The+Power+of+Photography

**//What// Are [Some] Powerful Photographs?: **
  An Iraqi prisoner of war with a hood over his head comforts his son at a holding center.   Nine Kurdish rebels and two of the Shah’s policemen being executed by firing squad in  revolutionary Iran.   Thich Quang Duc, the Buddhist priest in Southern Vietnam, burns  himself to death protesting the government’s torture policy against  priests. Thich Quang Dug never made a sound or moved while he  was burning.   After South Vietnam planes accidentally drop a bomb on a town.   A child in Uganda about to starve to death, and a missionaire, hand  in hand. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The covering of a dead child. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Scarred Face. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> You can feel these photos touching you; their messages seeping quickly into your eyes and falling into your heart.

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//When// Are Photographs Powerful? **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> When photographs challenge what we thought to be our correct understanding of the world is when photographs have the greatest impact. They bring in a whole different dimension that we possibly, in the back of our minds, knew existed but didn’t really think about. Personally, because of my photojournalism research, I have had many of these encounters in which an image has challenged me. It is not so much that I didn’t know famine, violence, war, etc. existed in the world; it is more that society had numbed me to their existence to the point in which I accepted it. The photographs that I had looked at had caused that acceptance to recede and created a new emotion: desire, the desire to help and change. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The interaction between inspiring photographs and an individual is far more than just looking and understanding. Photophilanthropist, Sarah Rennie, claims that “images communicate with us, but in a manner more akin to touch than any discernible language.” <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> “Sometimes a photo knocks me out” says Rennie.

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//Why// Are Photographs Powerful?: **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Photographs have an omniscient power that we are somewhat oblivious to but experience everyday. Photos can change moods, opinions, knowledge, and history. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> When word of the torture of Iraqi prisoners came out in 2004, it attracted little, if any publicity. But when the images were released, the public’s voice rose, the president addressed the issue, newscasters all across the nation began to report. “The power of pictures is unlike any other,” says George Stephanopoulos, host of ABC’s ‘This Week’, “The prisoner scandal was detailed to top military leadership in lengthy reports weeks ago, but it attracted little attention until the photos were released. Until we saw the picture, it didn’t burn in.” The verb “burn” is a very accurate one for what photographs do. Over time we heal but like any other burn, they leave scars on our minds. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Here are just some of the burning photographs taken of the Abu Ghraib tortured prisoners. These photos were in fact some of the //less// graphic that I found:



<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Jerry Della Femina, a veteran image expert and ad executive, explains why photographs can be more powerful than words: “When people first see a photo, they unconsciously–but instantaneously–project themselves into the picture.” Sociologist Barry Glassner extends Famina's argument by saying that “when we see one person being brutalized, up close, it’s instinctive to relate and think: That could happen to me–or my child.”

