PHOTOS
Dec. 3, 2024
A photojournalist’s lens is a powerful tool often overlooked in the grand scheme of reporting the news. Words are impactful, as are the photos that accompany them. Without the people behind the cameras that take those photos, there would be a significant lack of visual elements in journalism. This semester’s photo staff has gone to great lengths to showcase the people, places and events in the Appalachian hills of the Athens community. From the beginning of Welcome Week to the impromptu spot news and all of the wins and losses of sporting events that fill the semester, the staff has rarely backed down from a challenge or moment to capture history, and there were many in these past five months.
It takes work to put oneself in the moment to capture news. While the events that take place in this region of Ohio are not always world-wide news, they are still crucial to the community and its members, and as photojournalists, it is the nature of the job to be there with those people. A protest can seem calm and peaceful, but it does not mean that one can cover it without having to constantly have one’s head on a swivel and look out for any potential danger or the next newsworthy image. The same goes for something as simple as a football game, where one minute, you are taking a photo of a player making a one-handed catch, and the next, that player is sliding into you.
Newsrooms and the staff that fill them are constantly on-call, and when it comes time for them to be called up, there is only a little time to decide if the news is worth more than oneself and their ability to do their job. In turn, a great deal of praise is needed for those who are able to do so and have done so far this school year. I commend every one of the photographers on the staff and the writers who have also taken it upon themselves to join and take their photos for stories. While the job may seem simple at times and often is, it does not make up for the fact that it is a job at the end of the day and no matter how passionate one is about something, there is still a chance it can take a toll on one’s livelihood and health. To understand what people go through, one must have sympathy, compassion and empathy, and I see those traits in every one of the members of this staff and the thousands like it across the world. It is those traits and abilities that allow these journalists to create headlines, sub-headings, captions, photos and stories daily that document history and share it with the world around them.
