Sudan, Starvation and Suicide
This article was a side box in chapter 4 that really caught my eye. It is a bold yellow box and centered is this heart wrenching photograph of a starving Sudan girl trying to crawl to a feeding station and there is a vulture shadowing her waiting for her to die. The framing and perspective of the picture is great, and it even won the Pulitzer Prize. The picture had very strong criticism and The St. Petersberg Times said, "The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene." Harsh words, to say the least. This is an ethical issue that photojournalist have to deal with; what is "good" photography to one critic could be bad to another. After the photographer, Kevin Carter, took this shot he became very sad and fell into a depression. He later killed himself .
At the end of the article two questions were raised: What responsibility do photojournalists have to help the subjects they take photographs of and What implications could there be if photojournalists regularly helped people during conflicts or in times of tragedy? I don't think that photojournalist has to help. He/She is supposed to be "invisible" to the subject to capture the natural atmosphere. If the photographer helps he is defeating the natural aspect and has introduced himself/herself to the subject (the answer to the second question). The photos wouldn't be as dramatic and regular journalists shouldn't do stories on subjects they know or have strong feelings about. This creates bias and if a photographer interacts in the pictures he/she is taking then there will be bias in the picture.