Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/09/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Harrison McClary wrote: > >How often do people page through a magazine to "just read > the articles." > > As a photojournalist we are responsible > for bringing back the photos of the event we are covering and in many > instances we are the only "on scene" person so we have to provide information > for the wordsmiths, and in many cases write the story. This is really true if > shooting for a wire service/agency where you are providing ALL of the > information with your photos. I have never seen a writer capable of doing all > of this (most writers I have worked with can't even handle a point and shoot > camera!), but we are the ones looked upon as a ragtag second thought to the > journalism world. It is a proven fact a weak story with excellent art will > get better play in publication. After all most people only look at the photos > anyway! Harrison: I started univerisity to be a writer but took a photo course along the way and was introduced to the docuentary tradition especially the people from Magnum What I discovered was that the writer has to tell the FACTS while the photographers could tell the eMotional side That was so appealing that I switched careers Of course it takes a good photographer to capture that eMotional side On another note to another post YES images do sell papers BUT images of celebrities sell More Magazines than do iMages of news or trouble So Many publication do self fulfilling prophecy by using boring photos I remember recently looking at German agazine FOCUS--supposedly a great consuMer of photos--and not seeing a single iMages except for ads that were worth looking at If people didnt read the Magazine there wasnt anything else Donal Philby Kauai Hawaii (where I sat naked on the porch this early early Morning listening to the rain and the warm wind in the palms and knew there are a few things to do as wonderful as taking pictures)