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">I found this photograph through Photophilanthropy. It was taken by Ty Cacek on behalf of the nonprofit, Cornerstone Development. He was photographing the Brothels of Bwaise. The caption above the photograph read, "Nakibuka Juliette, a prostitute, waits for customers at her brothel in Kawempe Slum, Kampala, Uganda, 13th June, 2009." <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">If I had only read that simplistic text, the story would not have the same impact. As soon as I see this photo, the story suddenly becomes so much less generic. This woman is waiting for her hell to arrive but the thing is she //needs// it to survive. Although I am embarrassed to admit it, I immediately and selfishly think, "what if that were me? What if those dark, serious, waiting eyes were mine?". That is a firsthand account of the power of photography. I don't want to be that woman. I don't want anyone to be that woman; but the reality is that that woman //is// that woman. She is real or moreover, her //situation// is real. This photograph makes me want to change that.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">**Should Censorship Exist?** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">//Why// a photograph is powerful, we have discovered, depends greatly on its content. In some situations words can overpower images. There are only so many angles you can use to photograph a flower but great authors can use many different words in many different orders to create an even more powerful image in the mind of the reader. Powerful photographs have powerful content and that is usually the explanation for why they have such an impact on readers. Unfortunately people argue over what content should be allowed in a photograph. Some argue that certain images should be //censored//. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">There is a seemingly endless debate about how //much// photographs should challenge a person. __Body Horror: Photojournalism Catastrophe and War__ by John Taylor discusses the advantages and disadvantages of censorship of photojournalism. In his book, Taylor argues that censorship on photojournalism created by human ethics are actually numbing society to the horrors of the world. Time after time we see photos in the newspaper of war zones, famines, violence, and poverty. But we see all of these things at their best. Censorship prevents photojournalists from printing photographs of war zones, famines, violence, and poverty at their worst. We never see in the newspaper a photo of a soldier being shot down or a photograph of a dead, starved body; that would be just //way// too graphic for society to see. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The other side of the argument is that If newspapers are constantly printing graphic photos of the worst of war zones, famines, violence, and poverty, people argue that “the persistent use of shocking pictures can induce an analgesic effect and ‘compassion fatigue,’ such that the desired acknowledgment of horror is replaced by ‘it’s only a photograph.’” <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">My opinion over the "moral" controversy of censorship: if society wants to know, they need to see the truth; and the truth at its worst. The fact is that our ears are flooded with the monotoned newscasters talking about the war in Iraq and our eyes are fogged with photos of, for example, soldiers marching. Unsurprised voices and marching soldiers thus becomes war for us. Our imagination is halted by what the media supplies, or what it fails to supply. We scarcely see gruesome photos that reveal the realities of war; photos that put us on edge. Does the public want censorship? My guess is that some do and some don’t but if people want to understand what happens at war, photos of marching soldiers just won’t suffice. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Those were the two different sides of the //moral// debate over the censorship of photojournalism. In reality the debate involves politics, military rules, and money as well. Government opposes graphic war photography to be printed publicly because they don’t want people to see the hellish reality of war because they are nervous that, after seeing the truth, the public will oppose it. Basically they want to withhold part of the truth, maybe the most important part, so that people are more likely to make the decision that they want: support the war. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">If newspapers or magazines were allowed to publish photographs of dead soldiers, would they? Maybe, maybe not. Editors worry that if they put too graphic photographs in their magazines or newspaper, the photos could upset readers and thus “scare off advertisers.” <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">For the photographer himself, simply getting the photo is difficult. One photographer recalled his struggles as a war photographer: “I’ve had unit commanders tell me flat out that if anybody gets wounded on patrol, you can’t take any pictures of them. Nearly every time I’ve landed at [a medevac] scene, guys have yelled at me, ‘Get the f—- away from me. Don’t take my friend’s picture. Get back on the helicopter.’ Part of me understands that. I am a stranger to them. And they are very emotional. Their friend has been badly hurt or wounded, and they’ve probably all just been shot at 15 minutes before. I totally understand that, although it is a violation of embed rules.” <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">So the question is: should war photographers be worried about the mental scars their photos can inflict on the public? Should editors prioritize getting enough advertisers over providing the truthful information? Should government withhold the truth so that people will be more likely to support war? <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In my opinion if people get so “scared” and “upset” about the realities of war captured by a photography, they should do something about it rather than weep and moan. If editors prioritize money over the truth, they shouldn’t call themselves objective journalism. And if government is withholding the deserved truth from the public, the public should call for reform. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The truth can be hidden, but no matter how hard society tries, it will always exist.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[[image:http://lydiakeating.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/iraqwar1.jpg?w=510&h=279]] || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">[[image:http://lydiakeating.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/iraq_nickelsberg_04.jpg?w=510&h=337]] ||

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//How// Are Photographs Powerful?
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: normal;">What do photographers think about when they are capturing an image? What are they striving to achieve with their photograph? How are they setting themselves up to achieve this? What have they found to be the most powerful type of image? When I asked photographer Nancy Farese, founder of Photophilanthropy, these questions she responded, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"When I am shooting I try to capture moments that would have otherwise been missed because they go by so quickly. A gesture of some sort is what I am talking about; things that flash by so quickly that there is not really time to think about it. Photography can freeze these beautiful and significant gestures that are hard to catch and actually understand with the naked eye. This frozen gesture will hopefully lure people and create an emotional connection. That is my main goal: to create an image that will be remembered and convey something emotional. Aesthetically I concentrate a lot on lighting and color." <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">When Nancy said this I feel like i had finally understood //why// photography is so beautiful. It captures moments that we maybe see with our eyes but don't really have time to let soak in because they pass by so quickly. Photographs allow us to stare. We have no time limits that real life imposes. We can soak up a moment that lasted 1 second for 1 minute, for one hour, for 1 day just because it is so beautiful and we didn't have time to soak it up in real life. Photography slows life down so we can get a chance to try to understand what is going on at all. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Here are some photos taken by Nancy:









