The Importance of the Camera in Photojournalism

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Recommended: History of photography and photojournalism

Photojournalism began with the invention of the camera. The first camera was invented by Alexander Wolcott. His camera was patented on May 8th, 1840. Without the invention of the camera photojournalism would have never had a chance to influence the minds of its viewers the way that it does today. Visuals put everything into perspective for people, written language and words on a paper mean something but when a reader can actually see what it going on, it brings those words to reality. Photojournalism is the inevitable combination of photography and Journalism; this name for the combination is credited to Frank Luther Mott, the Dean of the Journalism department at the University of Missouri. Photojournalists began capturing images of currents events in the 1850’s. In 1853 Carol Szathmari photographed the Crimean War, this set the standards for capturing unstaged events and communicate to society the raw reality of what was happening in the world. Photojournalism advanced along with the invention of portable and digital cameras. Following the invention of the 35 mm Leica camera in the 1930’s, photojournalism took flight. The invention of the Leica camera began the Golden Age of photojournalism whose life lasted from 1930-1950’s. With the use of the “old-age” cameras, only one photo could be taken at a time and it took a while to do so in between pictures. However, with the invention of this new camera, it allowed for more than one photo to be captured quickly. Between the 1930’s and 50’s many events and wars such as the Great Depression occurred, this created ample opportunities for photojournalists to hit the ground running and bring reality to the eyes of the public.

Photojournalists have absolutely no cut cards. Any events and...

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...n bad and unfortunate events aren’t really as bad as they are. Fortunately photographs allow for the public to see the truth. This opens up a door way for protesting and rally’s for society to influence actions of the government and international events. Photojournalism is appreciated for its raw truth and its controversy. Images cause people to think about what happens in the world and the outcome of certain events and choices made by society. Photojournalist have captured pivotal moment in history and not only allow society to know the truth but to remember as well. The civil rights movement, war, celebrities, and political leaders have all been objects of photojournalism, and implanted in societies brain to never be forgotten. These captured pictures lift up the rug of resentment and avoidance, and bring out the truth and visuals of the choices made by society.

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