Women in photojournalism

                Mary Marvin Breckinridge Patterson was a very famous “American photojournalist, cinematographer, and philanthropist. She used her middle name, Marvin, both professionally and personally to distinguish herself from her cousin Mary Breckinridge and to avoid the prejudice against women prevalent at the time.” As said by library of congress in their biography of Marvin. She attended Milton Academy in Milton, MA, and went to Vassor for college, and this is where she finally started to learn new things, learn about herself and learn what she enjoyed to do. Marvin’s life from here on out was going to be filled with new adventures and opportunity’s.  The Vassar encyclopedia stated about Marvin, that her “interest in college included history, and photography courses, herding cattle and more". In college, Marvin and some friends went to Copenhagen, Denmark, as observers to the International Confederation of Students. They joined with students at Princeton to organize the 1925 Princeton Conference, trying to encourage United States participation in the World Court system. 

 The conference led to the National Student Federation of America (NSFA), and Marvin became president of it in 1927-1928, after her graduation from Vassar, as the Vassar encyclopedia added. Also in this time, she qualified for a pilot’s license to joining New York City social life, And Marvin became the first female courier for her cousin Mary’s Frontearing Service, and went on to travel across Africa with a friend. Their journey, was later shown in a book, Olivia’s African Diary: Cape Town to Cairo, which presented photos from the trip, beginning the start of her photojournalistic career.

From here, Marvin was a freelance photographer and when world war two broke out in 1939 she took the first pictures of a London air-raid shelter. And after this, though new to radio, her friend Edward R Murrow, hired her as the first female staff broadcaster in Europe for CBS. Being the first female broadcaster meant she had to prove herself and the men in the company were very bias towards her. Many didn't think she was capable and would often make rude remarks at her, but she kept going and was very good at her job as well. As professor Nordell talks about in the module nine content, regarding women in photojournalism he says, "The roles and opportunities for women have shifted dramatically in some areas of the world since photography was invented." And Marvin taking the broadcasting job, and being a photojournalist was a start for women getting these opportunity’s. After this, her life was full of amazing photojournalistic, and broadcasting opportunities from traveling to Norway, Amsterdam, France and many more places to excel her career. Vassar encyclopedia said after this, in 1958 is when she started to devote herself to philanthropy after marrying, having kids and starting her family. She worked for many community organizations, community boards and more. She lived a long and fulfilled live, dying at the age of ninety-seven in 2010.

 

 

 

 

Photo of Marvin

 

Image source: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/wcf0009.html

photo by: library of congress

Year taken:1940

Black and white: Makes this image feel more old and artistic I think then if it were in color. This photo being in black and white accentuates her smile and her body movement. It also makes it look more genuine and explains the times she was in, from being in black and white.

Feelings the image creates: This image creates a feeling for me of warmth and maybe even happiness. She isn't quite smiling but it looks like she may be smirking a little bit and looks like she is probably on the job. She looks well put together and not mad ,so for me this photo gives a good feeling based on these aspects.

Obvious main subject: In this photo Marvin is clearly the main subject. she takes up pretty much the whole frame, besides the little things around her but right away you can clearly tell she is the main subject. The light looks like it is coming from the side, and being mainly focused on her also shows she is the obvious main subject.

 

Why I chose this image: I chose this image because Marvin seemed like a very sweet, loving and interesting women. I think this picture portrays that what a great woman she was, and shows what a hard worker she was, as she is working it looks like in this photo. It also looks very genuine and not staged based on the look on her face. I also like this photo because I liked what she is wearing, how it’s in black and white, and just the overall feel I get from the photo



 

                 I think women have faced some sort of discrimination in the workplace in one way or another just about everywhere. We hear all the time different statistics and facts of women getting paid less than men who are doing the exact same job, or jobs that women in the past were never allowed to do at all. We hear about criticism, and rude remarks women receive and the continuous bias they experience in the work place. One comment talked about by American journalism review, was a remark made at Mimi Fuller when she "walked into the Cincinnati Post's photo department in 1972, she was greeted with, 'You must be the reason we had to take the Playboy calendars off the wall." proving that women face bias all the time. On top of this, there is the unseen bias against women in the workplace as well. Though there are rules and regulations, women still get mistreated or even not hired for being a woman in many situations, though that isn’t the reason the employer will claim. 
               In another study done by university of Colorado Denver, they discovered that beautiful women were discriminated more in certain jobs. The study found that “Attractive women were discriminated against when applying for jobs considered "masculine" and for which appearance was not seen as important to the job.” Some jobs included manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor all showed discriminatory action towards women, Science Daily added. 

