Popson Park!

Relations: One Historical and One Contemporary Photographer

Photojournalism refers broadly to the use of photography for news coverage–or in other words, for documentary and/or informational purposes. The invention of photography in the early 1800s coincided with the growing popularity of newspapers as a medium to transmit information. In 1880 the New York Daily Graphic became the first newspaper to publish a photograph on its front page. 

Modern photojournalism became more viable after the development of the small-format camera. Due to the increased mobility and inconspicuous nature of small-format cameras, photographers were allotted much more flexibility in order to capture images from every day life that were more realistic and less static.

One Historical Photographer: Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898-1995)

Alfred Eisenstaedt–often referred to as the father of photojournalism–was one of the most prolific and important photojournalists of all time. Throughout his career he demonstrated that the camera could do much more than simply record a single moment in time, but could also capture an entire subject as a whole. He was a major contributor to the American illustrated newsmagazine Life, which is often credited for contributing to the development of the photo-essay. 

Browsing through collections of his work, it becomes clear that Eisenstaedt dealt with an apparently unlimited number of different themes throughout his career including, but not limited to, WWI, the Great Depression, WWII, colonialism, and portraits of important politicians and hollywood stars. 

At the Grand Hotel waiters' school in St. Moritz, a waiter
practices bringing aperitifs to the ice rink.

Hitler and Mussolini greet each other for the first time

The most iconic of Eisenstaedt's works: V-J Day; Smack
in the middle of Times Square in New York City, a happy
sailor and a passing girl show how the whole world felt
about the end of the war. 

One Contemporary Photographer: Josef Koudelka (1938-present)

As television increasingly became the go-to medium people turned to for news coverage, photojournalists had to adopt new approaches to their craft. Josef Koudelka, among others, adopted an approach that was much more subjective and aestheticized than traditional approaches (such as that employed by Eisenstaedt).

While Eisenstaedt focused much of his attention on photographing more mainstream, newsworthy subjects such as important celebrities and politicians, Koudelka took an alternative approach by immersing himself in the less attractive realities of the world. Some of his most renowned work is a product of time spent photographing gypsies living in cultural exile in the Slovakian and Romanian countrysides.

Sources: 

Eisenstaedt, Alfred. Witness to our Time. New York: The Viking Press, 1966.

Koudelka, Josef. Exiles. New York: Aperture Foundation, 1988.

Koudelka, Josef. Gypsies. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011.

Mora, Gilles. Photo Speak: A Guide to the Ideas, Movements, and Techniques of Photography 1839 to the Present. New York: Abbeville Press, 1998.

A few cool links I've stumbled upon relating to photography

8 Effects Every Photographer Should Know

I found all of these effects on this page to be quite intriguing–in particular, Contre-jour (silhouette photography) and panning. I look forward to trying out these techniques at some point!

And upon further investigation I have discovered that I actually have dabbled a bit in Contre-jour myself without even knowing it. Here a few photos from my collection!

This is a photo of me sitting on a rock looking out over the Mediterranean as
the sun was almost completely set. Since the only light source was on the other
side of me, it created only a silhouette. 

Yes, I know. Just a cliche photo of a sunset... But I think it is cool how the sun setting
on the other side of the Istanbul skyline creates a nice silhouette of the mosques

This is another silhouette of myself, although I can't take credit for taking this one.
I was just having a smoke on the shore of Lake Bohinj, Slovenia, as my friend decided
to snap a random photo. He showed me the result, which I liked, and so I stole it.

This is actually one of my favourite photos in my collection for some reason.
It is just a picture of a random statue in Wuppertal, Germany, but it looks pretty
badass. The sun behind the statue creates a grim effect on the silhouette. 

Another cool link I stumbled upon is about HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography. In summary, it is the practice of taking multiple shots at different exposure levels and then combining them using some kind of software. Anyways, the link I provided explains it better, but I think it is a neat tool that I plan on experimenting with in the future as well.

Cheers.

Final typology – Surveillance Cameras

My final typology: Surveillance Cameras

And yet more typology photos (surveillance cameras)

Here are a few more potential typology photos taken from U-Hall and Turcotte Hall...

Some additional typology photos (surveillance cameras))

These are some additional photos of surveillance cameras I took over the weekend and early this week to add to my ongoing typology. There are several taken from downtown Lethbridge as well as the U of L campus (you don't realize how many there are until you start looking for them...). Enjoy...