Decapitated Animals comment
This comment came from a reader.
"Why on Earth would your news organization allow pictures of decapitated animals to be posted online (online Whittier Daily News, 10/10/2007), in such a gruesome manner? More so.., to be posted in
an album with several photos. Is this the type of journalism that you want to be known for? What next; decapitated passengers in a car crash?
"The photo album reminded me of one of those magazines with horrible pictures of accident victims, that neighbors brought home whenever they returned from visiting Mexico. And, NO, I never gawk at traffic accidents myself.., ever.
"I hope you understand that you just gave whomever did this a public forum and probably motivation to do this type of crime again?
"All I really want to say is to please think twice, and three times if necessary when choosing photos. If you really felt that you needed to print ONE photo, a long-shot showing the Animal Control truck and
officer from a distance would have been enough to give the viewer the general idea of what happened.
"...come on, you have a great community paper. Keep it great...
"Regards,
"Rubin Mendoza
Whittier resident and father"
If anybody is interested, the gallery can be accessed by clicking here. Keep in mind that some of the photos could be considered gruesome.
I have a suggestion for you - don't look. Are you so naive as to think that bad things do not happen in the world and no one should witness them? Photojournalists and newspapers are responsible for presenting news - good or bad. And why do you feel the need to include the word "father" on your signature? I feel for your children since they are most likely being taugt to ignore bad things and only believe in Disneyland happy endings.
Hi Tim, I am very interested in thankful for your open discussions about photojournalism. I too have been one of those very critical with photojournalists "invading people's privacy" and I am happy to now be able to know some of the laws, facts, and the "reasons why" about this. Question for you about this topic. A number of years back, I attended the funeral of a family member's child that was killed in a car accident. The story made some news coverage. At the funeral in the church, a photojournalist from the paper showed up at the church and took photos of the family, the casket, the service, the grief, etc. He just clicked away and had the lens in everyone's faces. A number of us was absolutely appauled and the photographer was asked to leave. The photographer then stated the laws you have just noted in your blog and that he had a right to be there, etc. My question to you is where do you draw the line? Was it appropriate for the photographer to be there intruding in the church in a closed family service? Was it appropriate for him to take photos of the family in grief and the child in the casket? What prevents this person from then using the photos in his portfolio, selling them, etc. It just seems very wrong. Let the child rest in peace. This famiily was not in the public eye and they did not ask for this or to be a part of a news story in the paper. Can I get your opinion on this? Please keep up the great work. Enjoy all of the blogs.
Hello Karen,
As a staff photographer for the SGVN, I can tell you that we try to be as sensitive to the families as we can WHEN and IF we are invited to the funeral services by immediate family members.
Services in a church and in cementaries are private and we are only allowed if the family lets us be there, so I don't know when or where the situation you talk about happened, but most likely it was not any of us.
Furthermore, sometimes it seems that we are on top of people with the camera, but you must understand that professional equipment is not at all like consumer type. Our lenses are specifically made for wide angle shots, medium shots or telephoto shots.
If we have a wide angle lens on the camera, we can be a few feet away from the person, our subject, and the their image will still be small in the final photo relative to where we are and it will include a lot of the surrounding scene. Professional lenses allow us to be creative while still giving the public a view that they would otherwise neve see. Hope this gives you a llittle more insight on why and how we make some images at times.
Regards, Raul Roa