For the last three weeks I've mostly been a ghost on 365. Believe me when I say it hasn't been because I've been too busy to shoot photos because I've been shooting everyday. I also have not lost any of my interest in this site or project.
For the past three weeks I've been volunteering my time with my local Habitat for Humanity chapter in Horry County, South Carolina, as a regular volunteer. I've been a guide and supervisor on the site for the three sets of college groups that came down as part of the Collegiate Challenge.
I shot photos of the college students from Virginia Tech, Harvard, and Washington & Jefferson College while they were working. However, I didn't post any of those photos on the 365 Project, even though I had no other photos to post.
I often get a lot of feedback and favs on my photos. Especially my landscapes or fine art. However, I have noticed that when I post photojournalism shots I get little or no feedback whatsoever. To date, no one has fav'd one of my photojournalism shots.
So, I'm left wondering: Are people here interested in stories told through photojournalism? Do you notice the photo essays and photojournalism pieces that appear in magazines and your local newspapers? Is interest in photojournalism dying?
I do not think photojournalism is dying. The newspaper in my city uses a lot of stories told through photojournalism and often wins awards for these photos. The photos can be seen in the Internet version and in the print version. The Internet version also has videos. I never thought I would take pictures of the photojournalism genre. However, after taking a picture of a building that collapsed, I am rethinking this. I like to look at the MSN photos of the week. These photos have been taken around the world.
I noticed that you said that you did not get a lot of comments on your photos. I was not following you at that point. However, I do not comment a lot on photos of people, because I do not feel qualified to do so. I take mostly nature photos and take few pictures of people. I don't know why the others did not comment on your photos. Perhaps the others will be able to lend some light upon this.
i happen to love photojournalism, and i find that many people on this site comment on the stories told through photographs. in fact, i often see many comments about stories/captions with no mention of the actual photo (and sometimes, those photos are technically terrible -- including my own). maybe your followers (at least the ones who fave your photos) follow you because they love your landscape work? or maybe the photos that get faved are the ones that catch peoples' eyes and cause an immediate reaction of some sort. a lot of times, shots that are more photojournalistic in nature require reading long captions and/or studying the details of the photos to appreciate the story that they're telling -- so there's less of that immediate "wow" factor. just my $0.02...
Jason, I enjoy looking at photo-journalistic pictures. I have especially enjoyed yours show the Civil War re-enactors and hope to see more in the future. You did post the Habitat for Humanities photos on your web site and I am sure several people besides myself would find them interesting since we do have an international audience here. Knowing how spring break is normally portrayed, it would be nice to show what some college students do.
@daisy@christiq When I first became interested in taking photography seriously, I was all about nature and landscapes. But I quickly found those areas don't really pay the bills. I worked as the student photographer at UNC Wilmington the last year I was there, so I developed a fondness for telling stories. So I guess I'd been uploading more landscape photos here than photojournalism to start out, and that was the kind of following I picked up. Also, since I can't track how many people view a photo, the only real measure I have of how well-received a photo can be is through comments. Not a great measurement, but it's all I've got here.
@hjbenson Thanks! And you bring up a good point I had not considered: international audience. I guess I take it for granted that everyone knows what Habitat for Humanity is and what they do, but that may not always be true.
I think I might flood all of your newsfeeds tonight and tomorrow and upload all these photos I've been taking the last few weeks. I've got hundreds of photos I've taken, but even one a day over three weeks will be more than enough to keep you entertained.
@jasonbarnette i think you CAN see how many views your photos get. at least, i can. and i'm just a non-paying member (no ace membership).
fwiw, i'm looking forward to seeing your flood of photos!
You raise a very interesting point, and one that I've also considered. I use the Fav system to collect ideas and technical information for future shots I may take. So when you, or other good pro photographers post technical information I may well Fav it because of the potential that I will use it as a tutorial in the future. On the whole, photojournalism doesn't have that technical information, because it's the story that counts.
I am slow to comment on pictures because I have had to learn to manage my time on 365 very carefully. I find photojournalism sucks me in, and so I sometimes avoid commenting so that I don't disappear down a rabbit hole of time :)
In answer to your question about whether I look at/absorb photojournalism in the media - I'd say I am more attracted to those pictures than the stories - it's usually the picture that pulls me in first.
So, please post those Habitat pics - they are also very active here in South Africa and it will be interesting to see a perspective from the other side of the world.
Love it - I often volunteer for groups my children are involved in or friends run to take photos for them. Spent last Sunday photographing a visit of the 'Legally Blonde' cast to my daughter's theatre art school and had a great time.
Photojournalism is so important! I just bought a book about a famous czech photojournalist, and I can't stop looking at his pictures. You know, it's amazing. sometimes you just don't have to read the article, because the shot tells so much.
I can't understand how do thy manage to shot everything. Like this photograph I was telling you right before, was shoting with his analog for exemple horse-races. And he has some extraordinary shots as one o the horses felt down. But like it's amazing. How could he get to the right place, shot the moment and do te settings at the same time?
In photography there's a lot of mysteries, and I love it.
And to be honest, I prefer to look at the pictures then read the articles ;)
I take photos for my local newspaper but find that I don't use many on this site. There are several reasons for this. If I take a photo of someone, get their name and pertinent details, they do so knowing that I am sending it into to paper, not using it on a personal 365 site. This agreement is especially important when working with children so I won't post any shots taken of them. Then I must also honour the relationship I have with my editor and publisher. I freelance for them so they have first dibs on my photos. Photos I sell to the paper, I don't post. Although on the odd occasion, I will share here but only after the event runs and I see which were used.
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I noticed that you said that you did not get a lot of comments on your photos. I was not following you at that point. However, I do not comment a lot on photos of people, because I do not feel qualified to do so. I take mostly nature photos and take few pictures of people. I don't know why the others did not comment on your photos. Perhaps the others will be able to lend some light upon this.
@hjbenson Thanks! And you bring up a good point I had not considered: international audience. I guess I take it for granted that everyone knows what Habitat for Humanity is and what they do, but that may not always be true.
I think I might flood all of your newsfeeds tonight and tomorrow and upload all these photos I've been taking the last few weeks. I've got hundreds of photos I've taken, but even one a day over three weeks will be more than enough to keep you entertained.
fwiw, i'm looking forward to seeing your flood of photos!
I am slow to comment on pictures because I have had to learn to manage my time on 365 very carefully. I find photojournalism sucks me in, and so I sometimes avoid commenting so that I don't disappear down a rabbit hole of time :)
In answer to your question about whether I look at/absorb photojournalism in the media - I'd say I am more attracted to those pictures than the stories - it's usually the picture that pulls me in first.
So, please post those Habitat pics - they are also very active here in South Africa and it will be interesting to see a perspective from the other side of the world.
I can't understand how do thy manage to shot everything. Like this photograph I was telling you right before, was shoting with his analog for exemple horse-races. And he has some extraordinary shots as one o the horses felt down. But like it's amazing. How could he get to the right place, shot the moment and do te settings at the same time?
In photography there's a lot of mysteries, and I love it.
And to be honest, I prefer to look at the pictures then read the articles ;)