On Thursday November 14th, 2013, I watched a lecture about “Arising from Tragedy”. On December 21st, 1988 the Pan Am 103 plane was bombed in a terrorist attack and killed thirty five Syracuse University students. Alexia Tseras was a student that was killed in the plane bombing. She was a London photo journalist major, and when she died, her parents created the Alexia Foundation to support photo communication. Out of tragedy, a lot of good has happened. Humans have the ability to arise from tragedy, and through communication we are able to create change and hope amidst disaster. As humans, we all strive to share stories that reflect life. Through photography we can create a bridge beyond vocal language. Peoples’ lives change and political movements can happen because of photos and that’s what the Alexia Foundation is all about– creating movement — creating change.
The three photojournalists and Alexia Foundation winners, Darcy Padilla, Louie Palu, and Tim Matsui, talked about how photos can bring about change. Louie Palu said that you need to have a deep understanding of the subject and the big picture that you are trying to document. “It’s all about building community and dialogue. When you create dialogue within a community you have a toolbox for change and empowerment”. Darcy Padilla said that you have really care a lot about a subject and do your research. She said, “when it comes to poverty, you have lay the foundation for something to be discovered”. Tim Matsui said that “you use photography to create dialogue about topics you want to create change in, like for me, sexual violence. There is a trend toward story telling instead of photography”.
The next question asked was if the three photojournalists considered themselves advocacy photographers, meaning photographers that take pictures to make something happen. All three photojournalists said that honest and transparency are important but that you have to frame a situation or subject in a certain way in order to create change. They then explained that first hand experiences make the best stories, so if you want to create change you need to put yourself in the subject’s situation and live that story for yourself to truly understand it.
Overall, the presentation was a great one and I really learned a lot about how important photojournalism is in creating change throughout the nation and around the world. It’s amazing to me that photos can create a movement for social, political, and economic change.