Kicking and alive Photojournalism

R

ruben

Guest
Had you ever feflt the hitch that routine life both at the photographic and human life realities do not match what seems to be for dinner every evening ?

Had you ever felt the hitch that something stinks at the Brittish Empire and their transatlantic fellows ?f

Well, in order to grasp reality, photo reality in its real history in the making proportions, it would be sane to visit from time to time the UNHCR UN Refugee Agency site at flickr, where some of the most unknown and talented photographers have given a share of help, and sometimes their names are not even there (a flickrmail sent about it).

Nevertheless, some tens of millions of displaced human beings are trying to survive at the most dramatic conditions, while perhaps the best among those of us behind a camera have went there to document hell. To face hell with open eyes.

I strongly recommend to give a view from time to time to this extraordinary fountain:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/unhcr/sets/
 
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ruben said:
Had you ever felt the hitch that something stinks at the Brittish Empire and their transatlantic fellows.
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Always blaming everything on the Brits & Americans. If it wasn't for us, Israel wouldn't have a leg to stand on! Who came to your aid when 6 million of your people were being killed? Who was there back in the 90's when Saddam was lobbing rockets at you? BTW did we abandon you when your fighter pilots attacked the USS Liberty killing our sailors with fighter jets we supplied to you? Now you have an Iranian President with nucelar power at his finger tips wanting Israel wiped off the face of the map,saying the holocost never happened. Maybe we should sit this one out! Whadda you think Reuben?:mad:
 
35mmdelux said:
Dont the Palestians have some issues in your home town?
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And isn't California bankrupt? :rolleyes:

A little touchy, aren't we, anytime someone from "the rest of the world" suggests, to the slightest degree, that the bedrock of western culture, or one of its offshoots, has a few skeletons in the closet?

Interestingly, what's going on in those refugee camps is happening today, now, right this minute. It's not ancient history. But when it does become ancient history - decades or centuries from now - how will our posterity judge the worth of our culture based on how we deal with those less fortunate than ourselves?

Most of the issues in the African continent were brought about as a result of centuries of European colonialism, and in the post-WWII era through the consequences of super-power politics during the Cold War. These issues are still being felt today, and I believe, at least as a citizen of the US, there still remains a responsibility to "clean up" the remains of what we've spoiled in the name of national security or politics or whatever.

As for the Palestine issue, the consequences of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire have yet to be fully resolved, despite it having been almost a century ago. I think we need to step back from the manipulated posturings of our contemporary media/politic system and look at it in a more long-term historic view.

Back on topic, thank you Ruben for the link you provided. I've thought often recently of what I should be doing with the camera gear and photographic experience I've amassed; perhaps there are issues close to home (I know so, in fact) that could deserve exposure to the light of truth. We all should look for these opportunities to use photography as a candle in the darkness.

~Joe
 
rxmd said:
For all I know Ruben might well be including Israel within the broader scope of "the British Empire and their transatlantic fellows".
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Perhaps! His post caught me in the right mood for a rant. I think what got me is he could of shared the link without the statement about the Brits & Americans.
 
"Always blaming everything on the Brits & Americans."
That's an answer I hear very often when not "everything is blamed on" but very particular things. On the other side America can be "blamed" if it were Russia, people would just shrug and say "Well that's what they always do.
But I must admit I found this part of the OP rather enigmatic.
 
I must admit from the depth of my heart that I never figured you will take the sarcastic political side of my post instead of the photojournalist one. But according to what I read, I do not blame any one here. On the contrary I welcome all your commetaries since they are all right to the point.

Dear Dave Wilkinson, you are right, today it is called the "Brittish Commonwealth", and it is the most important junior partner of the USA. I reversed the order of importance and I apologize for having belitteling the role of the USA. Nowadays, under the Hussein Obama/Hillary Rodham leadership I pin high hopes in their capacity to do their best.

Dear 35mmdelux, you are more than right, only lately I have filled the gap - Kindly see my latest flickr set http://www.flickr.com/photos/30387493@N08/sets/72157622405096313/show/

Dear Fred. You didn't imagine that I even conceived to put before your nose such type of non-Ceo, non-profitable, non-Art photojournalism,, don't you? So you are dismissed.

