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12/13/2006 01:19:06 PM · #1 |
Time released their best photos of 2006, you can see them here:
//www.time.com/time/yip/2006/
Is it just me or does media seem to think that suffering is what makes for the best photos? I just get this feeling that they confuse "best photos" with "photos that sell best"...not that those aren't some very good photos, but almost all of the photos have to do with the sad state of the world in some way or shape. It seems awfully self-centered, or seems like commercial photographers don't take pictures of anything else as far as Time is concerned...what do you think about it? Sorry if that's a bit soapbox-ish, I didn't really intend for it to be.
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12/13/2006 01:26:33 PM · #2 |
You might be right but we don't live in a "puppies and ice cream" kinda world and it is a news magazine.
The news coverage that sells these days is either, pain and suffering OR Angelina Jolie (with or without Brad).
Anyone notice the blown highlights on many of those images. I'm going to troll vote them when I get chance, later.
Message edited by author 2006-12-13 13:28:13. |
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12/13/2006 01:27:09 PM · #3 |
We've actually had this discussion several times in the last coup[le years, though not on Time magazine's set specifically. You're not the only one that feels this way. But don't confuse these "Year's Best" lists from Time, Life, UP, and such as having anything to do with "commercial" photography; these are all photojournalism lists.
So the real issue, the larger issue, would be "Why do the media focus on the negative and appalling as opposed to the positive and uplifting?" It's a question I've often asked myself. Culturally, we seem to take it for granted that the purpose of the media is to alert us to bad stuff that's happening, and "good stuff" is not considered "hard news". So that's what's happening with these images; superior images of uplifting things are not considered to be true or worthy photojournalism at this level, apparently, at least by the editors who make these lists.
R.
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12/13/2006 01:30:20 PM · #4 |
Well, from what I can tell, they are the best photos of the year that were published in Time, aren't they ?
My personal favourite was the little French woman watching the Tour de France flying past her living room window while she was eating breakfast. A really different view on a race I've watched many times.
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12/13/2006 01:35:29 PM · #5 |
I tend to agree with what you said, but it made me think of how I would defend the medias actions and focus on the "bad".
Maybe the whole point of media and news alerts is to inform us of things in the world that need change and help. In that case it is actually mostly the bad things that make "good" news subjects. With that line of thinking there is no benefit in reporting something that is all well and good.
Just a thought. :) |
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12/13/2006 01:43:20 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Refwhett:
I tend to agree with what you said, but it made me think of how I would defend the medias actions and focus on the "bad".
Maybe the whole point of media and news alerts is to inform us of things in the world that need change and help. In that case it is actually mostly the bad things that make "good" news subjects. With that line of thinking there is no benefit in reporting something that is all well and good.
Just a thought. :) |
That's a valid argument, but I can counter it by pointing out that you raise your children best not by pointing out everything they do wrong every day, but rather by providing good examples to emulate and positive feedback on success.
The human species, however, seems to thrive on scandal, gossip, and despair. It wouldn't be fair to say the media have in any way coerced us into accepting this; no, they cater to what we (collectively) want...
R.
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12/13/2006 01:47:40 PM · #7 |
I offer up the wise words of G. K. Chesterton :
It is the one great weakness of journalism as a picture of our modern existence, that it must be a picture made up entirely of exceptions. We announce on flaring posters that a man has fallen off a scaffolding. We do not announce on flaring posters that a man has not fallen off a scaffolding. Yet this latter fact is fundamentally more exciting, as indicating that that moving tower of terror and mystery, a man, is still abroad upon the earth. That the man has not fallen off a scaffolding is really more sensational; and it is also some thousand times more common. But journalism cannot reasonably be expected thus to insist upon the permanent miracles. Busy editors cannot be expected to put on their posters, "Mr. Wilkinson Still Safe," or "Mr. Jones, of Worthing, Not Dead Yet." They cannot announce the happiness of mankind at all. They cannot describe all the forks that are not stolen, or all the marriages that are not judiciously dissolved. Hence the complex picture they give of life is of necessity fallacious; they can only represent what is unusual. However democratic they may be, they are only concerned with the minority.
The Ball and the Cross, part IV: "A Discussion at Dawn", 2nd paragraph
ETA: this is a wonderful book and in the public domain... click the title if you wanna read it online... the story is of a devout christian and devout atheist who decided that they must duel to the death in order to finally prove who's right. in a comic twist, they spend more of the book fighting together against the rest of society who want them both to be... well... less devout...
Message edited by author 2006-12-13 13:52:06.
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12/13/2006 01:48:51 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
We've actually had this discussion several times in the last coup[le years, though not on Time magazine's set specifically. You're not the only one that feels this way. But don't confuse these "Year's Best" lists from Time, Life, UP, and such as having anything to do with "commercial" photography; these are all photojournalism lists.
