The Emergence of Photojournalism

1004 Words3 Pages

As with everything in life, there is always a beginning and photojournalism. Without photojournalist, people not directly related to situations, would have never experienced the frontlines of war, the Great Depression, or the inhumanities of abortion. Photographically evaluating history is a way to analyze what once was and to forge ahead toward what will be. From its turn of the century birth, the professionals that have shaped and continue to form; its “Golden Era,” to its present day modern identity; photojournalism still proceeds.

Photojournalism hit the world’s stage in the early 19th century. According to Dillon Westbrook who writes for Photography_Schools.com, the British were using a form of the box camera to capture the movement of soldiers. The first recognized photojournalist was Romanian born, Carol Szathmari. He photographed the Crimean War from 1853-1856. “Szathmari's newsworthy photographs were exhibited in European galleries for the world to view and were later copied in limited numbers and distributed globally” (Wanke). Yet most information available points to the early 1920’s as being the proper beginning for modern photojournalism. Instructor Ross Collins of North Dakota State University, states that “modern photojournalism took place in 1925, in Germany. The event was the invention of the first 35 mm camera, the Leica. It was designed as a way to use surplus movie film, then shot in the 35 mm format” (Collins). Instructor Collins also includes that prior to the Leica, camera equipment was difficult to transport because of bulk and the necessary lighting equipment. He asserts as well that Germany also receives due credit for the first photojournalism magazine. According to Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, “...

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