Dear gb hill, when you "rant" according to your own words, the most beautifull pearls of your soul come out. Like you I also want a gradual but immediate stop of any kind of help from the US and its junior partners to Israel - otherwise the folks in my government will continue forever the same pranks, requiring renewed financial-political-military help , as up to day. This vicious circle has been going on for four decades and it is time to redirect your foreign help to those folks at the refugee camps worldwide. Or at least give your own American folks wihout healt insurance this basic need. Aiding Israel is a total loss, and worse than that you are feeding Bin Laden - our worst enemy. GB, we are in absolute and total agreement.

Dear Spider67. I phrased myself saying the Brittish Empire and their transatlantic partners, from a non accurate hystorical viewpoint. The truth is that the Brittish Empire has been the main responsible for the nowadays barbarian and hungersituation in Africa and Asia, although not the only one. Yet the main one for having occupyied the seat ot the World Order masters of their time, till the end of WWII. During the XVI and XvII centuries they did their crimes by the transatlantic slave shiipments, which included not only Africans but Irish and Scottish rebels as well, and at the 18th and 19th centuries by the direct occupation of as much colonies as they could.

It was during these four centuries that the most barbarian slaughters were perpetrated worldwide, either by direct Brittish hands or under their undirect responsibility as masters of the World Order. These acts include the slaughtering of some 30 million American Indians, maiinly done by the Spaniards, the slaughter of some 25 million Aftricans during the transatlantic slave transfer, the famine slaughter of some 10 million Indians from Asia, under direct Brittish control during the 19th century.


Of course we are never to forget the exemplary American Indepence National Liberation War against the Brittish, nor the second War for American Independece, when the Brittish strongly supported the American Southern slave owners in their attempt to tople the USA federation as a whole, aiming at installing an Apartheid regime.

Now, that we all agree in politics, marking an unprecedent step forwards for RFF, could we deal with the photographic side of the UNHCR UN Refugee Agency site at flickr?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/unhcr/sets/

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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i don't intend to come off as rude however i am missing the "talent" part in that work? the bulk of it appears to be the rather cliche group of children staring in the end of the lens sort of stuff. i applaud the efforts, really i do but if this is journalism "alive and kicking" i am concerned.
 
It seems to me that most of this isn't really journalism, it's more like an official UNHCR photo gallery where they present material on some of their projects. Basically it seems more like a heavily edited PR product than journalism.

That said, some of the series are nice, where they aren't banging the UNHCR drum too much. Much of the material from the "Do you see what I see" series, for example, is quite beautiful (basically they gave cameras to children in refugee camps and told them to photograph their lives, not a new idea but well done). Heavily edited too, of course, but quite refreshing.
 
i suppose what bothers me a bit about the photographs is that they show a growing trend towards what i would deem sub par work being applauded as "good level photographic work" (if i may borrow from you). this sort of work has become accepted as the "norm" for photojournalism ignoring the fact that it was A/ probably provided free and B/ it really is no where near what competent, experienced photojournalists can provide. it is little wonder why folks are failing to see the value to photojournalism as a whole.
 
gb hill said:
Who came to your aid when 6 million of your people were being killed?
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Oh far too late. The allies in WW2 turned boatloads of jews away. We didn't want them any more than hitler did, so don't re-write history like we have always been friends of the jewish people. On top of that Obama is hardly open to help the jews with anything. It's a shame.
 
ruben said:
Take for example the work called Internally Displaced Chechens in Ingushetia http://www.flickr.com/photos/unhcr/sets/72157622487301032/show/

I think it is a very good level phographic work.
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I took a look at that series in particular when I first saw the UNHCR gallery, partly because the Caucasus region is one of the few represented in the gallery that I'm personally familiar with. I must say I don't think it's a particularly "good level photographic work". It looks fairly generic "refugee camp photography", which is almost a genre now, with stories and motifs that have become highly conventionalised (big-eyed children, children clinging to their mothers, poorly-furnished tents, sick people in bed, children playing in ruins, donors handing gifts to happy children, that sort of thing). The technical execution is not outstanding either, many tele shots from far away, often little feeling of immersion, missed moments (blinking eyes etc.)

