So I wanted to make a list of the ten best things in photojournalism in 2009, but I thought seven is much better number – not as symmetrical, clean and boring as ten, but with a lot of tension, power and at the same time harmony. It feels like the number closest to the golden ratio so I thought that was a good number for a list related to photography. (And, well, I haven’t come up with more.) Here they are:
# 7: Platon
Photos: Platon/ The New Yorker
I could listen to Platon telling the anecdotes he has collected over the years photographing the famous and powerful for hours. Check out the series of portraits of world leaders he did for the New Yorker. Unfortunately, Angela Merkel is missing – I would have loved to see her in there, but it wouldn’t have been her style. To make a bet: Platon’s work will be awarded in the World Press Photo Contest.
# 6: New German Photojournalism
Andy Spyra's website
Photojournalism in Germany in the last years has been heavily influenced by Ostkreuz an agency from Berlin. To sum up its style: brownish, desaturated medium format photography – rather unemotional. I feel that there’s been a new trend recently, I can connect better with.
To see what I mean, check out Andy Spyra’s work. He comes from a small, boring and probably really uninspiring town in Germany – yet he produces very inspiring photography. He has devoted himself to documenting life in the Indian part of Kashmir and has been quite successful. He has been shortlisted for the Magnum Expression Award and received the Getty Images Grant. But most importantly he has photographed one of my favorite images of all time.
# 5: Consequences by NOOR
Consequences by Noor
Noor has become the agency with the highest proportion of photographers that I admire. Among them are Pep Bonet, Francesco Zizola and Yuri Kozyrev. When I saw Bonet’s work for the first time on the Photokina some years ago it opened my eyes for a more artistic approach to photojournalism. Kozyrev is definitely one of the best conflict photographers at present and Zizola has made a great impact on the use of color in contemporary photojournalism.
Consequences, a joint project by Noor photographers on the impact of climate change, shows that a photo collective can really be much more than just the sum of its members. (I wrote more about Consequences here.) Way to go.
# 4: Young talents
Maybe it’s only my perception, but I feel like there have never been so many young photographers producing amazing photography. Some of my favorite discoveries of this year are Alejandro Chaskielberg, and Adam Ferguson.
Alejandro Chaskielberg's website
I still haven’t figured out what kind of photography Alejandro Chaskielberg actually does: fashion, art or journalism? But I think it’s the freshest approach I’ve seen in years.
Adam Ferguson's Website
To call Adam Ferguson a discovery is misleading since I’ve known his work for three years, but he has really made his breakthrough this year. His photographs from the Afghanistan have graced Time Magazine covers two times this year and Chris Morris called them the best covers he has seen in a decade. To make another bet: Adam’s work will be awarded in the World Press Photo Contest.
# 3: Not whining about the state of the industry
Well, yes, the internet is a big threat to traditional media outlets. Newspapers and magazines are cutting staff – that is if they don’t file for bankruptcy. It’s become harder and harder for photographers to make a living, because competition is getting better and the market (the one where you get paid) is shrinking. The media is degenerating into thousands of niche publications and the integrating power of mass media vanishes. You could complain about it forever or you could just grab the opportunities that come with this technological revolution and produce high quality work people want to pay for – online and offline.
For example, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit has never sold so many copies as this year. Why? Because it’s good and because it provides something you don’t look for on the internet: long, well researched and well written features. On the internet Die Zeit tries to follow the same strategy. Instead of the continuous stream of news, it tries to declutter news and focus on specific subjects.*
# 2: The NYT Lens Blog
NYT Lens Blog
Founded in May this year, the NYT Lens Blog has quickly made it to my favorite websites. It’s just how a photo blog should look like: easy navigation, clean layout and amazing photography. Lens shows the dedication of the NYT when it comes to high quality photojournalism and it has strengthen my belief that even in today’s economic environment of the news media unique photojournalism has its place.
# 1: Burn Magazine
Lance Rosenfield's "Thirst for Grit" on Burn Magazine
David Allan Harvey must be the most selfless, optimistic and encouraging person in the photo industry at present. He is not only a great photographer but also a great teacher. In 2008 he has initiated the Emerging Photographer Fund, a 10.000 $ grant for a journalistic or artistic photo project, and founded Burn Magazine. They can be seen as two branches of one mission: supporting young inspired photographers. Burn has become the place on the internet to dsicover and discuss contemporary documentary photography.
*Despite all this praise, I don’t agree with the photo policy of Die Zeit. They often manipulate images. To mark the manipulation they always put an [M] in the caption so you can see if an image is manipulated, but you can’t see what they manipulated. Did they just change from color to black and white or did they change the content?
