2008 Republican National Convention- Held in St. Paul, MN
Photojournalism according to Wikipedia is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story, […] usually understood to refer only to still images.
There are many amazing photojournalists out there, all of whom can tell the story of an entire moment, event, day, or even year through their images. Below are five of my favorites
Pete Souza – Petesouza.com
As the Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza spends day and night covering the life of Barack Obama and all that Obama does, sees and lives. As photojournalists are concerned, he is probably my biggest hero, with both the best job and the worst job a photojournalist could hope for. He has to be alert to every tiny thing that is happening and ready to shoot in an instant- constantly ready and constantly there- wow! There is no down time or rest when you’re in charge of documenting the head of a country. Each and every one of his images will be seen on a grand scale and each one tells the story of an era- the Obama presidency!
David Burnett – Davidburnett.com
Not only does David Burnett take amazing photojournalistic shots of life as it happens but he also has fun. He experiments with his photography and does a great job of showing that the equipment isn’t what matters- it’s the photographer who makes the shot. For example he almost always carries his HOLGA 120N and frequently shoots with an old Pacemaker Speed Camera. I love that he always seems to find a different angle or perspective for his shots, not the standard look everyone else captures.
Benjamin Krain – Benjaminkrain.com
Benjamin Krain has fantastic abilities with the use of light. The light becomes just as important to his visual stories as the subjects themselves. His images tell a fascinating story with no need for more detail other than a title.
Vivian Maier – Vivianmaier.blogspot.com
To take a slight step back in time – Vivian Maier was an amazing street photographer. While she didn’t have a “job” as a photojournalist I would say she more than captured the stories of every day people in her images. While her images aren’t usually the “shocking” images that photojournalists are known for, each image is true to the day and age in which she was photographing them.
Heidi Schumann – HSfoto.com
Heidi Schumann does great work at capturing the spirit of the subject she’s photographing. Her images tell the story through the eyes of her subjects and allows you, the viewer, to connect. She makes the story personal.
One the best things about these photographers and other photojournalists is that the image you see is the image they took. A photojournalist loses once they start altering their photos. In the day and age of digital photography I find it a breath of fresh air when retouching is kept to a minimum of color, white balance, some exposure and cropping. A fascinating article on photojournalists that have taken retouching too far.