Weekly journalists\u2019 meetings held in the Press House in Ankara as part of the Media for Democracy\/Democracy for Media program (M4D) are continuing to draw attention. Former chairman of the Progressive Journalists Association (PJA) and photo journalist Abdurrahman Antakyal\u0131 shared his experiences with young journalists with his presentation \u201cPhoto-Journalism in Turkey and the DepoPhotos Venture\u201d.<\/p>\n
Vice-chairman od the Association of Journalists and M4D Program Director Yusuf Kanl\u0131 made these remarks in his opening speech:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen creating the Press House, we aimed to establish a platform to discuss both the problems the press faces in Ankara and other issues that concern the press. As you all know this program isn\u2019t only about holding talks, but also about focusing on increasing the structural strength of journalists and press organizations.<\/p>\n
We have held many talks as part of the project. Today we welcome a good friend who I had the pleasure of wokring with in the Anatolian Agency, someone who has travelled the world with his camera and made history, Abdurrahman Antakyal\u0131\u2026 It has always been a topic of debate, some view photo-journalism as something separate from reporting but I believe they complete each other. These are all elements of journalism, it would be foolish to think one is better than the other. The only difference between the two is the photographer\u2019s name remains on top, due to having taking the picture of the article. Antakyal\u0131 and his friends never decided to remain on the side-lines after retiring, on the contrary the decided to become even more active. Today he is going to talk about how photo-journalism has changed in the digital age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Antakyal\u0131 \u201cThe first photo in history took eight hours to develop\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n Abdurrahman Antakyal\u0131 said he thought he found his calling when he started as a photo-journalist in the Anatolian Agency in 1989. He added that reporters explain events through news articles, and photo-journalists use pictures they have taken to explain an event \u201c[sic] it contains both photography and reporting. It\u2019s basically a journalist taking photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n Antakyal\u0131 remarked that during his first years in the profession they used black and white film and in 1990 the agency started using colour film for important events. According to Antakyal\u0131 he first came across digital cameras in the mid-1990s, and when the agency gave them their first digital cameras, they \u201cdoted over them.\u201d \u00a0Antakyal\u0131 emphasized that the internet didn\u2019t exist at the time \u201cThere were computers and photoshop; photoshop preceded the digital revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n Thanks to scanners and photoshop they were able to escape the dark room said Antakyal\u0131, by using digital cameras they didn\u2019t have to wash film thus making things quicker which helped him produce photographs faster than his rivals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Journalism is intertwined with technology and photo-journalists use a lot of technological equipment remarked Antakyal\u0131, he showed the first picture ever taken in history and said:<\/p>\n \u201cWe see some sharp shading in the first picture ever taken in 1826, it\u2019s actually quite obscure. This photograph was produced in eight hours, why did it take so long? The chemicals used to stabilize the image could only do so much in those days. Photography technology is a little slow, we\u2019re talking about a long process here. Lighting was a big problem back in those days. The basic principle is this: the person being photographed had to remain very still. People were actually cuffed from their hands and necks hidden from the observers\u2019 viewpoint so that they would remain still.<\/p>\n In 1880 a picture was printed for the first time in a newspaper. Photographs existed until then but because they weren\u2019t able to actually print them in the papers they were illustrated. If you look at photographs from those times, you\u2019ll see that people have an expression of fear or surprise on their faces. This was because people were shocked by the magnesium powder igniting and creating a little explosion. After Oscar Barnack invented the Leica camera, the photograph became less ceremonial. Photo-journalism started in 1928 with a photograph taken by Solomon. The photograph became really important, people went everywhere to take pictures, from wars to celebrities and so started the golden-age of photography. Solomon was only able to use that camera until the mid-1990s. The breaking-point started with digital photography.