Like DKT, I've also shot a number of newspaper assignments on subjects I would rather not have been involved with. I have also been so involved with the act of photographing, my self-editing went into neutral and I just reacted to events by shooting away. Photographing news subjects was my job so I did it.
But there were other times when I had to question the value of making the photograph. At those times, editors simply didn't need to know. The subjects varied by circumstance. In most circumstances, I had no problem taking pictures of a hysterical person at the scene of a crime or accident. But I had lots of problems taking pictures of grieving relatives during funerals. There are public moments and there are private moments that take place in public. My funeral assignment photos were consistently awful.
I also drew the line at ridiculing people. A photo that poked fun was okay but not a photo that would make others laugh at another person. I remember a specific incident at a feature assignment at a school. Elderly people from a retirement home had come to the school to take part in an afternoon of kite-flying. One very photogenic elderly gentleman was attempting to help a little girl get her kite airborne and they both became entangled in the kite strings. That was humorous and I took the photo. An instant later, the poor man's baggy pants fell to his knees as he was helping the child. I did not take that photograph. As a scene on a television comedy, it would have been funny. Not so in reality.
These days I'm more aware of context of photographs than I was when I was a newspaper photographer. The recent death of Eddie Adams and the resurfacing of the story surrounding his great photograph of the South Vietnamese officer executing a prisoner has shown the need for understanding the context involved in the events that are photographed. Adams essentially disowned the photo although it was a prize-winner. He felt it presented an unfair representation of the circumstances. Since perception is reality, I guess what we photograph can take on a meaning and a life of its own despite our intentions at the time we make the picture. But that's another subject.
Since becoming a "civilian", my photographic life is less complicated. I only take pictures of things that interest me and refuse to photograph anything I don't find interesting.
I had not gotten into this thread until today. I'm glad I finally decided to read it.
But there were other times when I had to question the value of making the photograph. At those times, editors simply didn't need to know. The subjects varied by circumstance. In most circumstances, I had no problem taking pictures of a hysterical person at the scene of a crime or accident. But I had lots of problems taking pictures of grieving relatives during funerals. There are public moments and there are private moments that take place in public. My funeral assignment photos were consistently awful.
I also drew the line at ridiculing people. A photo that poked fun was okay but not a photo that would make others laugh at another person. I remember a specific incident at a feature assignment at a school. Elderly people from a retirement home had come to the school to take part in an afternoon of kite-flying. One very photogenic elderly gentleman was attempting to help a little girl get her kite airborne and they both became entangled in the kite strings. That was humorous and I took the photo. An instant later, the poor man's baggy pants fell to his knees as he was helping the child. I did not take that photograph. As a scene on a television comedy, it would have been funny. Not so in reality.
These days I'm more aware of context of photographs than I was when I was a newspaper photographer. The recent death of Eddie Adams and the resurfacing of the story surrounding his great photograph of the South Vietnamese officer executing a prisoner has shown the need for understanding the context involved in the events that are photographed. Adams essentially disowned the photo although it was a prize-winner. He felt it presented an unfair representation of the circumstances. Since perception is reality, I guess what we photograph can take on a meaning and a life of its own despite our intentions at the time we make the picture. But that's another subject.
Since becoming a "civilian", my photographic life is less complicated. I only take pictures of things that interest me and refuse to photograph anything I don't find interesting.
I had not gotten into this thread until today. I'm glad I finally decided to read it.