Can photojournalism stay relevant? In the darkened highway illuminated by the headlights of cars, a bystander was quietly documenting on his smartphone two young men confronting each other over a…
Can photojournalism stay relevant?
In the darkened highway illuminated by the headlights of cars, a bystander was quietly documenting on his smartphone two young men confronting each other over a traffic issue. After some heated exchange of words, one took a gun and fired at the other person. Pandemonium ensued. In a matter of seconds, the video was downloaded on Facebook. And before the night was over, the video had gone viral.
Welcome to the brave new world of instantaneous sharing of information! And as a photographer, you can’t help but ask, can photography keep pace with the new media world order?
Photography, as we knew it, has recently gone through a dramatic and decidedly major makeover. The shift from film to digital is earth-shaking. The transition is ushered in by the entry of a brand-new technology which redefined how photographs are produced and shared. The new technology attracted a younger and more numerous band of practitioners who are in a mad dash to take over the castle. As in any revolution, there are casualties. Kodak, the iconic company whose name is synonymous to photography, is its biggest victim. Then there are the smaller and largely unaccounted photo entities that folded shop. And in the vast wasteland are older photographers who stubbornly refuse to follow the beat of the new drum, preferring to stick around in the old terminal and dreaming of the past. Continue Reading
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