kenji Nagai carried out his work with a small camera that could record videos to. The pros of this is that its light to carry so he can easily move around and get the perfect picture. Cameras that photojournalist during Kenji time was very reliable because it would produce quality pictures from such a small device. Cameras made in the 21^st century includes a lot of features even though it is a small device. That’s what consumers want in today’s society which is to see how many features they can have in small products. Photojournalist like Kenji Nagai took full advantage of this.

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Being a photojournalist you are going to have a lot of enemies in your field. Kenji Nagai had a lot of people that disliked his work because he found out the real truth behind some of these dangerous places. Kenji Nagai work was so powerful is caused him to be on a hit list from a couple of groups. So Kenji Nagai was killed by Burmese troops cracking down on antigovernment demonstrations in Rangoon, according to official Japanese state-run television. After his death it was discovered that Nagai was deliberately targeted by solders of Burmese. What makes Nagai stand out is when he was shot in the chest, he still continued to film while on the floor injured

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Kenji Nagai was very one sided with his work, his work consisted of going into places that others wouldn’t dare to go and that was to war. Kenji Nagai loved the feeling that his life was on the line when he started working. In essence you could say that he felt like he was a solider. One of the things that I have learnt from this class is that you should have a variety of work because you will stand out more to the public.

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Image One 

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Quality of Light, this makes the picture stand out more because you can see the helicopter flying over the solider. The location of the sun makes it easier to see both of the objects. I love that the photojournalist chose to shoot this picture at that time of day because there is so many factors that are used in this picture which make it unique.

Background compliments or detracts from composition: So as I have mention that the helicopter in the background goes well with the whole image. I also like the idea that you have a clear visibility of the clouds and they are shot in a beautiful color.  The sun light fades in well with the clouds which allows you to see it from a distance.

KEEP IT SIMPLE: I feel like this picture is pretty simple to understand. There are only two objects in the picture so it’s not too confusing to grasp the concept of the picture. With this image being simple to understand people would enjoy looking at this picture. This is because most people dot like looking at war pictures because the majority of them involve violence which people don’t like.

I think this is an intriguing picture because it uses a variety of colors which help the image stand out. This image doesn’t show violence so I think people will like to view this.

Image 2:

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• Obvious main subject, about ¼ to 2/3 of image area.  You can easily tell what is going on in the images which is a Cambodian solider crouching down in the trenches. You know he is a solider because he is in uniform and is carrying a weapon.
• What feelings does the image create?. This image creates emotion because looking at the person facial expression you can tell he is scared because he is in an awkward position and he could lose his life. Just looking at the face you can tell what is going on. So when the audience looks at this they get emotional because no one likes to see a person that could possibly lose his life.
• Is the image black & white or color? This image is in color so you can see clearly where he is. Because it’s in color you know that the solider is in a trench with other troops in the background. You can also see the equipment he is carrying which identifies him straight away that he is a solider.

I thought this picture was interesting because of his facial expression. I feel like he was forced to be a solider because you can see fear in his face. He is a young person who could have had a bright future but was enrolled in the army. So this picture shows that others don’t have a choice what to do but enroll.

Image 3:

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• Abstraction Is the photo representational?  Is the subject matter discernable?  Do meanings emerge from the unreality? This picture resembles of the saffron revolution which is about all of the political protest that occurred in Myanmar. Kenji Nagai was taking pictures at this affair before he was shot.
• Depth of field: I feel like this picture had a great use in depth because the protesters were lined up together and you could see there was a lot of people standing up for what was right and what they believed in.
• Obvious main subject, about ¼ to 2/3 of image area. You know exactly what is going on with this image because on one side you have protesters and on the other you have solders with weapons.

I chose this image because I thought it was very powerful because against all of the odds they still stood up for what they believed in. Especially if they were being shot at my officers. That didn’t stop them and I commend them on that.

Image 4:

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Background compliments or detracts from composition: You can see the innocent people running away once they heard the sound of a gun go off. By the way they are running you know that they are scared for their life. Especially when you see the person on the floor next to them. It’s an instinct to their body system to run away from danger.

What feelings does the image create? This picture is emotional because no one wants to see people run in fear after a gunshot goes off. As well in this picture you can see a dead body just lying in the middle of the road. People in the road don’t like to see things like that. This goes on in today’s society; I know that in some news companies in other countries don’t show images like this because it upsets their viewers which they don’t want to do.

Does the image remind you of any work of art or photograph you have seen? Well this image has reminded me on a piece of work we have done in this class and that is for a photojournalist you sometimes have to take pictures from a dangerous position. That’s what Kenji Nagai did and he suffered the consequences as he was shot in this picture by a solider.

I chose this picture because it shows that Kenji Nagai enjoyed what he was doing for a living even though it meant that it could be his last day. Kenji lived live on the edge and for that he will always be remembered for what he has done. After his death they made a Kenji Nagai Award which highlights individuals who have reported the truth about Myanmar.

I major in English and communications. I hope to be a sports writer in the future. The things I can take from this class is how to take the perfect picture weather it’s a team picture or an individual.

Kenji Nagai was viewed as a guy who took risks so he could reap the rewards in a small amount of time. As soon as he came out of college he knew how to get his name out there and he did it. Kenji Nagai always said that he wanted to take pictures that no one would ever dream to. His work as inspired other young journalist to never give up even if you have people that are trying to stop you.

Kenji Nagai Collage

By Matthew Jones