                 Sure, men have problem experiences some sort of bias in different jobs as well, but I don’t think it compares to what women have gone through just to be able to have jobs and a place in society. As professor Nordell talks about in his introductory video, on women in photojournalism “women in photojournalism, along with women in many other professions have encountered barriers unlike any male counterpart ever endured.” Men haven’t felt quite the extent of discrimination in the work place as women have, because they have always been known as “the workers” while women had to fight for this role and still do in many work environments today.

 

 

 

Image source: http://singlemindedwomen.com/blog/domestic-violence-in-the-workplace/

 

Photo by: Single Minded women

 

Year taken:2012

 

 



 

Keep it simple: This photograph takes the approach of "keeping it simple". It is not cluttered, there isn't a lot going on at all and there isn't even a background to it. The main subjects are obviously the two people because there is nothing else in the photo. it is also very simple because there isn't a lot of colors or craziness but is just a very basic photo.

  

Subjects expression: I think the subject’s expressions and body language are a little over posed but for this photo it works because it’s to prove a point. Based on this photo you can easily tell both aren't happy, and are most likely even angry based on the looks on their faces. the body language also gives you an expression as to how there feeling so the body language matches the facial expression very well.

 

Quality of light: It’s hard to tell what is the light source in this photo because the whole photo is an even amount of brightness and contrast. With the background being all white also makes the quality of light brighter and draws you in more. The quality of light is good and bright but not knowing what kind of light, or what is the light in the photo makes it dramatic and interesting. 

 

Why I chose this image: I chose this image because I think it represents how women feel sometimes in the workplace. Just based on this one photo, this one facial expression, and body movement makes you feel angry and even uncomfortable. This is the way you should feel from the photo and makes you feel how people can feel all the time in jobs, or even elsewhere when bullied or not treated equally to other. I like this photo for the strong feelings it gives off.

 

 

Milton academy- the school Marvin went to

 

Photo by: Milton academy

Image source: http://www.ivyboost.com/%E7%B1%B3%E5%B0%94%E9%A1%BF%E9%AB%98%E4%B8%ADmilton-academy/

Year taken: 2005

 

 

Rule of Thirds: This photo places the students off to the right side, using rule of thirds. It does this to show the school in the background but still draws focus to the students as well. It works good for this photo because the point is to show off the school, and the kids who go there so using rule of thirds it shows both aspects very well.


Depth of field: This photo uses maximum depth of field to its advantage. The school is far away and the people are close, but both subjects are still very clear. It uses depth of field to show the school, and the school is still in good focus even though it’s a far distance away in the photo.


Background compliments the composition: Though you could say maybe the school and the children are the focus, I don't think one takes away from another. I think the school in the background compliments the children, and the children compliment the school as well. The background is in good focus, and both subjects work together well in this photo.
 
 
Why I chose this image: I chose this image because it makes Milton Academy look like a great school to go to. From the picture, it looks like a great campus, and has happy kids. Based on these aspects it looks like a good school that people enjoy, and represents Marvin’s childhood well. This photo make it look like a great place its bright, exciting, and beautiful and gives a lot of feelings just based off this one photo and that why I enjoy it.

Working in the Digital Age

 Drones are the new big talked about technology and it seems like everyone is jumping to get one. The purpose of the drone was first for military use. And though that is still there main purpose, now many average people have them as well, and love what they can do. Drones are basically like mini video cameras that can cruise at extremely high altitudes. As stated in a BBC news article, Drones are equipped with different state of the art technology such as infra-red cameras (military UAV), GPS and laser (militaryUAV). The smaller drones, are typically controlled by a remote control system and the person on land sends it into the air and controls it this way, but attaching the remote control to their phone and seeing the image of what the drone I capturing on their home, and controlling where it moves too. Exceeding the control range of the remote control will trigger ‘Return-to-Home’, meaning that it will automatically fly back to its takeoff point and land safely. Therefore if your flying your drone over sea, and it dies it won’t just drop in the water it will return back to you safely.

