Photograph Speaks

"Photography is a small voice, at best, but sometimes one photograph, or groups of them, can lure our sense of awareness"

-W.Eugene Smith-

In the early years, the linguistic mode (writing) has always been the dominant mode for communication. However, there has been a transformation in the literate culture- the emergence of visual communication (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 1998).

Photography is a form of visual communication. A good photographer can capture the movement as well as the tensions evolving within a society and projects it. Without the prose, the audience will need to evaluate and understand the visual meaning for each photograph. Although Schriver (1997) has argued that there is a cultural boundary for the audiences to truly interpret the meaning of an image. However, a good photographer can freeze the history and tell the truth through his camera lens, especially war photographer. They often risk their life to capture the images of armed conflicts and the life behind the war-zone. These war and documentary photographs often raise concern about the freedom of press, because the poverty and suffering issues behind these photographs are usually censored by the local government when they are in any military situation. (American Photography, n.d) Thus, I think that not only did photography can portrait the truth; it can also change a person’s perspective. Truly, a powerful photograph can probably inspire the whole nation.

'Take Action Against War and Hunger'

The problems with photojournalism are that many photographs we saw on newspapers have already been filtered and self-censored by the editors (Media Report, 2007); the audiences do not see the human face of war on newspapers. In the era of sensationalism, ethical problems arise within photojournalists. “If it bleeds, it leads”, this is the rule of photojournalism (Lester, 1999) of today’s’ media world, photojournalist or editors often pick the most gruesome photographs as it often get the immediate impact and reactions from the readers. Due to the new ‘rule’ in photojournalism, photojournalists today habitually capture and publish macabre photographs, as if the readers only want to see blood-spattered around the war zone , but not the uncomfortable details behind the war scenes.

In conclusion, I think that a good photograph is not always about blood, slaughtering, and massacre. It is about portraying the truth through the camera lens. My idea of good photographs can be browse through here : < http://www.warphotoltd.com/ >.

References:

• American Photography: Photography and War n.d , online, retrieved on 14th June 2009, from http://www.pbs.org/ktca/americanphotography/features/war_essay.html


• Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 2006 ‘ The Semiotic Landscape: Language and Visual Communication’ , Reading images : the grammar of visual design, Routledge, New York.
  


• Lester, PM 1999 , ‘Victims of Violence’ , Photojournalism an Ethical Approach, online, retrieved on 14th June 2009 , from < http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/chapter4.html >
  


• Media Report: The Power of the Photograph 2007, online, retrieved on 14th June 2009, from < http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2007/2051819.htm >


• Schriver, KA 1997, ‘The Interplay of Words and Pictures’, Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Text for Readers, Wiley Computer Pub, New York.