<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Photophilanthropy:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">media type="youtube" key="smAbWXan3Jk?fs=1" height="385" width="640" <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In the world of nonprofits, the truth is that while there are large and prominent ones making big differences in the world, most nonprofits are teeny tiny and are not accomplishing a whole lot. They don’t really have enough money or resources to be able to adequately represent their organization.These nonprofits have the potential to make such a great difference in the world but just don't have one of the key foundations to get going: advertisement through photography﻿. That is where Photophilanthropy comes in. Photophilathropy is a nonprofit organization founded by photographer, Nancy Farese, that connects talented photographers (wiling to work for free and for a good cause) to nonprofits that need their help. Their mission is to "promote and connect photographers with nonprofit organizations around the world to tell the stories that drive action for social change. The photophilanthropy community is a place for photographers and nonprofit organizations to come together." Photophilanthropy urges photographers to "change the world with [their] camera[s]" and for nonprofits to use these photographs to help better represent the cause of their organization and thus become more successful. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: normal;">So many non-profits have incredible stories to tell to people who are completely naive of their existence. Most people don’t know of the majority of the problems that exist in the world today. These troubles can range from human services, to environment, to health, to arts and culture, ect. Powerful photography can teach people of these problems and it can inspire them to help. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">According to phototphilanthropy, photography has the power to "attract and motivate partners, collaborators, volunteers and staff, inspire donors and grant-maker, drive a social movement or incite public policy changes."

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Photophilanthropy Photography:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Joni Kabana, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> Children’s Cancer Association <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> Health

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Burk Jackson, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> Mehayo Centre for Disabled Youth <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> Human Services

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">James Morgan, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> World Wildlife Fund <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> Environment

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Rodrigo Esper, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> Homeless World Cup <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> Arts and Culture

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: normal;">Noriko Hayashi, 2010 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: normal;">Acid Survivors Foundation Pakistan <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: normal;">Human Services

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Annotated Bibliography for Database Sources:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">1. Berger, Abi. “Body Horror: Photojournalism, Catastrophe and War (Review) .” <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> BMJ: British Medical Journal 317.7155 (1998): 421. JSTOR. Web. 22 Nov. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> 2010. . This source was what I <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> used to give some insight into how powerful a picture can really be or how <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> much it can really change someone. The article discussed the pros and cons <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> of powerful images and weak images; while both provide information, the <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> powerful image has impact. Does that impact wear off after a while to be <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> dull like the weak image? People have different opinions. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> It was a helpful source to learn about the public’s reaction to powerful <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> images meant to challenge your belief system which is basically what <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> photophilanthropy is about and strives to achieve.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">2. Horovitz, Bruce, and And others. “Photos Bring Our Agony into Focus.” USA Today <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> 9 May 2004: n. pag. SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">. This article was really informative on <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> why photos are so powerful.. A question that I have been subconsciously <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> looking for throughout all my research on photojournalism. It informed me <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> of how people, when they look at a photo, put themselves or a loved one in <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> it instinctually to almost “test” what would happen. It also <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> provided some specific examples and information on situations in which <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> people were completely mentally uprooted by a photograph even though the <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> textual evidence was released weeks before. This source also provided <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> excellent quotes that I included many of in my blog post.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">3. “The Media Should Publish Graphic Photographs of the War in Iraq.” Media <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Ethics. Ed. Julia Bauder. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. This <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> source helped me understand all the struggles that war photographers face. It <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">also made me realized how corrupt media and government are when it comes <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> to revealing information about war. With this information, I solidified my belief <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> that the media should have no censorship. The public deserves to know.

Links to Used Web Pages:
1. http://photophilanthropy.org/2010/ 2. http://photophilanthropy.org/galleries/2010-entries/ 3. http://photophilanthropy.org/gallery-posts/the-brothels-of-bwaise/