Image Manipulation in the News
An image of an Iranian missile test intended for media circulation was digitally manipulated but not before it was released on newswires around the world. It’s no surprise that this image was conceived of or created, manipulated images are common in photographic history and certainly there is no end in sight to their proliferation. The important question is what safeguards should be in place to ensure that manipulated images are discarded and not published.
The ubiquitous nature of Photoshop requires continual scrutiny of photojournalism. Oversight by experts in the field of digital imaging is essential, given that the creditability of photojournalism is dependent on the public perception that news images accurately document real time events.
It is amazing to think that this sloppy Photoshop job was not detected. The majority of all press photography is now produced using digital cameras, so the first line of defense against manipulated images is the camera metadata (date created, shutter speed, f-stop, etc…). The next obvious test would be a through visual review to look for signs of image manipulation.
Here’s some coverage about the edits: The New York Times and Al Jazeera
AP (left) and AFP (right)
Instant Print Photography
Instant Prints from Digital Files!!
In a new partnership with ZINK Paper™, Polaroid has reasserted itself as the leader in instant print photography. It seemed only a matter of time until a digital solution to instant print photography was achieved. It is not a surprise that the company that dominated the field would introduce the next generation.
The device, a Polaroid PoGo™ is an external unit with a Bluetooth and USB interface. It does not use ink. The paper product designed by ZINK uses three heat sensitive layers (yellow, magenta, cyan) to create the image. The process involves 200 million heat pulses and takes 60 seconds, resulting in a 2×3″ print.
Check out the new Polaroid PoGo™ here: www.polaroid.com
Read more about ZINK Paper™ here: www.zink.com
2008 Award Winners
Dear Colleagues,Photoshare is pleased to announce the winners of the 3rd Annual 2008 Photoshare Development Photography Award. Awarded exclusively to a photographer from a developing country/emerging economy as a part of Photoshare’s effort to promote photography as a vital tool for communicating international health and development issues. Photoshare’s Development Photography Award advances digital camera technologies by providing the tools and resources needed to document global public health interventions. The winners of this award receive a new digital camera.Online Announcement: http://www.photoshare.org/award/08awardwinners.phpPhotographers nominated themselves by submitting an application along with sample photos. Photoshare sought applicants from developing countries who are:
- involved in public health and development
- interested in using photography to document issues facing their communities;
- in need of a first-time or improved digital camera.
Within one month, Photoshare received applications from 37 photographers in 13 countries.
Notes and Articles
A great article on PopPhoto.com about a Disposable Camera project in rural Afghanistan: http://www.popphoto.com/photographynewswire/5229/disposable-cameras-help-rural-afghani-students-document-school-conditions.html
Commercial Photo Agency and Advocacy
An interesting article about the interaction of commercial photo agencies and student photographers in the:
British Journal of Photography http://www.bjphoto.co.uk/public/showPage.html?page=663497
Photo Contest
The International Year of the Potato 2008 was officially launched on 18 October 2007 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
World Photography Contest, Focus on a global food, supports two key objectives of the International Year of the Potato: to increase awareness of the importance of potato as a food in developing nations, and to promote research and development of potato-based systems as a means of contributing to achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.http://www.potato2008.org/en/photocontest/index.html
The Pulitzers Prize Winners for:
BREAKING NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY Adrees Latif of Reuters http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2008/breaking-news-photography/
FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY Preston Gannaway of the Concord Monitor http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2008/feature-photography/works/
We are excited to welcome a new contributor to Photoshare:
Erberto Zani- See his Flickr’s page: (http://flickr.com/people/erbertozani)
I’ll post a link to Erberto’s photos once they have been added to the Photoshare collection.
2008 Development Photography Award
Attn: Photographers in Developing Countries/Emerging Economies
Apply now -to win Photoshare’s 3rd Annual Development Photography Award
Photoshare is pleased to support the advancement of digital camera technologies in developing countries through our 3rd Annual 2008 Development Photography Award, sponsored by The INFO Project based at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs. Awarded exclusively to a photographer from a developing country/emerging economy, the Award is a part of Photoshare’s efforts to promote photography as a vital tool for communicating international health and development issues.
Deadline: April 28th, 2008 | ENTRY FORM
*The Award Winner will receive a brand new Digital Camera*
Photoshare Seeks Applicants from Developing Countries Who Are:
- involved in public health and development programs;
- interested in using photography to document issues facing their communities;
- in need of a first-time or improved digital camera.
Download: 2008 Development Photography Award Application for further instructions
Developing country photographers, both amateur and trained, are encouraged to apply by April 28th, 2008.
Questions? Contact: photoshare@infoforhealth.org Mailing Address:
Photoshare - The INFO Project
Attn: David Alexander
111 Market Place, Suite 310
Baltimore, MD 21202 USA
See Past Winners:
2007 Award Winner | Ashok Bhurtyal,
2006 Award Winner | Nathalie Raharilaza, Madagascar
Photography and the Environment
Photography has frequently been used to focus attention on environmental issues. Images have poignantly documented both the pristine beauty of remote rural areas and the ecological damage caused by environmental pollution. Ironically; the history of photography itself is littered with a variety of toxic chemicals that have certainly polluted and altered the environment. Some of the most dangerous photographic processes have included heavy metals like mercury and silver as well as a litany of pungent sulfuric compounds.
