sad day in photography
This was published today:
http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2007/04/toledo05.html
A Toledo Blade photographer altered 79 photographs through-out the course of 2007. This incident came to light within the last week but the full extent of his manipulation has just been made known.
The article is very disturbing. The fact that a 25-year veteran of photojournalism could do this--and do this so often is hard to take. He clearly has no respect for his co-workers, his community or his profession.
I know many non-photojournalist people have a hard understanding why this is such a big deal. Photoshop is a widely use tool nowadays. However, as journalists it is our duty to tell the truth. That means taking pictures that document the scene as it is. Not removing or adding pieces of it and not asking subjects to pose a certain way. The true scene. I like to think most photojournalists hold those ethics very high and live up to that standard.
It's amazing to me that one person can damage an industry that took so many wonderful people to build. But that is essentially what has happened. The Toledo phtoographer wasn't the first to alter a photograph and get caught---and sadly, he won't be the last. And with each instance the entire photojournalism field loses integrity.
http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2007/04/toledo05.html
A Toledo Blade photographer altered 79 photographs through-out the course of 2007. This incident came to light within the last week but the full extent of his manipulation has just been made known.
The article is very disturbing. The fact that a 25-year veteran of photojournalism could do this--and do this so often is hard to take. He clearly has no respect for his co-workers, his community or his profession.
I know many non-photojournalist people have a hard understanding why this is such a big deal. Photoshop is a widely use tool nowadays. However, as journalists it is our duty to tell the truth. That means taking pictures that document the scene as it is. Not removing or adding pieces of it and not asking subjects to pose a certain way. The true scene. I like to think most photojournalists hold those ethics very high and live up to that standard.
It's amazing to me that one person can damage an industry that took so many wonderful people to build. But that is essentially what has happened. The Toledo phtoographer wasn't the first to alter a photograph and get caught---and sadly, he won't be the last. And with each instance the entire photojournalism field loses integrity.
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