Every week, Time.com posts on its website the best photographs for that particular week. When looking over the photographs posted for 2009 thus far, one thing can be made clear: an image is stronger than words.
Many of us will read a news story in the paper or a magazine, reflect on it for a few moments, and continue on with our day. But images have more lasting effect than the news stories themselves. One photo that I found to have a significant impact is a photograph taken on Wednesday, January 27, 2009, titled "Watermarked," taken by Dean J. Koepfler. This image shows just how bad the flooding was in Orting, Washington that week.
To be honest, I had heard nothing of the flooding that occured in Orting. Nor can I say that this news has any effect on me. And I can say with certainty that if I were to have read a news report on this event, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. News in Orting, WA has, after all, virtually no proximinal value here in Towson, MD.
Yet seeing this single image made me stop and wonder about what had occured in the town. This is not because the image shows the flooding, but shows us the frustration and hopelessness of the people in this community. And this is how the image connects this story to us. Many may not have experienced the damage a flood can cause a community. But most, if not all, have experiened similar feelings of frustration and despondency that is shown on the mens' faces in the photograph. We can now connect with the story. This is why images are more vital when storytelling in the news is concerned.
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