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 85% of photographs are taken with smartphones today<\/p>\n Antakyal\u0131 said that in the year 2017 around 1 trillion 200 billion photos were taken, and about 2 million photos are taken every minute. Antakyal\u0131, who is one of the founders of Depo Photos, remarked that he looks at thousands of photos on the site. According to Antakyal\u0131 people used to use camera brands such as Nikon and Canon, but 85% of photographs are taken with smartphones today. Antakyal\u0131 added:<\/p>\n \u201cFour percent of photos produced are taken with tablet computers, the remaining 11 percent are taken with cameras. The main benefit of digital cameras is they increase quality significantly and broaden our boundaries. Through improvements in digital technology and the internet we were able to ease our minds in terms of copyright infringements. For example, you can find-out if someone has been using your content without your permission by simply using Google Images. Back in the day if your camera was stolen it was impossible to find it. Nowadays you can use your camera\u2019s serial number and find-out who stole your camera by tracking photos they\u2019ve taken online. These are developments that make things easier and safer for us. We can also instantly see photos we have taken, and then edit them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Depo Photos<\/p>\n Antakyal\u0131 talked about the Depo Photos website \u201cthrough to the photos we received from old friends and various organizations we aimed to crate a visual and data bank in Turkey for people to easily access. We of course came across some obstacles when gathering content, for example we came across a box of films that only said 1962 <\/em>on it. We didn\u2019t know what was in it, some content was well documented but others were like solving a puzzle\u2026 Digital photos contain lots of information like what date the photo was taken, and even its location so it\u2019s much easier to conduct research.\u201d Antakyal\u0131 emphasized that thanks to the internet educational opportunities have also increased \u201cEducational videos have increased significantly, you can simply type into YouTube how to use a camera and its specifications, and get results instantly.\u201d<\/p>\n Due to being able to save on time people can focus more on content remarked Antakyal\u0131, a two-year reporter can make ten-year progress, this progress is constant but also results in not being able to absorb everything.\u201d<\/p>\n The digital era was expected to make things easier but it ended up overwhelming journalism<\/p>\n Through the extensive usage of photography, we have entered an era of \u201cvisual noise\u201d which inhibits journalists in their efforts to make themselves heard and good photographs go unnoticed said Antakyal\u0131. The pressure of being quick does not produce good results, current news sites expect photographs even before press conferences have ended said Antakyal\u0131 and added these words in regards to the disadvantages of the digital age:<\/p>\n \u201cNowadays photo-journalists aren\u2019t being employed, instead things are run with very few people and very few editors. An editor looks at approximately 40 thousand pictures a day. There is very little staff, low pay and long working hours and these all cause problems. The digital era was expected to make things easier but it ended up overwhelming journalism. Professionals aren\u2019t rewarded for their work; the once flexible profession is non-existent today. If I were to show the same effort I did in photo-journalism in another field I\u2019m sure I would be the best in that field. I view photo-journalists as the people who willingly picked the short straw in life. This could have been endured for some time but things have headed in a very strange direction.<\/p>\n Thanks to Whatsapp and e-mail we don\u2019t have to pay fax or telephone bills; the main expenditures of a media organization were removed but more people must have realized this because everyone is in the media sector now. Everybody wants a slice of the cake, there are so many game sites, forums, and news sites that you\u2019d have to use a magnifying glass to cut everyone a slice.<\/p>\n \u201cHalf of the newspapers in Turkey do not have a photo-journalist\u201d<\/p>\n Antakyal\u0131 stated that journalists do not have a say in their newspapers anymore and continued:<\/p>\n \u201cTaking without giving anything in return seems to be reserved only for Allah and media bosses in Turkey. In the past we could chase after a news piece thanks to the advertisement share, we didn\u2019t have budget problems. Nowadays prices have dropped, and due to the financial structure photo-journalists were the first to go. Half of the newspapers in Turkey do not have a photo-journalist today. Then they blame the readers by saying \u201cThe New York Times has a 790-million-dollar subscription revenue, the Turkish people do not have the habit of subscribing to a paper.\u201d I mean, what is the public going to read? You don\u2019t have permanent staff; you don\u2019t have a proper editor. If they were to produce good content people would be willing to pay for it.<\/p>\n Photo-journalists sell their content to advertisement agencies in order to survive. Most war journalists are opposed to war. Robert Capa once said \u201cI wish I were an unemployed war journalist.