Class Ex C

How is documentary photography different from photojournalism?
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To “document” means to record the details of an event, a process, etc (Cambridge Dictionary). The key word is record. The purpose of documentary photography (DP) is to let the photos elevate an understanding of a certain subject matter, usually a topic not being commonly thought about by the public or a facet of life not brought to light. It is like a form of storytelling using powerful visuals, whereby the photographer conveys this story he sees to viewers by capturing it within the camera’s viewfinder. It involves a series of photos, or a photo essay that are usually taken candid.
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This portrayal would be more effective if the photographer has lived and been immersed in that culture or environment for a period of time long enough to feel more about the subject matter and identify with it more accurately. I believe that with the photographer’s deeper understanding, the emotions can better be reflected in photos he takes. However, the photos should remain objective and non-myopic.
Photojournalism (PJ), on the other hand, has different objective. It serves to tell news through images. Visuals are the first to capture reader’s attention in a piece of news, therefore they play an important role in supporting other news element to provide the context of the news. The photos should be able to “sell”.
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Both DP and PJ require prior research on the subject matter. In comparison, PJ needs less time commitment on the scene than DP. A photojournalist may rush to a particular situation to cover the breaking news and leaves after a few shots. For most of the time, the news ends when that million-dollar moment has passed.
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To me, DP is more like a project, whereas PJ is like a task. PJ is not meant so much as an art but rather, to meet the editor’s demand. However, we should also not discount the fact that photojournalists also take such great photos that they are exhibited in galleries and museums too, thus blurring the line between DP and PJ.
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P.S. I couldnt load the podcast at all, thus reflection is not based on that but I took a pointer from its slides to write on.

Class Ex B

Group discussion



The above sketch is beautiful done by Ellen. It may look bizarre and weird at first glance (well, you can say all surrealistic works are like this) but if you take a look at the concept behind, it is actually something we all students can relate to. It shows a hand that belongs to a Uni student being drowned by tonnes and tonnes of books and papers (readings probably), and yet his hand is not giving up in reaching out to the A grade that all students would love to have. It kind of depicts the sad life of an Uni student, being too caught up with the paper chase. Have we become like him too?

Class Ex A

This is a photo I would like to talk about, because I really like it. It's beautiful how the hunch of both women's backs are synchronised and their different distances from the photographer created such depth. The back of the woman in the background seems to fit nicely into the front of the woman in the foreground. In addition, I like how the shadow of the trees on the wall seems to be advancing out from the woman in the foreground. I feel that in overall this picture won my heart mainly due to its composition.





However, I would think this photo would be the overall winner instead. This bathing scene may be a common sight in Bali but how often can such a beautiful shot be captured, with the splashes of the four children caught in mid-air and all of which having a profile view. This photo just brings out the vibrancy and joy in those kids having fun playing with water.