PhotoJournalism for midterm project homework

Contemporary Photojournalism Issues for my midterm project

1. Photojournalism and Sports Media By Darrell Owens Jr

2. Introduction Photojournalism tells stories through images. In sports, it captures emotion, energy, and competition. Photographers bring fans closer to the action and the emotions of the players. As technology evolves, sports media is changing how these moments are captured and shared.

3. The Human Perspective Human photographers can anticipate emotion, capture drama, and tell real stories. They understand the meaning behind a victory or loss. The human eye and heart make sports photojournalism unique and powerful.

4. The Technology / AI Perspective AI cameras can track players and capture hundreds of photos automatically. While fast and precise, AI lacks emotional understanding. It shows what happened  but not how it felt.

5. Human vs AI This image shows robotic cameras used in major sporting events, representing how automation is changing the field of sports photojournalism. It contrasts the human creativity of photographers with the precision and efficiency of machines

6. Sports photojournalism has long built a visual narrative that displays the emotion, energy, and moments that you can't verbalize. I can reliably speak to how the photojournalist connects an audience to the game and allows them to feel the thrill and agony of wins and losses. These visual memories would simply not exist without photojournalism.  AI can certainly take images quicker and more accurately, but it cannot understand the passion or meaning behind the image. This is why the human photographer role still exists and is even vital today in sports media. After completing this project I realized how powerful images are in our perception of viewing sports. Just one image of an athlete having a moment of celebration or breaking down in emotion can capture the attention of millions of viewers. I also learned through this project that AI has the ablity to make photojournalism more efficient. High quality, timely photojournalism will risk being devoid of authenticity. If photojournalism is completely taken over by AI, we will lose the emotional and human essence in sports imagery. The human connection is why every photojournalist can create emotion and energy in each photograph. I truly believe the best sports story and media will come from when humans and technology co-exist rather than replace each other.  I imagine a future where sports photojournalism will be conducted with sophisticated drones, robotic cameras, and even AI editing with automated, instantaneous systems. Although action may be instantaneous with these technological advancements, there will always need to be humans who direct them with purposeful decisions based on what moments matter the most. As I reflect on the numerous stories about photojournalists featured in the film The Roving Reporter who worked tirelessly to capture a single photo, it is amazing to consider how far we have come in the field of photojournalism. Professor Nordell discussed in his Pre-Digital to Digital Age video that technology changes everything and that creativity is still important. That's a related idea to what I learned through my project, that while technology fundamentally changes photojournalism for the better, it can never replace human stories. No matter how photojournalism develops, the heart of the story still lies with the human beings behind the camera.