Article December 29, 1997 Issue

Photojournalism: its potential to inspire

Sentinel interviews with two photographers

with contributions from Melanie Stetson Freeman, Neal Menschel

In recent months, the prominence in the news of paparazzi has raised questions about the role of photographers. This week, the Sentinel talks with two longtime photographers, who discuss the higher ideals of photojournalism.

Melanie Stetson Freeman is the Assistant Director of Photography and a Senior Photographer at The Christian Science Monitor, where she has worked for the past twelve years. In 1987, she received the World Hunger Year Media Award for her work on the Monitor series "Children in Darkness." She earned her master of arts at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and spent two years as a photographer for the Orange County Register in Santa Ana, California.

What motivates you in your work as a photojournalist?
Always in the background of my thought, there's a goal that governs what I'm doing, and that is to portray the world in a positive way. As a society, we're constantly bombarded with negative images. So when I walk down the street with a camera, I look for beauty and order. I think it's important, as a member of the media, to help people deal with the world. You can't neglect to show a problem, but there are many ways to show it. If you just dump problems on people, making them feel that the situation is so desperate there's nothing they can do, you're really creating more problems. I try to show a problem in a way that makes people feel there's still hope. Otherwise the reader can just turn the page and forget it. My ultimate hope as a photographer is to take a photo that will inspire somebody to take action—whether through prayer or human footsteps—and in the process, to add a little beauty to the world.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Prayer for the media