OT: Photojournalist triumph

Thanks for the scan, George.

Is it the world's best photo? Certainly not....however any photographer, pro or amateur, would be happy to have that photo in their life-photo-stream.

I agree that many contests are rigged, and dishonest...I've been the victim of some of that dishonesty, because I don't like to play games or drop names.

With that said however, many would argue that success of any kind is an accomplishment...In this case getting published on two papers who don't share a publisher is indeed a very big thing. And, it's a photo worth looking at.

It tells a story, it looks good, that's the essence of photojournalism. It was printed on two front pages...by any definition of photojournalistic success, this is it.
 
copake_ham said:
Now, say a prayer or hold a silent moment for the victims....
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Amen to that.

Djon, don't leave. I don't agree with the way you present your views as the truth, unwilling to try to see my view, but that doesn't mean I can't learn from you. A tough teacher you'll be, and one I'll resent quite a bit, but aren't those the teachers we still remember years later? Instead of being abrasive and rude, you could have enlightened me a bit further, like Vince did. His post was insightful.

I do appreciate the views of those who work as pros, and I do appreciate the hard work and long hours they put in, just like I have to do in my own work.

Still, also from my own close-up experience though in a different field, there's a lot more to being chosen for awards, exhibitions, sponsor money and honours than meets the eye. A lot of it is rigged and/or corrupt: organisations demanding free access and "lodging", big names demanding unreasonable amounts of money or other perks just to show their face, other big names demanding unreasonable amounts of money or perks just to say something in the media about the upcoming event, sponsors demanding a suitable or at least acceptable (to them) winner or else will withdraw their support, suppliers demanding outrageous fees, judges being pressured into adhering to unwritten requirements that are put in place to satisfy sponsor demands and such, secret votes and ballots that get rigged to meet sponsor demands, etc. Having seen all this from close-up has made me weary and suspicious of the validity and fairness of any "contest".

Like I said, hurray to the winner! But let's not kid ourselves; there's more behind the scenes than most of us realise, and it's not a pretty sight. This is not an indictment of the photogs who participate or benefit from these "honours". I'm pretty sure they have nothing to do with these practises and would be similarly outraged when they find out about them. No self-respecting photog, or any artist for that matter, would want to be honoured in such a disgraceful way, would they? Yet, these practises happen, happen too much, in too many places and are too accepted. I thought RFF was a forum where I could bring this aspect of our hobby to the fore as well. Seems I was right. Seems just I was wrong in thinking I would find a willing ear.

Yes, my dear and respected (semi) pro photogs here on RFF, I know you're as honest as can be to yourself and your principles (you have to defend yourself in this dog-eat-dog world). I know you work dang hard and long hours and have to put up with lots of crap from customers and clients. I know that some of you must necessarily sell yourselves short just to stay in business. And no, it's not a business I would even dare to venture in, for many reasons. One reason is what I stated above: at least the "honours" industry of the photo/art world is corrupt and many deserving photogs/artists never even get the chance to be a winner of such awards because of that corruption. And that's why I put questions marks with this photo that got chosen for the front pages of two "serious" newspapers.

But yes, it is a nice photo, and congrats to the photog. I'll leave it at that.
 
bobofish said:
Thanks for the scan, George.

Is it the world's best photo? Certainly not....however any photographer, pro or amateur, would be happy to have that photo in their life-photo-stream.

I agree that many contests are rigged, and dishonest...I've been the victim of some of that dishonesty, because I don't like to play games or drop names.

With that said however, many would argue that success of any kind is an accomplishment...In this case getting published on two papers who don't share a publisher is indeed a very big thing. And, it's a photo worth looking at.

It tells a story, it looks good, that's the essence of photojournalism. It was printed on two front pages...by any definition of photojournalistic success, this is it.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is an accomplishment! Perhaps I should have just focused on that. Sorry to all who took offense.
 
George,
Thanks for scanning and posting that tear sheet. It really was an image worth looking at and thinking about and keeping in our collective memories of the Tsunami. Thousands of illuminated spirits rising into the night. I get a stack of newspapers in my office and usually turn to the international papers because of my job, so I didn't even look for the New York Times yesterday morning. Then I saw your posting and went and found a copy of the photo to see it for myself.

Again, thanks for sharing,
 
VinceC said:
George,
Thanks for scanning and posting that tear sheet. It really was an image worth looking at and thinking about and keeping in our collective memories of the Tsunami. Thousands of illuminated spirits rising into the night. I get a stack of newspapers in my office and usually turn to the international papers because of my job, so I didn't even look for the New York Times yesterday morning. Then I saw your posting and went and found a copy of the photo to see it for myself.

Again, thanks for sharing,
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Vince,

When I saw the photo and considered the subject matter, I was reminded of John Adams's symphony: "On the Transmigration of Souls". It was commissioned by the NY Philharmonic to commemorate/memorialize the victims of the WTC attack.

This is a powerful "image" that conveys the same kind of emotion as does that symphonic piece.

Perhaps seen in that context, one can gain a greater appreaciation for the power of this image to some of us who, like myself, survived being at GZ on 9/11/01..

Regards,
George
 
I work for a news agency that competes with Reuters, and I must say Adrees' picture is a nice one.

