Need thinking photographers

If is often said that photography has nothing to do with cameras or lenses. It has more to do with the photographers’ visions. And I am sorry to say very few in this country who handles cameras have brains. And if you ask me whether Gujarat has any, my answer is a strict no.
How can you get a good news photograph when all sundries enter this field wielding a toy called camera. Since digital cameras cost nothing and there is hardly any recurring costs, people from all walks of life have entered into this profession. Imagine an agency like UNI converting their mechanical operators, technicians, peons to photographers. Some photographers came to this profession from teaching, sales and marketing and to top it all even some elevator operators are also in the fray.

What many doesn’t understand is that news photography has no connection to product photography or wedding shots or any other areas of photography. A news photograph should be equivalent to a thousand words. But captions in the photographs of the vernacular dailies in Gujarat are bigger than the longest story they carry. People are not interested to read a long and boring story behind that photograph. If the photograph cannot express itself, that is not a news photograph.

Narendra Modi, Gujarat’s chief minister convened a get together for journalists yesterday followed by lunch. It is just a cosmetic meeting where jokes are cracked and greetings exchanged. Today as I browsed through at least 17 local newspapers in Ahmedabad, I saw one single shot of the CM holding a camera and aiming, published in all the newspapers. It was carried by PTI, UNI, Reuters and all the agencies and so this photograph went all across the world. Not that every photograph was same but like a flock of sheep, all the photographers took one angle and not even one person applied their brain in taking a different angle. So much for the people responsible for publishing those photographs.

What is news photography after all? All compelling photographs that tells a contemporary story through compelling angles and picture selection is a news photograph. It is all about imagination. Many believe it is technology but it is not. You can take a good photograph even with your Rs 550 camera. Yes, it has to do with being in the right place at the right time. It is a situational advantage that makes a good photograph. But converting an average situation into an advantage is the skill of a photographer. Just take a look the award winning photographs below which I downloaded from www.southernshortcourse.com

Face of Malaria
Stricken with malaria and near death, a young Rwandan
girl lays on a cot at a clinic in Gisenyi waiting in vain for treatment.

Any other photographer here would have taken a picture of a general ward of the hospital saying there is a heavy rush of people because of the outbreak of a disease



Tearful Departure
photo by Andrew Craft, The Fayetteville Observer - Fayetteville, NC
Capt. Shelia Jenkins comforts her daughter, Khadyajah, 7, while holding the hand of her husband, Chief Warrant Officer Claude Jenkins, as he departs on a bus to his flight to Iraq, August 23, 2006. Jenkins is part of the 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade that is deploying to Iraq.

Here we would have a bus or a convoy of vehicles on the road with a long caption explaining who is who in the vehicles

Gathering Rain
photo by James H. Kenney Jr., Western Kentucky University - Bowling Green, KY
Since water is not readily available at Evangel Hospital, in Jos, Nigeria, some of the women staying there take advantage of the rainfall to collect water.

Oh, any one can guess what the situation would be. A flooded road or a wet person in a two wheeler

They are simple but very effective.
Can we have some thinking photographers here please?