Panel

When we look at photographs published in a magazine or newspaper, does the public ever consider who took the picture or why the photographer was there? The backstory to how and why an image gets made and then published is not necessarily part of the caption or the story that accompanies it. Often, we learn these stories years after pictures have become famous or controversial such as Joe Rosenthal’s picture of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima in 1945. What do viewers think when they see only one side of a conflict being covered by a photographer? Who decides where a photographer is positioned and why do some photographers seem to be all over the place? During this panel discussion, we have a chance to see work from photojournalists who live and work in conflict areas such as Palestine and Israel as well as view a short film on the making of the wall in the West Bank of the Israel/Palestine conflict area. We examine the difficulty of interpreting both sides of an emotional story.

Moderator
Alison Morley, photo editor and Chair, Photojournalism and Documentary Photography, The International Center of Photography

Participants 
Alexandra Boulat, photojournalist, VII
Michael Robinson Chavez, photojournalist, The Washington Post
Issa Freij, filmmaker and CBS cameraman
Heidi Levine, photographer, Sipa Press
Shaul Schwarz, photographer, Getty Images

Sponsored by the International Center of Photography and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School. This program is supported, in part, by Getty Images.