Remembering 9/11 & Photo Ethics

It's been a decade since 9/11, and to this day we are still remembering and mourning over that tragic day. The image chosen for this blog is from a 9/11 Tribute Page for its technical merit of the three fireman in all the ruble and debris patriotically lifting an American flag. The colors add to the beauty of the photograph with the vibrant blues and reds against the menacing gray color of the recently destroyed tower. This September 11th, I felt the media's attention to the subject was appropriate. I only watched the                     

memorial service on TV that was where the twin towers stood. It evoked the emotion of sadness in me because of all the youngsters who were talking about losing their parents. Although I cannot recall 9/11, my parents told me that I was young and that I was picked up early from school when news of the apparent terrorist attack spread. Something that i learned about the event that i did not know when I was younger was that the second plane was actually caught on camera crashing into the second tower.

              This new knowledge also ties in with the ethics of photography. I believe that many of the graphic images shown in print and TV definitely should have not been shown. I strongly believe this because it is not ethically correct to take a picture of someone dying or someone that has already died. Many images released showed pictures of people jumping out of the building to their certain death and even more photos were released of dead bodies being taken out of the ruble. Just imagine if you were a youngster (like I was at the time) sitting innocently in front of the television with your parents watching the tragic news and suddenly bloody images of fellow human beings appear, how could you not be scarred (or at least have nightmares for the better half of your childhood)? The media should not make these images public because it is disrespecting the family's of the victims as well as ruining the innocence of one's childhood. I also firmly believe that photojournalists have the moral obligation to turn away the camera. Once a photo is taken there's no way you can really completely get rid of it. Photojournalists should honor the victim's family by not taking the picture because if they do then that is how the victim's family will always remember their loved one in their moments before or in death. Also what human soul can endure the burden of watching anyone die in such a gruesome manner and let alone be captured in a picture that will forever be public to the world. Remember all of our fallen men and women this 9/11, and embrace the lives they lived and not the manner in which they died.