 
Photo by: Jack Brown

Image source: http://mydronelab.com/best-pick/professional-drones.html
 

There are a couple different size Drones available including the ones most average people get which are sold at Costco’s, or stores like that. These range anywhere from 100-800 dollars and these go less than a mile in distance. Then the next one up goes for a couple thousand dollars and goes a mile high and about two miles out taking clear, and super cool videos and pictures. A friend of mine has had both of these, and loves the newer one, though it was more money is does a lot more, and isn’t so loud like the smaller one that’s goes for cheaper. Then the biggest of the drones is the military Drone. These ones look like mini planes that can fly very far distances and shoot off missiles and can take extremely high quality pictures and videos. These go for about a couple million and are only used for the military. These aren't sent off so easy like the smaller ones, and require short runways to take off.

This technology has affected photojournalists and photography because using the drone they are able to take super cool photos/videos like they could not previously. Now photojournalists with drones can get videos from high altitudes, of wars, or pretty much any event. The drone can also get a different view on things to take cool photographs whether it be on the move, or staying still it has helped in many ways, mainly to make cooler, clearer photos. The things photojournalists would have to go through previously to get an image quality like the drone can produce was a ridiculous amount of work and probably still couldn’t match up. Like it talks about in the Drone photojournalism interview video with Jason Bache he says “it’s definitely going to make journalists lives easier, it’s very difficult for a crane to be deployed purely for a camera” and believes it will lead to a new era for photojournalists.

Photo by: Eric Cheng

Image source: http://www.popphoto.com/Cheng
 

Digital photographic technology has also effected photojournalists in that it has made things a lot easier for them in many ways. Back in the day when wire service photography was used, there were a lot of requirements photojournalists or photographers needed to be able meet in order to get the job, and be good at it. Though you would think the most important skill for the job was probably to be able to take good photos, this wasn’t necessarily the case. It talks about these requirements in the article Photojournalists or Pack Mule? A look back at the good old days of wire service photography. It says “the most important job requirements 16 years ago was a strong back. The ability to lift and travel with case after case of equipment, often weighing around 80 pounds each, was a necessity.” Now with all the digital technology we have, this is no longer this issue of having to carry 80 pounds on your back.  This has made things a lot easier for photojournalists. Now they have to carry maybe a simple backpack which has helped them be able to move around quicker, more efficiently, and get the pictures they need without having to worry about this extra weight holding them back from getting a great shot.

When I compare this new digital technology with the old technology I studied before, speed graphic cameras it is remarkable to look at how far photographic technology has come. Even the amount of change within the last 20 years or so  has been so extensive it’s incredible. Like Nordell says in his Working in the Digital Age part one video, “from looking at 1990 to the present the amount of change in that period is astronomical it almost dwarfs the amount of the change from, the 1840’s to 1890’s.” Meaning there were so many new advancements in technology just in those years from 1990-now while all the many years before that there really weren’t huge changes among the technology. Yes, there were changes from using plates to take photos, to being able to actually move around with a camera, and cameras using film instead of plates, but not much change occurred if you compare it to the amount of developments in more recent years. Like the drone, for example, also going digital with pretty much everything, new advanced cameras coming out all the time, everything has gotten so advanced in such a short time. Nordell talks about this in his The Digital mindset video. He notes this drastic change in technology and comments on it. He talks about the change from doing things with our hands, and records and cd players and things like that to everything being digital. He says, “Music has become digital, photography has become digital, its all about the web and the webs capabilities.” I think this idea can be kind of scary if you ask me. Though the technological advances have been great in many ways, making our lives easier in certain aspects, it can also be nerve-racking to realize we rely on the digital network for pretty much everything we do. And we also know, digital things can still be flawed. Computers, digital cameras, everything digital can all crash, it can lose all of your information with the wrong click of a button which can be scary when thinking about the new technology we have and how it is taking over.