The Beginning of Photojournalism (Blog Post #3)

Photojournalism has always been a subject that has piqued my interest. I have never fully understood the nuances of it (I still am not fully educated) but after discussing it for a while in class, I’ve realized it’s a lot more work than I had originally thought.

One such thing is there are different categories of photojournalism such as sports action, feature photos, spot news photos and even a series of photos that tell a larger story. For this piece I’ve decided to highlight a couple sports action photos, and concluding with a small collection of photos to create a domestic photo story.

Donavan (black) takes on a defender in an intramural basketball game on Monday, February 25th. Despite the efforts with the ball, Donavan’s team fell to defeat against their worthy opponent 55-53.
Jay McKendall (black) heaves up a shot in the final few minutes of the game in attempt to thwart the lead being taken by the yellow team. His efforts, valiant as they were, proved to be not enough to sustain the heavy scoring by the opponent. The game ended 55-53.
In Laramie’s downtown district, there is much street art that can be stumbled upon through any given alley way. The culture of this street art in Laramie is obvious and prevalent. So much so, it has become part of normal life in downtown Laramie. Here we see a man going about his day, in the presence of this large, beautifully done mural, however he seems unfazed as this is strictly business in the city.
Here we see a couple looking for a spot for their next instagram post. I watched for a little while, saw them take some photos in front of the murals, with the murals, and generally appreciate what was in front of them.
On a cloudy day in downtown Laramie, the rainbows on the walls shine bright, providing color and warmth on an otherwise dreary day.

Regarding the sports photos at the beginning, I decided to take myself to the Half Acre Gym and try to catch an Intramural game. I showed up just as the game was beginning, so I was able to capture much of the game. Capturing sports action proved to be very difficult. Getting something interesting to happen in front of your lens is a matter of luck and positioning yourself beforehand attempting to judge what will happen. Even then, if you have the perfect angle of the perfect shot, you only have a split second to capture it, and if the settings on your camera are not perfect, you have to move on to the next shot. As far as creative devices go for these shots, I attempted to utilize the full frame by using tools like cropping.

Now, to discuss the domestic photo story about the artwork in downtown Laramie. I decided to immerse myself as best I could, by just walking around the area for a while, shooting everything I could see that I thought would help me tell the story. The shots with the people were by far the most difficult to capture because, as is with the sports shots, you only have a certain window of time before you miss the opportunity for a good shot. I attempted to utilize as many creative devices as I could such as rule of thirds, color and balancing elements in order to find the best possible photo I could. However, despite all of this, the most difficult part was coming up with a story and telling that story through a short series of photos.

Photojournalism is a difficult, rewarding topic to study and to partake in. Photography in and of itself is a difficult craft, now add the element of storytelling with those photos, it becomes a whole different animal with new difficulties and challenges.

-pesch