The question in this headline goes to the essence of photojournalism. [1,2]
The photograph above was taken last summer during the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Michigan Avenue (US 12) reconstruction project in downtown Saline. At this point mid-process, work was well underway on the east-bound lanes. West-bound traffic was still allowed on the north side where excavations had not yet started — albeit with restrictions. [3]
If the whole of the building that serves here as backdrop isn’t immediately recognizable as a local landmark, its Benny’s Bakery store front certainly is. Almost anyone of any age here has their own story of the bakery. When Saline Journal parent company d2 Saline first started in the mid-1980s, this place housed Walker’s Bakery. [4]
Back then, what is now Mangiamo Italian Grill was the cocktail lounge connected to Big Daddy’s Den. That made for a nice blend of traditional and new here, with Perry’s Tuxedos Plus almost visible behind the front-end-loader center-frame. [5,6]
Much as the project was clearly needed, it’s been hard on downtown businesses. Store front visibilities were blocked, things noisy, dirt seemingly everywhere. At the same time, work seemed well planned, labor seriously dedicated to tasks (often coupled with problem-solving), and all elements moved apace. [7]
Blogging routines and smartphones can dull the critical thinking that is vital in photojournalists looking for the essence of the story recalled in these last four paragraphs. What’s the antidote to that?
Take a step back and start by asking yourself, if you didn’t have the photograph above — and considered “the Michigan Avenue reconstruction project in Saline” generically — what alternatives would you have had available to tell this story in a single image? The drain tiles queued near Lewis or in front of the Davenport-Curtiss House? Men in the deep trenches within spitting distance of Comerica Bank? A long shot of Merchant Square, trucks and equipment in the foreground?
Also think about what the photograph above is not.
It is not sensational, as it could be if taken from a low angle with a short focal-length lens, suggesting a recklessly dangerous work environment. Neither was it taken from just this side of the sidewalk barricade, looking into Benny’s as if to suggest the road job only a minor inconvenience, “pardon our dust.”
And it certainly doesn’t lie: Any one image designed to reflect the whole of these months couldn’t honestly focus on the isolated worker at break or cliché lean on a shovel.
Finally, even the black and white presentation must have been intended communicate something more than if it had been rendered in color. If it is seen as stark, that underscores grittiness. If black and white photography is taken to be associated with artistic imagery, that connects to a cornerstone of Saline downtown positioning efforts. [8]
These are the ways that this image came to be an example a single photograph that tells the story of an event that unfolded over a period of months.
How would you have made a photograph to tell this story? If you believe you’ve come up with your own “decisive moment” photograph for this, why? [9]
References
Photographed on July 16, 2016 at 10:00am using Nikon D810 camera with Nikon 60mm AF Micro Nikkor f/2.8 lens, set to f/8 at 1/500-second and ISO 200 (hand-held).
- “Power of Photojournalism 1/2” (May 3, 2010) Reynolds Journalism Institute.
- “Power of Photojournalism 2/2” (May 3, 2010) Reynolds Journalism Institute.
- “US-12 (Michigan Avenue) Reconstruction: City of Saline (January 2016)” Michigan Department of Transportation.
- Benny’s Bakery (home page).
- “History Undercover: A Saline building with a hidden past?” David Stringer and Terry Gallagher (February 2011) Ann Arbor Observer.
- “Mangiamo Italian Grill” Grubhub.
- “Support Downtown Saline Restaurants Now: Mangiamo Italian Grill” Janet Deaton (June 22, 2016) Saline Journal.
- Saline Main Street (home page).
- “Obituaries: Not Forgotten” (August 3, 2016) The New York Times.
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