Elliot – Blue Ridge Photography Workshops
What a photographer is not -
- A photographer is not a forum snooper
- A photographer is not the latest and greatest piece of equipment
- A photographer is not a person that simply clicks away without having a thought about what the picture represents, what it means and what story it is going to tell.
- For a great many photographers, it is not about the money.
I have known many photographers in my lifetime and I have not only known them but I have been friends with a great many of them. Some are still out there today and others have passed away. A lot of them were photo journalists. Some of them never made it back from dangerous war zones.
Who are these people? What makes them tick? What makes them so incredibly dedicated and crazy and brave?
These men and women lend us their eyes and their hearts so that we can see and feel what they see and feel. They are in the thick of the worst horrors the world has to offer and they methodically bring us the truth. The truth is priority number one. The true reporting of world events so that people like you and I can be informed and formulate opinions and make decisions.
I include in all of this, every still photographer, video photographer, war zone reporters and writers and non war zone writers and reporters and their back up teams if they have them. But my concentration here is for the still photographer. He and she do not have video crews and for the most part do not have back up. Many television stations, cable, etc. like CNN have come to rely upon unsubstantiated phone videos taken by “ I or eye reporters” without any means of verification of the validity of what is shown to us. To be fair, CNN does have some very incredible and brave field reporters and crews risking their lives every day as well to bring us the truth.
A still photograph to me if you study it, linger with it, will tell you a great many truths. It is not that video won’t tell you the truths but the snippets we get to see are very tiny compared to what is actually taken.
Let’s take the time to thank the journalists that bring us the truths about what they see. The writers, the reporters, the photographers and the videographers. Let’s take the time to bow our heads to those who have given their lives for years and years to bring us the things we must and have to know.
There is an incredible DVD & BLUERAY based on a great book. You really want to see this movie and read the book. The DVD for the longest time was only available as a rental through on-line services but about a year ago it went on sale at Amazon. It is called the “Bang, Bang Club.” It is not a lot of money. Like $10.00.
Amazon – “The Bang, Bang Club”
If you feel about photography the way I do then see this movie. Photography tells a story, mimics life, draws the viewer into the world you are trying to have them see the way you see it.
