“Make Every Frame Count”

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of the possibilities of slow photojournalism. Over the past decade, award-winning photojournalist David Burnett has used a 60-year-old Speed Graphic film camera to document US political events, several Olympic Games, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, among other projects. His photographs reveal a significantly different aesthetic from contemporary photojournalism and he is celebrated for the perspective his analog photographs offer. This analysis is based on two points of examination: first, a textual analysis of articles and videos discussing the work; and second, a semiotic analysis of the imagery. The examination suggests Burnett’s photo aesthetic signifies a longing for an imagined analog, journalistic utopia of yore, where individual journalists had the time and freedom to put care and attention into their work.

KEYWORDS:

• boundary maintenance
• conventions
• journalistic norms
• slow journalism
• slow photography

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. While this paper focuses on analog forms of slow photography, there are forms of slow photography that are digital. National Geographic magazine, for example, provides photographers longer periods of time to produce photographic stories (Vanhanen 2015).