Saturday, February 10, 2018

In Sight:

A curated view of your world in photographs

(Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)

Why there's no such thing as free photography

"Photography," once wrote the famed French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, "is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression. And this organization, this precision, will always escape you, if you do not appreciate what a picture is, if you do not understand that the composition, the logic, the equilibrium of the surfaces and values are the only ways of giving meaning to all that is continuously appearing and vanishing before our very eyes."

I was reminded of his words this week as I read a column published by the Poynter Institute. In a stunning move for an organization that prides itself on championing news organizations' vital role in our society, the writers of this column offered tips on how to "find awesome images that you don't have to pay for, that are free of copyright issues and that have a wide variety of topics and subjects available." They argue that the search for such images was "an awful, time-consuming process," one that they don't relish.

Photo editors often have to argue the case that photography is more than just "art" that illustrates a writer's words. As the visual stories presented below show, photography is an integral part of a newsroom's journalism. The women and men who bring us these photographs stand on the front lines of the news — from the battlefields to the hallways of Congress. They are our eyewitnesses.

There's no doubt that in recent years, the availability of cheap equipment and popular distribution platforms like Instagram and Facebook have severely impacted the value of photography — with amateurs finding favor when professionals should be celebrated. In the face of these changes, it's important to keep in mind Cartier-Bresson's words: "The composition, the logic, the equilibrium of the surfaces and values are the only ways of giving meaning to all that is continuously appearing and vanishing before our very eyes." Often, that means trusting and valuing a professional photographer's experience — and the Poynter Institute should be a champion for them like it has been, for many years, for writers and editors. — Olivier Laurent

In other news this week: Camera manufacturers continue to lag behind technology companies by refusing to offer encryption to photographers, reports ZDNet, even though the basic security feature would protect photographer's work from searches and hacking; and after years of legal threats, The Verge writes that Google has reached a deal with Getty Images that will see the internet giant join the fight against copyright infringement of images.

IN SIGHT

(Photo by Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)

Perspective

A closer look at the tallest trees in the world

Washington Post photographer Carolyn Van Houten's intimate images of America's iconic redwoods.

By Karly Domb Sadof and Carolyn Van Houten • Read more »

This man collected 6,000 orphaned Polaroids. See what he's doing to tell their stories.

Kyler Zeleny has collected more than 6,000 Polaroids. He couldn't find who they belonged to so he set out to give them life by asking creative minds to write stories about them.

By Dee Swann • Read more »

Scenes from a marathon six-day Daoist funeral deep in the heart of China

Photographer Nick Otto documents the six-day funeral for a respected Daoist priest following his death earlier this year.

By Thomas Simonetti • Read more »

Click here to subscribe to this newsletter

MUST-SEE STORIES

'Miracle' in the snow

Diego Ibarra Sánchez photographed the survivors of a group of Syrian refugees caught in a snowstorm as they fled the war. 15 of them froze to death. One little girl survived.

By Liz Sly and Diego Ibarra Sánchez • Read more »

As tourism returns, hurricane recovery in the Virgin Islands is leaving some residents behind

Washington Post photographer Bonnie Jo Mount visited the U.S. Virgin Islands where, months after this summer's hurricanes, residents are still without roofs.

By Tim Craig, Bonnie Jo Mount and Kazi Awal • Read more »

An arrest in Moscow leads to a Norwegian espionage mystery

Ksenia Ivanova, on assignment for the Washington Post, photographed a Norwegian town that has found itself at the center of a spy controversy.

By Anton Troianovski, Ksenia Ivanova and Andrew Braford • Read more »

Here are 15 of the week's best photos

Super Bowl 52, Winter Olympics opening ceremony in South Korea, Falcon rocket launch of Tesla roadster into orbit, and more images from around the world.