Thoughts on Photography

J.T. Burns

I'll be honest.  Prior to taking this course, the grand total of knowledge or interest I had in photography and photojournalism was pretty low.  I had always been interested in the words on the page and thought that pictures were just additional information, and not extremely vital to the story.  I have to admit, though, that I have become much more appreciative of photojournalism as an art form.  While reading David LaBelle's writing on what it takes to be a photojournalist, I was fascinated by the amount of energy and thought that go into making a great photograph.  Contrary to what many think, a great photographer is not simply at the right place at the right time.  A great photographer makes his own luck by careful, and sometimes tedious, preparation.  The fruits of this labor were illustrated in David Snider's work.  It was interesting for me to think that this man had literally gone all over the world in search of a few images.  I wondered, was it really worth it?  But after looking at the images he captured, I realized how they could instill emotions that no news or feature story ever could.  That power to illicit such a strong emotional response is a critical part of what separates the snapshot photography of the "facebook generation" from the thoughtful photojournalism seen in these readings.