That very site was probably staffed by dozens of news photographers who would have transmitted what probably was dozens and dozens of images of their "take" on the event to their newspapers, magazines, and wire services that evening.

Although I haven't seen what the others produced, Adrees' shot worked nicely. It probably fronted more than just NYT and the FT, given Reuters' reach.

Here's a link which is good at seeing what pictures "played" where around the world.

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/

The wire photo business is a tireless one. Thousands of photographs are filed every day by those in our business and we often work long hours on breaking news stories under deadline and often competitive circumstances.

Seeing our pictures chosen by photo editors and used in newspapers is that little "nod" we need to keep us going.

The next day it wraps fish and lines the bottom of bird cages.
 
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RML said:
Amen to that.

Djon, don't leave. I don't agree with the way you present your views as the truth, unwilling to try to see my view, but that doesn't mean I can't learn from you. A tough teacher you'll be, and one I'll resent quite a bit, but aren't those the teachers we still remember years later? Instead of being abrasive and rude, you could have enlightened me a bit further, like Vince did. His post was insightful.

I do appreciate the views of those who work as pros, and I do appreciate the hard work and long hours they put in, just like I have to do in my own work.

Still, also from my own close-up experience though in a different field, there's a lot more to being chosen for awards, exhibitions, sponsor money and honours than meets the eye. A lot of it is rigged and/or corrupt: organisations demanding free access and "lodging", big names demanding unreasonable amounts of money or other perks just to show their face, other big names demanding unreasonable amounts of money or perks just to say something in the media about the upcoming event, sponsors demanding a suitable or at least acceptable (to them) winner or else will withdraw their support, suppliers demanding outrageous fees, judges being pressured into adhering to unwritten requirements that are put in place to satisfy sponsor demands and such, secret votes and ballots that get rigged to meet sponsor demands, etc. Having seen all this from close-up has made me weary and suspicious of the validity and fairness of any "contest".

Like I said, hurray to the winner! But let's not kid ourselves; there's more behind the scenes than most of us realise, and it's not a pretty sight. This is not an indictment of the photogs who participate or benefit from these "honours". I'm pretty sure they have nothing to do with these practises and would be similarly outraged when they find out about them. No self-respecting photog, or any artist for that matter, would want to be honoured in such a disgraceful way, would they? Yet, these practises happen, happen too much, in too many places and are too accepted. I thought RFF was a forum where I could bring this aspect of our hobby to the fore as well. Seems I was right. Seems just I was wrong in thinking I would find a willing ear.

Yes, my dear and respected (semi) pro photogs here on RFF, I know you're as honest as can be to yourself and your principles (you have to defend yourself in this dog-eat-dog world). I know you work dang hard and long hours and have to put up with lots of crap from customers and clients. I know that some of you must necessarily sell yourselves short just to stay in business. And no, it's not a business I would even dare to venture in, for many reasons. One reason is what I stated above: at least the "honours" industry of the photo/art world is corrupt and many deserving photogs/artists never even get the chance to be a winner of such awards because of that corruption. And that's why I put questions marks with this photo that got chosen for the front pages of two "serious" newspapers.

But yes, it is a nice photo, and congrats to the photog. I'll leave it at that.
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With all due respect, where do you get your facts?
What do photogtraphy contests have to do with a professional photojournalist having an image published on the front page of a newspaper?
As someone who used to work in the business, I find it very difficult to believe there was any kind of funny business behind this photo being published.
Please, no insult intended, I'm just curious where this is coming from.
 
Thanks for scanning that photograph. Your second, PS'd version, came across quite well.

It's a beautiful shot and I suspect the emotional climate at the scene was one of warmth and fellowship, touched with sadness.

Kudos to the photographer. It seems to me he succeeded in capturing the spirit of the event.
Isn't that what it's all about?
 
photogdave said:
With all due respect, where do you get your facts?
What do photogtraphy contests have to do with a professional photojournalist having an image published on the front page of a newspaper?
As someone who used to work in the business, I find it very difficult to believe there was any kind of funny business behind this photo being published.
Please, no insult intended, I'm just curious where this is coming from.
Click to expand...

Dave, I'm not saying there was necessarily any funny business concerning this photo. I'm saying that often there is funny business going on in situations where honours, awards and/or money can be gained. The photography world is not any better or worse than, say, the world of art painting or literature. I've seen from very close up that events and contests are subjected to corruption, graft and bribery on an immense scale, commited by organisations, sponsors, big name invitees, critics, etc. This experience has made me very weary when, for instance, a single photo ends up on the front page of two big, quality news papers. A situation like that makes me wonder if there's more than meets the eye.
 
The major news wires put out photo advisories on their services of what they believe are the "top photos" that they have to offer that day and that often corresponds to what are the day's top stories.

Often, editors of newspapers and other media outlets who subcribe to Reuters, AP, Getty, etc. do not always have the time to sift through the thousands of images that are produced each day. They may look at each agency's recommended photos and pick from there.

So it is not at all uncommon for the same picture to appear on the cover of more than one newspaper given that the tsunami anniversary was the front page story of the day and that Adrees' shot of the floating lanterns may have been the most poignant.
 
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