Exercise: Jon Levy of Foto8 on Photojournalism.

Exercise: Jon Levy of Foto8 on Photojournalism.

In the interview Levy tries to tie down what photojournalism is.  He asserts that the intention of the photographer at the time of capturing the image is the difference between art and photojournalism.  This is very different from the Modernist philosophy of giving an image a meaning after the event; of producing the image and then seeking the verism within.    

A quick look through the Foto8 archives demonstrates nicely what he means.  Whether one agrees or disagrees with some of the story lines, the intention of the photographer is clear in each set of pictures.  The photographer set out to tell a tale and obtained the images to illustrate it.

I am not sure what he was saying about vernacular photography .  A vernacular language is the native language or native dialect of a specific population.  He seems to be saying that this is both how people within a community view themselves and also how communities are viewed from outside, and the difference between those two views. 

When a photographer sets out to photograph an assignment he takes with him his own views and opinions and these will, of necessity, influence how and what he features.  Take the example of a photographer covering a violent demonstration in Parliament Square where there is almost certain to be violent conflict between the Police and certain elements within the crowd.  A photographer working for The Socialist Workers Party will concentrate on any use of excess force on the part of the Police while the photographer from The Telegraph will seek out misbehaving demonstrators.  Each comes with a tale to tell and each is legitimate in his aims.  Journalism is the telling of stories and by inference photojournalism is the telling of stories by way of pictures.  Without a story images either remain as such or may be portrayed as art.