I don't know other work by Tanya Makeeva, maybe she has other good stuff. I'm spoiled photojournalism-wise, because I have a good number of close friends in Tashkent who were photojournalists in the Soviet Union. I took interviews with them where they told stories about what a tough profession it was, with very critical atmosphere from colleagues and redactions alike and with real competition for assignments (unusual for a Communist country). A series such as Makeeva's wouldn't have lasted long, I guess. It's exotic to the Western eye, but exoticism doesn't carry a picture. I guess for PR purposes it's fine, but from good-level photojournalism I'd expect more. Maybe I'm too critical.
 
Admittedly I haven't looked through all of the galleries yet but I have to agree with emraphoto. I'm not a photojournalist so take my opinion as you will but this is not photojournalism to my eyes, its PR photography for the charitable works that are ongoing. As such its both a worthy cause and worthwhile of the efforts of those photographing the various projects but its 'dangerous' to confuse the two.

With regard to the hubbub around geopolitical history, good luck to you all sorting that out on an internet forum.:rolleyes:
 
Possibly. I suppose where I am having a problem is how the work was presented in the thread. Is it a great effort by a bunch of volunteers with cameras? Yup. It sure is.

Is it a good example of photojournalism being alive and kicking (which I believe is true)? I don't think so.
 
gb hill said:
Always blaming everything on the Brits & Americans. If it wasn't for us, Israel wouldn't have a leg to stand on! Who came to your aid when 6 million of your people were being killed? Who was there back in the 90's when Saddam was lobbing rockets at you? BTW did we abandon you when your fighter pilots attacked the USS Liberty killing our sailors with fighter jets we supplied to you? Now you have an Iranian President with nucelar power at his finger tips wanting Israel wiped off the face of the map,saying the holocost never happened. Maybe we should sit this one out! Whadda you think Reuben?:mad:
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The US never helped jews during the war. They returned refugees to their death during the years 33-39 simply based on immigration quotas.
The allies systematically refused to bomb the murder machine of the germans because this was not a strategical target. Do you have any idea how many lives would have been saved if the death plants were bombed? If the railways transporting the humans to be slaugthtered would have been destroyed?
During the 90's, Israel saw its civilians got bombed because of the US offensive in Irak. beside of some innefective Patriot missiles, what did the US exactly to help?
What the US did was insisting that Israel will keeppon being bombed without retaliating in order to keep the coalition (that included arab countries) alive.
I'm not saying that it wasn't the right thing to do, but I really don't get your point on the "help" of the US then.
About what the US are going to do, (or not) about the Iranian danger, well, I don't have a clue, and unless I'm completely wrong, you don't either.

You, sir, have a very strange view of history.
But hey, from someone stating recently theat "Jews love money" I wouldn't have expected anything else.
 
sanmich said:
The US never helped jews during the war. They returned refugees to their death during the years 33-39 simply based on immigration quotas.
The allies systematically refused to bomb the murder machine of the germans because this was not a strategical target. Do you have any idea how many lives would have been saved if the death plants were bombed? If the railways transporting the humans to be slaugthtered would have been destroyed?
During the 90's, Israel saw its civilians got bombed because of the US offensive in Irak. beside of some innefective Patriot missiles, what did the US exactly to help?
What the US did was insisting that Israel will keeppon being bombed without retaliating in order to keep the coalition (that included arab countries) alive.
I'm not saying that it wasn't the right thing to do, but I really don't get your point on the "help" of the US then.
About what the US are going to do, (or not) about the Iranian danger, well, I don't have a clue, and unless I'm completely wrong, you don't either.

You, sir, have a very strange view of history.
But hey, from someone stating recently theat "Jews love money" I wouldn't have expected anything else.
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Why don't you ask a U.S. soldier who was there in 91? As far as what I said about the jews loving money, I was being sarcastic. You people took me serious when I was kidding around. There has always been a saying that all the jews are rich. It comes from the bible where God blesses Abramham & his seed. I have no idea who started it. Thats ok, if you wan't to hold it against me thats on you. I even apoligized to everyone I offended. But I guess you are perfect!

As far as WWII. I just relay what I've read. You bring up some good points especially about us not bombing the concentration camps. Haven't thought about it before. I don't agree with everything the U.S. does, esp. the CIA. My main point was Reuben could of posted about the refugees without bringing in the statement about the Americans & Brits. But I'm not going to hold it against him Reuben always brings up interesting discussions and I consider him a friend. When one learns forgiveness instead of holding grudges one can learn to laugh!
 
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