5000+ Days

5000+ Days is a visual collection of Press Photography from 1989 - 2006, the book is split into sections, Hard News, Inside Pages, In the Public Eye, Daily Life, Arts and Entertainment and Sport.

Introduced by Tim Bishop whom is the secretary of the British Press Photographers Association (BPPA), he raises some valid points about the advances of technology, mainly to digital photography and how photo manipulation can change more than just the image but also alter interpretations of the captured moment in history.

The foreword is wrote by Harold Evans who was editor of the Sunday Times from 1967 - 1981 and has published various journalism and press photography books. He was knighted in 2004 for services to journalism. In his foreword he too comments about the advancement of digital photography and questions whether it is always used positively but does agree that digital has many benefits. He talks about Press Photography as a profession and how the images become iconic in their own right rather than the printed story which they were initially taken for.

He encourages the reader to view the photographs and to attempt to interpret them before reading the caption, which really surprised me as to how an image can be interpreted in a variety of ways by the viewer, which adds interest but made me think about graphic design and how the balance between image and written information has to be carefully considered to ensure that the design is creating the message intended to the viewer.

5000+ days also made me more aware of how reader interpretations are majorly based on their personal knowledge and experiences.

The chapters I found most interesting were Hard News, Inside Pages and Daily Life because I find real or social situation photographs most interesting. Although some of the images in these categories were harrowing and dramatic some also have a humorous element, especially those in Daily Life which are of similar style of the photographer Martin Parr whose work I also find interesting.

This image taken by Philip Coburn is horrific but also interesting, he has decided to take this photograph in black and white which he thought would be more appropriate for the seriousness of the subject. 

It shows the mass burial of Rwandan refugees at Kubama camp, Gama in Zaire, believed to be a place of safety, disease spread throughout the camp resulting in an estimated 30,000 deaths in just 3 weeks. The detail and the personal nature of the image is in contrast with the harsh, unbelievable image of the digger literally pushing the body's into piles.

This one photograph captures the horrific situation in one shot, although without reading the text you are unsure of the cause of death the image still tells a story.

This image taken by Abbie Traylor-Smith captures the woman's anguish and pain in an almost physical sense, the viewer immediately knows that the subject is suffering an incredible amount of pain, the cause unclear until you read the caption but the sheer emotion captured by the photographer is outstanding. The way the woman is dressed informs the viewer that the photograph is probably taken in a foreign country and is actually taken in Indonesia where the women in the shot has lost her daughter to the Tsunami, in 2005.

Interestingly I found that female photographers throughout the book tended to capture the subjects emotion of the situation rather than the actual situation.

This photograph taken by John Angerson is intriguing as you don't actually know what the people are watching or where in the world they are, it is obviously something important and shocking and at first I assumed it was something happening inside the shop. It was in fact in Leeds, England and the point of interest is a television showing the horrific scenes of September 11 2001.

This image also taken by John Angerson just reminds me of Martin Parr photography, the image is very stereotypically 'English', an elderly couple sat under a caravan awning in the rain. I found it amusing how in the drabbest of situations they are enjoying breakfast with their best china and even a flower for decoration.

This photo is taken in Hastings in 1997 but could be anywhere in the country as the image would be perceived in the same way, the photographer is capturing a 'lifestyle'. Although the photograph may be perceived very differently if the viewer was from a different culture or age group.