chicago life john white
Photos have always told a story, even if it is a simple picture. Photojournalists do this every day when taking a picture for an article. They have to get the story and picture that they think is important to them, but also important to the world. All of these photos have different meanings and tell different stories. Some of them are heartwarming and others show the reality of war. These photojournalists took pictures to show the public what people go through.
1949 Babe Ruth Farewell Photograph
In this Pulitzer Prize winning picture, photojournalist Nathaniel Fein takes a photo of baseball player Babe Ruth. Ruth, who was being honored at the time, had throat cancer. This was his last appearance at the Yankee home base where he wore his old uniform. This is a wonderful photo because it shows the feeling of that moment where Ruth stood, and that Ruth is proud of what he had accomplished.
1957 Faith and Confidence Photograph
The Pulitzer Prize winning photo by William C. Beall titled “Faith and Confidence” shows a little boy and a police officer at a parade. This photo was captured at the Chinese Merchants parade in Chinatown of Washington, D.C. The police officer, Maurice Cullinane, is telling the little boy, Allen Weaver, to step back. Weaver wanted to cross the street, but Cullinane politely told him no. This picture is a photo where it still touches hearts because of a sweet little 2-year-old boy who wants to cross the street and the police officer who is keeping him safe by not letting him pass.
1964 Ruby Shoots Oswald
In this Pulitzer Prize winning photo, Robert Jackson took a picture of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald was the man who was convicted of killing President John F. Kennedy. The photo was supposed to just be a picture of Oswald coming out of the police car, but then all of a sudden Ruby came out from the crowd and shot Oswald. Jackson stated that when Ruby fired the gun, he took the picture. This shows how an ordinary photo had become something more and how it showed the horror of that moment.
1974 POW Homecoming Photograph
The Pulitzer prize winning photo by Slava Veder from 1974 titled “Burst of Joy” (POW Homecoming) is a picture that shows a man coming home from the Vietnam War. This picture shows a man named Robert L. Stirm being greeted by his family. His 15-year-old daughter is running up to him, while the rest of his family is behind her. Strim had been held hostage in the war for five years, and this picture shows how his family was so happy to see him. This is a good example of photojournalism because it shows a family who is happy that their father is alive and well. It shows that they had hope that they would see him again, and they received that wish.
1980 Texas Cowboys
In these Pulitzer Prize winning photos, journalist Skeeter Hagler photographs Texas cowboys, which is the title of the pictures. One picture shows a group of men lying down on a pickup truck, probably resting until they have to get back to work. Another photo is a cowboy on a horse who is in a field with hundreds of cows, probably herding them into the field. These photos show the life of a cowboy and what it truly means to be a cowboy. It is not all glitz and glamour, but there is a subtle beauty to it. This is a great example of photojournalism because it shows that these men work hard even with brutal weather and hard manual labor.
Photojournalism is a piece of art that tells stories. Some of the photos are harsh and some of them show the reality of the world. The journalists who take photos like this risk their lives to get the perfect picture. They do not care about the money or the fame, but they do it because this is what they love to do. Just by these photos, the public can tell that they wanted to tell the story, but they wanted to do it right. The photojournalists did not know they would win a Pulitzer Prize award for their photos, but they did. No picture is a wrong picture or not a good photo, but the Pulitzer photos just told the story a little differently. The photo gave the person looking at it a specific emotion of either joy or sadness. Every day that is what photojournalists do: get emotions from the public and tell them a story.