So the real issue, the larger issue, would be "Why do the media focus on the negative and appalling as opposed to the positive and uplifting?" It's a question I've often asked myself. Culturally, we seem to take it for granted that the purpose of the media is to alert us to bad stuff that's happening, and "good stuff" is not considered "hard news". So that's what's happening with these images; superior images of uplifting things are not considered to be true or worthy photojournalism at this level, apparently, at least by the editors who make these lists.
R. |
I am with you on this one. Have thought about it, philosophically. But you know, sometimes the most uplifting photographs are grand landscapes or quiet moments of love. Perhaps not only has the public conditioned themselves into a "I hate the negativity, but gimme gimme gimme more" mentality....but perhaps it is also the photojournalists themeselves and their editors who need to consider balancing this cycle.
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12/13/2006 01:57:22 PM · #9 |
I would be proud to take any one of these fine shots.
All of them tell a story, which is what we all try to achieve.
My favorite is the tour de France picture. A great capture.
Kev
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12/13/2006 01:59:49 PM · #10 |
Perhaps, because that's what sells and what people (in the large sense) want to see ?
Why do people rubberneck traffic accidents in the other lane ?
Or maybe it is just a reflection on how good society has become - we all want to see something different to our normal sphere of existence. Something new. Something unusual.
Why are homeless people such a favourite subject of amateur photographers ? Is it because those people are suffering, or because it is something that the photographer just doesn't know much about or have experience of ?
Would the people suffering in Sudan want to see beautiful green mountain scenes, or pictures of other suffering peoples (ignoring the more obvious answer, that they'd just like the suffering to stop and have some stability)
Message edited by author 2006-12-13 14:02:41.
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12/13/2006 02:07:46 PM · #11 |
hmmm they were ok, my two favorites was the last one of the soldier sitting in the room with the sunbeam coming through the window and I also liked the black and white one of condoleeza rice and all the men standing around her, that was a cool b&w picture with her thinking and her hand on her head also added to the photo
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12/13/2006 04:48:13 PM · #12 |
How about that! My top two photos got #2 and #1 respectively. My #1 was the "Landscape in Despair" in Beirut. What a photograph...Technically, visually and pursposefully.
I thought only 2 or 3 were "poor" photos. The rest were solid and captured my attention.
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12/13/2006 04:53:39 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by pawdrix:
The news coverage that sells these days is either, pain and suffering OR Angelina Jolie (with or without Brad). |
:(
Been without - haven't met her yet.... |
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12/13/2006 04:54:06 PM · #14 |
I was surprise that the Britney Spears photo wasn't there :P
Message edited by author 2006-12-13 16:54:16. |
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12/13/2006 04:54:54 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by Cutter:
How about that! My top two photos got #2 and #1 respectively. My #1 was the "Landscape in Despair" in Beirut. What a photograph...Technically, visually and pursposefully.
I thought only 2 or 3 were "poor" photos. The rest were solid and captured my attention. |
Yeah, "Landscape in Despair" in my favortie one also. |
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12/13/2006 05:39:38 PM · #16 |
Kind of ironic to this thread, I received my copy of Rangefinder in the mail today and on the cover is a shot that I remembered from Times' Best Photos of the Year last year, with the only other text on the Rangefinder cover being "Pictures of the Year."
I thought to myself, "How can this photo (which is an excellent photo) be a photo of the year in 2 different years?" It turns out there's an article about the photographer Todd Heisler, Pulitzer Prize winner for feature photography in 2006, but is unrelated to the "Pictures of the Year" article. Kind of misleading, or maybe it's just me. Here's a copy of the article and photo from Rangefinder for those interested. |
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12/13/2006 05:59:31 PM · #17 |
Time had a bad year in photos. The Tour De France shot was interesting as was the one about the deportees with the cop reflecting but overall there was nothing that I would remember past this day content-wise or technique-wise.
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12/13/2006 06:21:43 PM · #18 |
When I first started thinking about the reasons why photojournalism often portrays the cruel and violent aspects of life I thought it seemed a real pity. Now I tend to agree with some of the sentiment expressed above that no-one would read it or look at it if it was all good.
Perhaps this is exactly the role of journalism, to report on deviations from the norm seeing as people in general seem to become complacent about beauty and peace. This isn't necessarily bad. We just don't worry ourselves when things are all good.
It does leave the question then as to who has the role of reminding us about the beauty and awe inspiring aspects of life. Perhaps this is a role for the artist. Not all artists because genres that shock and challenge are also important but it is often the artists who stop and ponder and express their appreciation for the beauty in life that surrounds us every day.
I believe this is why it is important for Governments and communities to support the arts as much as it is important for them to support a free and open press.
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12/13/2006 08:01:12 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
Perhaps, because that's what sells and what people (in the large sense) want to see ?
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People buy what they are told to buy....what they are trained to buy...or what's available.
I agree with the person that said that those pictures all tell a story and telling a story in 1/30 or 1/250th of a second is a true accomplishment.
I also dig that Tour De France shot.
Up With People!!! |
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