Originally posted by Hawk in SEC Country:
Originally posted by slieb85:
Originally posted by Hawk in SEC Country:
Where the NYT and their photog get it wrong.....is that Obama is not the "central" figure in all of it.
The central point of all the photographs should be the bridge.
You and I might think that.
NYT is a paper owned by a publicly traded company. They apparently thought that picture was the most powerful. They mentioned the Bush's being there. I'm pretty sure they fulfilled their duty.
You would know far more about photography than I, but, seriously, answer this for me.
Based on the picture they did run, how would you have framed in the Bush's? If you want Obama as the center, for dramatic effect, are you going to go super wide and get whatever is to the left on the picture posted from youngcons? Are you going to drastically shrink the picture so that you can fit everyone in? Are you going to widen the space the picture gets on the front page, leaving all text below? Are you going to re-frame the picture and have Obama and Bush bookend it?
All of these are possibly options. They went with the one they felt was the most dramatic. They mentioned that the Bush's were there. Talked about Bush reauthorizing the VRA in 2006. They mentioned that the Clintons were not there.
People's panties be up in a bunch over something pretty small, if you ask me.
My panties are not in a bunch in the slightest. I'm just debating a counterpoint. Now others I can't speak for.
First of all.....the organizers, and whoever was in charge of the PR for this event failed miserably when it came to the photo ops and how the leaders of the march would be situated. I know the barrier down the middle of the road on the bridge causes a problem, but you still place the dignitaries and the survivors/participants in the center, and as close to the middle as you can.
You also do your very best to show this to be an event about how far we have come in race relations........not about how far we have to go. Every outlet I've looked at has displayed this as an almost exclusively "black" event. When it should have been shown as multiracial as a sign of where we have gotten to in the last 50 years since the original event.
Based on the photo....if I am covering that event......I have 3-4 cameras strapped to me. I'm shooting 2-3 of them wide angle to super wide.....and one camera with a zoom lens for close ups, hand shakes, and more intimate meetings between the "important" people. That way I can get the full scope of the event. I know I"m shooting a very significant event with a LOT of people at the event. However.....I'm making sure that I'm not taking away from the true meaning of the event by focusing on certain people too much. Photojournalism is a tricky thing. And it's not easy to encompass an entire event in one photo. However, when you do.......you gotta make sure you do it right.
Honestly....I would have been more focused on John Lewis, than I would have on Obama, Jackson, Sharpton, or Bush. I would have avoided Sharpton at all costs. Because he is a race divider, and had no business being there. I would photographed Jackson because he's been there and marched with MLK.
Looking over the internet...there is a LOT of bad photography of this event. A TON of it. A lot of this has to do with newspapers ditching their staff shooters and using solely freelancers. I'm a freelancer, so that's good for me......but I'm too expensive for most newspapers, unless it's a national outlet. So what they do, is that they end up hiring the cheapest person they can......and as the saying goes...you get what you pay for. = crappy shots that fail in selling the story.
Now, when it comes to Bush........ He is FAMOUS for removing himself from photo ops, because he doesn't want to bring attention to himself and draw attention away from the event he is attending. I praise him for that. It shows a level of humility and selflessness that most people in that position do not have, nor care to have. So maybe that IS what happened. But that is where the organizers failed again. I would have insisted he be near the center for the photo ops and for the walk across the bridge.