4.4 Walk the line

PROJECT DOCUMENTS OF CONFLICT AND SUFFERING

Exercise 4.4

Read the articles ‘Walk the Line’ by Max Houghton (Foto8, issue 23, pp.143–4) and ‘Imaging War’ by Jonathan Kaplan (Foto8, issue 23, pp.142–3). Core resources: Foto8#23_Kaplan&Houghton.pdf

Write down your reactions to the authors’ arguments. (Open College of the Arts, 2014:86)

My reaction to their arguments:

Kaplin has been a doctor and surgeon in hospitals and battlefields across the world as well as an author and photographer. He relates the learning of photojournalism to that of transforming from a doctor to a surgeon, after some learning from studying eventually you have to immerse yourself in the practice of it; this is something he is in a position to do but I feel that a medical professional will have more training and preparation for the later experiences than a photojournalist and it more likely to be shocked by what they encounter in the field. In exploring what kind of images of the human body are suitable for publication he concludes that this is whatever persist at the time of publication, though he says that you can be too close to a subject.

Houghton is a MA course leader in Photojournalism and documentary. Whilst picture editors have to grapple with which images are suitable for publishing, according to taste and ethics, she points out that taste and ethics are personal, just as are where we set our boundaries. She quotes Sophie Batterbury, the picture editor of the Independent on Sunday, who believes that the goriest images aren’t the best at telling the story as the gore detracts from the emotion of the picture. Houghton conversely mentions Greg Whitmore picture editor of the Observer who used a graphic picture in black and white that was then reproduced in colour in the Telegraph in colour; he justified the use of the image partly because his first publishing inspired the observer journalist to investigate the story further. This investigation meant that the image was then combined with a narrative of the event. I’m surprised that there was only one complaint received about the image. Apparently the Observer draws the line at publishing images of severed heads, although there was a reason that this line was nearly stepped over recently so it is not sacrosanct. Houghton illustrates that when Kaplin was asked to contribute images to a book on the effects of landmines and their clearing, Kaplin then agreed when the images were dropped. The images were dropped as it was thought they might be off putting to buyers/readers and then value of the rest of the publication might then be missed; this points out that boundaries appear for different reasons – this was a commercial not ethical decision. Houghton explains that he was shocked when the decapitated heads of “Uday and Qusay” were displayed as trophies, in the Guardian 2003, which indicates that there is a line for him. He shares the various reactions at a conference to disturbing conflict images such as the “falling Man” and Luc Delahaye’s “Dead Taliban solider”; issues of respect for their families were raised but again the responses were personal.

Reading these articles raises issues such as:

How far should we go with publishing images of war and disasters?
What images are suitable?
What criteria should be used?
Are there any lines to be crossed?
Are feelings and emotions important?

Are the answers defined by ethic, commerce, respect for individuals or their families, politics, relationships between media companies and governments, or are they simply personal?

I am in the position that I can form and operate with my own standards but I acknowledge that it is hard for photographers/editors/publishers to set a line that is appropriate. No one person has control over the way images will be shared, but ultimately it is the photographer who must be mindful of the way the images may by used, and at the time of shooting I believe should act respectfully. Ultimately whether an image should be used or not I think comes down to whether using the image adds impact to the story, for me assuming it has been obtained ethically and respectfully. Reading these articles has brought more questions for me that answers at this stage, but will make me more reflective as I read and view such articles and images from hereon.