\u201d When we experience the troubles there [sic] our humanism expands exponentially. For example, it is a great tragedy that a photograph taken in Afghanistan was used to promote a new missile for one the biggest arms manufacturers in the world. The photographer of this photo said that this didn\u2019t mean they were not against war, but that they needed to put food on the table. Since the financial structure doesn\u2019t function properly people can ask you for free photographs. Could you go to a shop and ask for half a pound of sugar for free? When you divide salary by working hours, we are among the cheapest labour forces in the world.<\/p>\n \u00a0And of course, press cards aren\u2019t being issued. A friend who worked 14 years in the field was made redundant, this friend was claimed to be ineligible for a permanent-press card for not having served enough time. Without a press card how is one going to do their job? You get arrested when documenting a social event if you don\u2019t have a press-card. Do you take away a barber\u2019s certificate if they leave their job? Do you take away a doctor\u2019s diploma if they leave work? This silly rule in journalism is like the sword of Democles swinging above us\u2026<\/p>\n The public hungry for simple stories about everyday people<\/p>\n Antakyal\u0131 underlined that people want to read news that isn\u2019t sensational but is about everyday life and that the media has been ignoring this. He said \u201cthe media has become a circus. The public is hungry for simple stories about everyday people.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo-journalists have been presenting NGOs with projects, the main problem here is that content can be interfered with and journalists cannot act independently remarked Antakyal\u0131. He added:<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t write against your financial sources in our country\u2026 acting cute towards your financial sources is not journalism, that\u2019s called PR. A journalist practising PR is formidable, it isn\u2019t our job\u2026 A PR person would go broke if they tried to practise journalism, but now they\u2019re trying to get journalists to do PR. If you were to write anything against them, you end up being threatened with advertisements being stopped.<\/p>\n Tragic events are being given less space in newspapers. Advertisers do not want their content to be associated with negative events, they even came up with an excuse \u201cthe pornography of violence, I don\u2019t want my child to see this.\u201d Of course, children shouldn\u2019t be exposed to violence, but how are you going to talk about war? You need balance.\u201d<\/p>\n 50 percent of footage is from CCTV<\/p>\n Antakyal\u0131 quoted his friend working in television \u201cWe record so much content but 50 percent of footage is from CCTV\u201d, he added this about citizen journalism:<\/p>\n \u201cCitizens are now uploading pictures they have taken, some of them are quite good. The new medium is Instagram, journalists have come up with cunning ideas to keep up with the spirit of the time. For example, cell phone pictures of Hurricane Sandy were shared by hashtag. Citizens who saw this took their own photos and shared them via hashtag. This was an important event and a picture taken via cell phone was used as a cover photo.<\/p>\n Of course, we cannot access everything, and of course we are going to benefit from the people as well. There is not such thing as \u201conly we can document what\u2019s going on\u201d, the most important thing is to fulfil our duty in the face of history. Citizen journalism seems like a good idea, I mean we don\u2019t own<\/em> photography, but if you try to spread this everywhere you are going to eventually run into problems.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe current situation is quite obvious: The most-liked photo on Instagram is a picture of an egg\u201d<\/p>\n Antakyal\u0131 remarked that we have transitioned from a society of intellect to a society of interest and he added \u201cThe current situation is quite obvious: The most-liked photo on Instagram is a picture of an egg. When I told my 12-year-old daughter about this she excitedly said \u201cDad, I have to follow this\u201d. Whoever put this picture up there must have really grasped the spirit of our time. 99 percent of photographs published lack content, and will be quickly forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n Ethics have also become a topic of debate remarked Antakyal\u0131 and added:<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past people would edit photographs but not to this extent, and it was difficult to notice it. Nowadays you can see it immediately. There should be limitations to how much you can alter photos; it shouldn\u2019t be done to excess. Media bosses tend to edit the pictures politicians they are close to show them in a good light, for example. I think these things give us an opportunity to see the corruption in this business, because you cannot alter documentary photos. Its limitations are quite defined, you are providing people who aren\u2019t there with visual content. You have to provide them with content that is closest to reality.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Weekly journalists’ meetings held in the Press House in Ankara as part of the Media for Democracy\/Democracy for Media program […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-events","9":"post-with-thumbnail","10":"post-with-thumbnail-large"},"yoast_head":"\n