It’s been a long week and numerous getting-up-early-saturdays in the past that I was so tempted to sleep in. However, I was informed of an interesting workshop on photo journalism to be held at LoyarBurok‘s hang-out place today at 11am. The office was just down the road from Malaysiakini at Bangsar.
The office was in a rather dodgy area. I initially walked up a wrong dingy building which housed 3 closed solicitor offices, one on each floor. After clarifying for directions, I went round the corner into another shoplot before walking up the long flight of steps which took forever; what appeared like a 3-storey shoplot turned out to be a 5 or 6, I thought.
The entire LoyarBurok office right at the end of the stairway looked like a funky studio. Its first unique characteristics that caught my attention was the low ceiling clearance, followed by a graffiti wall peppered with calls for liberation and people empowerment, a wooden flooring area, a black board and lastly, a spiral fire escape staircase .
The black board was the single most unique piece of object in the room that attracted my attention. There were still some partially-dusted sketches that spoke volume of the numerous discussions that have taken place in the past.
The workshop was to be held informally right on the wooden floorboard by 36-year-old Danny Lim. Danny is an established writer and freelance photojournalist with his works having appeared both locally and internationally in publications such as The Far Eastern Economic Review, The Smithsonian Institute, Vogue (Italy), theSun, The Edge as well as websites such as The Nut Graph, The Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini.
The Malaccan-born accomplished journalist just launched his first book last year titled The Malaysian Book of the Undead which aims to help clear up some misconceptions about local spirits and ghosts. Danny Lim was also the winner of two local awards for a short documentary and a regional award for his feature photography.
Danny Lim started off with the definition and history of photo journalism. Photo journalism has both an artistic appeal and a documentary-like importance in our human society. The former was given great consideration in art galleries alongside fine art photography in the late 70s. The latter, started much earlier, stretching as far back as the mid 19th century. The first photo journalist was Carol Szathmari (Romanian painter, lithographer, and photographer) who did pictures in the Crimean War (between Russia and Ottoman Empire, 1853 to 1856).
From what I gathered, photo journalism is all about capturing, collecting, editing and presenting news material for publication and broadcast through photographs. It has taken on a more modern appreciation known to many as photo essays, a series of congruous photographs with a defining entry picture, followed by subsequent pictures of various highs and lows, before ending with an outgoing picture that leaves a lingering conclusion to the entire story.
Danny Lim, having just returned from the UK last year from completing his Masters in Photography shared with us one of his assignment: photo documenting an MP as he gets about his daily routine serving the people in his constituency. He revealed that there has to be a good mix of both horizontal and vertical pictures in the series. Also worth considering is a balanced mix of detailed and general shots, used to draw attention to the various aspects of the subject’s life, work, environment and context.
I truly felt this sharing of his photo assignment was invaluable as just this alone justified my presence here today. It was a rare insight learning what a Masters in Photography course involves and entails, its syllabus and mechanics. It isn’t just about the technicalities (e.g. light, aperture, shutter speed etc) that come with photography, often, it’s about the philosophy driving it.
A beautifully taken perfect picture on its own holds no meaning unless it’s strung together with other pictures that tell a story. More often than not, a picture taken that registers a momentous event in time, though not necessarily a technically perfect imprint, far surpasses anything else that matters. Its sole purpose after all is to document an occurence and nothing else, though having a technically-sound picture lends weight and impact to the conveyance of the message in the picture.
Photo journalism is a genre of photography where photographs are wielded as a form of weapon effecting desired changes either socially, politically, economically or much more. Though a powerful weapon in an activist’s toolbox in their continuous battles for a cause, it does have its own sets of challenges.
What do I shoot? What to edit and how do I frame the shot, are among the normal considerations undertaken by many photo journalists. There are ethical issues to be dealt with as well. How are the pictures going to be interpreted? Can neutrality be achieved? Would taking a picture this way best convey the story I’m sculpting, or perhaps at another angle where a different aspect is used to draw attention to the main subject? Perhaps another picture to follow the current one to further add impact to the message?
Often, ethical conflicts can be mitigated or enhanced by the actions of a picture editor, who takes control of the images once they have been delivered to the news organization. The photojournalist often has no control as to how images are ultimately used, unless they’re involved with the writing of the story.
The picture editor is ultimately tasked with producing the story. They are to string the series of images, with the assistance of perhaps another writer who would mould and weave the intended story. This leaves it very much open to possible manipulations. Thus, when you look at it from afar, the photo journalist is just a front liner capturing images. The occuring thoughts or emotions that drove them to take a particular picture may not necessarily be echoed similarly by their editors.
Photo journalism is not without its vagaries. 3-5 different photo journalists taking the same picture at the same time and place might result in only one of them winning an award for their winning pictures, as shared by Danny. A picture devoid of context and importance gain value and recognition decades down the road, in the face of an unexpected turn of events or the death of a famous figure.
A purported famous photographer/photo journalist may not take as good a picture as expected of them when being handed the camera. I guess it’s natural for expectations to be placed upon a “pro”. It’s also very subjective as to whether an image is useful or impactful. An image after all, is open to different interpretations, depending also on the context in which it’s used.
With the advent of digital imaging technologies and flourishing digital cameras in the market today, anyone can be photo journalists. The media is increasingly shaped by members of the public. Opportunity and accesibility are among the two key enablers in photo journalism, being there at the right time and place. The first pictures of the 2004 tsunami to make international headlines were taken by tourists using home video cam, or even small compact cameras. Professional photo journalists can’t be everywhere and quick enough to be at the scene of a disaster. That’s why you normally see their works in the aftermath of a tragedy.
Danny ended the session with a sharing of various brilliant photo journalism projects undertaken by both obscure and prominent photo journalists of the century. Some where indeed heart warming, some peculiar, while others were downright outrageous which begs the question, “Are you kidding me?”
The key takeaway from this workshop? Know your subject. Knead your content. Build your story. Champion a cause. Start a project! I walked away with renewed enthusiasm and a refreshed perspective on what could be done best for Project Exodus.