Painting a Picture
Jun 20th, 2008 by John Setzler
My photojournalism work is traditionally limited to sports photography, but I occasionally shoot news and entertainment features as well. My Friday night assignment was at a local alternative night club instead of on the baseball diamond. At this particular event, the performers were donating their tips and performance fees to a local group that provides support for people infected with HIV and also those who have AIDS as a result. I haven’t been tasked with an assignment like this before, and I had no real idea what to expect when I arrived at the club. The only information I was given ahead of time was that there would be several performers in drag, and I needed to make photos of several of them during their shows.
The performers and their routines were quite flamboyant. I had no idea how I wanted to make an attempt to tie the activities of the night to the theme of HIV and AIDS relief. The above photo was one of a series I made of two performers doing a skit from the Broadway play “Wicked.” It was really the only photo that, in my opinion, could be related to a story about HIV and AIDS. It seems to show a bit of tension and possible grief of any kind.
This brings up a second point about photojournalism that puzzles me sometimes. What you see isn’t always what you get. The photographer, as in this case, may show you something that is not an accurate picture of the actual event, but instead showing you a specific interpretation of a situation.
