Visual Journalism – Notes from aside the camera

June 20, 2024

“Then What Do We Have?”

Mickey Osterreicher talks about the threats of generative AI images.

Business & Industry/Ethics & Legal/Photojournalism

January 2, 2024

“Because of my photos, the entire world saw what was happening”

We have lost Peter Magubane, according to The New York Times. For nearly half a century, he documented the effects of apartheid in South Africa, frequently being punished for sharing what everyone was seeing. His work was inspirational for many photojournalists around the world, his commitment to the work unparalleled. Magubane also walked that delicate line between being an impartial...

Business & Industry/Craft/Good Work/Journalism/Photojournalism

December 1, 2023

“I Read the Instructions on the Back of the Box”

We’ve lost Elliott Erwitt. This is a wonderful tribute to him by Jonas Cuénin worth exploring.

At Work/Business & Industry/Good Work

November 12, 2023

More History

Now I want to head up to Richmond to see this exhibit by Dawoud Bey, as profiled in The New York Times by Siddhartha Mitter. It also has me pondering a new assignment for my documentary classes, a five photo sequence about their return to Athens after the winter break. Hmmm …

At Work/Good Work/Photojournalism

November 11, 2023

Picturing the Past

Photographing history is a tremendous challenge, so much of it is unseen. Lindsey Wasson’s work here for the Associated Press is stellar – you get a feel for the place and the people it impacted. The story has many layers and so do the photos. The use of reflections and framing is strong, they are adding depth to the compositions,...

At Work/Good Work/Photojournalism

November 6, 2023

Writing With Light

For the last several months, I’ve been participating in a conversation about AI generative images. This working group, made up of photojournalists, editors, intellectuals, attorneys and technical experts, has come together to look for solutions to an existential threat to journalism – that the public may come to not trust anything they see anymore. Our thoughts so far – and...

Ethics & Legal/Journalism/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

September 8, 2023

The Risks of Sports Coverage

There are mutliple stories out about the death of a photographer who was hit at a high school football game. Most of them leave me with a lot of questions and sorrow. Linda Gregory, a long-time supporter of the Wichita Northwest High School team, was knocked down when two junior varsity players came out of bounds, reportedly hitting her head...

At Work/Business & Industry/Photojournalism

September 6, 2023

“You Can Say Anything You Like So Long As It’s the Truth”

I really hope this comes to the theaters near us or is available to screen for our students. The story of model-turned-war-photographer Lee Miller has been screaming for a film version. Now it’s been made.

Business & Industry/Good Work/Photojournalism

June 16, 2023

Natural Intelligence

Nikon Peru has come up with a creative campaign to push back at AI generated imagery, according to Michael Zhang at PetaPixel. There are several initiatives in progress regarding imagery created with artificial intelligence algorithms. Adobe has its Content Authenticity Initiative, which is working on technical solutions to image verification and there are a couple different groups who are working...

Advice & Learning/At Work/Business & Industry/Ethics & Legal/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

May 23, 2023

Why Photographers Charge

I was scrolling through Facebook over lunch when I saw someone had reposted the above. I could not disagree more with this logic. If businesses were to base what they charge on equipment costs, than McDonald’s ice cream would be outrageous. The machine they use, made by Taylor Company, costs $18,000 (even if it breaks down on a regular basis)....

Advice & Learning/Business & Industry/Photojournalism