Two Famous Photojournalists
In our experience, knowing something about the
history of media helps us do a better job. It provides us with a persepctive
about the rich history of journalism and the struggles/obstacles members of the
media have faced. This humanizes them
and it humanizes us. We think that’s a
pretty great place upon which to build our relations with journalists, editors,
bloggers and photographers.
Photojournalist tell stories. In today's world,
the visual messages that stand out as both an art form and media.
So what makes someone a world famous
photojournalist? It isn't the number of years they have been in the profession
or how much experience they have. It is the impact their work has had on the
world. Two of the most famous and influential photojournalists of all time were
Robert Capa and Dorthea Lange.
Robert Capa, born Endre Friedmann, was a
Hungarian war photographer, most well known for his coverage of five different
wars. Born October 22nd, 1913 in Budapest, Capa originally wanted to
be a writer, but eventually grew to love the art of photography. Due to the
rise of Nazism and the persecution of Jewish journalists and photographers, he
adopted the name Robert Capa. With his new American-sounding name, Capa found
it much easier to sell his photos.
Over the course of his career, Capa covered
five different wars and is best known for redefining wartime photojournalism.
He worked on the front line just to get the perfect shot. Unfortunately that
commitment was his undoing. While shooting the Indochina War, Capa stepped on a
landmine and died at the age of 40.
Dorothea Lange’s photos focused on problems at
home in the U.S. Born on May 26, 1895 in Hoboken, New Jersey, she had a
troubled childhood. At the age of 7 she suffered from polio and at 12 her
father abandoned the family.
She is best known for her work during the
Depression-era for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Her photographs
captured and humanized the consequences of the Great Depression. Her most
well-known portrait, "Migrant Mother," is an iconic photo from this
period that beautifully captured the hardship and pain of what so many
Americans were experiencing at the time. Lange gave the world access to the
inner lives of these struggling Americans and that is why she will always be remembered as one of the world's greatest photojournalists.
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Photo: Dorothea Lange
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