Mark E. Johnson – Page 23 – Visual Journalism

August 27, 2015

To Stand with #WDBJ7

The news yesterday out of Virginia was horrifying. There is no other word. None. It would seem, at this point, that the execution of Alison Parker and Adam Ward, two journalists who were on the air, live, for WDBJ early Wednesday morning, was carried out by a disgruntled former employee of the station. It does not appear to be related...

Business & Industry/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

August 23, 2015

Report or Help?

John Freeman, a photojournalism professor at the University of Florida, came across a man in distress – what would you do? In this case, his choice was clear (and I fully support his decision). But what if the situation were different? What if someone else was there? What would you do?

At Work/Ethics & Legal/Photojournalism

August 23, 2015

60 Minutes to Show Sarin Gas Victims

Tonight on 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley will report on the usage of sarin gas in Syria in 2013. In a Correspondent Candids interview, he explains the reasoning behind showing some extremely disturbing footage of children suffering after being exposed. This is not an easy choice to make – there will be many very vocal critics of this decision. Some will...

Business & Industry/Ethics & Legal/Photojournalism

August 20, 2015

Our French Gift

A little bit of history today from The Atlantic’s Alan Taylor, something I didn’t know: In 1839, the French government acquired the rights to Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre’s photographic process, the Daguerreotype … and then made it publicly available, for free.

At Work/Photojournalism/Tech Talk

August 17, 2015

The Woman in the Photo Pen

Nice profile on Elsa Garrison, one of the premier sports photojournalists, by BuzzFeed’s Lindsey Adler.

At Work/Business & Industry/Photojournalism

August 12, 2015

The Value of Internships

Prof. Bradley Wilson took some time to interview Al Drago who was just honored by the White House News Photographers Association’s Eyes of History student contest – some good things in here to remember as we head back to classes … Never accept complacency … don’t forget the basics … you can never network enough.

Advice & Learning/Competitions/Photojournalism

August 12, 2015

Before Digital Ruled Us All

A month ago I wrote a bit about how long it was taking to send photos back from Pluto. Today, The New York Times’ James Estrin looks at the work of Steve Sasson, the man who invented digital photography at Kodak some 42 years ago. How are these related? Read on … Mr. Sasson made a series of demonstrations to...

Photojournalism/Tech Talk

August 10, 2015

Learning to Assist

It’s a little outside of what we teach here, and I only did it a handful of times, but for many photographers, assisting was the path to making images. Over at Behind the Shutter, Alissa Zimmerman gives a sense of what it was like when she started assisting for a wedding photographer. It isn’t glamorous (my first assisting gig had...

Advice & Learning/Business & Industry/Photojournalism

August 4, 2015

Just Because It’s On Instagram …

Storyful’s Eliza Mackintosh has the story behind an Instagram account that shows an immigrant escaping from Dakar, Senegal, to Spain. It’s a story that was picked up by some major web sites and built a massive following … but it’s all a lie, a fictional project designed for an exhibition. “It was a way of denouncing Western frivolity, in which...

Advice & Learning/Competitions/Ethics & Legal/Photojournalism

August 3, 2015

Love Letter to a Highway

My love of the open road is no secret – give me a camera, a tank of gas and maybe a map and I’m happy for hours, if not days. Stories about roads and travel resonate well with me, especially pieces like Kevin Liles’ tribute to Georgia Highway 83. My commute is too short these days …

Craft/Good Work/Photojournalism

Author: Mark E. Johnson