The transition from traditional photography to digital photography has shifted the perception of photography from a chemical process to an electrical one. Despite this perception there are still a great number of chemicals and hazardous materials associated with the production of digital cameras, imaging sensors and digital prints. This transition to digital imaging has undoubtedly changed the environmental impact of photography; however it may take time to understand if it has been reduced. Consider the role that digital cameras play in creating electronic waste: See National Geographic - High-Tech Trash http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/01/high-tech-trash/carroll-text It’s estimated that Americans dispose of about a 100,000 tons battery waste annually. How has the demand for camera batteries affected the environmental impact of photography? See: Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation http://www.rbrc.org/call2recycle/index.html & EPA:http://www.epa.gov/epr/products/batteries.htm
Photoshare Images - Keyword: Environmental Pollution http://www.photoshare.org/search_results.php?start_num=&Keyword_ID=228&Keyword_ID_val_sql_bool=AND
Photoshare Images - Keyword: Computers http://www.photoshare.org/search_results.php?start_num=&Keyword_ID=153&Keyword_ID_val_sql_bool=AND
Photoshare Images - Keyword: Environment http://www.photoshare.org/search_results.php?start_num=&Keyword_ID=225&Keyword_ID_val_sql_bool=AND
Additional Information Related to Reducing Your Impact:
Thirteen Ways to be a Greener Photographer http://www.popphoto.com/americanphotofeatures/4541/thirteen-ways-to-be-a-greener-photographer.html
Five Eco-Sensitive Photographic Adventures http://www.popphoto.com/americanphotofeatures/4538/five-eco-sensitive-photographic-adventures.html
Environmental Photography: Blending Art & Activism http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0306/rb0306-1.html
Electronic waste menace: A young man carts obsolete computers shipped into Ghana from industrialized countries. © 2005 Mike Anane, Courtesy of Photoshare
-David Alexander, Photoshare
Chinese Man Killed Documenting Law Enforcement
Photography has long been a vital tool used to focus attention on authoritative rule. Given that fact, photography has also been the catalyst for authoritarian violence aimed at silencing a free press. A recent incident demonstrates that nowhere has this been more true than in China.
Headline: A Chinese man beaten to death by Chinese authorities for using a mobile camera phone to document law enforcement. Wei Wenhua, 41 year old a construction executive was attempting to document police efforts to defuse a protest denouncing the dumping of municipal waste. When at least 50 municipal inspectors attacked Mr. Wenhua as he attempted to film the scene, he was pronounced dead on arrival.
See articles on CNN/asia here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/11/
china.blogger/index.html?iref=newssearch
and
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=11200
2007 Photoshare Photo Contest Winners!
Photo from Philippines Honored in 5th Annual Photoshare
Photo Contest Sponsored By Hopkins’ INFO Project
The INFO Project is a reproductive health knowledge-sharing resource supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). INFO’s Photoshare service helps international non-profits communicate health and development issues through photography. By facilitating photo sharing among colleagues in international development, Photoshare has become a leading source for editorial development photography. The Photoshare collection, consisting primarily of photos taken by public health professionals in the field, contains thousands of images illustrating the realities of urban and rural life in developing countries, as well as global efforts to improve and save lives, www.photoshare.org.
Open to amateurs and professionals alike, the contest drew interest from around the globe, including more than 347 participants who submitted more than 1,148 photos shot in 92 different countries.
GHWA Photo Contest
The Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) invites professional and non-professional photographers worldwide to participate in a photo contest. The theme of the photo contest focuses on the daily life of a health worker at work and is an invitation to provide one or more high-quality photographs together with their caption and brief description. There are three categories of submission: Color photographs (digital or prints) Black and white photographs (digital or prints) Digital art photographs (images created or drastically manipulated by computer software or electronic filters) For each category the following awards will be given:
1st Prize 1000 US$
2nd Prize 750 US$
3rd Prize 500 US$
Special mentions 100 US$
The closing date for entries is 21 January 2008. If you would like to take part in the contest by entering photograph(s), please carefully read and take good note of the competition guidelines and rules on the GHWA web site(see link). http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/forum/GHWA_Photo_contest/en/
Iraqi Photographer Investigated
A 2005 Pulitzer Prize winning Associated Press- AP photographer Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi, is being investigated by U.S. Military for aiding the Iraqi insurgency. Bilal Hussein was described by Geoff Morrell the Pentagon press secretary as “a terrorist media operative who infiltrated the AP.” Below are news accounts of the case.
Reuters:
www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19523822.htm
International Herald Tribune:
www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/20/africa/iraq.php
Associated Press:
www.ap.org/pages/about/whatsnew/wn_112007b.html
The New York Times:
www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/world/middleeast/21photographer.html